Chapter 44: Can You Even Be of Any Help?

During her university years, Gao Mengting made a fortune as a "Taoke" (affiliate marketer), even owning an independent product guide website.

"Taoke" refers to a profession where individuals earn commissions by helping e-commerce platform sellers promote products.

Starting in 2020, the live-streaming e-commerce industry experienced a sudden explosion. The interactivity, demonstrability, and convenience of live streaming drove a shift in consumer shopping habits.

Her Taoke business took a massive hit, as promotion revenues steadily declined.

After careful study and research, she chose to follow the trend of the times and entered this hot sector.

She bought a Wuling Hongguang to transport goods, rented this shop, and started a business in partnership with two classmates.

She held an 80% equity stake, while the other two classmates held 10% each.

Using the physical store as their foundation, they expanded their business through online channels. As the whirlwind of live-streaming e-commerce swept through, business flourished.

However, disagreements and conflicts inevitably arose.

The two partners felt they were receiving too little in proportion to their contributions and demanded a redistribution of equity, with each of the three holding 33.3%.

This was clearly unacceptable to Gao Mengting. Since the store opened, she had provided most of the capital, sourced the inventory, and designed the live-streaming style and scripts.

The three fell out. The other two partners submitted requests to withdraw their shares according to the "Individual Business Partnership Agreement" and took a portion of the cash flow with them.

One partner, who was in charge of live streaming, posted a long, emotional rant using the store's authenticated account, inciting fans to cyberbully Gao Mengting. The small shop faced a wave of complaints and returns, eventually resulting in being banned by the platform.

The other partner, responsible for fan engagement, swiftly converted her long-running secondary account into a primary one.

The two started their own identical business, completely gutting her operation.

The online platform suffered a devastating blow, cash flow dried up, offline foot traffic was insufficient, and accumulated inventory could not be cleared, directly plunging her into a quagmire.

Of course, what she found even harder to accept was the betrayal of her two close friends.

...

During the conversation, one or two customers walked in from time to time.

By the time Gao Mengting finished sharing her entrepreneurial journey, it was nearly noon.

Tang Song remained silent throughout, his gaze toward Gao Mengting filled with sympathy.

She had originally acted out of kindness to help a friend in difficulty achieve prosperity, so the terms in the "Individual Business Partnership Agreement" were very lenient—which also gave them the ability to turn on her and stab her in the back at any time.

No wonder she had been so meticulous about the wording in the "Used Car Sales Contract" earlier.

"Do you think I'm quite foolish in certain aspects?" Gao Mengting shook her head self-deprecatingly. "The three of us were college roommates; we were close enough to share a single quilt. But I still underestimated human greed and overestimated my own personal charm."

Tang Song pursed his dry lips and said, "I can only say you are too kind."

Gao Mengting stood up, pulled a bottle of mineral water from the cash register, and handed it to him. "If you ever start a business, you must put effort into the agreements. It's best to find a professional lawyer. Not to take advantage of others, but to ensure others don't have the courage to betray you."

Tang Song took the water, stood up, and met her eyes, saying sincerely, "Miss Gao, I have indeed made entrepreneurial plans, and I came here today to invite you to be my partner."

"Huh?" Gao Mengting froze, saying in disbelief, "Me? A partner?"

They had only met twice in total; they weren't even acquaintances. How did it jump straight to a business partnership?

Tang Song took a large gulp of water and said, "I have extensive and complete information on clothing supply chain channels, allowing me to quickly find the lowest prices for the same quality. But I lack industry experience, and I need your help!"

Gao Mengting thought for a moment, then shook her head with a bitter smile. "To be honest, I am currently in significant debt and overwhelmed every day. I have no heart to start over from scratch. It's too hard."

"My initial investment is one million yuan." Tang Song held up an index finger, his expression serious. "I also have a 200-square-meter independent office under my name, right in the Yunxi Building!"

To recruit this high-quality talent, he laid out his greatest advantages.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the entrance.

"Mengting! Mengting!"

A young man in his early twenties ran into the shop, wearing a shirt and trousers, with a bright, sunny appearance.

He was wearing an ID badge around his neck that read "Aijia Real Estate Agency."

Gao Mengting turned to look at him, puzzled. "What is it, Yongming?"

Li Yongming panted heavily. "I just received word that the leaders of the property management company are having dinner at Huide. The manager of the Investment and Development Department is also there today."

Hearing this, Gao Mengting instantly perked up, saying urgently, "Wait for me, I'll be right there!"

She then explained to Tang Song, "Mr. Tang, I am currently embroiled in trouble. How about we discuss the business matter another time?"

At this moment, she had no desire to investigate whether Tang Song was telling the truth; she only wanted to get through this crisis and pay off her debts.

Besides, starting a business was no small matter. Partners, sources of goods, capital, market trends—there were too many variables.

Even if she were given another chance, the possibility of failure was not small.

Tang Song read her mood and knew that this matter could not be rushed.

He said candidly, "I understand. Please take your time to consider it, Boss Gao. I am very serious about this venture. If you are willing to join, we can register a formal company. I will provide the paid-in capital, and the equity split can be negotiated. We will hire a lawyer to draft complete articles of association to avoid unnecessary problems."

Looking at the eloquent Tang Song, Li Yongming couldn't help but ask, "And you are?"

"Tang Song." Tang Song nodded to Li Yongming, his gaze returning to Gao Mengting.

Li Yongming frowned. "Let's go, Mengting! Business comes first!"

He had been pursuing this college classmate for several years. Knowing that Gao Mengting was currently at her most vulnerable and helpless stage, he had been trying everything to help her, hoping to win her heart.

But the moment this man opened his mouth, he was talking about "registering a company," "starting a partnership," and "paid-in capital"—he was clearly aiming straight for Gao Mengting's heart.

Combined with the man's good height and looks, Li Yongming's internal alarms went off instantly.

Gao Mengting met Tang Song's gaze and nodded. "Alright, Mr. Tang! Let's communicate via WeChat. I really have urgent matters to handle today, and I need to close the shop for a bit."

"Do you need help?" Since she was the partner he had set his sights on, Tang Song was quite attentive.

Seeing Tang Song persistently pursuing Gao Mengting, Li Yongming couldn't help but snap irritably, "We are going to negotiate the lease termination with the property management leaders. I told you, is it like you could actually help?"

"Yongming, watch your tone." Gao Mengting frowned and explained, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tang, my friend is a bit blunt. When I rented this shop, I signed an agreement with the property management company. If I terminate the lease before the term ends, I have to pay the remaining months' rent, and the security deposit will be forfeited. You know my current situation, so I want to try to apply to the property management leaders to see if we can find another way to resolve this or at least ease the terms."

"I understand." Tang Song nodded. He had heard of such things; many shopping malls set similar barriers during peak leasing seasons to prevent tenants from fleeing or leaving shops vacant.

Gao Mengting checked the time and said, "Mr. Tang, let's leave it at that for now. We have to take a taxi."

Tang Song proactively offered, "How about I drive you there? I hope that Wuling brings you good luck."

At the mention of "Wuling," Gao Mengting's eyes softened significantly, and she nodded gently. "Okay, thank you, Mr. Tang!"

Then, she pulled a beautifully packaged belt from a drawer and handed it to him. "This was a gift from a previous promotion; please take it as my taxi fare."

"Thank you," Tang Song said with a smile as he accepted it.

Li Yongming opened his mouth to speak but ultimately held back. After all, he didn't even own a car yet!

(End of Chapter)