Chapter 17: 016 Group Mockery

“Why are you looking for me?” Fang Qingye asked, puzzled.

“It’s about the stocks again. Go check for yourself—I’m busy at work, bye… Hey, buddy, no street vending here! Get moving!”

Then the phone erupted into noise.

Back then, stock trading via mobile phones hadn’t spread yet; apps like Tonghuashun hadn’t appeared, and the Credit Department’s computers couldn’t access the internet, so Fang Qingye had no idea how the stocks were performing today.

Hearing Song Dahai say that, Fang Qingye logged into his mobile QQ and found dozens of unread messages in his high school class group.

So lively?

He clicked in and saw everyone discussing stocks—Jiang Chen had @ed him multiple times.

Judging by Fang Qingye’s absence, Jiang Chen had been mocking him in the group.

“Fang Qingye, didn’t listen to me, huh? Look—Longping High-Tech dropped another two percent today, two red candles, haha!”

“Fang Qingye, I admit your grades were better than mine in high school, but when it comes to stock trading, you’re way behind.”

“Listen to advice, eat well… Cut your losses quick, or you’ll end up losing even your underwear, haha…”

Jiang Chen’s words in the group immediately drew agreement and mockery of Fang Qingye as a clueless newbie:

“Compared to Jiang Chen, Fang Qingye is nowhere near.”

“Exactly—who in our high school class is better at stock trading than Jiang Chen? I respect him for this!”

“Fang Qingye is just stupid.”

Of course, some supported Fang Qingye—Song Dahai was one of them, and he’d even used voice chat, probably too busy at work to type.

Fang Qingye suddenly noticed that Bai Ou, who rarely spoke in the group, had unexpectedly chimed in today:

“Jiang Chen, we’re all high school classmates. If you truly want to help Fang Qingye, why not message him privately or call him? What’s the point of saying this in the big group? Showing off your skills?”

“From a psychological standpoint, this behavior is called ‘psychological compulsion’ or ‘big-head syndrome.’ Such behavior usually stems from a lack of inner self-worth and insecurity! Showing off often masks one’s own inadequacies and anxieties, seeking external approval and praise to satisfy vanity… Jiang Chen, are you this kind of person?!”

Wow… impressive.

Fang Qingye remembered Bai Ou had been quiet in school, a gentle girl—now she’d turned sharp-tongued?

Oh right, he forgot—she studied law.

Jiang Chen naturally disagreed and started arguing with Bai Ou in the group.

This guy’s gone mad—attacking anyone he can?

Fang Qingye could no longer watch silently and immediately @ed Jiang Chen in the group.

“Jiang Chen, I can’t watch the market at work—what was today’s trading volume for Longping High-Tech?”

Seeing Fang Qingye’s message, Jiang Chen abandoned his argument with Bai Ou and replied immediately.

“Oh, Fang Qingye, you finally showed up? Around 73 million. What’s up?”

“Amplitude?”

“12.4%”

“Turnover rate?”

“1.57%”

“MA5?”

“52,100!”

“MA10?”

“52,000!”

The group fell silent as everyone watched Fang Qingye and Jiang Chen’s chat log scroll rapidly.

After Jiang Chen finished answering the “MACD indicator” data, Fang Qingye’s messages suddenly stopped.

After a while, one new message popped up.

“Jiang Chen, how about we make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

“I bet Longping High-Tech will rise tomorrow—at least four percent!” Fang Qingye typed.

“Really? What if you lose?”

“I’ll treat everyone in the group to dinner tomorrow night—pick any restaurant in Nanning! If you lose, same deal.”

Fang Qingye’s message exploded across the QQ group—messages flooded the screen.

“Fang Qingye, are you serious?”

“Holy shit! Is he crazy? This is the Class of 2003 high school group! Even though most of the 15 classes aren’t here, there are still 482 people! Even if half are studying or working outside Nanning, there are still around 240 in Nanning!”

“Excluding those who don’t live in the county, at least 200 people remain. Even if you subtract those with prior commitments or other reasons, you’re still looking at 100 people—ten full tables!” someone began analyzing.

But his words were immediately countered.

“Hey, you discriminating against us folks from the countryside? If those two actually bet, I’ll take a bus all the way into town just to eat!”

Others started calculating where to treat everyone:

“What about Dingcheng Grand Hotel? Their food’s good, prices aren’t too high—I went to a banquet there last month, about 700 yuan per table without alcohol.”

“Holy shit! 700 yuan a table isn’t expensive? Ten tables is 7,000 yuan—add alcohol and cigarettes, that’s over ten thousand! You’re ruthless!”

“Hehe, eating like a rich guy—this opportunity is rare.”

Even more started stirring the pot: eating isn’t enough—after dinner, you’ve got to go sing KTV! Add that too…

The group erupted in chaos; people who never posted suddenly came alive.

Jiang Chen was stunned, staring blankly at the screen—he hadn’t expected Fang Qingye to pull this move.

Several thousand yuan… his monthly salary was barely over 2,000 yuan. Though his family was rich, losing that much at once still stung.

More importantly—why?

Why the hell should I pay for you?!

And why does Fang Qingye suddenly sound so confident?

What’s his basis?

Did the data give him some insight that it’ll rise tomorrow?

Jiang Chen forced himself to calm down and quietly opened Tonghuashun again, studying closely.

After watching for ten full minutes, Jiang Chen’s face broke into a faint smile—he seemed to understand why Fang Qingye was so sure.

It’s just a triple bottom on the daily K-line, with the bottom gradually rising—he thinks it’ll surge?

Ridiculous!

He immediately pulled up QQ and @ed Fang Qingye in the group:

“Fang Qingye, I accept your bet! As you said—if Longping High-Tech rises over four percent tomorrow, I lose; otherwise, you lose. The loser treats everyone to a few tables at Dingcheng Grand Hotel—700 yuan per table, deal?”

“OK!” Fang Qingye replied instantly.

“Fang Qingye, let’s add something more.”

“What?”

“Since we’re treating, go big—after dinner, we go sing KTV! The loser pays for that too!”

“No problem!”

The bet was set—the group erupted again, messages rolling nonstop.

“They’re serious!”

“Real men, true men—treating money like trash, I respect you!” Immediately followed by over a dozen “fist salute” emojis.

“Don’t stand there talking big—you’re not the one paying…” someone immediately countered.

Others with sharper minds began planning: “What wine? We need to decide—what if the winner makes the loser buy Maotai or Wuliangye? And which KTV? What fruit platters? If we’re betting, we bet clearly.”

“Then why don’t you suggest something?” someone immediately agreed.

“Fine, I’ll reluctantly take the lead? We’re classmates—we shouldn’t make things too hard. Let’s drink Lanse Yanghe Classic Mengzhi Lan?”

“Holy shit, you’re being lenient? One bottle of Mengzhi Lan costs at least 200 yuan—two bottles per table, how much is that?!”

“Haha, Fang Qingye, you’re definitely losing!” Suddenly, Jiang Chen’s message appeared again in the flood of messages—the screen fell silent.

“Fang Qingye, you just saw the triple bottom on the K-line and thought it’d rise? Let me tell you—it’s a fake triple bottom, a trap set by the big players to lure buyers! It’ll keep falling—there’s no bottom, only lower! You’re losing!”

“Correct, it’s not a textbook triple bottom—but the big players aren’t luring buyers—they’re truly pushing it up! Who else knows the overall trend of this stock lately?” Fang Qingye thought, watching Jiang Chen’s boastful tone, a faint smile appearing on his face.

But he had no time to type now—he was still on a long-distance call with a girl.

It was Bai Ou calling from Shanghai.