Liu Shiting was a little surprised.

She had originally thought her mom would, at most, invite Jiang Silu over to their house so that she and Silu could get along better.

Maybe they could even end up in the same social circle in the future.

But she hadn’t expected her mom to be even more ruthless.

She’d actually introduced her older brother to Jiang Silu.

Her brother was already 23 and had graduated from college. Even Liu Shiting felt it was a bit inappropriate for him to date a first-year university student.

But considering how powerful Jiang Silu’s father was...

If her brother really did start dating her, maybe their parents’ company could get a leg up in the future.

Now, Liu Shiting could only hope that Jiang Silu would take a liking to her brother.

...

Meanwhile.

Jiang Sifan and Wen Wan took advantage of the fact that they had no classes this Saturday.

They went out early in the morning to ask the shops near the school if they were interested in collaborating.

But after hearing about their bookkeeping and tax filing services, most of the shop owners just shook their heads and told them not to interrupt their business.

This made Jiang Sifan feel increasingly dejected.

Although Wen Wan was also a little sad, she still gently comforted Jiang Sifan, "Class Rep, let’s go ask the next one. Maybe the next shop will be interested in our project."

"No one’s going to be interested," Jiang Sifan said, looking disheartened.

He thought for a moment, then sent a message to his senior, Pan Lindong.

Jiang Sifan: [Senior, why have I asked so many shops, but none of them are interested in our bookkeeping and tax filing service?]

But after he sent the message, the other party didn’t reply.

So Jiang Sifan gave him a WeChat call.

Still, no one answered.

After thinking it over, Jiang Sifan decided to go to Zhuoyue Limited Company in person.

He needed to find those two seniors and ask them what was going on.

He then looked at Wen Wan and said, "Wen Wan, you should head back and get some rest. I’m going to ask my seniors if we’ve gone wrong somewhere in the process."

"Okay..." Wen Wan had wanted to ask if he needed her to come with him, but in the end, she didn’t dare to say it out loud.

So, she obediently returned to the school.

On the way back, Wen Wan thought about what they had done over the past two days.

Although she didn’t know much about starting a business...

...her woman’s sixth sense told her that something was off about those two seniors. Whenever the Class Rep had contacted them these past few days, they had always just given a couple of perfunctory replies.

Wen Wan didn’t dare to overthink it, afraid she was just imagining things.

Just then, a crowd was gathering at the school gate.

A voice from a loudspeaker kept repeating a phrase: [Campus Legal Awareness Day! Anyone with issues related to disputes, entrepreneurship, or financial matters can come for a consultation!]

Wen Wan usually wasn’t very interested in these awareness days.

But when she heard the two words "entrepreneurship" and "financial," she hesitated for a moment before walking toward the long, red table.

The assistant, Jiali, had noticed Wen Wan long ago and was worried she wouldn’t come over.

Seeing her approach, Jiali smiled. "Hello, student~ Today is Campus Legal Awareness Day. If you’ve encountered any disputes, entrepreneurial scams, or have any financial problems, you can get a free consultation~"

Wen Wan looked at the beautiful and intellectual young woman before her and whispered, her face blushing, "Hello... I’d like to ask... what are some common entrepreneurial scams...?"

...

Jiang Sifan arrived at Zhuoyue Limited Company, feeling angry.

He went to the front desk and asked, "Is Boss Liang in?"

"Our boss is out. Can I help you with something?" the receptionist inquired.

Hearing this, Jiang Sifan asked again, "Then is my senior, Pan Lindong, here?"

"Pan Lindong?" The receptionist looked confused. "We don’t have anyone by that name here."

"Yes, you do," Jiang Sifan said, growing anxious. "He’s your boss’s junior. He was the one who greeted me at the front desk and took me to the boss’s office."

"I’m sorry, but we really don’t have anyone named Pan Lindong in our company." The receptionist repeated with a plastic smile. "I will relay your feedback to our boss."

"I’m telling you, the first time I came here, he was the one who brought me to see your boss!" Jiang Sifan said angrily.

"I’m sorry, but we really don’t have anyone named Pan Lindong in our company. I will relay your feedback to our boss," the receptionist continued.

Jiang Sifan was furious.

But he also knew it was useless to give a receptionist a hard time.

Now, he could either squat by the company entrance and wait for Liang Jinhua to return...

...or find Pan Lindong and ask him what the hell he was up to.

And so, Jiang Sifan stood at the company entrance, relentlessly calling Pan Lindong on WeChat, both audio and video.

Even when there was no answer, he kept calling.

As time passed, a growing fear crept into Jiang Sifan’s heart.

He felt like he’d been scammed.

Tricked out of a large sum of startup capital, only to exhaust himself going from door to door seeking collaborations.

Just as this premonition grew stronger, Pan Lindong messaged back.

Pan Lindong: [What the fuck, what’s wrong with you? I take one afternoon nap and you blow up my phone with hundreds of calls. Are you insane?]

Seeing this, Jiang Sifan immediately placed a WeChat call.

The other end picked up.

Jiang Sifan immediately said, his voice laced with anxiety, "Senior, I just came to the company to find you, and the receptionist said you don’t work there. What’s going on?"

"Of course I don’t work there," Pan Lindong said, sounding completely self-righteous. "I was just introducing a business partner to my senior. I don’t work for him, so how could you possibly find me there?"

Jiang Sifan was speechless. He pressed on, "But you and Senior Jinhua said this campus startup project was a sure thing. I’ve asked so many shops these past few days, and none of the owners are interested in the bookkeeping and tax filing service at all!"

"What’s the rush?" Pan Lindong said calmly. "You probably just didn’t explain it to them clearly. Take your time."

"I explained it in plenty of detail," Jiang Sifan said, an idea suddenly striking him. "How about this, Senior? You do a demonstration, and I’ll watch from the side to see how you negotiate a collaboration with a shop owner."

"Whoa, whoa. I’m not getting involved in your business operations. We agreed from the start: I teach you how to use the software, give you the list of shop information, and my job is done," Pan Lindong said, trying to weasel out of it.

Hearing this, Jiang Sifan got a little angry. "But... but didn’t you and Senior Jinhua say you would help me?"

"Helping you is a favor, not helping you is our right. Senior Jinhua and I are both busy right now. You should be glad we gave you a few pointers. Did you really expect us to spoon-feed you?!" Pan Lindong retorted.

He then added, "Alright, with this kind of startup stuff, you gain experience through trial and error. You’re still young, so take it slow. I’m in a meeting right now, gotta go."

And with that, Pan Lindong hung up the phone.

So angry he could spit, Jiang Sifan cursed out loud, "Fuck!"

He walked out of the building and checked the time.

He couldn’t go back to school yet; he had to hurry to He Lingyi’s house for his tutoring job.

Jiang Sifan felt that his current mood and state of mind were unsuitable for teaching He Lingyi, but then he remembered the loan payment was due next month.

He gritted his teeth and rushed toward He Lingyi’s residential complex.

’God must be playing a joke on me.’

’Why is nothing going right?!’