My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 499 - 329: Investment Intentions

Chapter 499: Chapter 329: Investment Intentions

The sun was setting in the west, over the small courtyard of the Meng family.

Xiao Yu, in ethnic clothing, sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, resting her cheek in her hand and enjoying the evening breeze.

Her eyes were dreamy, as if lost in thought, and her fingers subconsciously caressed the branch of a begonia before her...

"Lawyer Lin?"

"Ah?" Xiao Yu’s hand jerked in fright at the sudden voice.

When she turned to see that it was Meng Lang approaching her, her face seemed to show a moment of discomfort.

"Why are you here alone?"

"Oh, Auntie said she was going out to pick some fruits, Weiwei and Xiao Yu are still upstairs trying on clothes, so I just came down to catch some air first," she replied absentmindedly, her eyes fixed on the begonia flower in front of her as if she were deeply studying it.

"I see..."

Meng Lang didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down across from Xiao Yu, picking up a green jujube from the fruit plate on the table and took a crunching bite.

Xiao Yu, who seemed to have just bathed, had damp hair tips. Up close, he could catch the fragrance of orchids drifting to his nose.

The outfit she wore was bought that afternoon during a visit to the town market.

The top was a collarless, hem-rolled, right-opening shirt embroidered with vivid, colorful patterns that displayed a strong ethnic characteristic.

Due to the extended trip, the group had run out of clothes to wear. Under Yan Weiwei’s persuasion, they had all bought a pile of ethnic garments.

These clothes were characteristically short in both top and pants, inevitably revealing swathes of pale skin. Coupled with her unrivaled beauty, and her cheeks slightly blushed by the sunset glow, Xiao Yu seemed even more delicate than the flowers...

"Cough!"

Finally breaking her guard, Xiao Yu coughed to remind a certain lecher that his gaze was getting a bit too free.

"What were you thinking about, that had you so lost in thought?" Meng Lang asked with a smile.

"Hmm... Nothing in particular." Xiao Yu intentionally avoided Meng Lang’s gaze.

"Hey, hey! With that look on your face, could it have something to do with me?"

"It does not!" Xiao Yu instantly denied, but when she looked up, she met Meng Lang’s teasing gaze.

Xiao Yu gave him an annoyed glance.

"Yes! It’s about you. I was just thinking how a little kid, who used to get bullied by his own sister until he cried, could grow up to become the fearsome ’Hero of Guanzhong.’"

"Er..." Meng Lang’s face showed embarrassment.

"Can we not talk about that? My childhood was tragic enough already..."

Xiao Yu held back a smile.

Then she turned her head and asked casually.

"So many years have passed, do you still remember the things from our childhood?"

"Remember? Of course, I do. I might forget everything else, but this sibling feud, I’ll remember for a lifetime!" Meng Lang laughed.

"Really? Then do you remember when we were children... we also went to the town market like we did today?"

"To the market?" Meng Lang paused for a moment.

"It seems so, but that must have been when I was very young, I don’t really remember it. After going to middle school, I started boarding and didn’t go there often anymore."

"Is that so..."

It made sense, after all, it had been so long...

"By the way, why did you suddenly suggest going to the market today? And now you’re asking me about it..."

"Wha-... Why are you looking at me like that? I’ve just never experienced it, so I was curious, that’s all," Xiao Yu evaded Meng Lang’s gaze.

"Curious?" Meng Lang looked at her skeptically, then leaned in a bit closer, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he said.

"So, are you interested in going to the market? Or... are you interested in me?"

Xiao Yu: "..."

This familiar aggressiveness...

"I just remembered, I think there’s still a soup simmering in the kitchen..." Xiao Yu stood up.

"We can’t always run from reality. Avoidance is futile. One day you have to face it," Meng Lang said resignedly.

Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly sat back down.

He was right. Some things are better said sooner rather than later...

She stared absentmindedly at the begonias swaying before her, and after a moment of silence, suddenly asked.

"Do you know how long the flowering period of a begonia is?"

"Hmm?" Meng Lang was startled. "They usually bloom around April or May, I think the flowering period... only lasts about a month."

"Yeah, even the most beautiful flowers bloom only for a short month..." Xiao Yu sighed.

"Uh... what are you trying to say?"

Xiao Yu looked at him.

"When two people come together, it’s like starting a limited liability company, and the marriage certificate is like a business license.

Men often contribute wealth and status as their capital.

But women are different from men. In men’s eyes, a woman’s biggest contribution is her youth and beauty.

Just like these begonia flowers, obviously, this kind of capital depreciates fast, which can easily lead men to withdraw their investment..."

Meng Lang wore an expression of speechlessness.

"Are you also trying to say that if we can’t reach an agreement on divestiture, it’s even more likely that we’ll end up in court?"

"Yes! It’s best that you understand." Lin Haitang looked like a load had been lifted off her shoulders.

"So what you’re saying is... the safest and most secure method would be..."

"Exactly! It’s sole proprietorship."

Meng Lang couldn’t help but tug at the corner of his mouth.

Typical lawyer, with such a strong sense of legal risk avoidance... You have to admire it...

"But do you not know that there’s a type of investment called ’value investing’?"

Meng Lang disagreed with Lin Haitang’s "divestment theory."

"Most people think they are value investing at the start, but how many can persist with value investing for decades?" Lin Haitang posed a soul-searching question.

"Uh... Okay, but if you don’t even give it a try, how will you know whether this company could become a century-old enterprise?

Can’t we start with an angel investment?"

Lin Haitang looked at him and shook her head.

"You know, I’m poor and don’t have much capital, so I never do venture capital..."

Meng Lang felt a twinge of pain in his teeth.

The two communicated their thoughts to each other while speaking in riddles.

Meng Lang persisted persuasively, Lin Haitang adamant in her own views.

Helpless, Meng Lang could only use his trump card.

This is because you forced me...

"Do you really insist on sole proprietorship?"

"Hmm!" Lin Haitang glanced at him and nodded lightly.

"But... on that night, you kissed me."

Lin Haitang: "..."

She hadn’t expected Meng Lang to suddenly come out with such a statement, as if the most hidden part of her heart was seen through. The cool facade she deliberately put on instantly crumbled, her face turning red all the way to the base of her neck.

"No! It’s not! I... That was..."

"I know, but you must take responsibility!"

"You..."

"I know you kissed me, so you must take responsibility!"

"Stop talking!"

Lin Haitang’s face was a mix of shyness and annoyance; her heart was in a frenzy.

"How could you know while you were snoring!"

The hints Meng Lang had given last time, she had still harbored a bit of hope, but today that last bit of hope was utterly dashed...

He really knew...

This can’t be scientific!

"Heh, talent!"

"You were pretending to sleep? Despicable!"

"Hey hey! Kissing and running away and yet calling me despicable, Mr. Lin, that’s hardly appropriate, don’t you think?"

Watching Lin Haitang, who looked so different from the proud and cold beauty she was just moments ago, Meng Lang couldn’t help but want to continue teasing her.

"Keep your voice down!"

Lin Haitang lowered her voice somewhat panic-stricken, as if terrified that Xiao Yu upstairs would hear.

"I... I did it to express gratitude for your help to Weiwei and Xiao Yu! Yes! That’s what it was, gratitude!"

"Gratitude? Mr. Lin, your way of showing gratitude is a bit special, isn’t it?"

"In Western etiquette, kissing on the cheek is very normal, okay! Don’t make a big deal out of it!"

Lin Haitang tried to appear nonchalant, but her flustered eyes deeply betrayed her.

"Western etiquette? Is that so?" Meng Lang seemed somewhat persuaded.

"Of... Of course it is!"

"Is that right? Then give me one now? If you do it again, I’ll believe you." Meng Lang gestured, bringing his face closer.

Lin Haitang was at a loss for words.

Why hadn’t she realized before that this guy had such thick skin?

"Not going to do it? It seems that this etiquette isn’t as normal as you say." Seeing Lin Haitang run out of moves, Meng Lang leaned in with a mischievous grin.

"However, Mr. Lin, if you still refuse, can I then assume that your action...

Actually represents some kind of ’investment intention’?"

Lin Haitang: "..."