Everyone crowded round Wang Shuang, chattering and telling him to find a solution. Even Hang Xiaowen thought he would lose his temper, but unexpectedly Wang Shuang just smiled.
“Of course I have more than one rich friend. But like I said, our project has problems. Nobody would invest no matter who you asked. My family won’t give me any more money either. My mum gave me four hundred thousand as startup capital and it’s all gone. I’m still worrying about how to explain it to her!”
Wen Ying might not be the gentlest of Wang Shuang’s friends, but she was definitely the most tolerant. Younger than him, yet sometimes she acted like an older sister, far more mature in her thinking.
If even Wen Ying said no, how could any other friend possibly say yes?
The thing Wang Shuang was most relieved about right now was that he hadn’t been stupid enough to ask Xie Qian for investment. Xie Qian could freeze his head off with a single glance!
So did that mean Wang Shuang really had no more money?
Then what were they supposed to do? Just sit and wait for the startup to fail?
This project carried all of Hang Xiaowen’s hard work. She couldn’t bear to give it up.
To gain a foothold in a place like Shanghai, a 211 undergraduate degree simply wasn’t enough.
University graduates earned a meagre salary every month. After rent, food, and clothes, they couldn’t save a penny.
When Hang Xiaowen first started university, Shanghai property prices hadn’t yet reached their current heights. She had been full of confidence that she could settle here after graduation.
Those innocent dreams had been crushed by ever-rising prices.
Hang Xiaowen had done internships and looked into where seniors from her programme ended up. Most held ordinary jobs with average salaries. They didn’t starve, but they never got rich either.
That was why Hang Xiaowen didn’t want to follow the normal path of finding a job. She wanted to start her own business and live the life she dreamed of!
Among everyone present, no one was as attached to this startup as Hang Xiaowen. They had no idea how brutal the real world was!
To put it bluntly, once people like Wang Shuang left the simple environment of campus, ordinary people would never have the chance to befriend a second-generation rich kid.
Hang Xiaowen spoke before anyone else could. “Let’s stop pressuring Wang Shuang. He’s the biggest shareholder. Even if there’s only a tiny chance, he wouldn’t just watch the project die. If he says it’s impossible, it really is. Now it’s our turn to step up. None of us can produce hundreds of thousands, but what if we split the burden? Each person raises a few tens of thousands?”
Her words were like pouring cold water into boiling oil. The boys exploded instantly.
A few tens of thousands each?
They couldn’t possibly manage that!
“Senior Hang, my monthly living allowance is only eight hundred yuan. Shanghai is so expensive. That barely covers me.”
“I get two hundred more than that, but it’s still nowhere near enough.”
“Exactly. Tens of thousands is way too much. I don’t know any rich people. You expect me to ask my parents?”
Wang Shuang just kept smiling.
Whether they cried poor or complained, it was as if it had nothing to do with him.
Something was wrong. At the beginning Wang Shuang had been the most enthusiastic, putting in money and effort, full of passion for the e-commerce project… Hang Xiaowen raised a hand to cut off the complaints. “I can’t produce tens of thousands either, but I have the money I saved from my living allowance during university plus the wages I’ve earned so far. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll personally put in ten thousand first to keep the team running. We’ll figure out the rest together slowly.”
How?
At university, the student union and various clubs all had “external liaison departments”. Most activity budgets relied on those departments pulling sponsorship from off-campus.
Wealthy alumni and businesses wanting to operate on campus were the usual sources.
If you were good with words and could persuade them, you really could raise some funds.
Hang Xiaowen led by putting in ten thousand herself, so the others resisted less and echoed her, saying they would try to find solutions together.
Hang Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief. “Besides looking for investors, we can also try applying for the ‘university student entrepreneurship loan’. We’re properly registered, we have office space and inventory. We should be able to get approved.”
That actually sounded promising. Much more reliable than hunting for investors.
The same people who had been surrounding Wang Shuang instantly switched to surrounding Hang Xiaowen.
“Senior, do you know how much we can borrow under that policy?”
“Can we really get it?”
“I heard those loans require connections. So many people apply, very few get approved!”
Hang Xiaowen patiently answered everyone’s questions, then turned to Wang Shuang. “Wang Shuang, what do you think?”
…
Hotel lounge.
Two cups of coffee sat on the table. Wen Ying and Wang Shuang sat opposite each other. Listening to his account, Wen Ying was so absorbed she forgot to drink her coffee.
She asked the exact same question Hang Xiaowen had. “So, what do you think of Senior Hang’s suggestions?”
Wang Shuang rolled his eyes.
“Of course they’re rubbish. I’m not that stupid!”
He had no objection to Hang Xiaowen putting in ten thousand of her own money.
He fully supported her mobilising everyone to go out and find investment.
But when she mentioned applying for a “university student entrepreneurship loan”, Wang Shuang rejected it outright!
When the company was registered, Wang Shuang had been made the legal representative. If the loan couldn’t be repaid, the bank wouldn’t chase Hang Xiaowen or any of the others. They would come straight for him. No escape.
“Senior Hang thought I was worried about the interest being too high and patiently explained the policy to me. I told her I wasn’t worried about interest. I was worried about the principal! The moment I asked who would take responsibility for the loan, the whole room went dead quiet.”
Wang Shuang could laugh about it now, but at the time he had genuinely felt cold inside.
When the idea of applying for a loan came up, everyone was enthusiastic, practically wanting to borrow the maximum amount in one go.
The moment he asked who would be liable, silence. Not one person, Hang Xiaowen included, was willing to take responsibility!
What, if it failed he’d be the only one paying it back, but if it succeeded everyone shared the profits?
Wen Ying’s suspended heart finally settled. “Thank goodness. You’re not completely hopeless. Doing e-commerce isn’t wrong, and clothing is a good choice. The problem isn’t the project itself, it’s the management. As long as the manager doesn’t change, no amount of money will fill the hole… So what are you planning to do now?”
Wang Shuang looked a little nervous but mostly determined. “I always believed in e-commerce, and you think it’s viable too, so I don’t want to give up. But I’m done with this current mess. I want to start over from scratch!”
Wang Shuang couldn’t be bothered arguing with Hang Xiaowen and the rest any longer. He rejected the loan application and announced he was dissolving the team.
Everyone, Hang Xiaowen included, was stunned.
Nobody had expected Wang Shuang to be so decisive!
They had poured so much effort in. Just dissolve everything?
What about all their hard work?
Nobody agreed to dissolve the team.
Wang Shuang’s new friends split into two camps. One tried to persuade him to hang on and said they were willing to look for funding with Hang Xiaowen. The other cursed him out, saying he was a rich second-generation who didn’t care about failing once. He could just dissolve everything on a whim and seriously hurt everyone’s feelings.
*Cough cough…*
Wen Ying had just taken a sip of coffee and nearly choked.
Wang Shuang looked at her resentfully. “You don’t have to hold it in. Laugh if you want. My dad always says ‘a little favour breeds gratitude, a big one breeds resentment’. I used to think he nagged too much. Turns out he was right. It’s my fault for being too good to these people. I deserve to lose four hundred thousand.”
Feelings?
What kind of feelings were worth four hundred thousand?!
This was the first time Wang Shuang had ever had full control over such a large sum. Who said he didn’t care? His heart ached every time he thought about it.
Wang Shuang drained his coffee in one gulp, set the cup down, rubbed his hands together, and asked a very practical question. “I’m broke now. Can you cover this meal?”
