Zhan Jingchen returned home and was idly scrolling through his phone on the sofa when he received a call from Pei Kexin.
To be honest, he was a little surprised.
He had just parted ways with Fu Duoduo. Could it be that Fu Duoduo had already won her over so quickly?
The call connected, and upon hearing his familiar voice, Pei Kexin paused awkwardly before speaking.
“Do you have time? I’d like to treat you to lunch.”
This confirmed Zhan Jingchen’s suspicion. It seemed Fu Duoduo had indeed managed to win her over.
This woman was quite capable.
Zhan Jingchen pretended not to understand. “Why the sudden urge to treat me to a meal?”
Pei Kexin didn’t answer, asking him again.
“Just tell me if you’re free and if you’re willing to come. If you are, I’ll send you the address.”
She was being so assertive when inviting someone for a meal?
Zhan Jingchen really wanted to say a few words to her, but he was afraid of backfiring, so he reluctantly agreed.
Soon, they met at a restaurant.
Pei Kexin didn’t beat around the bush, pouring him a cup of tea.
“Are the words you said the day before yesterday still valid?”
“What words?”
“About letting me work at your company.”
Zhan Jingchen feigned ignorance. “Didn’t you not want to go?”
Pei Kexin replied, “People’s thoughts can change. Have you already found someone else so quickly?”
Zhan Jingchen stared at her for a few seconds. “Just get to the point, Pei Kexin. What exactly do you want today?”
Since he was being so direct, Pei Kexin decided to be straightforward as well.
“I invited you to lunch to ask you for a loan.”
“What?”
She raised a hand to stop him. “Let me finish speaking.”
“I want to borrow two hundred million from you. I know it’s a lot, and given our relationship, asking you for this much money sounds like a fantasy. But I promise you, once I join the company, I will help you earn it back as quickly as possible. I won’t even take a salary; consider it an advance. I’ll count it as repaid once this amount is settled.”
Trying to get something for nothing. She hadn’t even joined the company yet and was already asking for an advance of two hundred million. She really had the nerve to say that.
Zhan Jingchen hadn’t expected her to approach him for this reason and chuckled in exasperation.
“Two hundred million? And it’ll be considered settled when it’s repaid? What if it’s never repaid?”
Pei Kexin, in her desperation, hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“It’s impossible not to repay it.”
“Why is it impossible? Do you think the company will definitely be profitable, and highly profitable at that? Are you God? Or do you believe you have such great ability that you’ll never make a losing deal?”
Pei Kexin was stumped by his questions.
Yes, she wasn’t God, and she couldn’t guarantee that the company would definitely be profitable, let alone highly profitable.
Two hundred million, while not a significant sum for the Zhan family, was an astronomical figure to her.
If she truly lost it, she might not be able to repay it.
After some thought, seeing no other way, Pei Kexin could only resort to making grand promises.
“If the company doesn’t turn a profit, I’ll go work elsewhere to earn money to repay you. As long as I, Pei Kexin, am alive, I will eventually repay the money. I have this much confidence.”
Zhan Jingchen was amused again by her determined gaze and confident tone.
“Can you tell me why you suddenly need so much money?”
Pei Kexin sensed mockery in his gaze.
He was younger than her, and asking him for a loan was so embarrassing.
“Can I not say?”
Zhan Jingchen replied arrogantly, “No. Two hundred million is not a small sum. I need to know what you intend to do with it.”
Pei Kexin sighed and recounted Fu Duoduo’s family’s predicament to him.
Zhan Jingchen couldn’t help but burst into laughter internally.
Fu Duoduo, Fu Duoduo, to achieve your goals, you’ll say anything, even selling out your own father!
Regardless of how Fu Duoduo managed it, the objective was achieved, and Zhan Jingchen was quite pleased.
He was willing to lend the money, but he didn’t have two hundred million himself.
“Alright, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, and this isn’t just one life. I’ll trust you for now. Wait for news, and within two hours, the money will be in your account.”
Pei Kexin was worried about Fu Duoduo, so she ate a little something, paid the bill, and left in a hurry.
Zhan Jingchen sat in the restaurant and called his second brother.
Jiang Jingyu was also surprised when Zhan Jingchen asked for two hundred million.
“What do you need so much money for?”
“Don’t worry about why. I’ll borrow it for a few hours. It’ll be back with you after a brief excursion. Don’t worry, you won’t lose money.”
Jiang Jingyu’s attitude when Zhan Jingchen borrowed money from him was similar.
“Two hundred million is not a small amount. You can’t just ask to borrow it without giving me a reason. Isn’t that too casual?”
Zhan Jingchen still didn’t want to explain.
“Just tell me if you’ll lend it or not. If not, I’ll find someone else. Big brother, second sister, second brother-in-law, anyone of them could easily come up with two hundred million!”
That brat, borrowing money and acting like he was doing them a favor.
Jiang Jingyu knew he intended to acquire Pei’s company and figured he wouldn’t misuse the money, so after some thought, he agreed.
“You said it yourself. You have four hours. Return it to me before five this afternoon.”
At three in the afternoon, Pei Kexin’s account received two hundred million.
Fu Duoduo was overwhelmed with gratitude upon hearing that she had successfully borrowed two hundred million.
In all her years, the most reliable thing she had done was to make a friend like Pei Kexin!
The money went in a circle and returned to Jiang Jingyu, who then called Zhan Jingchen.
“Are you planning to start a business recently? Don’t worry, I won’t interfere, and I’ll actively support you. The studio on Binjiang Road, your sister-in-law decorated it but hasn’t used it. You can use it for now.”
That would be great, saving him the trouble of finding a place.
Zhan Jingchen thanked his second brother and sent Pei Kexin a message about starting work the next day.
At 7:30 the next morning, Pei Kexin arrived at the location.
The spacious studio was luxuriously and beautifully decorated, but there were only the two of them.
“This is your company? It’s just the two of us?”
Zhan Jingchen replied, “Why wouldn’t it be? First, get me the proposal. If it’s feasible, I’ll recruit more people. Otherwise, there’s no point in hiring so many if it’s not useful.”
Although what he said made sense, Pei Kexin was still a little surprised.
“You want me to prepare a proposal for acquiring Pei’s company? Do you trust me that much? I’m not professional, and it requires a lot of data. With just me, it’ll take ages.”
Zhan Jingchen said, “Of course, I don’t trust you that much. I’ll also hire a professional agency. Then we can compare the two, which will not only reveal any discrepancies but also test your work ability. What’s not to like?”
Pei Kexin had no reply.
He was the boss, so she had to do as she was told.
She took out her laptop and found a random workstation to start working.
Zhan Jingchen, lacking work experience and unsure of what he could do, sat opposite her and played on his phone.
It had to be said, when Pei Kexin was working seriously, she exuded an aura of quiet authority. As she stared at the computer screen and typed, she possessed a captivating professionalism.
Zhan Jingchen acted as a supervisor, silently accompanying her opposite her, and sat there for a whole week.