Chapter 203: If you dare to sell, I dare to buy!

Gu Xingnan looked at Yu Ci's excited expression, the corner of his mouth twitched, he raised a hand to his forehead, and for a long time he didn't say a word.

Jiang Liangjin and Mu Youyu turned back, looking at Yu Ci's smug look, they exchanged a glance, and a hint of smile flickered in their eyes.

This train of thought is still as weird as ever.

Gu Xingnan finally found his voice, raised a hand, curled his fingers, and flicked Yu Ci's forehead neither lightly nor heavily, speaking unhappily: "Stay sharp, four people is the limit for a team, not for you to just make up the numbers."

Yu Ci covered his forehead and yelled, then belatedly glanced at that line of small print, his face fell instantly: "Four people? That would mean only forty thousand startup funds each? So stingy!"

He counted on his fingers, his brows furrowing tighter: "Turning forty thousand into over twelve times to become five hundred thousand? Isn't that difficulty a bit too high?"

Mu Youyu's attention was caught by the two words "stingy", and she didn't hear a word of his later complaints.

She only frowned, earnestly defending him: "Mu Xin is awesome, okay! This is a company he founded single-handedly; being able to put up this much money for a competition is already no small feat!"

Jiang Liangjin chimed in: "What a generous person he is, don't talk nonsense."

Those around who heard it showed they weren't surprised.

The two are childhood friends, there's nothing wrong with them calling each other that.

Yu Ci then realized, XY Group was founded by Mu Xin, and he immediately felt a bit embarrassed: "Oh dear, oh dear, I didn't mean to say that about him, it was just a casual complaint, don't take it to heart."

Mu Youyu didn't say more, raised her eyes to look at them, and asked: "Then for our team entry, is it four versus four, or split into two groups for two versus two?"

"Definitely four versus four!" Yu Ci blurted out without thinking, his eyes lighting up instantly like a lit firecracker, and he leaned in toward the three of them.

"The three of you joining forces, plus me as the morale booster, and this championship is guaranteed!"

He was happily calculating in his heart: if he could really bring back a Business Competition gold medal, his dad would be so thrilled he'd on the spot give him a big red envelope.

He might even get that sports car handed to him!

Gu Xingnan originally also leaned toward a four-person team; hearing this, he immediately nodded in agreement, obviously sharing that idea.

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin exchanged a glance, obviously thinking either option was fine.

The four of them thus settled on it.

Once the team was set, Yu Ci instantly wilted: "Going from a hundred people to four, the startup funds shrink straight to forty thousand—this deal is a huge loss."

Mu Youyu tapped the details on the registration form with her fingertip, raised an eyebrow at him, and said: "A loss? Turning forty thousand into five hundred thousand is the real skill; if you just rely on headcount for the startup funds, winning would be meaningless."

Jiang Liangjin nodded in agreement, deeply convinced: "Youbao is right."

Gu Xingnan: "That's right, A Ci—you need to know this Business Competition pits brains against brains, not headcount."

Jiang Liangjin added: "More people mean more hands and more opinions, which actually makes unity harder, hindering quick decisions; sometimes fewer people mean higher efficiency."

Yu Ci was left speechless by the three, opened his mouth, and could only wave his hand grudgingly: "Fine, fine, fine, you're all right."

Mu Youyu filled in the four names on the registration form, then said: "We four are a team; we first need to set a direction."

Jiang Liangjin nodded: "Right."

Gu Xingnan: "First, see what we're each good at."

Jiang Liangjin propped his elbows on the table, fingertips lightly tapping his chin, and continued: "I can do anything; we can also split into four-person teams, three teams, or two teams, run several batches at once, try several directions simultaneously, then pool resources into the most promising one."

This isn't about disbanding the group; it's just that splitting into squads works better for development.

As the two finished speaking, they both turned their gazes to Yu Ci.

Yu Ci jolted under the two gazes, instinctively straightened his back, chest thumping, and declared earnestly: "I'll handle… I'll handle livening up the atmosphere, cheering you on, guaranteeing the team spirit is top-notch!"

No sooner had he spoken than he received Jiang Liangjin's "couldn't be bothered" look.

This guy, besides livening up the atmosphere, what else can he do?

Gu Xingnan looked at his appearance, couldn't help but smile, felt helpless inside, and said nothing.

Mu Youyu watched the three's interaction, couldn't help but chuckle, suddenly as if an idea struck, her eyes flickered, and she said: "Actually, I have an idea."

Jiang Liangjin followed her lead and asked: "What?"

She immediately continued: "I can take a few hundred of the startup funds to buy some brushes and paper, and try selling paintings to test the waters."

!?

As soon as she said that, Bai Yun, who had been thinking of a comeback, couldn't stay seated and exclaimed softly: "What! Xiao Yu, you want to sell paintings? I'll definitely buy if you do! Set the price at seven figures or higher!"

In the art world, who doesn't know Mu Youyu?

Works released under the name Yue Shu are all top-notch, and online they've long been hard to get.

With Yue Shu's current fame and skill, a single piece priced at seven figures is just the baseline; if she actually put them up for sale……

…wouldn't collectors go crazy snapping them up?

Selling paintings without external funds is fine—could there be fewer buyers? She'd be the first to rush in!

Bai Yun grew more excited the more she thought, even shifting her chair back a bit, making sure she could reach Mu Youyu's arm, then reached out and grabbed her arm, shaking it.

"Rest assured, as long as you dare to sell, I dare to buy! I'll definitely promote you to the fullest!"

"It's not set yet, just a casual mention—Xiao Yun, don't get so worked up."

Mu Youyu was amused by her exaggerated tone, curled the corners of her mouth, and patiently explained: "Besides, the competition rules say you can't rely on existing fame to monetize directly; it must be a business venture starting from zero."

In other words, if she sells paintings, the price can't be set too high; it must match the positioning of a newcomer in the market.

Can't rely on Yue Shu's fame to take a shortcut.

"But those are still Yue Shu's paintings!" Bai Yun insisted, "No matter how cheap, they can't be that cheap!"

Xia Chaoyi, sitting beside Bai Yun, also turned his head, looking at the four, and said: "Our Class A is counting on you four!"

As soon as he said that, the other students in the class also started to chime in.

"You four will sweep Lan Lin and crush Nan Feng! We in Class A will just follow along and bask in the glory!"