His Girlfriend Came Bearing Money

"What's this?"

Chen Fan looked at the envelope in front of him in surprise, then gave Su Ruochu a puzzled look.

Su Ruochu opened the envelope and took out a bankbook.

"Guo Shuai told me everything."

"He said you built a website yourself and were promoting it, and that you needed a lot of money."

"He also said the two of you have been trying to find ways to make money lately..."

Chen Fan couldn't help cursing.

"That bastard! He's spilled everything about me!"

But Su Ruochu glared at him.

"I'm really unhappy."

"Why didn't you tell me about something this important?"

"I'm your girlfriend, but I had to hear from someone else that you were having trouble."

A little flustered, Chen Fan hurried to explain.

"Well... I wasn't trying to hide it from you."

"It's just that I thought you wouldn't be interested even if I told you..."

But Su Ruochu looked utterly serious.

"If it concerns you, I'm interested."

That left Chen Fan completely stunned. He stood there awkwardly, unsure what to say.

Su Ruochu continued explaining.

"I just heard from Guo Shuai that you urgently needed money."

"I don't know exactly how much you need. This bankbook has the allowance and New Year's money I've saved over the past few years."

"There's 6,782 yuan in it."

"Take it and use it for now. If it's still not enough, we'll figure something out together."

Chen Fan stared at Su Ruochu, deeply touched.

But instead of reaching for it, he smiled and shook his head.

"I can't take this money."

Su Ruochu immediately grew anxious.

"This is money I saved myself. It isn't my family's."

"I know. But I still can't take it..."

"Chen Fan!"

Su Ruochu glared at him.

"Keep this up and I'll get angry."

"Tell me, am I your girlfriend or not?"

Chen Fan nodded.

"Of course you are. And someday you'll be my wife."

Blushing, Su Ruochu glanced around, then shot Chen Fan a fierce glare.

"Then why are you drawing a line between what's yours and what's mine?"

Chen Fan smiled helplessly.

"That's not what I meant..."

"It clearly is!"

Su Ruochu's eyes reddened, and she looked hurt.

"You say it isn't, but that's exactly how you've been acting."

"Why can you use Guo Shuai's money, but not mine?"

"Is it just because I'm a girl? Does using a girl's money hurt your pride?"

Looking sheepish, Chen Fan hurriedly shook his head.

"Ruochu, you've got it wrong. Just hear me out."

Su Ruochu turned away in a huff.

This time, Chen Fan really seemed to have upset her.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Chen Fan could only explain gently.

"It's not that I'm deliberately refusing your money."

"It's that I don't need it right now."

When Su Ruochu looked back at him, Chen Fan hurried on.

"If you'd offered me this money last week, or last month, I'd have taken it right away without a second thought."

"But right now, I don't need money for the time being. That's why I'm not taking it."

Chen Fan reached out and took her hand.

"It definitely isn't for the reason you think."

"I might care a little about my pride, but I never worry about saving face in front of my own girlfriend..."

Su Ruochu studied him for a moment.

"Is that really true?"

"It is."

"Then... why did Guo Shuai say you urgently needed money?"

Chen Fan smiled wryly.

"I do need money, but it's a huge sum. A really huge sum. What you're giving me would just be a drop in the bucket. It wouldn't make any difference."

Su Ruochu suddenly asked a question.

"Chen Fan, what exactly do you need the money for?"

Chen Fan smiled.

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes."

Su Ruochu nodded. In truth, she'd been interested in what Chen Fan was doing for a long time.

But since Chen Fan hadn't brought it up, she'd felt too shy to ask.

"Come here!"

Chen Fan pulled Su Ruochu down beside him, moved the mouse, and pointed to the website on the screen.

"I built this website myself."

"The Domain Name Network?"

Su Ruochu looked baffled, not understanding what it meant.

Chen Fan opened another website.

"Someone else built this one."

"Right now, we're both pouring money into promoting our own websites."

Su Ruochu looked puzzled.

"Why do you have to pour money into promoting them?"

Chen Fan smiled and explained patiently, "It's like raising piglets. We've each bought a piglet. We spend more on feed at the start, raise them until they're nice and plump, then sell them. Naturally, we make a profit..."

Su Ruochu immediately understood.

"You want to sell this website?"

Chen Fan nodded.

"To be more precise, I'll only be able to sell my website after I've beaten the other one."

"Why?"

This was clearly outside Su Ruochu's knowledge.

And Chen Fan was more than happy to see that innocent, curious look in her eyes.

It made him feel as though he'd managed to show off in front of her.

"Because in any industry, only the leader is number one, and the leader is worth the most."

"Our websites are the same type. If we want investors to notice us and buy us out in the future, we have to beat the other guy and get the most traffic. That's what will interest investors..."

Chen Fan pointed to the Easy Domain Network's webpage.

"The reality right now is that the guy on the other side is loaded. His advertising and promotion completely overwhelm ours."

"That's why I said I don't need money right now. Even throwing in tens of thousands of yuan would just be a waste."

"Unless we can put in hundreds of thousands and completely overwhelm him, spending that money won't mean anything."

Su Ruochu was beginning to understand.

Her eyes shone as she watched Chen Fan.

To be honest, this was the first time she'd heard Chen Fan talk about things so unfamiliar to her.

Especially when he used terms she didn't understand, Su Ruochu felt as though he'd become a different person.

She saw a light in his eyes. She saw focus.

Sure enough, a man focused on his work was the most handsome.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Ruochu spoke softly.

"Why don't you take it anyway? You have to try again. You can't admit defeat before it's even over."

Chen Fan smiled and shook his head.

"It won't help. If it comes down to spending money on promotion, there's no way we can compete with him."

Su Ruochu couldn't help feeling anxious for Chen Fan.

"Then... are you just going to give up?"

She knew Chen Fan had been working on this website since before the Gaokao.

Every time, he worked here late into the night.

He had poured so much effort into this website.

Seeing the tension and worry on Su Ruochu's face,

Chen Fan smiled and held her hand.

"Of course I won't give up that easily."

"I only said we wouldn't compete with him by pouring money into promotion. We can still look for another approach."

Su Ruochu looked hopeful.

"Then have you thought of another way?"

Chen Fan smiled wryly.

"Not yet."

Su Ruochu thought for a moment, then suddenly pushed the bankbook back into Chen Fan's hand.

"Since you haven't thought of another way yet, take this for now."

"Even if it's just a drop in the bucket, it's better than doing nothing."

Su Ruochu looked at Chen Fan with complete sincerity.

"Just consider it a loan from me."

"If you don't take it, I... I'll never speak to you again."