Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 288 - 283: Quit While You’re Ahead

Yan Ling’s trip to New York was packed with a lot to attend to. After discussing the detailed arrangements for Y·Y’s shoe line over dinner with Yan Yan, it was off to the New York shoe upper factory for a spot of "supervision".

Yan Yan had originally planned to have lunch followed by Qi Yi returning to his classes while she would visit the factory with Yan Ling.

After mass production, it mattered greatly to Yan Yan—a designer who rarely meddled yet was incredibly "nitpicky"—whether the quality of the assembled shoes remained consistent with the samples, and whether the eyelets on the uppers were made with sufficient precision and fit.

During the meal, Qi Yi mentioned that he was now somewhat of a "jobless wanderer." He had already taken the afternoon off and wouldn’t be returning to work after lunch.

Qi Yi volunteered to help Yan Yan with her suitcase, asserting that wherever she went, he would follow.

The last time these two met was at Yan Yan’s first official Haute Couture fashion show in Paris in January, where Qi Yi came to watch the show. Yan Yan was so busy she was scarcely seen, and shortly after, Qi Yi returned to China. Their last encounter had been incredibly rushed.

And it had already been several months since then.

The "long-lost" pair was so lovey-dovey that even Yan Ling, the lonesome one, could hardly bear to watch.

Disgusted, Yan Ling urged Yan Yan to head back, tidy up her luggage, take a bath, get a good night’s sleep, and get over her jet lag. She said there was no rush to inspect the final shoe products at the factory the next day.

Although Yan Ling claimed he was there to break up couples, his actions spoke entirely to the contrary.

Yan Ling was always in his cousin’s corner.

Despite his growing dissatisfaction with Qi Yi’s "inefficiency," how could he object when his cousin was smitten?

Moreover, after the last "discussion," Yan Ling had been largely persuaded by Qi Yi.

When Qi Yi dedicated himself to "negotiations," he was virtually unbeatable.

Except when it came to his mother.

...

After Yan Ling left, the mushiness between Yan Yan and Qi Yi reached a whole new level.

Yan Yan walked as if she was nearly hanging off Qi Yi, all due to one reason—exhaustion.

"Qi Yi, haven’t you found all the LPs for your fund yet? Why did the news the other day label you as an ’obscure’ Investment Manager? Aren’t you already establishing your own fund?" Yan Yan was still hung up on those four words.

"What do you mean by finding all the LPs? As for me, Qi Yi, having you as my LP is enough. Since you haven’t agreed to be my LP yet, I’ll wait until you’re willing. What’s there to look for?" Qi Yi apologized, but he didn’t shy away from taking advantage whenever he could.

"I’ve been Ian’s LP before, and that’s probably the last time I’ll be anyone’s LP," Yan Yan stated her stance.

"What’s wrong? Are you dissatisfied with the returns on this investment?" Qi Yi was a bit defeated by Yan Yan’s words, as the combination of the letters LP with Ian was extremely awkward for him.

Qi Yi had never taken advantage of the LP in the past three years, and now that Yan Yan had withdrawn her investment, he suddenly felt the urge to capitalize, which was clearly a loss-making proposition.

More importantly than this unattainable advantage was the reason why Yan Yan, a "restricted partner," claimed that she would never be an LP again.

Yan Yan indeed invested in Ian’s fund, but no matter what, Qi Yi was one of the main "operators" of Ian’s private equity.

If Yan Yan had become completely disillusioned with private equity after one investment, it certainly meant she had many grievances about Qi Yi’s work.

"On the contrary, I’m too satisfied, and that’s why I don’t want to invest in private equity anymore." Yan Yan smiled, reassuring her worried boyfriend to relax.

"If you’re satisfied, why not continue investing? What I meant earlier was, if I establish a private equity, you shouldn’t be my ’golden master’ to avoid affecting my judgment. With a black box, of course, there will be significant risks. There’s no high return without risk. Ian’s style is relatively conservative, and you could really continue being an LP with him," Qi Yi didn’t mean to stop Yan Yan from investing in private equity.

"Ha ha, that’s not the reason. You know, both my family and my cousin’s family are in the manufacturing business.

We’ve always believed that labor is the most honorable thing since we were young.

It’s easy to make money with private equity, but it also has a downside.

Once the money is invested, you do nothing but wait for the figures to grow.

Money earned this way feels just like winnings from a casino; it doesn’t feel real when you spend it.

Without a concept of money, treating it merely as numbers, one could blow it all in an instant.

"If I get used to spending money like that, I’ll be bankrupt sooner or later," Yan Yan offered her own logic.

"Our Waiwai is a genius," Qi Yi reached a strange conclusion.

"Ah? What do you mean?" Yan Yan liked being called a genius, but it had to be sincere, not casual talk without reason.

It’s like a boy who believes "the girlfriend is always right," admitting fault without knowing what he did wrong.

Such an admission is even less sincere than not admitting any fault at all.

"You know the threshold for domestic private equity investment is 1 million, right?

But just having a million isn’t enough to buy into private equity. You also need to provide personal financial assets, like bank deposits and stocks, no less than 3 million yuan, or have an average income over the past three years of no less than 500,000 yuan annually.

Many people don’t understand why private equity sets such thresholds.

Why can’t having a disposable ’spare cash’ of a million which one doesn’t need for a year and a half be a strong enough proof?

In good times, it’s too easy to make money in private equity.

The easier it is to make money, the less control people have over their spending.

After making their first pot of gold from private equity, due to the fast inflow of money, many will convert all their assets into cash for investment.

When times are tough, these people will end up bankrupt.

So, buying into private equity requires strict vetting.

The existing rules and regulations are there to prevent as much as possible situations that lead to bankruptcy.

Beyond these requirements, private equity purchases also need to pass a risk attribute assessment to confirm the buyer’s risk tolerance.

However, regulations are just that, and many who’ve tasted the sweetness still do it resolutely.

There’s no shortage of people who mortgage their homes to buy into private equity.

Someone like our Waiwai, who knows when to stop, is pretty rare.

You’re the type who would leave a casino as soon as you win.

Definitely, the casino would like you the least," Qi Yi earnestly explained the reason behind calling her a "genius."

"Are you complimenting me? By implying that casinos wouldn’t welcome me, do you mean private equity firms wouldn’t be too keen on me either? Are you suggesting that you don’t want me as a limited partner in your fund because I know when to stop?" Yan Yan was still somewhat dissatisfied with Qi Yi’s explanation.

Yan Yan had invested half of her fortune into the patents and production lines of shoes.

Even so, the half of her fortune that remained was much more than what she had before investing in Ian’s private equity.

"Waiwai doesn’t love me as much as she used to," Qi Yi changed the subject without warning.