48: Chapter 48 Choosing Investors

Hearing the sound, Shen Yan turned around and saw the organizer coming out of the restroom holding a cat.

"What is this?"

The organizer smiled, put the cat down, and replied, "This is a cat café I opened privately."

Shen Yan nodded in understanding and walked into the pet shop.

"Then why did you ask me to come over today?"

The organizer took off his work uniform, walked to the side to pour water for Shen Yan, and replied, "Mr. Shen, my purpose in asking you here today is very simple..."

As he spoke, he placed the water in front of Shen Yan and then sat opposite him.

"I want to cooperate with you. To put it plainly, I want to invest in your upcoming project."

Shen Yan understood what the organizer meant.

"You want to invest in the software project I previously submitted to you?"

The organizer nodded. "That's right. Because of the online rumors previously, you couldn't legitimately secure first place in the competition, nor did you receive the first-place prize money."

"So we..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yan directly interrupted him.

"Don't bother thinking about it, I absolutely will not agree."

The organizer felt extremely puzzled and confused.

He didn't understand why someone would turn down money.

"Mr. Shen, don't misunderstand my meaning. I don't mean to buy out the software you have; I mean I want to invest in your software."

"This is equivalent to me putting up the money and you putting in the effort, and you end up getting more money than me."

Shen Yan smiled and asked the organizer, "Is this your personal intention to invest in our company?"

The organizer nodded without hesitation.

"That's right. Actually, I always thought the project you submitted to us was excellent. If you hadn't been caught up in the plagiarism controversy before, I wouldn't have called to cancel your ranking."

Shen Yan waved his hand.

"Let's not bring up past matters. Regarding your proposal to invest in our company, I choose to refuse."

The organizer was silent for a while, then asked, "May I ask the reason?"

Shen Yan answered very frankly, "Through the incident with the competition, I clearly realized that you are the type of people who will abandon a partner without hesitation the moment something happens to them."

"For people like that, I don't see any need to cooperate."

The organizer's expression turned very ugly.

He hadn't expected Shen Yan to be so direct and speak so harshly.

"Mr. Shen, what you just said is a bit too harsh. Previously, it was because of the online rumors..."

Shen Yan interrupted the organizer once more.

"You say it was because of online rumors, so I ask you, why did you proactively suggest withdrawing our ranking shortly after the rumors began to spread?"

"Under normal circumstances, shouldn't you have contacted us and asked us to actively cooperate with the investigation?"

The organizer was speechless.

In fact, they had held a large meeting to discuss it at the time.

With the internet being so developed now, many things are such that good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles.

To prevent everyone from questioning the competition officials, they could only resort to this desperate measure: withdrawing Shen Yan's ranking.

In the final analysis, they were indeed in the wrong regarding this matter.

"Fine, I can't refute what you said, but Mr. Shen, you also said that all those things are in the past."

"I think we should turn over a new leaf."

"Before contacting you, I did some research. You are starting a company recently, right? I can inject capital into your company, as long as you are willing to give me thirty percent of the shares."

The organizer started by demanding shares.

Shen Yan would have to be foolish to agree to that.

"I'm sorry, I think I've made myself very clear. I refuse your investment."

After saying this, he stood up and asked the organizer, "I'm leaving now. You don't need to see me out."

The organizer couldn't stop Shen Yan and could only watch as Shen Yan's back disappeared outside the pet shop door.

"Tsk, young people nowadays are not as resilient as they used to be!"

The organizer muttered a complaint before continuing to take care of his cats.

On the other side, as soon as Shen Yan left the cat café, he hailed a cab and went to the hospital.

Just as he expected, Tao Tiantian's father, Tao Min, was at the hospital accompanying Tao Tiantian.

"Little Shen, you're here again!"

"Yes, aren't you tired of seeing me?"

Tao Min replied with a chuckle, "How could I be? My son Tiantian and I look forward to you coming."

As he finished speaking, he glanced toward the outside of the ward door.

"He's undergoing an examination right now. He should be back in a while. You can wait for him here."

Shen Yan placed the fruit he was holding on the cabinet. "It's fine, no rush. I don't have anything else to do today."

Tao Min nodded, walked over, and picked up an orange from the cabinet.

"Would you like an orange?"

Shen Yan took the orange. "Thank you."

Tao Min shook his head, picked up another orange, and turned back to sit on the chair.

"How have you been recently? Is everything going smoothly?"

Shen Yan told Tao Min about starting his company.

Tao Min's face was full of admiration after listening.

"You actually refused the organizer's request for cooperation, Little Shen, you are truly resolute!"

While they were chatting enthusiastically, Tao Tiantian was pushed into the ward by the caregiver.

"Brother Shen! How do you have time to come see me today?!"

Tao Tiantian was extremely excited, looking as if he had won a major prize upon seeing Shen Yan.

Tao Min walked over, suppressing a smile, and pushed Tao Tiantian's wheelchair.

"You little brat, you seem happier to see your Brother Shen than you are to see me."

Tao Tiantian clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Who told you to always come running over here when you have nothing else to do? There's no element of surprise."

Seeing the harmonious relationship between the father and son, Shen Yan squinted his eyes with a touch of envy.

There was a time when his own father was just like Tao Min, fond of joking around with him.

Memories flooded back like a tide, and Shen Yan's eyes turned red as he recalled the past.

Tao Tiantian was sensitive and quickly noticed something was wrong with Shen Yan.

"Brother Shen, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"

Shen Yan opened his mouth, smiled, and replied, "Nothing much. Seeing you two just reminded me of my dad..."

"Forget it, let's not talk about old things. What kind of examination did you have today?"

Hearing the question, Tao Tiantian replied, "Just checking all my body data. As long as the data passes, I can be discharged from the hospital."

Shen Yan praised him. "Your body is doing great! It hasn't been long since your surgery, and you've recovered so well."

Tao Tiantian snorted. "Because I'm young! If it were my dad, he'd have to lie in bed for at least a year or two!"

Tao Min slapped the back of Tao Tiantian's head.

"I'm your father! Show some respect when you speak!"

Tao Tiantian shrugged his shoulders, looking completely unconcerned.