Yan Fei asked, "Pingping, what are your plans next?"
Lu Pingping suddenly became melancholic and said, "I want to visit my father first. You know I haven't seen him for several years."
Lu Pingping's father, Lu Shuchun, was imprisoned for corruption and is currently serving his sentence in jail. As his daughter, Lu Pingping was very upset. However, since Lu Shuchun violated national laws, she was helpless. Moreover, she had moved far to Beijing and hadn't seen her father for several years. Now that she was back, she planned to visit him in prison.
Yan Fei, looking at the sorrowful Lu Pingping, also felt a bit sad. He tried to lighten the mood but suddenly remembered his own plan, so he said, "Pingping, as you know, I have a sizable amount of cash on hand, and I'm planning to use it to start a business. I wonder if you're interested in joining?"
Lu Pingping indeed snapped out of her melancholy and said, "Fei, you want to start your own business? Which industry are you considering?"
Yan Fei said, "It will probably be related to biomedical technology. When the time comes, we'll release a few products related to biomedical technology."
Lu Pingping was somewhat surprised and asked, "Probably? You mean you're not even clear about what the business will be focused on?"
Yan Fei felt somewhat helpless inside. The Auxiliary Brain was analyzing the biomedical technology data and information. He had only gained some basic technology, and there was no telling how long it would be before a complete product was developed, so of course, he didn't know what products would emerge.
Yan Fei said, "I've made contact online with several famous medical research institutes. They recently made a breakthrough, but because their research is somewhat ahead of its time, nobody is willing to support them. So, they are looking for investment everywhere. I thought their research had potential, so I agreed to invest in them. With my support, their research can continue. It's just that these research findings are still being perfected, and I'm not clear what the final products will be."
Lu Pingping covered her mouth in surprise and said, "You're actually trusting what people online say? Aren't you afraid of being scammed?"
Lu Pingping was well-traveled and had her own ability to discern right from wrong. But she had great trust in Yan Fei; since he said there were no issues, she believed him. Although she found the situation a bit absurd, who was she to doubt Yan Fei? After thinking it over, she asked, "How are the profits divided between you?"
Yan Fei confidently said, "There's no need to worry about that. I have visited their research institutions and projects personally and am quite confident in their research. Once their technology matures, the products they release will be a generation ahead of the world, and I'll gain substantial profits."
Lu Pingping was well-traveled and had her own ability to discern right from wrong. But she had great trust in Yan Fei; since he said there were no issues, she believed him. Although she found the situation a bit absurd, who was she to doubt Yan Fei? After thinking it over, she asked, "How are the profits divided between you?"
Yan Fei said, "These research centers will hand over the medicine they've developed to me and will be responsible for dealing with any side effects and further research and development. I will take care of the production and sales of the medicine, and all operational funding will come from me. They will get 25% of the profits, while I will get 75%."
In fact, the research centers that Yan Fei mentioned didn't exist in the world. He fabricated these entities to conceal the existence of the Auxiliary Brain. After all, he had no knowledge of biomedical technology himself and lacked any biotech talents, yet he was about to release powerful biomedical medicine, which would inevitably raise suspicions. These fictitious research centers were his scapegoats. As long as he kept quiet, no one would know where these research centers were.
Lu Pingping said, "The profit-sharing sounds reasonable, but aren't you afraid that they might kick you out and choose to collaborate with someone else after the medicine becomes successful? Then all your initial investment would be wasted."
Yan Fei smiled mysteriously and said, "You don't need to worry about that at all. I have ways to keep them in check, and I assure you, they will never kick us out to go it alone."
Lu Pingping furrowed her brows, mulling over the existing interests in her mind.
Yan Fei asked again, "So, are you willing to work on this with me?"
Lu Pingping said, "Since you're the one asking me, I will certainly agree. My main concern lies with the research centers, due to their being too many uncertainties."
Yan Fei said, "You can rest assured on that. For some reasons, I can't disclose the thing that restrains them, but you can trust me, I'm definitely not afraid they will cast me aside."
Since Yan Fei had said so, Lu Pingping was reassured and said, "In that case, I trust you, and I agree to join."
Yan Fei was overjoyed; he knew about Lu Pingping's capabilities. She was immensely talented in business administration and had made a name for herself while still at university. Over the years since graduating, her managerial abilities had grown significantly. Having her as his business partner, he had no worries.
Just as Yan Fei was celebrating, Yang Qi suddenly said, "Lu Pingping, weren't you a senior executive at a top 500 company in Beijing? You even said you were about to get a promotion and a pay raise, so why suddenly decide to join Yan Fei's enterprise?"
Lu Pingping glared fiercely at Yang Qi and said, "I think there's more potential for development here, so I've decided to make a move. Is there a problem with that?"
Yang Qi made a comment, "Giving up an imminent promotion and pay raise from a stable position as a senior executive in a top 500 corporation to join a fledgling company that hasn't even launched and whose purpose is unclear, yet still thinking it has more potential for development. Human emotions indeed lack any logic—I can never understand them, let alone women. That's not scientific at all…"