Liu Chen felt she could vaguely guess He Long's thoughts but didn't dare to admit it. If it were as she suspected, then…
While Liu Chen was feeling uncertain, the system's voice rang out:
'Daily Mission Activated: Make He Siyu eat Mei Mei Sausage for thirty consecutive days. Mission success: Gain 20 favorability points with He Long. Mission failure: Lose 5 favorability points with He Long.'
Hearing the penalty for mission failure, Liu Chen didn't feel indifferent. On the contrary, the system's missions were never random. For some reason, Liu Chen felt that this favorability point was definitely important.
Since the system wanted her to eat it, Liu Chen didn't stand on ceremony. Her Mei Mei Sausage had passed food quality tests. She reached into her down jacket pocket and pulled out a Mei Mei Sausage.
"Sister Siyu, please have some. It's our company's star product." Kuai Shu Ge
He Siyu's eyes lit up the moment she saw the peach-colored packaging of the Mei Mei Sausage.
It was evident she had eaten it before, and it was the kind she liked very much.
"Sister Siyu, do you like eating this?"
He Siyu nodded, smiling a little shyly, but she didn't reach out to take the Mei Mei Sausage from Liu Chen's hand.
Seeing this, Liu Chen directly placed the Mei Mei Sausage into He Siyu's embrace.
"Try it, and give me some feedback."
He Siyu's eyes became hesitant. She looked down at the peach-colored Mei Mei Sausage in her arms, blinked, and hesitated between her mother's lifelong advice and the Mei Mei Sausage she had eaten before.
Then she picked up the Mei Mei Sausage, tore open the packaging, and took a bite. He Siyu's eyes immediately crinkled into a smile. She was genuinely happy from eating the Mei Mei Sausage.
Liu Chen sat to the side, watching clearly. A peculiar feeling welled up in her heart—pride, her chest filled with immense pride, yet tinged with a bit of bitterness.
The main reason was that the formula for Mei Mei Sausage wasn't her own invention; it was drawn from the system. She had considered modifying it, but after spending days in the lab and experimenting, the version provided by the system was still the most delicious, and it became even better the more she ate it.
Now that the land purchase and factory construction were settled, she should focus more on her studies. After all, she had chosen this major for her dreams.
Lost in thought, the taxi soon arrived at the pre-booked lamb hot pot restaurant.
Entering with He Siyu, the four people already seated in the private room seemed to have coordinated. They didn't greet He Siyu with excessive warmth that would make her uncomfortable. Instead, like friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time, they exchanged pleasantries and began chatting about school.
None of the four liked to gossip behind people's backs, so the topics they discussed were fine even with He Siyu present.
As for He Siyu, perhaps it was the first time she was sitting and chatting with so many peers as friends. Her face clearly showed curiosity and longing, but she only listened and didn't speak.
She was like a well-behaved child in kindergarten.
After eating their fill, Lai Jielun put down his chopsticks and said, "Sister Chun Chun's MV is being released tomorrow. As the male lead in the MV, I have to attend the press conference tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Liu Chen looked at Lai Jielun's bowl, which was wiped clean.
"Then after eating so much today, aren't you worried about looking puffy tomorrow?"
Before Lai Jielun could respond, Mi Zhuzhu laughed and said,
"That's why this guy is going to run five or six laps on the track this afternoon to work it off."
Sang Ling and Ren Mo's eyes widened upon hearing this. Sang Ling then lowered her head and touched her tummy, which had started to subtly expand after the onset of winter.
She tugged Ren Mo's sleeve and said, "I haven't exercised much since military training. It's time for us to move more, otherwise, come spring, we won't be able to zip up our clothes."
Ren Mo, hearing this, looked to Liu Chen for help:
"Sister Chen…"
As soon as he spoke, Mi Zhuzhu interrupted him.
"Ren Mo, don't ask Chen Chen. Her physique is different from yours. She eats without gaining weight. Can you?"
Ren Mo looked down at his own slightly protruding belly and shook his head silently.
After the meal, they all went out together. Mi Zhuzhu handed the car keys to Liu Chen.
"I don't have any errands to run these days. The car is parked at the entrance of the shop. Today, let us ride in the car driven by our driver, you~"
Liu Chen took the car keys and, while driving everyone back to school, casually mentioned that Ren Yu had lent her a hundred million yuan.
She felt she should inform Ren Mo about this matter, so that he wouldn't feel uneasy if he found out from someone else later.
However, as soon as she spoke, the four who had been enthusiastically discussing the upcoming holiday and New Year fell silent.
When Liu Chen stopped the car at a red light, Mi Zhuzhu, sitting in the back seat, quickly placed her hands on the sides of Liu Chen's seat back and leaned her head close to Liu Chen's ear to whisper:
"Chen Chen, you borrowed a hundred million yuan from Brother Ren Yu, how are you going to repay it…"
Before she could finish, Ren Mo spoke first:
"My sister, since my brother could lend this money, it means he believes you can repay it. I'm just purely curious, Sister, why do you need to spend such a sum of money?"
In early 2010, a hundred million yuan was a sum that could truly shock a lot of people. Even Lai Jielun, who was always responsible for lightening the mood, was so stunned by the amount that he couldn't lighten it anymore.
Sitting obediently in his seat, with his face pressed against the car window, he wanted to calm down.
Sang Ling also quietly looked out the window. It had begun to snow heavily. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, gradually becoming denser, and a thin layer of snow began to accumulate on the branches.
The car's heating was sufficient, so it wasn't cold at all, and they even had the mood to appreciate the snowy scenery outside.
The streetlights were on now. Liu Chen slowly released the brake while holding the steering wheel, and recounted the things she had done since returning.
Of course, she omitted the part about tricking her aunt into letting her cousin become a teacher; that was a family matter after all.
"Last weekend, Uncle Mi already sent over the cost estimates. Just building the factory and interior decoration alone cost nearly twenty million. Then there's landscaping, furniture, and appliances. We'll buy three production lines first and make do with them."
In short, the hundred million yuan could be saved, and although borrowed, it wasn't all spent.
To be honest, Liu Chen chose to talk about this in the car because she had her own calculations in mind. Although He Siyu had autism, she wasn't foolish. Sometimes, individuals with autism had intelligence beyond the ordinary.
Liu Chen said these things hoping He Siyu would relay them to He Long, letting him know that the factory she was building wasn't a small-scale operation.
She was serious, and aiming for a grand undertaking!