A Skydiver with no Parachute

Hua Yuling strode into the soundproof room through a frosted glass door. Inside, her gaze swept over the minimalist decor: a simple white rectangular table with metal legs and ten gray cushioned chairs arranged neatly around it. An LED screen was attached to the wall at the head of the table, the focal point of the room's attention. As she entered, everyone noticed her arrival and rose from their seats in unison, offering slight bows of acknowledgment. Hua Yuling returned the gesture with a sharp nod, signaling the commencement of the meeting, causing everyone to scurry to their seats. Hua Yuling also took her place in the seat closest to the screen.

Across the table, a suave, good-looking man in a crisp suit mirrored her movements. However, in an unexpected twist, it was not him that stood up to start talking. So fancy man isn't doing the talking? Instead, a tall figure with dark brown ruffled hair, dressed in a gray baggy sweater that was over a white collared shirt and some black dress pants took the spotlight. In Hua Yuling's opinion it was way too casual for this kind of business, especially if he was going to be the star of the show for the next hour. Hua Yuling raised an eyebrow, feeling just a little bit skeptical. 

Not only this, Hua Yuling was thankful she was seated close to him, as any further and she doubted if she would have even been able to hear him or not. His hands were tucked in his sleeves like it was -50 degrees in here, his eyes were very interested in the floor like all his wildest dreams were stuck on there and he must have misclicked because his slides didn't match his speech in the slightest!! Hua Yuling was heavily doubting this company's credibility and professionalism if this were the kind of people they were sending as company representatives. Xuan Corporation was only ever known for good things and being one of the wealthiest businesses in the world built off professionalism and efficiency but now it was feeling like she was living in some alternate universe.

As the minutes dragged on, slowly, one by one, Hua Yuling struggled to maintain her composure but in the end forced herself to keep a straight face. From the onlookers perspective she looked engrossed in the presentation but on the inside impatience gnawed at her and all she hoped was that she could magically fast forward the allocated 30 minutes speech time. 

The man droned on about the pure definition of waffle and from what she picked up, the guy was talking about looking for an investor for their newest endeavor that was bound to succeed or whatever. Something about starting a new retirement home that gives the residents lots of freedom and would allow them to still have the biggest say in their life. It was all sounding pretty good from what Hua Yuling could pick out from the mumbling and blubbering except when he said this project was going to take place in Shenzhen, which has one of the lowest average ages in all the cities in China. No one is going to need a retirement home there! Everything was just plummeting down hill like a skydiver that never pulls the parachute. 

Please end soon, pleeeasee.

When the painstakingly long presentation finally concluded, Hua Yuling wasted no time in delivering the verdict that she already decided 6 minutes in. The representative took a small bow and returned to his seat. 

"Respectfully, YuHua Corporation must decline this opportunity to collaborate, but thank you for your time," she stated firmly.

He quickly shot back up from his seat, "W-w-wait!! Please President Hua! Why? I don't understand! Could you please reconsider? Please!"

"The ratio of investment to return profits could cause losses. That is all."

"Wait! B-but why!!"

With a sigh, Hua Yuling gathered her belongings - packing up her binders and stacking her laptop on the top of the pile - prepared to make her way out of that frosted door. This conversation should have ended an hour ago. But looking back with an icy gaze, "If you must know the reason then take another seat."

This is going to take a while. 

"Shenzhen is the place you chose, correct?"

"Yes President Hua"

"Why."

"U-umm, well… you know, it's a bustling place with lots of people. Perfect place for any business right..?"

So they didn't even research it huh.

"Shenzhen has one of the lowest average ages across its population, and any retirement home located there is likely to be a complete failure. You also failed to take into account the cultural background. I understand this concept was lately popularised overseas yet many believe that they should care for their parents with their own efforts rather than through these programs. So until you present a more ideal situation, this will be the end of our collaboration."

Hua Yuling ended her argument by extending a capable hand, still intending to end this trainwreck on good terms, to shake the representative's one. He responded by grabbing hers in a seemingly weak and defeated manner, refusing to make eye contact with her. Then after shaking, she exited with a strong aura while the Xuan Corp. scattered out of the room alongside her.