Thinking about it now, the things that she had done for the guy were more like being his secretary than a qualified CEO.
She had to do all kinds of things that had nothing to do with her job description and she even wondered why she would do them in the first place. But that was after the fact.
It was as if he had a certain charm about him that blinded her until it was too late. But she did not hate this aspect. She had even somewhat come to embrace it.
It made her feel wanted and useful. At least, it was better than being kept like a caged bird, being dolled up just to further her father's ambition.
This sort of feeling was refreshing.
The only thing she did not like was how he looked at her. It was like he did not even acknowledge her charm or even see her as a woman, just treating her casually.
He did not tread as carefully as he did in front of An Xing'er and Xu Ling'er.
Speaking of these two girls, it made Li Lin feel a bit jealous.
They were so carefree and youthful. She wished she'd had someone like Lu Fan at that time to treat her the way Lu Fan treated them.
These two girls spent most of their time with Lu Fan learning skills that many would pay millions for.
The funny thing was that they didn't even realize it.
Someone like An Xing'er had already reached the level of a world star in singing abilities alone. Lu Fan paid extra attention to this one and even had META manage her portfolio, making her record more solid than most idols out there.
Her tender age was one thing that earned such great support, but Lu Fan's genius was no small contribution. Who in their right mind would use a little girl for publicity? That was a big no-no, at least the way most people did it was wrong, giving people the impression that they were exploiting the vulnerable.
But Lu Fan did it in a very avant-garde way. He gave her first-class treatment and trained her personally. As for publicity, there was nothing more powerful than raw talent.
The first few songs they made together were just reworks of original songs, and Lu Fan did not profit from them. Just fan works to get her name out there, but these songs were even better than the originals, making An Xing'er popular in an instant.
Popularity by association.
A very powerful tactic that worked very well.
An Xing'er also did not do any revenue-generating activities like promotions or advertisements. Her whole thing was pure and people seemed to love that.
Her rise was unstoppable.
Xu Ling'er on the other hand was the opposite.
She made money in spades.
Li Lin did not even understand how that was possible.
The first time she saw the girl, she did not pay much attention to her. She was beautiful, but that was all. Her faded over-washed get-up did little to enhance her image and she had little confidence in herself.
Li Lin did not put her in her eye.
It was not that she looked down on her, but it was just the gap between them was too big.
But all that changed right before her eyes.
Xu Ling'er could be said to be one of the earliest people to follow Lu Fan. Li Lin had seen how Lu Fan aided Xu Ling'er in her studies and the girl improved rapidly.
They were now handling advanced problems that would give qualified mathematicians a headache. But that was that… and what made money was different.
It all started like a small incident with Chen Lu fanning the flames.
A small thing started from jealousy became a great competition between two goddesses and Xu Ling'er ended up in the financial sector.
Lu Fan started teaching her simple trading. It was more like gambling than anything else, but the girl had quite the luck. Or was it Lu Fan?
She made her first million from this.
Then they started dealing with big money and mega markets, each transaction done in at least 6 figures. If Lu Fan made a move, 8 figures.
It was all very fascinating watching how money multiplied by the dozen, making Li Lin wonder what the hell Lu Fan did to make such an innocent girl into a ruthless spender.
The sheer courage it took to bet millions of yuan on luck was immense. It required a certain level of ruthlessness.
Li Lin did not have the guts for that.
Just thinking about it made her feel like her innards were being flooded by acid.
She respected the girl in all honesty. Her story was like those K dramas with a capable CEO helping the poor girl get on her feet, only to find out that she was incredibly talented and equally capable.
It was all very thrilling to watch and she wondered if Lu Fan was also doing it for the same thrill. As for doing it to get the girl, Li Lin did not think so.
She had watched the interactions between them and Lu Fan had all the chances to get involved with both girls but he never made a move.
Someone like Xu Ling'er was even more straightforward and did not hide the fact that she wanted to be with Lu Fan.
An Xing'er might think that she was doing a good job hiding it, but her face would turn into a blushing mess every time Lu Fan got close. If we were to attribute that to her shy personality, what then would we say about her occasional antics of pretending to not understand a dance style and having Lu Fan get all handsy to correct her stance? She never messed up when he was not around.
Lu Fan only played a fool to all this and pretended that he did not see what was happening, but Li Lin knew otherwise. Those eyes that usually size her up were not the eyes of a weak, clueless boy. They were a predator's eyes. Sizing her up with great patience, waiting for a chance to pounce on her.
Just thinking about it gave her a shiver and made her ticklish.
'And I just finished dressing up. *Sigh* Let's make it quick.'