Yu Yang managed to suppress his anger, “Well then, I suggest you try this. It really tastes good. It’s called ‘steak’ in English.”
“Stick?” Li Yeli knitted her eyebrows.
“Not stick, My dear. Steak.”
“They are practically the same thing.”
“They are not. Stick S-T-I-C-K and steak S-T-E-A-K.”
“Ah…”
Yu Yang laughed, then after a while the joy in his eyes disappeared, then he asked.
“How does it feel?”
“Hm?”
“To be treated that way.”
Li Yeli gazed silently at the food.
“Only those who drink the water would know it’s temperature. So even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
*
The next day, Paradise peak,
“This is the blueprint I’ve been telling you about.” Yu Yang’s cousin, Zhuang Ying, passed him a blueprint as she spoke.
Yu Yang accepted the paper and began flipping the pages.
“It’s the complex resort that will become the palace of our family’s empire.”
Zhuang Ying continued, “It includes a five-star restaurant, casinos for foreigners, an arena, a fami—”
Yu Yang interrupted, “How much will it cost?”
He asked while typing seriously on his computer.
“A trillion.”
Yu Yang paused, as though he heard something inaudible.
He slowly met her eyes, his expression stern.
Zhuang Ying cleared her throat, “And four hundred billion.”
“Do it…” Yu Yang returned his attention to his computer.
Zhuang Ying’s eyes flashed.
“…with your own money.” Yu Yang completed.
Zhuang Ying’s mouth twitched, “Ge. I’m… not asking you for money… I’m just… just…”
“Just what?”
“Bro!” Zhuang Ying sat, “You have to help me this time around, I’m really serious, I promise I will not let you down.”
Yu Yang had invested in her three separate times, placing his trust in her again and again despite the mounting losses.
Each time, he had provided her with resources, opportunities, and support that countless others could only dream of receiving.
And each time, she had failed.
The first failure could be dismissed as inexperience.
The second could be blamed on bad luck or unfortunate circumstances.
But the third?
The third was impossible to excuse.
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her lips as the reality settled heavily in her chest.
Three chances.
Three opportunities handed to her on a silver platter.
Yet every single one had slipped through her fingers.
The investments had disappeared, the projects had collapsed, and the results had been nothing but disappointment.
What made it worse was that Yu Yang had never once publicly criticized her.
He had simply continued to support her, believing she would eventually prove herself worthy of his faith.
But she hadn’t.
Not once.
The weight of those three failures pressed down on her shoulders like a mountain, making it difficult to even lift her head.
The shame burned deep inside her.
Three times Yu Yang had invested in her.
And three times, she had let him down.
Yu Yang stared at her.
Why would he waste anymore money on her?
He wasn’t a charity organization.
“Do you have a secure site?” He asked he, as he stared at her with an intimidating face.
“N-no.”
“Get out of my office.”
“Ge~” Zhuang Yin whined.
Ying ‘s spine, which left her with no other choice but to leave immediately.
Soon after she left, Linda walked in, “I saw Zhuang Ying…”
“Hm.” Yu Yang focused on his laptop as he answered Linda.
“The last time she came here was…” Linda realized something.
“What does she want you to invest in this time around?”
“Complex resort.”
Linda almost burst out of laughter, then she remembered something.
“By the way, Sir…” Her expression turned serious.
“Did you offend Theodore.”
“Lanchester?”
“Him.”
“Can’t recall.”
“He…stopped the construction and cancelled the project.”
“Ah. He did?” Yu Yang briefly glanced at Linda.
“Yes.” she responded.
“Oh well.”
“He stopped the construction.” Linda repeated.
“the cooperation between England and China has stopped.”
“So?”
“We lost a lot.” Said Linda.
“Enough to shut down the company?”
“N-no.” Linda was speechless.
“Oh, speaking of that, actually, sir, we…do have a little problem on the 35th floor.”
Yu Yang’s silence hinted her to keep talking.
“We have about…fifteen brands there, and most of them are not lucrative… it’s been a while now and nothing has been heard from them.”
“Linda?”
“President Yu?”
“I think you can handle this, no?”