"Wait!" The girl naturally wouldn't let Ye Lang leave. She had put in a lot of effort for this opportunity to talk face to face with Ye Lang. However, the gates of the Ye family were not easy to enter, and she had been blocked outside several times. Finally, she shifted her attention to Zhen Xiaoyan.
It was well known that Zhen Xiaoyan and the girl were living in the same compound at that time. She was the only one who could get close to Ye Lang and was more easily accessible. Other people, like Ye Lanxue and the Seventh Princess, were of the same rank as Ye Lang and were just as hard to get close to as he was.
Speaking of Zhen Xiaoyan's relationship with the girl, well, they were like old friends. They used to play together a lot when they were younger, but over the years, their interactions had diminished due to the girl being more special.
Their close relationship was mainly because their families had business dealings. Zhen's family restaurant even held shares of the girl's family.
Unlike the Zhen family, the girl's family was not aristocratic but pure merchants!
Because of her family background, the girl had been involved in business from a young age. By the time she was ten, she had taken over the entire family business!
A struggling commercial family on the brink of collapse. It appeared grand from the outside but was in a state of desperation. Without a turnaround, it would be difficult to sustain.
Due to this situation, the girl's parents had fallen ill and passed away when she was ten. As for her grandparents, well, the less said about them the better. With no siblings, she was the only one left in the family.
If it hadn't been for this, her family's business wouldn't have fallen into the hands of a little girl!
However, after the girl took over the family business, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. It was as if they were experiencing a resurgence, though it remained to be seen if it was just a dying flicker of light.
So, she was currently in urgent need of an opportunity, a chance to turn her business around, and Ye Lang was that chance!
She wanted to do a business deal with Ye Lang!
Thus, she asked Zhen Xiaoyan to help her meet Ye Lang or negotiate this deal with him. However, when Zhen Xiaoyan learned of her purpose, she directly refused, saying this method wouldn't work and asked the girl to think of another way.
For her, this business deal seemed fine, something that would benefit both parties. No one would refuse it, at least not flat out without even hearing about it!
"Younger sister, do you have something you want to discuss?" Ye Lang lowered his head and gently touched the girl's forehead, speaking softly.
"???" The girl looked at Ye Lang with confusion. She had initially thought dealing with Ye Lang would be challenging, but now it seemed different.
"Um, Thirteenth Young Master, I want to discuss a business deal with you today," the girl said.
"Doing business?" Ye Lang said somewhat surprised.
"Yes, I want to discuss business with you, to ensure you profit without risk. You don't need to invest any capital, and will earn a fifty-fifty split with us, while you only need to provide a formula..." The little girl nodded, stating even more enticing conditions, confident that Ye Lang would agree.
However—
"I refuse!" Ye Lang straightforwardly replied.
"I knew you would... Wait! You refuse?!" At first, the little girl thought Ye Lang would agree, but to her surprise, he refused.
"That's right, little girl, I refuse! You, with your innocent and romantic nature, should go home and play house. Doing business is not suitable for you." Ye Lang patted the little girl's head and prepared to walk past her.
"I'm not a little girl anymore. I've been in charge for three years now. Playing house is something I'd like to do, but I can't!!" The little girl said with a tinge of sadness. It seemed that Ye Lang's tenderness had caused her to reveal a bit of her true feelings.
"Three years in charge? How old are you?" Ye Lang asked, a bit puzzled. "How old are you, exactly?"
"Thirteen."
"Running the household at ten!? What about your parents?"
"..." The little girl fell silent.
"Ye Lang, she's all alone. Your refusal will only make her sad," whispered Zhen Xiaoyan to Ye Lang.
"Poor child..."
"I don't need your pity! As long as you seriously discuss this business with me, it's enough!" The little girl said resolutely.
"Do you think I'm not serious? Let me tell you again, I refuse this business deal!"
"Why? It's only beneficial to you, with no risk, and you get a share of the profits. Why not agree? Do you want to run this business on your own?" The little girl asked persistently.
"No, I won't do this business, and I won't cooperate with you," Ye Lang shook his head in response.
"Why not? Is your formula not suitable for large-scale production?"
"The formula, I assume, is for a weight-loss product, right? It's not that difficult, and it will definitely bring profits." Although the little girl didn't say it, Ye Lang could guess. Despite usually being scatterbrained, he was shrewd when he needed to be.
"Then why don't you do it?" The little girl asked, perplexed.
"It's precisely because it's a guaranteed moneymaker that I won't do it!" Ye Lang chuckled in reply.
"???" The little girl didn't understand. What did he mean by that?
"Don't you understand? I've told you before, he's a spendthrift. If you let him squander money, he'll agree right away. But if you ask him to make money, he won't budge no matter what!" Zhen Xiaoyan said, having already told the little girl this, though she didn't believe it.
The little girl thought that even if he was a spendthrift, he wouldn't refuse to make money, as that would enable him to squander even more.
Only now did the little girl realized that Ye Lang couldn't be assessed by common sense. He actually refused a money-making business deal that no one else would refuse, all because he wanted to squander!
After a long period of silence, the little girl tentatively said, "How about this: you give me the money, and all the profits I make will be mine, so you can squander to your heart's content."
Zhen Xiaoyan pulled the girl close, covering her mouth, and urgently said to Ye Lang, "Ye, he's just a spendthrift, but that doesn't mean he'll let others take advantage of him. Even if he's willing, the Ye family won't agree, let alone his sister and his fiancée. If you do this, you'll end up in a very bad situation!"
The little girl fell silent, not just because someone was covering her mouth, but also because she was reconsidering her impromptu plan and feeling a bit frightened.
Indeed, taking advantage of Ye Lang was one thing, relatively inconsequential, but if it went too far, the consequences would be severe. Someone had tried before and not only lost everything, they were also suffering greatly now.
Of course, Ye Lang had his own standards, and even he wouldn't agree if it went beyond them.