“I… I’m sorry.”
The waiter felt too embarrassed to meet Wen Ying’s eyes.
The temptation of 300 dollars had simply been too great. He hadn’t been able to resist. He had thought Zhuo Yue was just a young girl and that asking about the Wu Chunqin family probably wouldn’t lead to anything bad, so he had reluctantly revealed Professor Shen’s personal information.
Now he had taken the money and was terrified.
Wen Ying had come knocking, and the waiter felt both guilty and nervous.
“It’s alright, it’s not a big deal. Keep the money.”
Wen Ying was doing exactly the same thing herself, so naturally she could hardly blame the waiter for lacking professional ethics.
The waiter didn’t know much about the Wu Chunqin family. He had only given a mobile number used for booking tables and Professor Shen’s occupation. The key point was, why had the other person been asking about the Wu Chunqin family in the first place?
From the waiter’s description, Wen Ying learned that Sara Zhuo had not actually been at the restaurant last night. The three young people dining in the private room had been one man and two women.
They had paid by card, and the bill had a signature. Sure enough, it was Zhuo Chen.
Who could the other two girls be?
The waiter said one was called “Xixi”. Wen Ying immediately smiled. So one of the girls was Zhao Xi, whom she hadn’t seen in ages!
With Zhao Xi there, spending 300 dollars to dig up information on the Wu Chunqin family made perfect sense. Zhao Xi must have recognised Wen Ying.
Given Zhao Xi’s usual thought process, she wanted to tear into anyone close to Wen Ying.
What surprised Wen Ying, however, was that the girl asking about the Wu Chunqin family had not been Zhao Xi, but the other one.
In the waiter’s words, she was a girl who looked very expensive and refined.
“Like a rich young miss from an idol drama!”
A rich young miss, dining with Zhuo Chen. Could she be Zhuo Chen’s sister?
Wen Ying had always been wary of Sara Zhuo, and she was cautious of Zhuo Chen too. After all, Zhuo Chen had been the ultimate winner in her previous life.
She knew Sara Zhuo had even borne Xie Jinghu a daughter, and Xie Jinghu doted on this illegitimate child. But considering the girl’s age, Wen Ying wouldn’t deliberately remind Xie Qian to be on guard against her.
Zhuo Yue was younger than Xie Qian. She was probably only about fourteen or fifteen now. Then again, growing up in a family like that, it wouldn’t be surprising if a girl that age was already full of schemes.
Wen Ying didn’t hide anything from Xie Qian. As soon as she left the restaurant, she told him about it.
“Don’t underestimate her. That little girl has plenty of cunning!”
Thousands of miles away, Xie Qian’s brows knitted tightly.
Zhuo Yue wouldn’t inquire about the Wu Chunqin family for no reason.
Zhao Dong had placed Zhao Xi with the Zhuo family, and Zhao Xi’s hatred of Wen Ying must have influenced Zhuo Yue.
Xie Qian once again recalled his mother Zou Weijun’s warning.
“I understand. You take good care of yourself and try to stay away from these people as much as possible. Didn’t you say Wang Shuang is treating you to lunch? Isn’t it time to set off?”
Rather than let Wen Ying deal with the Zhuo family, it was better to have her spend her energy on Wang Shuang first.
Wang Shuang might be a bit of an academic slacker and silly, but he wouldn’t cause any real trouble. He definitely posed no threat to Wen Ying’s safety.
“Yes, I’m just about to head out. I’ve prepared myself to hear Wang Shuang’s entrepreneurial story.”
There was a hint of mischief in Wen Ying’s tone.
She really did want to know how 400,000 yuan had dwindled to just over 10,000!
And if Wang Shuang needed investment, why not go to the Qin siblings or Xie Qian?
Qin Yi and Qin Jiao had a deeper friendship with Wang Shuang. The two of them were now running “Prawn King” very successfully and no longer relied on family money. They could certainly support Wang Shuang.
Xie Qian didn’t even need mentioning. He was the richest one in their little circle!
At the very least, Peng Guoqing was another wealthy friend. Not long ago he had kept asking whether Wen Ying and Li Mengjiao needed to “borrow money”. He was the kind of local tycoon who had money burning a hole in his pocket.
Alright, Wen Ying could just about understand why Wang Shuang wouldn’t ask Peng Guoqing for investment. Wang Shuang couldn’t bear to lose face in front of Peng Guoqing.
But why not ask Xie Qian?
Probably because there was something dodgy about the project and he was afraid Xie Qian would tear it to shreds.
Wen Ying clasped her hands together and cracked her knuckles loudly.
Well now. He didn’t dare ask Xie Qian, but he dared ask her! Did he think she was less clever than Xie Qian and wouldn’t spot the problems with the project?
Carrying a mood that said she was going to sort out this academic slacker, Wen Ying arrived at the place they had agreed to meet.
In the sweltering summer heat, Wang Shuang was already waiting by the roadside, craning his neck to look out for her. He certainly seemed sincere.
The moment he saw Wen Ying get out of the taxi, Wang Shuang fawningly rushed over and held an umbrella over her.
Wen Ying immediately burst out laughing. “Where on earth did you learn such grovelling tricks?”
Wang Shuang grinned shamelessly. “Never you mind where I learned them. Just tell me if they’re working!”
Wen Ying nodded, still smiling. “Not bad. You’ve sacrificed so much, now I’m a bit scared you’re going to ask for an enormous amount in a minute.”
Wang Shuang wasn’t annoyed at all. He kept holding the umbrella over Wen Ying as they walked towards the restaurant, meanwhile telling her about his startup.
It turned out Wang Shuang’s business was e-commerce.
Wen Ying couldn’t help giving him a couple of extra glances.
In 2007, this really was the time when e-commerce was starting to boom. Anyone who got into e-commerce at this point could make money as long as they weren’t an idiot.
Wen Ying was puzzled. “E-commerce is great. What products do you mainly sell?”
“Clothes, of course! Have you forgotten which university I go to? Selling clothes online, I’ve got a natural advantage!”
Wang Shuang was extremely confident.
Wen Ying thought about it and agreed. The 211 university Wang Shuang attended had originally been a textile university before gradually becoming a comprehensive one. Even though it had changed its name and added more programmes, anything related to textiles and fashion remained its flagship strength.
That was true, but seeing how pleased with himself Wang Shuang looked, Wen Ying couldn’t resist stabbing him a little. “You’ve got a natural advantage, so why do you still need my investment? If I had your advantages plus 400,000 yuan startup capital, within half a year I wouldn’t just make four million, I’d make at least two million. I wouldn’t need to ask friends for investment at all!”
“You…”
Wang Shuang choked.
He wanted to argue, yet he felt Wen Ying wasn’t wrong.
After all, Wen Ying had taken a tiny amount of startup money and turned “Prawn King” from a street stall into a proper brand!
Wang Shuang put away his earlier smugness and became very humble, bowing his head in admission. “It’s exactly because you’re so capable that I need your help. Honestly, asking you for investment is one reason, but the other is that I want you to give me some guidance.”
He clearly had plenty of advantages, so why hadn’t he made any money?
Wang Shuang didn’t care that much about money and was very generous with it, but he wasn’t stupid.
Something had definitely gone wrong with this project. He was too close to it to see the whole picture, so he especially wanted someone clever to look it over for him.
As they talked, Wang Shuang led Wen Ying to the table he had booked in advance.
There were already two people sitting there, a young man and a young woman.
The man shot to his feet, pointed at Wen Ying, and stammered, “Y-y-you’re… Fish Swimming Against the Current?”
Wen Ying smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s me. Hello.”
The other girl was equally shocked.
This rich kid Wang Shuang had said he was bringing a “friend” to discuss investment, so that friend must be wealthy too.
She hadn’t expected Wang Shuang’s friend to be not only rich but famous, the bestselling author “Fish Swimming Against the Current”!
After the initial shock, the girl took the initiative to introduce herself. “Hello, I’m Wang Shuang’s senior from university and his business partner. My name is Hang Xiaowen.”
Wen Ying’s eyes curved into happy crescents, looking every inch the innocent sweet girl. “Hello, Senior Sister Hang. I’m Wang Shuang’s junior, and possibly his future investor. ‘Fish Swimming Against the Current’ is my pen name. My real name is Wen Ying.”
Their hands clasped together.
Hang Xiaowen was highly wary of Wen Ying, but Wen Ying seemed completely oblivious.
Wang Shuang was as clueless as ever, enthusiastically urging Wen Ying to sit down.
“Let’s talk while we eat. Anything you want to know, you can ask me, or you can ask Sister Xiaowen. She’s basically the core member of our team and knows the whole project inside out.”
Since Wang Shuang had said so, Wen Ying naturally didn’t hold back. She went straight for the kill. “I already know you’ve put in over three hundred thousand. How much has Senior Sister Hang invested?”
