The Female CEO Falls in Love with Me

"Li Yan! If you keep joking like this, I'll feel you're disrespecting me!" Huang Ying blushed as she looked at him. It wasn't shyness or embarrassment; it was a blush tinged with anger.

When Zhou Wangshu said those things earlier, she could ignore it and avoid them afterwards. But Li Yan was different; he was a colleague, a friend, and knowing her situation, saying such things was undoubtedly taking advantage of her distress. If it weren't for the fact that Li Yan usually wasn't like this, she would have walked away.

Li Yan snuffed out his cigarette and said, "Do I sound like I'm joking? I thought I was quite serious earlier."

"You..." Huang Ying furrowed her brows, staring at him, seemingly wanting to discern what kind of person he truly was.

"Let me put it another way. From your words earlier, it seems you've hit a dead end. Even if there's an opportunity for surgery now, you can't come up with the money. Picking up garbage and recyclables? Unless you find a bag of diamonds, it's just going to torture yourself, making you feel a bit better inside."

At this moment, the dishes started to come out, and Li Yan paused, waited for the waiter to leave, then invited her to eat while continuing, "Besides that, do you have any better way to make money? Earlier, I knocked on an asshole's door, and you felt it was wrong. How could you resort to theft or fraud? Besides, you don't have the skill for that. When you have no options, when you see your mom losing her chance to live, even knowing it's impossible, you'll walk that path."

His words shook Huang Ying deeply, as she wondered whether her fate would be that dire, or if she would tread that path.

"Don't think that those who go out and do this are all forced by circumstances. Nowadays, many gold-digging girls take this easy route. The competition is tougher than picking up bottles! You surely don't understand the market. Do you still have the time and energy to work and take care of your mother? Can you keep them from finding out?"

Li Yan spoke as he ate, as if it were the most ordinary thing. To Huang Ying's ears, each sentence was a shock.

"Apart from that, as a weak woman, what else can you do to quickly make money?" Li Yan looked at her, knowing that his words had shattered her psychological defenses.

"Back to my words. If I lent you three hundred thousand, you'd take more than ten years to pay it back. Given our ordinary colleague relationship and your character, you surely wouldn't accept it. We're not lovers, don't have romance, you can't repay me with your body. What would you do?"

Huang Ying had no appetite; she was silent for a long time before she softly said, "Li Yan, I misunderstood you... I know you just want to help. There's no need to make it so complicated."

"Uh..." With her saying that, Li Yan didn't know what to say.

"Thank you! I know you also don't have much money, 300,000 should be your entire savings, maybe you'd even have to mortgage your house or something, I can't let you use your family savings to help me... It's not at that stage yet. Let me think it over."

Perhaps because Li Yan had aired out the worst possibilities, it actually relieved Huang Ying's pressure, making her feel lighter, and she even said jokingly.

In just a moment, she had understood the kindness behind Li Yan's intentions, kindness that was willing to be misunderstood to help others. Today, she also saw a deeper side of Li Yan, knowing more about him.

Seeing that she seemed to accept the advice, Li Yan also relaxed, smiling, "Then go home in a while, don't torment yourself anymore."

"Hmm."

Knowing that it might have a significant impact on her future, Huang Ying also realized many things, even if she truly was powerless, she should devote more time to being with her mother, rather than letting her be sick, or worse, remembering with regret after her passing.

"Actually, what I said just now is a backup plan. I have another way to help you that might be effective, but I don't know how effective it could be," Li Yan added.

"What is it?"

"I won't tell you yet, you'll know if it's effective. If it's not, there's no point in you knowing."

...

Li Yan drove Huang Ying back to her rented place and then returned home. Zhang Yurong's car wasn't there, and she wasn't home. He asked Ms. Liu, and it seemed she left not long ago, hurriedly as usual.

Li Yan was used to it; given her decisive and swift nature, even dining out appears hurried to others. It's not evening now, so there's nothing to worry about.

He returned to his room, went online, and found a group specializing in internet promotion. He took the photos of Huang Ying collecting recyclables, which he had captured with his phone, and asked them to promote her story under a title like "The Most Beautiful Recycling Sister," paired with the story of her bearing her mother's medical expenses, with hospital validation for donations.

Nowadays, network promotion can influence real media. But internet users have seen much and won't care for ordinary news or topics, so many things need professional promoters to go viral. Every month, various scandals and exposés appear, and those with significant impact usually are professionally operated for the purpose of benefiting those who seem like scandal protagonists.

Negative news only applies to celebrities; for unknown or minor figures, negative news can be more valuable. Getting famous suddenly, gaining recognition and attention, business activities follow, fame can bring profit.

Of course, Huang Ying is different, it's not about scandals, it's about promoting her filial piety and hardworking care for her mother, as a positive act. From individual, private angles it's not kind: but Huang Ying now needs help, and in a form she can accept, which counts as a way. From a societal perspective, such behavior should be advocated.

Li Yan's aim wasn't just hoping for donations from kind-hearted people after media verification reports. The amount wouldn't be large enough; he hoped to attract the attention of Paradise Group!

Given Huang Ying's status as an ordinary employee, applying for a 300,000 loan from the company was impossible. Li Yan, even if he had the chance, couldn't persuade Zhang Yurong in private. But once attention was drawn, if the company was willing to donate, the gains would surely be greater, perhaps essentially helping her.

Though it might make Huang Ying's privacy public, slightly embarrassing, this form of help would surely be more acceptable than raising her some other way.

After everything was confirmed and payment completed, it was already evening, but Zhang Yurong still hadn't returned. Li Yan then received a strange phone call from her!

(Remember to bookmark, the next chapter updates around 3 o'clock.)