Chapter 56 Melancholy Under the Night Veil

As night fell, a gentle breeze swept through the trees of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, rustling the leaves. The late-blooming cherry blossoms lining the paths between the Guoding and Wudong campuses gradually drifted down in the fading breeze.

He Jing sat alone on a bench, watching the petals fall one by one.

At this very moment, she was facing the most crucial decision of her life: whether to pursue graduate studies and become an academician's protégé, or to enter Huaxin Securities and follow the life plan she had originally laid out for herself.

She was torn, melancholic, and utterly at a loss for how to choose.

If she became an academician's protégé, according to Bao Xingwei, she would be able to enter a state-level financial institution directly upon completing her doctorate, ensuring a secure and worry-free livelihood for the rest of her life.

Yet the price was that, due to the protection of classified data, she would practically be unable to leave China. This directly conflicted with He Jing's dreams of traveling the world and living a life of glamorous extravagance.

"Should I ask for someone else's opinion?"

He Jing thought of Zhang Yang.

If she consulted her parents, they would undoubtedly, without a moment's hesitation, urge her to pursue graduate studies and enter a state institution.

The older generation's blind reverence for the establishment was no joke; it was a desire bordering on primal instinct.

"Forget it."

"I'll find an opportunity to ask him in person."

He Jing felt embarrassed to disturb Zhang Yang. After all, the two of them were not yet close enough for him to help her make life-altering decisions.

...

Meanwhile, at a barbecue restaurant on the commercial street outside the campus, Xu Zhiruo and her younger sister, Xu Zhirou, were enjoying a meal of grilled meat. Struggling to make up her mind as well, Xu Zhiruo said, "Sis, do you think I should go for the internship at Huaxin Securities? The corporate world sounds so boring."

"You already spent one hundred thousand; it would be a waste not to go." Xu Zhirou grilled a piece of pork belly to perfection, dipped it in the savory scallion-infused sauce, and popped it into her mouth.

In an instant, the rich flavor of the pork fat and the aroma of the dipping sauce burst in her mouth, bringing immense satisfaction to her soul.

"Don't even mention it. Zhang Yang didn't make the top ten. I only felt it was pointless because Zhang Yang wasn't there," Xu Zhiruo sighed.

As a pampered young heiress who had never worked a single day of part-time work in her life, she found the workplace utterly exhausting.

With that kind of time, she'd rather watch a couple of episodes of anime or an idol drama.

Xu Zhirou paused mid-motion with her meat tongs, her face full of bewilderment. "He helped you get into the top ten of your major, but failed to make the top ten himself?"

"That's pretty much what happened," Xu Zhiruo nodded.

"Well, that works out perfectly. Don't TV shows often have those tropes where a damsel has no way to repay a debt, so she can only offer herself in marriage? Since you're the reason he missed the top ten, offering yourself to him is completely reasonable," Xu Zhirou said with a faint smile.

"Sizzle—"

A piece of meat was placed on the iron grill above the stove, and the internal fat instantly began to sizzle.

Xu Zhiruo sighed, looking somewhat melancholic. "I wouldn't dare. I'm too timid; if I got rejected, it would be so awkward."

"That would indeed be quite awkward," Xu Zhirou agreed with a nod.

After grilling the meat to doneness and wrapping it in a lettuce leaf, she popped it into her mouth to savor the taste.

Then, she added, "Besides, even if you confessed, it seems you wouldn't have much of a chance. Zhang Yang seems to be getting pretty close to your roommate."

"Which roommate?" Xu Zhiruo lowered the piece of meat she had just brought to her lips.

"The one named He Jing, I think—the one with the big chest and long legs. You don't stand a chance."

As Xu Zhirou spoke, a waiter brought over a plate of snowflake beef slices and asked, "Would the two of you like us to help change your grill?"

"Go ahead and change it," Xu Zhirou replied.

Ignoring the waiter, Xu Zhiruo pressed on, "How do you know they're getting close? Don't tell me you also li—"

"Stop right there," Xu Zhirou interrupted directly, sneering, "I'm not like you, being manipulated by a man day in and day out."

"You're still young, you don't understand the romance between men and women," Xu Zhiruo retorted, before asking, "Coming back to it, how on earth do you know they're getting close?"

Xu Zhirou didn't hide it and confessed, "Some idiot keeps emailing me paparazzi photos of Zhang Yang interacting with girls every single day. I really don't know who has that much free time."

"So Zhang Yang interacts with Sister Jing frequently?" Xu Zhiruo asked the question she cared about most, completely bypassing the mystery of who had so much time on their hands.

Xu Zhirou replied, "Almost every single day."

"Then I'm done for," Xu Zhiruo slumped dejectedly. How could she possibly compare to He Jing? He Jing was a top academic powerhouse who had consistently ranked in the top three of her major and finished first in simulated trading.

"You're not necessarily done for. If he's single, you have N competitors, but if he's taken, you only have one competitor," Xu Zhirou teased.

"It seems..." Xu Zhiruo hesitated for a moment, finding some sense in it. "That actually makes some sense."

"Wait, do you actually think that makes sense?" Xu Zhirou was dumbfounded. She had just been making a casual joke; she hadn't expected Xu Zhiruo to take it seriously.

"You don't understand," Xu Zhiruo said, seemingly clearing a mental hurdle as she resolved, "A woman's happiness must be fought for!"

"Such a hopeless simp..."

Xu Zhirou was utterly speechless, feeling a wave of inward contempt.

...

Men's Dormitory 308.

Three roommates—Chen 川, Wang Liu, and Xu Jiafeng—were shirtless together, partied up to grind a World of Warcraft raid, their keyboards clacking at lightning speed.

Taking advantage of a break, Zhang Yang took a shower, washed his clothes, and hung them up on the balcony.

After finishing all this, he returned to his desk beneath his bed, turned on his computer, and logged into his QQ account.

In the verification messages column, hundreds of group join requests stretched as far as the eye could see.

That afternoon, while Bao Xingwei and other senior students and brokers from various securities firms were selecting candidates, Zhang Yang had taken a moment to update his Joker account, create a QQ group, and post the group number.

The reason Zhang Yang shared his trading insights on Tieba wasn't to show off, but to diversify his income sources.

Following the conclusion of the Huaxin Simulated Trading Competition, the market demand for research reports was bound to drop, meaning he needed to cultivate a new user base.

To whom should he sell his research reports?

Without a doubt, retail investors!

China had hundreds of millions of stock market investors. Zhang Yang only needed 10,000 loyal, subscribed fans. At a pricing of 90 yuan per month, that would generate a monthly profit of 900,000 yuan—a risk-free, stable income.

After batch-approving the requests to join the group, the QQ group instantly became lively.

[Mahjong Master of All Trades]: Is the group owner the legendary Joker?

[Little Sheep Loves Investing]: Joker is an absolute beast! I've been following you for over a dozen days, and your win rate is truly insane. Please carry me!

[Underpants Superman]: Following Joker's buys took my account capital from 1 million to 1.24 million. Thank you, big boss!

Group messages scrolled past at lightning speed like a machine gun. Zhang Yang first clicked to enable group-wide silence, and then typed out a message:

[Joker]: This group is strictly for communication and study. Also, to introduce myself: I am not only an investor but also a financial analyst skilled in producing market analysis reports. If anyone needs them, you are welcome to move over to the VIP group.

[Joker]: I will also update my trading thoughts in real-time in the VIP group and issue intraday warnings. The threshold for joining the VIP group can be found in the group announcement. Thank you, everyone.

As soon as the message was sent, a few people immediately chose to quit the group, but many more checked the group announcement.

Far away in Shenzhen, Chen Sanrong (the rooftop jumper) saw the content of the group messages and smiled faintly. "As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Turns out he wants to fleece retail investors through those messy, worthless market research reports."

When he had first entered the stock market, he had also bought courses and research reports.

In the end, he found that those things were completely useless—just cobbled-together pieces of fragmented internet content. Losses were still losses.

The moment he saw Zhang Yang continuously funneling traffic, Chen Sanrong had already concluded that this "Joker" intended to harvest leeks through market research reports.

With that, he clicked the exit group button, convinced he had seen right through Zhang Yang.