54: Playing a musical instrument?

Chen Li naturally didn't know about the convoluted thoughts in Shen Qing's mind. To him, running into someone else applying for a loan at the Bank was purely a matter of personal privacy. He had never even considered talking about it, let alone understood why she had come specifically to warn him.

"Is that all it took for you to be so hostile toward me?" He shook his head helplessly. "A woman's mind is truly impossible to guess."

Just as he walked out of the teaching building, a message arrived on his phone. It was from Song Lingyun.

"Chen Li, what are you doing?"

"Just finished class, what's up?"

"Um... are you free tonight? I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Is it just to discuss something?" Chen Li's lips curled up slightly.

"You... what do you want to do? Isn't it up to you anyway?"

"Alright, I'll find you later."

...

In the female Dormitory, Song Lingyun slowly put down her phone and turned to Tang You, who was sitting beside her with a look of anticipation.

"Youyou, I can only help you ask Chen Li. As for whether he's willing to help, I really can't guarantee anything."

She gently took Tang You's cold hand. "I can only try my best."

"Thank you, Lingyun."

Tang You forced a smile. "I'm already very grateful that you're willing to ask for me."

During this time, Tang You had indeed been crushed until she couldn't breathe.

The old brand 'Fu Bao Ling' run by her family was facing an unprecedented crisis—the company's capital chain had broken, Bank loans were being rejected, and the debt ratio remained stubbornly high... Every piece of news felt like a heavy hammer striking her heart.

The Bank knew the company's situation all too well, and all the friends she used to know were avoiding her.

Her father had already done everything in his power, even selling her car at a low price, but the money raised was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the company's predicament.

She remembered her father's exhausted yet determined expression: "Youyou, keep the money I gave you before for yourself; don't put any more into the company. It's useless to pour it in... I just hope to find a way to pay the employees' wages. As for me, it doesn't matter."

'Fu Bao Ling' was a long-standing brand operated by three generations of the Tang family, known for its natural skincare and moisturizing products.

All products insisted on using purely natural raw materials, never adding any chemical ingredients.

It was said that their face cream was so pure it was edible, and its moisturizing effect was excellent, but the production costs were therefore consistently high.

Company executives had repeatedly urged her father to switch to chemical raw materials to reduce costs, but he had sternly refused: "This is the foundation of our 'Fu Bao Ling'. We must never lose our conscience just for the sake of making money!"

However, under the strong pressure from foreign brands, the company had been suffering losses for several years.

Without sufficient funds for promotion and marketing, they could only rely on the word-of-mouth of the older generation of customers to keep going.

Those who still remembered this brand were mostly older customers, while the younger generation preferred those international big names with overwhelming advertising campaigns.

A year ago, a Japanese capital firm had offered to invest ten million US dollars, on the condition of holding 70% of the shares and requiring the formula to be 'optimized'.

Her father had refused without hesitation: "If I agreed to that, 'Fu Bao Ling' would no longer be the old brand that consumers can trust. I cannot let down the customers who have trusted us for so many years, nor can I let down the ancestors of the Tang family!"

But now, the company couldn't even pay its employees' wages.

Although many old employees expressed understanding and even proactively offered to delay their pay, Tang You knew that everyone had families to support, and this situation couldn't last long.

With no other options, Tang You had no choice but to seek help from her roommate, Song Lingyun.

She knew that Song Lingyun's boyfriend, Chen Li, was very wealthy, and perhaps... perhaps she could find a glimmer of hope from him.

"Lingyun, I really don't know who else I can turn to..." Tang You's voice trembled slightly, her eyes filled with pleading.

It was precisely because of Tang You's request that Song Lingyun had an excuse to meet Chen Li tonight.

In fact, even without this matter, she had long wanted to find Chen Li—she felt like she hadn't seen Chen Li in a long, long time, and every interval made her miss him terribly.

At night, in a star-rated Hotel suite, the flush had not yet faded from Song Lingyun's face as she curled up in Chen Li's arms like a lazy cat.

The soft yellow light from the bedside lamp outlined her satisfied profile, and the air was still filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.

She gently stroked Chen Li's palm, savoring the warmth that intoxicated her.

"Chen Li," she said in a soft voice, "do you remember my roommate, Tang You?"

"I remember," Chen Li said, closing his eyes to rest. "Isn't she that roommate of yours with the pretty good family background?"

"Yes, that's her... Actually, the thing I wanted to talk to you about tonight is regarding her."

Song Lingyun propped herself up and looked at him seriously. "Her family's company has a problem with its capital chain, and she wants to borrow a sum of money from you for turnover."

"Borrow money? How much?"

"She didn't mention the specific number, but since it's a company's shortfall, it must not be a small amount."

"Then I can't lend it." Chen Li answered crisply and cleanly, without a hint of hesitation.

In his view, this was not even worth considering.

When an enterprise falls into trouble, if friends and relatives are unwilling to help, the Bank goes without saying—they would certainly refuse to provide a loan.

Yet, she had to go through a classmate relationship to ask an unrelated student for money—just how big must that hole be?

This was no longer a simple case of having no options left; it was being pushed to the edge of a cliff with absolutely no path forward.

Even if Tang You herself were delivered to him, he would not play the role of a sucker.

He wasn't running a charity, nor was he some kind of savior.

Besides, even if he invested and took over her family's company, how much could he earn in a year?

His financial management and interest income at the Bank were a steady 120 million a year; why bother wading into these muddy waters?

"Really... is there no way at all?" Song Lingyun asked persistently, unwilling to give up.

Song Lingyun genuinely wanted to help Tang You; over these few years in university, Tang You had taken care of her quite a bit.

She remembered one time when she was vain and bought a mobile phone, which led to financial straits, nearly causing her to go down that path; it was Tang You who had extended a helping hand without a second word.

If it hadn't been for Tang You reaching out to pull her back time and again, she might have long since been taken by some man, and she would never have met Chen Li later on.

"Tell her to find another way; I can't help with this." Chen Li's attitude remained firm.

"Then... can you at least meet her?"

Song Lingyun retreated to a secondary option. "She said that if you don't agree, she hopes to talk to you in person."

"Meeting would just be a waste of breath. No."

"Chen Li, just treat it as helping me once, okay?"

"As long as you are willing to see her... I will..."

She leaned close to Chen Li's ear, her warm breath blowing into his ear, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Playing an instrument?

Chen Li raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Her cheeks instantly burned bright red, that scalding blush spreading all the way to her ears.

"Alright, I'll agree to it."

As soon as Chen Li's words fell, a glimmer of light mixed with shyness and excitement flashed in Song Lingyun's eyes. She bit her lower lip gently with her white teeth, and then obediently lowered her body...