Wen Ying made the decision to invest in “You You Tuan Gou”. The next day, she still called Chen Ru.
Chen Ru was not particularly surprised to hear that Wen Ying wanted to invest in an internet start-up.
The moment she transferred the principal and profits from stock trading to Wen Ying, Chen Ru knew that Wen Ying would eventually use this money. Chen Ru’s mindset had changed greatly from before. Money in an account was just a string of numbers. Whether spent or invested, money needed to circulate.
Wen Ying had always been bold with spending.
Yet Wen Ying did not lavish too much on personal consumption. Her living expenses were not much higher than those of an ordinary university student.
This girl usually kept quiet, but when she made a move, it was always a big expenditure!
Thinking back to how Wen Ying had dared to spend ten million buying shares in Tianjiao during high school, Chen Ru was mentally prepared. “How much are you planning to invest?”
“Twenty million.”
Only twenty million?
Chen Ru had thought Wen Ying might spend all the stock trading earnings in one go.
Wen Ying wanted to explain the prospects of “You You Tuan Gou” to Chen Ru, but Chen Ru had no interest in a bunch of data. She went straight to the core. “How did you come across this project?”
Even projects introduced by reliable people were not necessarily reliable.
Those from unreliable sources were even less dependable!
Chen Ru’s concern was that someone with ulterior motives, knowing Wen Ying had money, might deliberately set up a project to swindle her.
This was very common. Even seasoned businesspeople who had been in the game for years fell for it!
Chen Ru had a client who had kept a sum of money safely in the bank. The interest was not high, but it was secure.
“But this client wanted to make big money. Earlier this year, he withdrew everything to partner with a friend in mining. He visited the site multiple times, inspected the mine, verified the qualifications, and only after investing did he discover it was fake. When he reported it, the scammer had defrauded several people, with amounts reaching tens of millions. The perpetrator had fled, and the money had long been transferred. Who knows if the losses can ever be recovered!”
Chen Ru spoke with considerable regret.
If not for this scam, the client could have retired by now.
Not to mention property and cars, he had nearly ten million in the bank. Retirement would have been very comfortable.
Who would have thought a businessperson who had weathered many storms would suffer such a massive setback right before retiring!
When Chen Ru saw this client again recently, he looked several years older. His vitality was nothing like before.
Wen Ying knew Manager Chen was telling this story not to jinx her, but out of fear she might be deceived. She answered Chen Ru very frankly. “Xie Qian introduced it to me. This project was actually spotted by Xie Qian first. He has already invested in it. When he heard I was interested in internet entrepreneurship, he recommended it to me.”
“It’s Xie Qian…”
When Chen Ru drew out the tail of her sentence, Wen Ying felt a little guilty.
Hey, why feel guilty!
Even if she and Xie Qian really had something going on, neither was a high school student anymore. They were legally adults. It was not a big deal, right?
Wen Ying braced herself for a thorough interrogation from her own mother, but unexpectedly, Chen Ru changed the subject. “He is not seriously injured, is he? How did I hear he is still using a wheelchair at school?”
Hm?!
“He is in rehabilitation every day and recovering. The wheelchair won’t be needed for long—”
Chen Ru interrupted Wen Ying. “That’s good. When you see Xie Qian, remember to pass on regards from me and your father. Without Xie Qian tutoring you for three years, how could you have ranked 31st in the province for science?”
“Oh—”
“And don’t think you can stop studying just because you got into university. Such a good school will definitely teach you real skills. If you have anything you don’t understand in your studies, ask Xie Qian more… Wait, he is not in the same major as you. Can he still teach you?”
Can someone studying mathematics teach finance?
Someone good at mathematics would have no trouble with finance.
Facing Chen Ru’s doubt, Wen Ying’s answer was resolute. “He can definitely teach me!”
“That’s good. Do you have anything else to say? If so, say it quickly. If not, I’ll hang up.”
Wen Ying: ???
Wen Ying felt she had said everything she needed to, but Manager Chen surely had many questions she had not asked!
Knowing the project was introduced by Xie Qian, Manager Chen was not worried at all?
Even if not worried about the project, she should at least ask about her current relationship with Xie Qian!
Moreover, where had Manager Chen heard about Xie Qian using a wheelchair? Had Manager Chen been keeping tabs on Xie Qian?
Wen Ying had a belly full of questions but stammered, unsure where to start. Chen Ru said she was busy and hung up first.
Wen Ying was somewhat dazed, murmuring to herself, “Can a mother let go this quickly?”
After saying it, Wen Ying laughed herself.
Being a parent was not easy either.
Too controlling, never letting go, and the child suffocates.
Too hands-off, letting go too early, and the child wonders if they were adopted.
Hearing the project was introduced by Xie Qian, Chen Ru stopped probing. The answer was obvious, after all.
Chen Ru trusted that Xie Qian would not cheat Wen Ying!
That was rare.
Earning Manager Chen’s trust was no easy feat.
Even today, Manager Chen still suspected Old Wen might cheat Wen Ying.
Poor Old Wen. Biologically Wen Ying’s father, yet in Manager Chen’s mind, he resembled a stepfather!
In Manager Chen’s heart, Xie Qian’s reliability had actually surpassed Old Wen’s.
However, having reported to Manager Chen, Wen Ying could indeed be more bold with the “You You Tuan Gou” investment.
“Concealing things really does create psychological pressure.”
At lunch in the cafeteria, Wen Ying sighed in front of Xie Qian.
Xie Qian’s mind raced.
Lately, he did not think he had concealed anything from the hamster, did he?
Except his wariness towards Song Shao and those people.
Those were just his own thoughts. They harmed no one. They should not count as concealment.
After checking, Xie Qian nodded in agreement with Wen Ying. “Concealing things is indeed bad. Being open about everything makes life much easier.”
“Right? I think so too.”
As if to prove Wen Ying’s point, her phone rang.
“Huh, it’s Shui Mingyue. I’ll take this call.”
On the other end, Shui Mingyue’s voice was still gentle yet carried an undeniable certainty. “Little Fish, I remember you said before that Peng Guoqing recommended my novel to Mr Jiang, right? But how come I heard that the boss of Jiaxin is Xie—”
“It’s Xie Qian.”
Wen Ying answered quickly, her tone puzzled. “Didn’t I tell you?”
Shui Mingyue choked.
Wen Ying admitted it so readily that all Shui Mingyue’s prepared lines were thrown into disarray.
“You certainly didn’t tell me…”
“Didn’t Mr Jiang mention it when he approached you for signing?”
Wen Ying muttered, “Maybe he thought I had told you, and I thought he would. But it’s not important anyway. Who the boss of Jiaxin is doesn’t affect selling the adaptation rights. Or have you changed your mind and don’t want to sell to Jiaxin? Mingyue, you must stay calm. Breaching contract is not okay. First, Jiaxin hasn’t had any scandals. Second, you’d have to pay a huge penalty.”
Wen Ying rattled off a long string of advice to Shui Mingyue, leaving her dizzy.
By the end, Shui Mingyue practically swore she had no intention of breaching contract before escaping Wen Ying’s nagging.
“I really don’t want to breach.”
“You’re right. It’s good that classmate Xie Qian can be a film company boss.”
“Mhm, I have nothing else.”
“Are you eating? Go ahead and eat. I won’t disturb you.”
On the other end, Shui Mingyue fled in defeat.
Wen Ying wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead. “See, what did I tell you? Concealing things will blow up eventually!”
Xie Qian thought about Shui Mingyue’s personality. He was one hundred percent on Wen Ying’s side. “This isn’t concealment. It’s protection.”
Wen Ying felt no sense of being indulged by Xie Qian and nodded vigorously. “Right, right, right. It’s protection!”
…
Shui Mingyue hung up, still shaken.
“Little Fish is too good with words. I can’t outtalk her.”
Mu Fan laughed until his head nearly fell off. “You trying to outtalk her? Overestimating yourself.”
That incident had happened half a month ago.
The investor who drugged her had been caught.
Shui Mingyue repeatedly assured she could take care of herself, and only then did her parents agree to leave Shanghai.
The trial would take a long time. Everyone had their own lives. Normal life could not come to a complete halt because of one bad event.
Shui Mingyue felt she could move forward. Mother Shui worried about her daughter and secretly asked Mu Fan to look after her.
Mu Fan had known Shui Mingyue for years and occasionally sent specialties to her family. He knew the Shui parents too.
Mother Shui could not understand how her daughter had nearly been deceived emotionally by Luo Hao.
What did Mingyue see in that young man?
Just a handsome face and a glib tongue.
This child had written so many romance novels, rich in theory, yet when it came to practice, her taste was so poor!
What did “getting along well” mean?
That was called pandering!
True compatibility would be someone like Mu Fan.
Unfortunately, after years as friends, there was no spark.
Mother Shui ached at the thought.
Alas, even if they could not be romantic partners, from a friend’s perspective, Mu Fan was very reliable.
When Mother Shui asked Mu Fan to watch over Shui Mingyue, she did not mention what happened. Shui Mingyue confessed herself.
Mu Fan was angry and heartbroken.
Though Shui Mingyue had suffered no substantial harm, such an experience was still bad for a girl!
Mu Fan deeply reflected on himself.
He knew Xie Qian had returned to the country and that this was the time to increase his presence, but Shui Mingyue needed his care more than Wen Ying. Between pursuing Wen Ying and accompanying Shui Mingyue, Mu Fan chose the latter.
Precisely because he was with Shui Mingyue, Mu Fan had more contact with Jiaxin and accidentally learned that Xie Qian was the real big boss… Shui Mingyue asked Wen Ying to confirm, and Wen Ying admitted it readily.
Shui Mingyue asked Mu Fan, “Do you still want to sell the rights to Jiaxin now?”
Mu Fan put away his smile and shook his head. “Of course not. Call it a man’s ridiculous pride. For film and TV adaptation rights, besides Jiaxin there are other companies. If I find a suitable one, I’ll sell. If not, I’ll hold onto them for now. I am a writer. My main job is creation.”
Mu Fan thought of the publisher’s editor he had neglected for so long.
After finishing training in June, Mu Fan had been writing a new book. When he submitted the first draft to the editor, the editor was shocked and delighted, saying the old Mu Fan was back!
