The two girls dashed into the elevator and went down to the first floor, where Zhou Xueyin pulled Li Jiniang into the restroom.
"That old pervert! That old lecher! I'd rather not take his investment than drag you into this mess," Zhou Xueyin said as she clutched Li Jiniang's hand, both of them so nervous their hands were ice cold.
"Yinyin, thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even know how to reject him..." In truth, Li Jiniang had been looking around Lu Zhongyou's office the whole time, never daring to make eye contact with him.
She was terrified that a careless glance might be misinterpreted by him.
"No, no, it's my fault today. I should have come by myself," Zhou Xueyin said apologetically.
"You had no idea what kind of person he was. It's okay! It's like you brought me out to see the world, and I think it was very enlightening," Li Jiniang said in an attempt to keep things light. "Besides, it's good that we came together; I wouldn't have felt at ease if you had met this SLB by yourself!"
"To make up for today's harassment by those leering eyes, I'm treating you to Japanese food! There are many good Japanese restaurants around Wudaokou," she added, knowing nothing relieved stress better than eating, unless, of course, it was eating more!
"Oh yes, let's do it! Talk is cheap; let's get moving! And let's call KK and Shanshan to join us!" Li Jiniang nodded in agreement.
Although she had not succeeded with either of the two investors she had met, Zhou Xueyin wasn't discouraged. After all, how could it be that simple to secure investment? She was determined to keep trying.
On one hand, she was negotiating investments outside, and on the other, she was dealing with her university's graduation thesis defense. If it had been anyone else, they probably would have been overwhelmed.
But Zhou Xueyin was different. She cleverly modified her investment proposal into her graduation thesis, titled: "On the Position of Women in the Internet."
Not only had she incorporated her startup ideas into the paper, but she had also included her observations from her investment meetings. Although it had not yet been submitted, her dorm mates all agreed that the thesis was extraordinary. They called it unprecedented, saying that only Zhou Xueyin could have written such a paper.
After finishing the thesis, Zhou Xueyin threw herself into a new round of investor meetings. Sometimes she brought Li Jiniang with her, and other times, when Li Jiniang was busy, she went alone.
Of course, the outcomes were all failures...
"Yinyin, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Kang Siyin said after Zhou Xueyin returned to the dorm looking defeated one day.
"What is it?" Zhou Xueyin was so tired she could barely lift her eyelids and just wanted to collapse into her bed.
"These investment companies... where are you finding them?" Kang Siyin hesitated, "They all seem so unreliable, don't they?"
"Sigh, I found them online... Some are quite reliable, but they just don't fancy my project..." Zhou Xueyin said with a resigned smile. "After all, they all think that a fresh female college grad can't make anything significant happen, so it feels like throwing away money to them."
"A bunch of idiots with no appreciation for real potential!" Li Jiniang chimed in. "The ones that I went to with Yinyin, their eyes never left me! They had no idea what Yinyin was talking about!"
"Why can't there be a female Investment Officer to interview us, huh? Could it be that, nowadays, no women are involved in this kind of work? That can't be right," Zhou Xueyin mused, thinking about all the websites she knew of; she hadn't heard of any female founders.
"Forget the internet; as far as I know, even among those highly praised artists, so many are male... there are very few women!" Yao Shanshan echoed, "But look at Japan next door, so many well-known manga artists are female, including those who draw shōnen manga!"
"Exactly! Like Ghost Eye Crazy Blade, which is my absolute favorite!" When the conversation turned to something she loved, Zhou Xueyin suddenly perked up...
In the following week, Zhou Xueyin didn't rush to meet with investors. Instead, she took some time to analyze why she had failed in her previous interviews.
Her purpose and plan for starting a business had become very clear. However, she had no clue about the initial investment costs, prospective returns, or when she could expect to break even.
After all, she had never worked in this area, nor had she entered an internet company for further understanding.
The payback period might seem too long, which could scare off the investor, but if it's too short, what if the company's cash flow is tight? Wouldn't it have to sell out to the investment company then?
After much thought, Zhou Xueyin suddenly remembered the words of an industry giant, "If your project has enough potential, you could first bait the investors with a small sum. Once they see some benefits, they will be inclined to invest more."
With a 'worth a shot' attitude, Zhou Xueyin asked Li Jiniang to accompany her to meet this round of investors.
This time, the investors were located in the Wangfujing Oriental Plaza high-rise, an environment completely different from Zhongguancun and Wudaokou.
In the heart of the environmentally friendly building was a park-like green space. Although she often came here to shop, she had never realized there was such a hidden paradise behind the office buildings.
"Hmm! It would be really nice to rent an office here, wouldn't it?" Zhou Xueyin daydreamed wistfully.
"Sure! The price would also be 'really nice'! Stop daydreaming, let's head upstairs!" Li Jiniang brought her back to reality just in time.
The two arrived at the entrance of the investment company, where quite a few people waiting for interviews had already lined up.
While waiting, they only saw two types of people coming out of the investor's office: those with solemn faces, clearly having been rejected, and those with excited expressions, obviously having secured the investment.
Hope we can secure this investment successfully!
Hope we can secure this investment successfully!
Hope we can secure this investment successfully!
Zhou Xueyin silently prayed in her heart.
Just before she went in for her interview, two men with dejected looks came out of the office, cursing, "What the hell? A female Investment Officer? What kind of international joke is this? Do they even understand the value of our project?"
From their demeanor, it was clear they had been rejected, but their words left Zhou Xueyin with a sliver of hope: there was a female investor this time!
"Jixiang! Jixiang! Did you hear that? It's a woman this time!! A woman!" Zhou Xueyin whispered excitedly to Li Jiniang.
"Mm-hmm! Hope you make it through! Go for it! You go in, I'll wait here for you! Go for it! Believe in yourself!" Li Jiniang gestured encouragingly.
"Go for it!" Zhou Xueyin returned the gesture to Li Jiniang and then entered the investment office.
There were a total of four investors this time, one of them the female Investment Officer mentioned by the two men earlier. Although she looked young, her gaze was sharp and capable.
"Good day, investors, I'm Zhou Xueyin. Here is my project proposal..." Zhou Xueyin handed out the bound copies of her project proposal to the four individuals.
The reactions of the four upon receiving the proposal were telling. The three investors simply flipped through it and casually tossed it in front of themselves, folding their arms and sizing up Zhou Xueyin.
Only the female investor was seriously reviewing it, page by page, nodding her head in approval as she scrutinized the carefully made proposal.