Lucy silently took the folders from her bag and placed them onto the table.

"These are the company’s current operational documents and financing applications," she said professionally.

Zhang Qiang gave a small nod but didn’t touch them himself.

Instead, he casually tilted his head toward one of the men standing behind him.

The bodyguard immediately stepped forward, picked up the files, and began flipping through them.

The room became quiet.

Only the sound of turning pages could be heard.

Lucy sat upright calmly on the surface, though internally she already had a terrible feeling about where this was going.

One minute later, the man reading the documents paused and frowned.

Then he leaned down slightly toward Zhang Qiang and whispered something into his ear.

Lucy couldn’t hear the exact words.

But she did notice one thing clearly, the moment Zhang Qiang heard it, the corners of his mouth slowly began lifting before uttering the words,"...Interesting."

Lucy immediately felt her headache worsening.

Zhang Qiang leaned back leisurely before looking directly at her again.

Then casually asked:

"Your company doesn’t possess the proper regulatory licenses for investment and financing operations?"

"..."

Lucy felt her soul momentarily leave her body.

She had spent the entire morning desperately hoping this particular issue wouldn’t come up immediately.

Yet here it was, directly to her face.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qiang simply watched her reaction with growing amusement.

Honestly speaking, when Benny came yesterday, Zhang Qiang had merely assumed he was an inexperienced rich kid trying to start a company for fun.

That wasn’t uncommon but lacking even the proper licenses?

That crossed into completely different territory.

Lucy slowly inhaled once before answering carefully:

"The company registration process is still... being optimized."

The moment those words left her mouth, even the man holding the documents paused slightly.

Zhang Qiang stared at her then laughed again.

"...Optimized?"

Lucy: "..."

At this point, even she felt ashamed hearing herself say it.

Zhang Qiang rubbed his forehead while still grinning.

Then finally he waved a hand lightly.

"Relax."

Lucy blinked slightly.

Zhang Qiang leaned back comfortably.

"I’m not the police."

That was somehow not reassuring at all.

Still smiling faintly, he continued:

"Honestly speaking, compared to some of the people I’ve dealt with before..."

His gaze drifted toward the documents again.

"...your boss is practically adorable."

Lucy silently lowered her eyes.

For some reason, that description felt painfully accurate.

Zhang Qiang slowly tapped the stack of documents against the table.

The faint grin on his face never disappeared.

"Still," he said leisurely, "a business without proper licensing is considered high risk."

Lucy already knew what was coming next.

A loan shark wasn’t going to let go of this opportunity and not ask for a higher interest.

There might even be stricter terms and crazy collateral demands.

And as expected, Zhang Qiang casually continued:

"So naturally, the financing conditions will need adjustment."

He placed the documents down.

"For a ¥100,000 operational loan..."

His fingers tapped lightly against the table once.

"Thirty percent monthly compound interest."

Lucy almost thought she misheard him.

Then he calmly added:

"And collateral tied to the company’s current assets. Including the cafe equity."

This time Lucy spoke immediately.

"...That’s absurd."

Her voice remained polite but firm.

Lucy looked directly at him.

"At that rate, the debt would spiral uncontrollably within months."

"That’s generally how compound interest works," Zhang Qiang replied mildly.

"And tying cafe equity into operational financing for a startup company is excessive risk absorption."

Zhang Qiang smiled slightly. "From my perspective, lending to your company at all is excessive risk absorption."

Lucy: "..."

It was painfully fair still... she straightened slightly and continued professionally.

"Autumn Investment possesses active operational assets, office infrastructure, and equity-backed investment holdings. The company also maintains stable staffing."

Zhang Qiang looked amused as he leaned back again.

"Then let me ask you honestly."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"If your company collapses next month, what exactly guarantees repayment?"

Lucy fell silent because honestly, nothing.

At least nothing she could confidently swear by.

Meanwhile Zhang Qiang calmly continued:

"Young startups fail every day."

"Investment firms without licenses fail even faster."

"The only valuable thing your company currently owns is that cafe equity."

Lucy quietly clenched her fingers beneath the table.

He wasn’t wrong, that was the frustrating part.

Still, she couldn’t accept those terms, she was no lawyer yet she knew that if she brought back a thirty percent compound-interest loan tied against company assets, even she felt the company would explode instantly.

Lucy slowly inhaled once before speaking again."Twenty percent. Simple monthly interest. There will be no café equity involvement."

Zhang Qiang smiled. "That’s simply impossible."

"Make it possible."

"I need the equity," Zhang Qiang said, shaking his head. "I have to recoup my losses if your company defaults."

"We aren’t going to vanish into thin air, Mr. Zhang," Lucy replied, her voice cutting through the tension. "You hold a legally binding contract. If we default, you sue the corporation."

"And what if the corporation is hollow? I can’t bank on a piece of paper."

The back-and-forth continued for nearly twenty minutes, the air in the room growing heavier with every rejected compromise.

Eventually, Zhang Qiang exhaled sharply through his nose, rubbing his temples. "...You’re troublesome."

Lucy calmly replied, "I’m doing my job."

Finally, he raised one finger. "Final offer. A one-hundred-thousand-yuan operational loan at a twelve percent interest compounded monthly.

No touch on the café equity, but the company’s office equipment stays on the books as financing liability. Take it or walk."

Lucy processed the terms silently.

It was still terrible but that was the best she could do.

After several seconds, she slowly nodded.

"...Understood."

Zhang Qiang grinned slightly.

"Good."

Then he leaned back comfortably again.

"Tell your little boss congratulations."

His smile widened faintly.

"Autumn Investment is officially in debt now."