Chapter 18: 017

“Ye Zi, you really know how to pull it off!” came Bai Ou’s soft, pleasant voice through the speaker.

“What, you think I’m some kind of fool or idiot for laughing?” Fang Qingye replied with a smile.

“Not exactly… I just talked with Da Hai on the phone a bit, and I feel like you’ve changed.”

“Changed? Changed how?”

“More carefree, and more mature.”

“Mature? And yet you still bet against Jiang Chen in front of your classmates?”

“That Jiang Chen is too bullying! I can’t stand it! You’re so confident—you must have a reason. I believe in you!”

Huh?

“If you really lose, don’t be discouraged. I can help cover your dinner costs too!” Bai Ou added.

Fang Qingye found this odd. “You’re still a student, supported by your family—where would you even get money?”

“Don’t underestimate me! My advisor recently won a civil case and earned a lot in legal fees—he gave me six thousand as his assistant. I’ll transfer it all to you?” Bai Ou said over the phone.

Sigh…

You still think I’ll lose.

Fang Qingye sighed inwardly but said aloud: “Keep your money for yourself. Don’t worry—I won’t lose.”

“Then good! When you make money from stocks, you owe me dinner when I come back for summer break.”

“No problem!” Fang Qingye agreed readily.

They chatted a few more minutes, then hung up.

Fang Qingye checked the group messages again. Jiang Chen was still boasting—he didn’t bother replying and just went offline.

After work that evening, the group was still lively; someone had already listed the exact dinner standards for tomorrow, even posted the menu in the group!

Jiang Chen had agreed, and that bastard Song Dahai had even accepted on his behalf!

Whatever…

Fang Qingye shook his head and ignored it.

He still had real work to do.

He opened the book *Fundamental Analysis Methods in Mathematical Finance* again.

The next morning at work, Fang Qingye spent the entire time reading. His workload had been light lately, so he seized the chance to review the book’s theories, aiming to finish it today so he could start modeling tomorrow.

After lunch in the unit cafeteria, Fang Qingye was heading back to his office to keep reading when Chen Meimei called out to him in the courtyard.

“Fang Qingye, your bet with Jiang Chen’s spread through our school group—everyone’s talking about it.”

Fang Qingye and Song Dahai had attended Nanxin No. 1 High School; Chen Meimei had gone to Nanxin No. 2 High School.

Hearing this, Fang Qingye laughed: “So everyone thinks I’ll lose?”

“Yeah, it’s not looking good—Longping High-Tech dropped another two percent this morning,” Chen Meimei whispered.

Chen Meimei studied finance and accounting—her office computer had internet access, so she could see the market.

Fang Qingye’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s fine—we still have the afternoon.”

Chen Meimei lifted her face slightly, staring at him in silence.

Why was he so calm?

Seeing the girl’s adorable expression, Fang Qingye teased her.

“If I lose and can’t afford it, Chen Meimei—could you lend me some money?”

“Of course! I’ve saved some—I’ll lend it all to you,” Chen Meimei replied without hesitation.

She actually saved money?

Fang Qingye was practically a paycheck-to-paycheck guy.

“Thanks then.”

Fang Qingye walked upstairs.

At 1:30 p.m., when the stock market opened, the Nanxin No. 1 High School Class of 2003 group exploded with activity—everyone discussed today’s stocks. Even the usual lurkers popped up to comment, and some began learning to trade on the spot: what limit up and limit down meant, orders and trades, long and short positions… the group had become a full-blown stock-trading forum.

“Wow, still falling—it’s down three percent already!”

“Can’t stop it, absolutely can’t! This reminds me of Li Bai’s poem: ‘A waterfall plummets three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way had tumbled from the ninth heaven.’ Jiang Chen’s won for sure!”

The group was packed with Jiang Chen supporters; Fang Qingye’s side had almost no one cheering for him.

Facts speak louder than words.

With the stock this low, what’s left to say?

Jiang Chen was smug, repeatedly @ing Fang Qingye—but the other didn’t respond.

Because Fang Qingye wasn’t online at all.

He was busy.

Not reading—he’d just received urgent news: tomorrow morning, leadership from the city branch would inspect the Nanxin sub-branch, and the branch management demanded all departments immediately prepare for the inspection.

All departments scrambled into action.

The credit department bore the heaviest load—Xia He ordered them to immediately compile data: changes in deposit and loan volumes over the past two years, the proportion of corporate and retail intermediary income, net profit figures, and the top twenty loan clients—including amounts, pricing, guarantee methods, yields, and non-performing loan details, with separate listings for corporate non-performing loans and watch-list loans under the five-tier classification system…

Rumor had it that Section Chief Zhang Qunying turned pale upon hearing Xia He’s demands.

Fang Qingye’s head spun just reading the list.

This Xia He was insane.

It’s just a branch manager coming—why go through all this trouble?

Orders from above meant blind obedience—the entire credit department descended into chaos.

Fang Qingye was assigned to input and organize the data. Seeing the mountain of documents colleagues brought him, he sighed inwardly.

This afternoon—no, tonight was definitely ruined. He’d probably have to work overtime.

Inside the sub-branch, several departments buzzed with activity, but the online QQ group suddenly took on an eerie atmosphere.

At 2:30 p.m., half an hour before market close, Longping High-Tech’s stock, which had been drooping like a frost-bitten eggplant, suddenly lifted its head slightly.

“There’s a rally!”

“Big orders—large buy orders appearing!”

Those in the group who understood stocks quickly typed out messages.

Indeed, the previously listless stock surged like it had taken a stimulant—its price shot straight toward yesterday’s closing price, turning red in seconds!

Trading volume surged too.

“Holy shit—it’s up! Really up!”

“Broke past the 11.0 yuan mark—it’s at 11.05 yuan, up one percent!”

“Still rising! 11.2 yuan now!”

“Jiang Chen, explain this—what’s going on?”

At that moment, Jiang Chen was panicked.

He’d taken the whole afternoon off just to monitor the market, sitting glued to his computer at home.

Now, seeing people in the group demand a technical analysis, he flew into a rage.

Analyze what the hell?

If this keeps rising, I’m going to lose!

All he could hope for now was a slight uptick—not exceeding 11.32 yuan, keeping the gain under four percent, so he could still win.

Watching the price keep climbing, Jiang Chen felt for the first time how unbearable a red candlestick could be…

The price had surpassed 11.25 yuan—heading straight for the 11.30 yuan barrier!

11.30 yuan!

11.31 yuan!

Dammit—it broke through, but the price surged like a fire snake, showing no sign of stopping!

11.35…

11.40 yuan…

11.45 yuan…

One psychological threshold after another shattered—finally, the price stabilized at 11.62 yuan, a staggering 5.7% gain! A long red candle rose with a long tail.

Lost. Completely lost.

Jiang Chen slumped back in his chair.

Losing money was minor—but where could he save face now?

Fang Qingye’s phone began ringing nonstop—friends who’d been close to him called to congratulate him. When they didn’t get a reply on QQ, they called directly.

The first call came from Song Dahai. Fang Qingye picked up to hear him roaring with laughter: “Ye Zi, awesome! So awesome! Tonight I’m gonna watch Jiang Chen’s face! We’re drinking till we pass out!”

“You go drink—I’ve got no time,” Fang Qingye replied lazily. “I’m working overtime tonight.”