How Hard can Losing Money even Be?
Chapter 45: Convincing Selena [1]
The three soon sat around the dining table.
The atmosphere was much calmer than before, though Benny still occasionally glanced at Hong Yueyao.
He still wasn’t happy about being frightened half to death.
Hong Yueyao picked up a piece of food and took a bite.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Wow."
She looked at Benny in surprise.
"You’re actually a really good cook."
Benny nodded politely.
"Thanks."
His response was brief.
Clearly, he still hadn’t completely forgiven her for appearing behind him like a ghost.
Seeing this, Selena could only sigh.
She put down her chopsticks and decided to properly introduce the two.
"Benny, this is Hong Yueyao. We were college classmates."
Then she turned toward her friend.
"Hong Yueyao, this is my younger brother, Benny."
Hong Yueyao smiled warmly and extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you."
Benny hesitated for a second before reluctantly shaking it.
"Nice to meet you too."
After the introductions were finished, Selena casually added,
"Oh, right. Benny, Yueyao will be staying here for a while. So try and get along."
Benny nearly dropped his chopsticks and wanted to ask why, but he stopped himself.
If Selena wanted to explain, she would explain.
If she didn’t, then there was probably no point asking.
So he simply nodded.
"Okay."
At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
It was about the GLS.
The luxury GLS was supposed to be delivered tomorrow noon.
Benny froze as he had completely forgotten to come up with an explanation.
Knowing Selena, he knew she wouldn’t accept any half hearted excuses and she would rather live a life of misery when she doesn’t know where the money was from.
Just as he was wondering how to handle that disaster, Hong Yueyao suddenly spoke.
"Selena, you never told me your brother works in an investment company."
Selena looked up in confusion.
"Investment company?"
Hong Yueyao immediately went silent and her eyes immediately shifted between Benny and Selena.
A few awkward seconds passed and then she cautiously asked,
"...You didn’t know?"
Selena looked at her friend strangely.
"No, I know about it."
She picked up her glass and took a sip of water.
"He recently got an idea and decided to give it a try. We talked about it recently as well."
Then she added casually,
"I just didn’t expect you to know about it."
"Oh."
Hong Yueyao visibly relaxed.
For a moment, she had genuinely been worried she had accidentally revealed some secret between the siblings.
Now that concern was gone, she nodded and continued eating.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked toward Benny.
"So, Benny."
"Hm?"
"What is this Titan Manufacturing company about?"
Benny paused while Hong Yueyao continued,
"You seemed very eager to invest in it. I overheard you calling your assistant earlier and telling her to invest four million yuan immediately."
The moment those words left her mouth a violent coughing fit erupted from beside them.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Selena nearly sprayed water across the table.
Hong Yueyao was too stunned to speak while Benny froze in his seat.
After several seconds of coughing, Selena finally raised her head.
Her eyes were wide open and she stared directly at Benny.
"...What?"
Benny suddenly had a bad feeling while Selena slowly repeated the number.
"Four million?"
The dining table became silent.
"Four. Million?"
Benny nodded carefully as Selena stared at him.
For a moment, she wondered whether she had misheard.
Perhaps Hong Yueyao meant four thousand.
Or forty thousand.
Those numbers sounded reasonable.
Four million did not.
Finally, Selena pointed at him.
"You’re investing four million yuan?"
Benny nodded again.
"Yes."
Selena was silent for several seconds.
Then she asked the only question that mattered.
"...Where exactly did you get four million yuan?"
Benny felt cold sweat forming on his back.
"Uh... well..."
He looked away.
"Lottery?"
The moment the word left his mouth, Selena exploded.
"Don’t try to weasel your way out of this with the word lottery!"
She slapped the table.
"Show me your bank account. Right now."
Hong Yueyao immediately lowered her head and focused on eating.
This was clearly family business.
Benny gave a fake cough.
"Ahem."
Then he realized there was probably no escaping this one.
After all, the GLS was arriving tomorrow.
The money issue would surface sooner or later.
Eventually, he sighed.
"Okay."
He took out his phone.
"But don’t be surprised when you see the numbers."
Selena crossed her arms.
"Hmph. Let me see what you’re hiding from me."
...
Three minutes later.
Hong Yueyao was sitting beside Selena, gently patting her shoulder.
"It’s okay."
Selena didn’t respond, her eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
Her expression was completely blank.
Meanwhile, Benny was quietly clearing the dining table.
His movements were unusually obedient and his face carried a guilty expression.
After showing her the account balance, Selena had gone completely silent.
Not just toward him.
She hadn’t spoken a single word since.
The entire apartment felt strangely quiet.
Benny carried the plates into the kitchen and sighed.
This wasn’t how he imagined the conversation would go.
He had expected surprise, maybe shock, possibly even excitement.
Instead, his sister appeared to have entered a state of existential crisis.
At the corner of the living room, Hong Yueyao continued trying to comfort her despite Selena remaining motionless like a statue.
Benny glanced over his shoulder then quickly looked away.
This was bad.
After thinking for a moment, he pulled out his phone.
Food helped solve many problems.
A few taps later, he ordered fried chicken and beer.
Tonight, he intended to properly talk things out with his sister.
The money wasn’t going away.
The GLS wasn’t going away either.
Sooner or later, Selena would need to accept reality.
Perhaps it was finally time for the family to start living a little more comfortably.
Unfortunately, convincing Selena sounded incredibly difficult.
She was stubborn.
Benny thought about it while turning on the faucet.
Water flowed over the plates.
Then his eyes drifted toward Hong Yueyao.
...Maybe. If I can convince Hong Yueyao first...
Then she can help convince Selena.
That sounded much more realistic.