From Arsenal to the Ball God

On March 8, Ma’el took a day off to go with Mendes, who came again to Sheffield City, to visit the endorsing merchant.

It’s a clothing factory located north of Sheffield, a startup company, and I’ve heard the founder is a very young woman... studied fashion design, wholeheartedly wanting to start a sportswear brand.

”I hope we can finish quickly.”

In the car, Mendes seemed full of vigor. He was always like this, able to maintain his momentum even when flying around, ”If we can complete the endorsement process here by the afternoon, we can sign with the second company in London by the evening.

”Wrap things up in one day, spend the night in London, and head back tomorrow.”

Ma’el looked out of the window and said, ”I think so too.”

”Why did you suddenly call me yesterday?”

Mendes looked at him, somewhat curious, ”Short of money? That shouldn’t be it. Or are you very curious about the series of endorsement processes?”

”A bit short on money.”

Ma’el turned his head back, considered a moment, then said frankly, ”I’ve been preparing to invest in that app we looked at last time, Mendes. Are you interested?”

”Invest?”

Mendes widened his eyes, very surprised, ”Have you thought this through? It’s no trivial matter, and from what I see, you’re going to throw all your assets in?”

His advice last time was just to use personal influence to attract attention, not to invest money.

After all, these are two completely different concepts; investing means putting up real money.

”I’ve thought it through.”

Ma’el smiled slightly and said, ”I got in touch with them, and they should come over in the week after next. It’s just uncertain how many shares I can get.

”I think they have great potential, and since I don’t have big expenses personally, the biggest idea right now is to buy a car once I get my driving license. With my current earning speed, I’ll have enough for a car by then.

”As for housing... when I return to London, I might find a luxury home willing to lease first and buy later. Move in first and pay once I’ve saved enough.”

Mendes was undoubtedly struck, calmed down after a while, and said, ”Listen, Ma’el, I really admire your awareness and bravery at your age to take risks.

”But isn’t it a bit reckless to throw all your assets into investing at once?”

Ma’el looked at his expression, knowing that a long piece of advice would follow. He was ready to let it go in one ear and out the other.

”.....”

Sure enough, Mendes went on tirelessly, discussing business law, economic knowledge, market environment, social media giants, and so on.

Ma’el nodded occasionally, sometimes making a learned pose.

But when Mendes finished speaking, he asked a question, ”Mr. Mendes, I seriously advise you too. Are you sure you don’t want to invest a little?”

Mendes realized he hadn’t listened, shrugged slightly, and gave up, ”I have more profitable business... Well, since you’re insistent on trying, I won’t say more.

”Send me the contract when it’s out, and I’ll have the legal team check it to avoid getting fooled in this matter.”

With that, the two arrived at the entrance of a clothing factory, where a pink Porsche 911 was parked, presumably owned by the factory boss.

Seeing their car, the Porsche’s door opened, revealing a pair of tall boots, then a pair of long, healthy legs wearing black-gray thick stockings.

A very young girl stepped out of the car, wearing a beige coat over a black sweater, her golden hair setting off an extremely fair face, sharp features that appeared aggressive yet somewhat sexy.

”Bang!” She slammed the car door shut, raised her head, and walked over, extending a hand towards Ma’el: ”Isabella.”

”You’re the owner of this clothing factory?”

Ma’el shook hands with her, thinking she seemed excessively young, about his age: ”I expected your age to be young, but not this young.”

”Haha.”

Isabella’s lips were very thin and looked thinner when she smiled, and up close, her skin was delicate, incredibly beautiful, exuding confidence in every move, suggesting a good family background.

Beside them, Mendes was also a bit dazed; he didn’t expect the company’s owner to be a girl.

He had previously negotiated with the company’s president, a man in his forties who was hired.

Seeing through their thoughts, Isabella generously gestured for them to enter the factory while introducing herself: ”I’ve been interested in fashion design since childhood, and later fell in love with sports.

”When I was in freshman year, my father gave me some money, letting me choose between starting a business or investing, so I founded this clothing factory.

”This is its second year; last year we completed all series designs, promotional preparations, leasing venues, buying equipment, and other work. We recently finished recruiting workers and are ready to start production.”

Ma’el followed her into the clothing factory, seeing all kinds of machinery and equipment inside, as well as many drawings.

Of course, there were some quirky styles associated with young people’s entrepreneurship. Despite being a factory, it felt like a girl’s room.

”So, you’re around twenty?”

Mendes felt a bit more at ease seeing the factory’s interior, ”Your father must be a tycoon? No offense, but could you tell me his name?”

Isabella’s expression didn’t change as she calmly refused, ”My father is in the real estate business. Our family is quite well-off, but his name is inconvenient to disclose.”