You Draw?

"Huh?"

When Tang Yao heard Li Xue say she really knew someone in venture capital, she froze for a moment. Then it suddenly sank in, and she whipped around, her pert, rounded backside lifting off the chair as she leaned right up to Li Xue, pressing most of her body against her. "Really? Miss Li! Really?"

"Don't get so excited."

Li Xue reached out to steady Tang Yao by her slender waist, keeping her from losing her balance and falling onto her, and began to calm her down.

At the same time, she lowered her head and glanced discreetly at the waist beneath her hands.

Though she'd been prepared for it, Tang Yao's figure was still better than Li Xue had imagined.

This was the first time Li Xue had experienced what it meant to have a waist so slender she could wrap her hands around it. She could tell from feeding Tang Yao just now that she ate quite a lot, so where had all that food gone...

Hmm...

Li Xue's gaze slowly moved upward. Looking at the full, quivering curves so close to her, she decided not to wonder about it.

Because she already knew the answer.

She slowly let go of Tang Yao's waist and instead gave her a gentle hug, soothing her again. "Calm down first. It's true that I know someone in venture capital, and he's a manager, but are you sure you can convince him to invest?"

"..."

At those words, Tang Yao immediately calmed down.

That was true.

She didn't know much about this sort of thing, but she'd read a few inspirational books about entrepreneurs. Apparently, in the investment world, ideas weren't worth much, because venture capitalists saw fresh ideas every day. What they cared about most was the person behind them.

And given her looks, temperament, and circumstances right now...

She probably didn't stand a chance.

It didn't seem very reliable.

Thinking this, Tang Yao gradually calmed down and sat back in her chair.

Seeing Tang Yao settle down, Li Xue breathed a sigh of relief and slowly let go of her. She then shifted her chair closer and explained, "I don't know him that well, actually. We're technically related, but we're not close. I've only met him a few times when visiting relatives during the New Year."

"Also, he's the one who once told me that mobile platforms were the future... But even though he said that, he's also told me that when choosing who to invest in, he mainly looks at the person. According to him, he's good at reading people. He can tell at a glance who's trying to swindle money and who won't get anywhere.

"To be honest, even I don't think what you just told me sounds very reliable. So I don't think you'd get an investment even if I introduced you...

"I don't know how persuasive you are, but you don't have any impressive track record, do you?"

"I see..."

Tang Yao had been prepared for that, but she still felt a little disappointed.

Meanwhile,

Li Xue saw the bright, lovely face of the girl beside her fall, her long eyelashes trembling slightly as she looked utterly dejected. She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.

After a moment's hesitation, she put an arm around Tang Yao's waist and gave her a gentle shake. Without thinking, she said, "Actually, if you really want to give it a try, I can lend you some money. A million... No, I could probably come up with around 1.1 million. Though I don't think you should take such a risk."

"..."

Tang Yao slowly raised her head and looked at the mature beauty before her, blinking. "Miss Li, are you secretly a rich woman?"

To be honest,

Never mind how long they'd known each other.

Hearing her casually offer 1.1 million had still shocked Tang Yao.

She couldn't help feeling as though she were scamming a lonely old woman.

"Don't let appearances fool you. Your big sis is an associate editor, after all. I've worked longer than you, come from a decent family, and I'm good at saving money."

Actually, to be honest,

Li Xue wasn't exactly regretting making the offer, but she did think she must have gone crazy. She hadn't been able to find a man she wanted to spend money on for so long, and now she'd ended up choosing a woman.

But when she saw Tang Yao seriously asking if she was a rich woman,

It suddenly felt reasonable. She even had the feeling that she wouldn't mind spending all her money on Tang Yao from now on.

This wasn't just a matter of hitting it off or having chemistry.

Li Xue suspected she might simply be too lonely...

After all, she was an only child and didn't have any truly close female friends.

"Let's not. I don't want dirty money to sully our relationship."

Tang Yao was tempted for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought. She shook her head gently and joked, "Besides, if I spend your money and it really does fail, you'll lose your dowry too. I couldn't even repay you by selling myself to you... But venture capital is different. You can still introduce me to that manager. I've got a rough idea in mind. I can lay out the whole pitch... I mean, the whole plan, and do my best to convince him."

When money got involved, things became too dangerous.

Tang Yao really didn't want to lose this rare, pure friendship.

After all, Li Xue was the first friend she'd made since arriving in this world.

"I see..."

For some reason, Li Xue felt a little disappointed, especially when Tang Yao said she could sell herself to her.

But the feeling came and went quickly.

She soon got back to the matter at hand. "Are you sure you want to try? Honestly, if you need money, I can lend you some. But risking your whole future like this is far too dangerous, and I'm still completely lost..."

"How about this, then? Talking about it now is too vague. I'll spend this week putting together some illustrations of beautiful girls and a PowerPoint, and write down everything else too—how it'll work, how to use comics to attract traffic, what kind of comics we're talking about, all of it."

Tang Yao thought it over briefly, then said seriously, "After that, I'll explain the whole thing to you in an organized way. If you think it's viable, you can introduce me to that venture capital manager. If you still don't think it'll work, then turn me down... How does that sound?"

"Th-this... You're sure you want to do this?"

Li Xue still wanted to talk her out of it, but when she saw Tang Yao's serious expression, she knew what the answer would be.

So she stopped trying to dissuade her and nodded solemnly. "All right."

"Thanks."

Tang Yao breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her with a radiant smile.

A benefactor, huh?

This must be what people meant by a benefactor.

"But before that, what about the Manga Award? Weren't you looking for another artist to draw it?"

Seeing the smile on Tang Yao's face, Li Xue smiled gently too. Still, she had to bring up the hard truth. "In this situation, you still want someone to draw those so-called beautiful girls... Do you really think you'll find anyone?"

"I've already taken care of the Manga Award."

Tang Yao answered casually. "I drew a piece last night, and I was just about to show it to you and ask what you thought. As for the beautiful girls, I don't need to find anyone else, do I? Nobody understands beautiful girls better than I do."

"Huh?"

Li Xue froze.

"Hmm?"

Tang Yao turned to look at her, blinking as their eyes met.

"You can draw?"

"Yeah. Didn't I tell you? I guess I didn't... I originally wanted to become a comic artist."

"Huh??? Seriously???"

Li Xue let go of Tang Yao's waist and widened her beautiful eyes, stunned into silence by this sudden turn of events.

My colleague, a comic editor, can draw comics too? What kind of comic-book twist is this?!

"...You'll see when you look."

Tang Yao picked up the document folder beside her and handed it to Li Xue. Then she joked, "You're my first reader, Miss Li."

"..."

Li Xue's red lips parted, revealing her pearly white teeth. She blankly accepted the folder Tang Yao held out, and only then snapped out of it, stammering, "You, I... You really drew something?"

"Yeah, I really did. You can take a look."

Tang Yao watched her expectantly.

Li Xue glanced at Tang Yao, then looked down at the folder in her hands. At last, she managed to collect herself.

She drew it herself?

Could something like this really happen?

No, wait. That couldn't happen!

Hold on, maybe it was just a hobby and she'd forced herself to draw something? Then...

Looking at the expectant girl in front of her, Li Xue suddenly felt uneasy, because she thought Tang Yao seemed to have gotten in too deep.

"..."

Thinking this,

Li Xue drew a deep breath, slowly opened the folder, and took out the original pages inside. She made up her mind to talk Tang Yao back to reality without hurting her.