Chapter 58: The Dragon Girl

Their home was already in sight when this whole incident happened—truly an ominous sign.

Just a step away, yet unable to reach home; they had to head to the hospital instead.

The curb was fine, and Sister Li was wearing her seatbelt, so she was unharmed either.

The car belonged to the youngest aunt, and the damage wasn't too severe, so they could just leave it for her to deal with.

Liu Jing, however, had it rough. He slammed his head directly against the back of the front passenger seat, cutting his forehead open.

He felt fortunate that he had the habit of sitting in the back and that his reflexes were quick enough.

Sister Li took him to the hospital for a check-up. It was just a superficial wound, and not a very large one at that. After cleaning the cut and applying a bandage, the two of them headed back.

Xixi didn't mock him. Instead, she lectured her mother, bringing up the old account from years ago when her mother had bumped into Liu Jing.

When the youngest aunt asked how he felt, Liu Jing replied, "No matter where I sit from now on, I'm definitely wearing a seatbelt."

The youngest aunt asked what he thought the omen meant, and Liu Jing pinched his fingers together to divine, "This is an auspicious sign, a grand opening right on our doorstep. Though there were minor bumps along the way, success is certain."

A day of leisure or a day of busyness, the day simply passed like that.

Early the next morning, with a bandage wrapped around his head, Liu Jing accompanied Sister Li to see Boss Chen.

Sister Li didn't want him to come along, but he couldn't set his mind at ease.

This was tens of millions, not one million; Sister Li couldn't possibly come up with that kind of money on her own. For the sake of her career, she didn't want to rely on her in-laws.

Therefore, the first person she sought out was Boss Chen, who was also a shareholder in Tongchan Investment.

"Liu Jing, did you get hurt on a movie set?" Boss Chen's very first words were asking about that.

"Sister Li was street-racing with someone, and I went flying out," Liu Jing said, hanging his head. They had taken a taxi here today, and the driver went so fast that he was feeling a bit carsick.

He was very glad that his vow yesterday—never to ride in Sister Li's car again—had been made silently in his heart.

"Xiao Li, you know how to street-race?" Boss Chen asked in surprise.

Sister Li blushed and slapped Liu Jing lightly. "Don't listen to his nonsense. We just hit a curb last night. I was fine, but this kid bumped into the back of the seat and scraped his skin."

"Good thing he's okay, otherwise Old An would hunt you down for your life," Boss Chen joked.

"It wouldn't be Old An's turn; Xixi nearly hunted *me* down for mine," Sister Li said, and she started laughing herself.

She was more than happy to see the two kids getting along well. She used to worry that their constant bickering and fighting would make them distant in the future, but it seemed she had worried for nothing.

When she adopted Liu Jing, she certainly had utilitarian motives. But after several years together, she had long since regarded Liu Jing as family.

"And where is Xixi? How has she been lately?" Boss Chen exchanged pleasantries and shifted the conversation to daily family life.

Liu Jing frowned. These people really liked to beat around the bush; if there's business to discuss, just discuss it—what kind of bad habit was it to engage in idle chatter first?

Ten minutes later, after Liu Jing had practically given himself a cramp in his eyes from making signals, Sister Li finally got down to business. "Old Chen, I came here today because there's a matter I'd like to discuss with you. There's a company called Kingsoft Software over in Haidian District, and they primarily focus on software development. I'm very optimistic about this company and think we can invest in them."

"Tell me your thoughts," Boss Chen said, turning serious and putting his feet down.

What thoughts could Sister Li possibly have? She simply took the points made by Qiu Bojun and Lei Jun, picked out the most impressive ones, and reorganized them in her own words.

After listening, Boss Chen pondered for a long moment. "Xiao Li, actually, I know this company. Yanjing is very big, yet it's also very small. Their operations were decent in the past, but they've run into major strategic problems over the last two years. Small companies are different from large ones; a single wave can sink the ship. They want to develop a business similar to Microsoft's, but their direction is wrong. The further forward they go, the narrower their path becomes. I've looked into this company seriously, and I've looked into the internet industry seriously as well. Right now, things are still chaotic and unclear; it's not a good time to invest."

Sister Li grew somewhat anxious. "Once the situation becomes clear and we want to invest then, the money we'll have to spend will be far more than this amount."

Boss Chen shook his head. "For an industry to mature, countless pioneers must make sacrifices. After a lot of trial and error, the path finally emerges. We aren't pioneers; we're investors. When the situation clears up, the investment cost will be higher, but the risk will also be lower. The cardinal taboo for an investor is to invest in an industry they don't understand."

"But..." Sister Li still wanted to salvage the attempt.

"The industry leader usually emerges from among the pioneers, but this company will not become such a pioneer. Xiao Li, the situation in real estate is already very clear. We should focus our attention and capital there," Boss Chen said earnestly.

"Very well, perhaps you're right," Sister Li stopped arguing and instead began chatting about the real estate industry.

Understanding Boss Chen's attitude, Liu Jing lost all interest in staying any longer.

However, Sister Li was remarkably patient and even stayed for lunch at their home.

Liu Jing thought Sister Li had given up, but little did he know that as soon as they left, instead of going home, she first went to the hospital to change his dressing and then headed straight to her own biological brother's workplace.

Sister Li's vivid and colorful description was even more passionate than it had been with Boss Chen.

Her younger brother listened attentively and finally summarized it into a few points:

First, his sister had no money in her pockets and wanted to borrow money to invest.

Second, the sum was too large; ten million was no small amount, and even if they sold all the houses the family owned, it wouldn't be worth that much.

Third, the target company was facing an operational crisis, unable to even pay wages, and had been running at a loss for years in a row.

Fourth, his older sister had been hoodwinked by someone, and he needed to teach that person a lesson while making sure his brother-in-law kept a close eye on her.

Taking everything into consideration, he concluded that his sister was either out of her mind or completely foolish.

Furious, Sister Li refused even to eat the meal her brother offered to treat them to, and she swept her sleeves away in anger.

As twilight fell once more, traveling under the starry night, the two of them returned home utterly exhausted.

"Draw your sword..." The front door pushed open, and a white figure lunged out toward Liu Jing.

*Crack...*

The sword snapped.

"Woody, you owe me a precious sword!" Xixi was furious. She had whittled away at a tree branch for ages just to craft this treasured weapon.

"An Feng, dressing all in white in the middle of the night, are you trying to scare me to death?" Sister Li's face drained of color, and her exhaustion vanished instantly.

"Playing ghosts and spirits." Liu Jing touched his forehead. The white silk ribbon in the ugly girl's hand looked suspiciously like his medical gauze.

Inside the house, the sound of the television suddenly spiked, and a song drifted out: "This time I've truly decided to leave, to distance myself from sorrows I've long failed to understand. I want to let you forget your worries, forget your cares, to let go of this tangled hustle and bustle and be free and at ease..."

Liu Jing now had his answer as to what game Xixi was playing.

"Mom, do you think I look like Dragon Girl?" Xixi brandished the strip of gauze, whipping it back and forth.

"Heh, if Jin Yong heard that, he'd be more terrified than seeing a ghost," Liu Jing mocked, then changed his tone to continue his scorn. "If you're Dragon Girl, then I'm Yang Guo."

Xixi didn't get angry; instead, she burst into loud laughter. "Woody, I just wanted to make you call me 'Elder Sister,' but I never expected you wanted to call me 'Auntie.' You should have said so earlier—I would have agreed."

Liu Jing's face turned dark. He shouldn't have said that extra sentence; the aftereffects of hitting his head last night must still not have worn off.

The youngest aunt was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing the two of them return, she hurried out to interrogate them. "How was it? How was it? Was Old Chen willing to invest or not?"

Sister Li forced a bitter smile. "He's not optimistic about that company."

The youngest aunt remained unfazed; she had already anticipated this outcome.

"And what about my cousin? What did he say?" the youngest aunt continued to ask.

"He said I've lost my mind," Sister Li sighed. After all, a biological brother was still a biological brother, and he had her best interests at heart.

"I think you've lost your mind too," the youngest aunt muttered under her breath.