Chapter 127 - Exploring District 7 (2) - Business And Trust

"While we are here, I have something to discuss with you too, Sofia!" Jing Jing as they settled comfortably on their table. 

She took a big pair of sunglasses from her sling bag and wore them casually. Sofia herself was also wearing one to hide her identity.

She might not be as famous as the celebrity idols but she had made precautions of the potential disturbance and disruption that she might encounter if she revealed her face openly.

"Sure! What is it, sister Jing?" Sofia chirped. 

Her slender fingers gripped the cup of coffee with elegant movements and brought them to her lips. The first taste from her espresso made her nodded her head a few times in approval of the pure blend.

Jing Jing took a minute to just watch her reaction as she took a sip from her coffee. "That's too strong for your age," she finally commented on her choice of drink.

Sofia smiled sweetly. The taste was perfect. "Quite frankly, yesterday was totally exhausting. I need this to wake up my entire soul," she giggled.

"Oh, yes. You should take rest properly. You are still young," Jing Jing responded. Now it made sense that she would choose a coffee that would strongly wake her system up.

"Sister Jing, don't worry. I will surely rest. I just need to see the situation of the market in this place. What do you want to discuss?" Sofia responded.

"Hmmn, What exactly are your plans, Sofia? I felt so strange to say this, but, I could sense that you have a full agenda for today. I just had to be honest with you about this... it felt like I am accompanying a higher boss in my company," Jing Jing muttered. Strange as she felt that she was accompanying someone who was much more wiser than her. 'Perhaps Sofia's clear eyes? The sophistication of her movements? Her tone?' she secretly thought of the reason why she felt the young lady way better than her.

"That's flattering, sister Jing. I am still a student. For the agenda? Yes, I do have, Sister Jing!" Sofia beamed.

"You really have an agenda? I thought I sensed wrong and you'll just stroll around at random places," Jing Jing commented.

"I need to explore district 7 but since I have no acquaintances to anyone in the shopping locations, it's not convenient for me to go alone," Sofia explained. She was anticipating that some people may not take her seriously if she entered an establishment for she is young.

"I see. Then, what is this exploring the district exactly? I always stroll in the entire district so, I can give you a tour," Jing Jing curiously muttered.

"It's part of my squad's plan for the money that we got in the tournament. We are planning to invest the money. But, we just could not decide the product or line of services to put our money yet. I'll have to check the demands of the market," Sofia easily responded. In fact, their group had not yet discussed any product, still, she wanted to inform Jing Jing right ahead of what would happen in the Chronos squad.

"Ohh... demands of the market," Jing Jing repeated softly as she felt a little bit at a loss of what to speak next. "D-did your school already teach you guys this stuff? This kind of discussion is rather more complicated if it's about market demands and stuff," she ended up inquiring Sofia.

"Yes, the school offers seminars for the students," Sofia answered.

"Cool! Well, there's one that I got acquainted with recently. This girl is offering a business too and I've tried it. She was still looking for business partners," Jing Jing nodded and finished her matcha coffee.

"B-business? What is her line of product?" Sofia crossed her legs and turned serious. There was a glint of excitement in her eyes as she gazed at Jing Jing.

"Her business is actually easy. You will just invest the money. And then, the next month, it will be doubled. Then, you'll withdraw the money and invest another amount if you want," Jing Jing responded coolly. Her mind drifted to this girl who contacted her through chat message and offered the business.

In an instant, Sofia's excitement vanished. She looked away to conceal the sudden change of her expression and secretly inhaled.

"How to do it, sister Jing?" she managed to ask. But her heart was already rapidly beating the moment Jing Jing described the business. It sounded too good to be true! And she remembered the similarity of such business schemes in her past life.

"It's pretty simple and no hassle. And no, it's not a scam. I have tried it once with 4000 investments. I got an 8000 cash out. Right now, I'm thinking of investing bigger," Jing Jing narrated.

"Sister Jing, that amount of profit sounded too good to be true. If there is no product, then, then, how did they get the funding of their business to give you this kind of profit?" Sofia questioned. Now, she was certain that it was indeed the business scheme that she was thinking.

"I don't know either. But, they gave us a website to track our money. And we will also request a cash-out on the website, then, they will send the money to the bank. It's an easy investment. You should consider joining!" Jing Jing suggested.

"Sister Jing, I remember a financial literacy seminar that I once attended. It talked about this kind of business," Sofia started. There was not really a seminar but she felt the need to convince Jing Jing not to trust the business. 

"Nice! Are you joining? I can give you a referral code?" Jing Jing beamed, oblivious of what Sofia was thinking in her mind.

"Uhm, sister Jing... it's like this. In the seminar, the speaker actually warned us not to trust this kind of investment. It's a common business scam scheme. At first when you said that you gave them 4000 for your investment. Then, it was doubled, right?" Sofia paused and looked at Jing Jing in the eye.

"Yes, that's right! So, I can assure you that this investment is not a scam!" Jing Jing defended.

"Sister Jing, this is the strategy of how they market their scam business and get more investments," Sofia stated. She even prolonged the word 'scam' to make sure that Jing Jing would get her message well.

"I don't think so," Jing Jing slightly frowned.

"You'll see it soon. When you give them the initial investment, they knew that you are testing the scam business by giving an amount that is not so big. So, they would naturally multiply your because they are confident that you will surely share how good the investment is. Also, the next time that you invest your money, it will be bigger because you know the potential profit for the bigger amount. When the time comes that the majority of the investors would also give a huge amount, the people who founded the scam business will vanish without a trace... taking all the money with him," Sofia calmly explained.

Jing Jing suddenly felt a cold air traveled in her spine. She was about to invest 500,000! It was all the amount in her bank! 

In fact, if Sofia did not call her today she would have gone to the bank and transfer her money to the girl that referred her to the scam business!

"Wow!" Jing Jing became speechless. Just by imagining that all her hard-earned money would be taken by someone was already an upsetting thought.

"It's better if you stop investing them. You'll see soon. Regret always happens in the end... once the results are revealed and the damage has been done," Sofia advised.

"For a moment, you sounded like an elder!" Jing Jing exclaimed.

"Hehe, I am just telling you what I have learned from the class, sister Jing. It's still up to you if you want to continue with this business," Sofia told her.

"I know. Well, I'll take note of your words. Hehe," Jing Jing chuckled. "You know, all the youngsters that I knew, I actually referred them to this investment. So, I should tell them not to continue," she assessed and started typing messages in her phone.

"Yes, just warn them about the possibility but don't impose anything," Sofia said. It was a miracle that Jing Jing did not snap and flipped at her after she told her about the business. If it was someone else, Sofia would possibly be called some nasty names and left her. 

"You are right. I'll just tell them that this is a possible scenario. It's up to them," Jing Jing agreed as she also realized how sensitive the situation would be. The business had really allowed them to earn profit. For sure, no one would believe her words!

"In the field of business, you can never trust anyone even business partners. The corporate world is like an ancient palace where everyone has their personal goals and they would do anything to gain money. Even the most unethical or illegal way. Sister Jing, don't trust easily," Sofia uttered in a serious tone.

"That's true," Jing Jing promptly agreed as she could relate to what had happened to her and Drake. She should not trust easily.

After a while of their chitchat, the two decided to head out of the BEAN coffee shop and finally set to their exploration.