Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 447 - 425: A Triumphant First Battle

The room was filled with the gentle glow of candlelight.

Sienna Thornton had her arms around Simon Forrester’s neck, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Simon Forrester lowered his head and kissed her.

It was as if they had returned to when they first started dating, feeling nervous, shy, excited...

...

"Ding dong," the crisp sound of the doorbell shattered this stirring moment.

Sienna Thornton snapped back to reality, her small hand pushing against Simon Forrester’s chest, whispering, "Someone’s here..."

"Ignore it."

"..."

"Ding dong..." the doorbell continued to ring.

Sienna Thornton was filled with anxiety, her whole body tense.

Simon Forrester had no choice but to let her go, saying, "I’ll get the door." He casually picked up the robe tossed aside, putting it on as he got out of bed.

The door opened, and Wendy Jacobs’ bright voice burst in: "Boss, I brought you some delicious food..."

At that moment, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Sienna Thornton sat up from the bed and called out, "Jameson, just give the stuff to Mr. Forrester."

"Okay! Boss!"

After a few seconds, Simon Forrester came back in, carrying a paper bag.

Knowing it was something delicious, Sienna Thornton quickly put on her nightgown and got out of bed. As she was about to approach the coffee table, Simon Forrester pulled her back. She gestured with her hands and feet, protesting, "I want to see what tasty treats..."

"What’s there to eat here? Just some cheese, potatoes, chocolates, and the like."

"Swiss roasted cheese is nice... let’s have a little first..."

"No way!"

"..."

As people say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Even Simon Forrester and Sienna Thornton, separated for less than a day, experienced a reunion as intense as a newlywed couple.

If it weren’t for Sienna Thornton planning to rehearse for the first round of negotiations early the next morning, on a normal weekend, they could have spent half the night together.

.

The next day, Sienna Thornton got up early and changed into an especially formal outfit: a black blazer, a red silk blouse with a bow tie, and a high-waisted pencil skirt. Her makeup was as polished as when she appeared in court, blending sophistication with sharpness.

Simon Forrester was still asleep. After getting ready, she left him a note on the bedside table, took her materials, and joined her colleagues in the hotel’s meeting room.

With only two hours until the first round of negotiations, there was no need for a collective rehearsal. Everyone checked their own materials, warming up for the negotiations ahead and stimulating their minds.

In this negotiation, the spokesperson was the representative from the WTO Affairs Department and Sienna Thornton from the Treaty and Law Department.

Since Sienna Thornton’s team had been following up on this case, she was the central figure in this negotiation. Unlike others who were responsible only for the thoroughness of their designated materials, she was in charge of the overall situation and had to cover all aspects without any error, highlighting the immense pressure she was under.

The country placed great importance on these negotiations. Director-General Linton even mentioned that the state media had already arranged a schedule with the ministries. Regardless of whether Sienna Thornton and her team succeeded or failed, they would have to be interviewed by state media afterwards.

Whether they received praise or criticism would depend on their performance in the coming days.

This was the first time Sienna Thornton appeared before the media and the nation since starting her job at the Treaty and Law Department. If her debut was due to a failed case, she figured it would be difficult for her to thrive in the department later.

Furthermore, some people still held grievances about her appointment, believing she was merely a parachute arrival with a Ph.D. title but no real skills.

This was her best opportunity to prove herself.

Thinking of all these, Sienna Thornton felt the weight of pressure, making her chest feel heavy with a bit of anxiety about how to account for herself should she fail.

Yet, given nearly a year of preparation, she felt relatively confident, her spirits buoyed by a voice inside her saying, "You will succeed!"

On one hand, there was pressure; on the other, confidence. These forces intertwined, forming a tenacious drive.

.

The first round of negotiations began at ten in the morning.

Our delegation entered the venue twenty minutes early, thinking we were early, only to find that the opposing team had also arrived and taken their seats.

Cordially, we shook hands, exchanged greetings in English, and then returned to our respective places.

At exactly ten o’clock, the first round of negotiations under the WTO mechanism commenced, focusing on the European Trade Organization’s anti-dumping sanctions on our country’s carbon steel fasteners.

In recent years, the European Trade Organization frequently launched anti-dumping investigations into our country’s products exported to European nations, mainly due to their belief that non-market economy countries’ governments control businesses, set product pricing, and enforce trade monopolies; they see such trade actions as lacking freedom, suppressed, and government-controlled, directly impacting trade environment fairness.

In this case, the European Trade Organization consistently used a certain law from the "Basic Anti-Dumping Law of the European Trade Organization" to determine our country’s dumping behavior.

Sienna Thornton had earlier suggested that at the start of negotiations, it was essential to clarify its applicability, highlight its disputes and loopholes, and then use the WTO’s "Anti-Dumping Agreement" provisions to argue its unfairness.

During the negotiations, she spoke: "Your anti-dumping rules xxx/xx, Article x, section x, require exporters or producers from non-market economy countries to meet the ’separate treatment test’ criteria to apply for the ’individual rate,’ contradicting WTO ’Anti-Dumping Agreement’ Article x.xx and Article x.x, among others..."

Sienna Thornton spoke from "individual rate" to "single national tax," then to "presumption of guilt," finally questioning whether sampling forms the sole exception to the individual rate as per the WTO’s "Anti-Dumping Agreement."

Speaking with a standard British accent, she maintained composure, support from facts, and a persistent smile while meeting the opposing delegation’s gaze. Her arguments, with principles and bottom lines unyielding, exuded politeness and comfort.

She was a natural negotiator, drawing people into her logic, earning trust!

Wendy Jacobs looked at Sienna Thornton with admiration, viewing her as a resplendent and indomitable rose, standing up for our trade and rule interests.

At the end of the first round, our delegation seriously pointed out that the opposing party’s final ruling severely lacked a legal foundation, applying "presumption of guilt" to producers from non-market economies, severely undermining the WTO ’Anti-Dumping Agreement’ requirement to calculate separate dumping margins for each producer.

The first round of negotiations continued until after five in the afternoon.

With a successful first battle, Sienna Thornton and others breathed a temporary sigh of relief, feeling elated and encouraged, confident about the upcoming negotiations in the next few days.

The WTO Affairs Department’s negotiator suggested dinner at a restaurant by the lakeside for seafood.

Thinking Simon Forrester was still waiting at the hotel, Sienna Thornton sought her colleagues’ opinions on whether she could bring Simon along.

Apart from Wendy Jacobs, no one knew Simon Forrester had also come to Valois. They assumed Sienna Thornton had a friend there and wanted to bring them along for dinner. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

They reckoned that someone as talented as Sienna Thornton probably had friends who were also legal elites, agreeing promptly and even expressing some anticipation.