Chapter 45 - 45 44 Can you still help

Words : 1518 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Can you still help? Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Can you still help? Gao Mengting made a large sum of money as a “Taoke” during her university days, and even had her own independent product guide website. Taoke refers to a profession where individuals earn commissions by helping e-commerce platform sellers promote their products. Since 2020, the live commerce industry had suddenly exploded, with the interactivity, demonstrability, and convenience of live streaming causing a change in user shopping habits. Her Taoke business was severely impacted, with promotional earnings becoming lower and lower. After meticulous research and study, she decided to go with the flow of the times and entered this hot new field. She bought a Wuling Hongguang van for transporting goods, rented a shop, and started a business with two classmates as partners. She personally held an 80% equity stake, while the other two classmates each held 10%. Using the physical store as their base, they expanded their business through online channels. With the surge of live commerce, their business grew better and better. However, differences and conflicts also arose from this. The two partners thought they received too little compared to their efforts, and demanded a redistribution of shares, with each person holding 33.3%. Obviously, this was something Gao Mengting could not accept since she had invested the majority of the funds, sourced the shop’s merchandise, and designed the live stream style and script. The trio therefore split, with the other two partners withdrawing from the partnership according to the “Individual Partnership Agreement,” taking part of the cash flow with them. One of the partners responsible for live streaming used the shop’s verified account to post a mini-article, inciting fans to attack her online; the small store faced complaints and a wave of returns, and was ultimately banned by the platform. The other partner, in charge of maintaining the fan base, quickly made his side account official. The two set up shop on their own, doing the same business, leaving her completely drained. The online platform suffered a devastating blow, cash flow was interrupted, offline customer sources were insufficient, and unsold inventory piled up, directly causing her to sink deep into a quagmire. Of course, what she found even more unacceptable was the betrayal by two close friends. ... During the chat, a customer or two would occasionally walk in. By the time Gao Mengting finished talking about her entrepreneurial experience, it was almost 12 p.m. Tang Song was silent throughout, looking at Gao Mengting with a pained expression. Originally, the intention was to help good friends facing employment difficulties become prosperous, so the conditions in the “Individual Partnership Agreement” were very lenient, which also gave them the ability to turn against her at any moment. No wonder she had nitpicked the “Used Car Sales Contract” earlier. “Do you think I was rather foolish in some ways?” Gao Mengting self-mockingly shook her head, “We three were college roommates, close enough to sleep in the same bed. Yet, I still underestimated human greed and overestimated my personal appeal.” Tang Song pursed his dry lips, saying, “You were just too kind.” Gao Mengting stood up, took out a bottle of mineral water from the cash register and handed it to him, “If you ever start a business, make sure to work hard on the agreement, and ideally, hire a professional lawyer. Not to take advantage, but to ensure others don’t have the courage to betray you.” Tang Song grasped the mineral water she handed over, stood up to meet her gaze, and sincerely said, “Miss Gao, I indeed have made plans for starting a business, and I came here to invite you to be my partner.” “Huh?” Gao Mengting was stunned, incredulously saying, “Me? A partner?” They had only met twice in total, hardly even acquaintances, yet here he was talking about partnering in business? Tang Song took a big gulp of water, saying, “I have complete and abundant information on clothing supply chain channels, allowing us to quickly find the lowest prices for the same quality, but I lack experience in this field and need your help!” Gao Mengting pondered for a moment, then shook her head with a bitter smile, “Honestly, I owe quite a bit of money right now, I’m overwhelmed every day, and I really don’t have the heart to start over again. It’s too hard.” “My initial investment is 1 million.” Tang Song held up an index finger, earnestly saying, “I also have a 200 square meter independent office, right in Cloud Stream Building!” In order to recruit this high-quality talent, he had laid out all his major advantages. Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the doorway. “Mengting! Mengting!” A young man in his twenties, wearing a shirt and trousers, burst into the shop from outside, looking quite sunny. A work badge hung around his neck, which read “AJ Real Estate Agency.” Gao Mengting turned around to look at him and asked with a puzzled expression, “What’s the matter, Yongming?” Li Yongming, breathing heavily, said, “I just received news that the property company’s leaders are dining at Juhuide, and the head of the Business Development Department is also there today.” Hearing this, Gao Mengting’s spirit instantly revived somewhat urgently, “Wait for me, I’ll be right there!” She then explained to Tang Song, “Mr. Tang, I’m currently bogged down with troubles, so how about we talk about entrepreneurship some other time?” Right now, she didn’t have the mind to investigate whether what Tang Song had said was true or false; she just wanted to overcome the difficulties and pay off her debts. Besides, starting a business wasn’t a minor affair, with factors like partners, supplies, funds, and market trends having significant impact. Even if she had to do it all over again, the possibility of failing was not small. Tang Song sensed her mood and knew that pressing this issue was futile. He candidly said, “Understood, Boss Gao, take some more time to consider it. About entrepreneurship, I am very serious. If you decide to join, we can register a formal company, I’ll contribute the actual capital, shareholding can be negotiated, and we can find a lawyer to draft complete corporate bylaws to avoid unnecessary problems.” Watching Tang Song talk confidently, Li Yongming couldn’t help but ask, “And you are?” “Tang Song.” Tang Song nodded to Li Yongming, his gaze still fixed on Gao Mengting. Li Yongming frowned and said, “Let’s go, Mengting! Urgent matters first!” He had been pursuing this college classmate for years and knew that Gao Mengting was at her most vulnerable stage now, which is why he exerted every effort to help her, hoping to make an impression. Yet this young man had started with talking about “registering a company,” “partnership entrepreneurship,” and “actual capital contribution,” clearly aiming at Gao Mengting’s interests. Moreover, with his decent height and good looks, it immediately set Li Yongming’s alarms off. As Gao Mengting and Tang Song locked eyes, she nodded and said, “Okay, Mr. Tang! Let’s communicate more on WeChat later, I really do have an emergency today, and I need to close the shop for a bit.” “Do you need help?” Being the potential partner he had in mind, Tang Song was genuinely concerned. Seeing Tang Song persistently engaging Gao Mengting, Li Yongming couldn’t help it and retorted irritably, “We’re going to negotiate the lease termination with the property leaders, even if I told you, could you really help?” “Yongming, be polite,” Gao Mengting frowned and explained, “Sorry, Mr. Tang, my friend can be a bit blunt. I signed an agreement with the property company when I rented this shop. If I terminate the lease early, I need to pay the rent for the remaining months and also forfeit the deposit. As you know my current situation, I just want to meet with the leaders of the property company to see if we can find another solution or at least get some relief.” “Understood.” Tang Song nodded; he had heard of such situations before. Many malls set these barriers during peak rental seasons to prevent tenants from fleeing and leaving shops vacant. Gao Mengting looked at the time and said, “Mr. Tang, that’s it for now, we need to grab a taxi and go.” Tang Song voluntarily offered, “How about I drive you there, hoping that the Wuling brings you good luck.” When Gao Mengting heard the word “Wuling,” her expression visibly softened, and she nodded gently, “Thank you, Mr. Tang!” Then, she pulled a beautifully packaged belt from the drawer and handed it over, “This was a gift from a past promotion, consider it taxi fare.” “Thank you.” Tang Song received it with a smile. Li Yongming opened his mouth to speak but finally held back, given that he hadn’t bought a car himself!

Chapter 45 - 45 44 Can you still help

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