Chapter 7: The Gunman

4:00 PM.
Dark clouds obscured the sun, accompanied by a light breeze.

Zhang Yang, carrying his laptop, left the library with He Jing to head to classroom 409 in the First Teaching Building for "Microeconomics." Since it was graduation season, there were very few classes per week, and even then, usually only one morning or afternoon session.

As they walked across campus, they drew an extraordinary amount of attention. Zhang Yang was already known for his striking appearance, a "department heartthrob" level of handsome, and now with He Jing—who stood 172cm tall with a model-like figure—by his side, it was hard not to turn heads.

"Looks like I'm going to end up on the Shanghai Finance forum," Zhang Yang noted. He had seen people taking pictures, but it didn't stir much emotion in him. He didn't care about others' opinions; a man should focus on his own affairs.

Just as they arrived at the First Teaching Building, a youth of about 168cm wearing a black baseball cap suddenly blocked their path.

"Brother Yang, do you have a moment?"

"Who are you?"

The man’s appearance was far too ordinary—a "common face"—and Zhang Yang had no recollection of him.

"Lai Weijie. I’m the one who reached out to you a few days ago to get a full subscription to your market research reports, and asked about a monthly package," Lai Weijie introduced himself briefly.

"Oh, it's you." Zhang Yang suddenly realized. With over a hundred students in the Investment major, he truly couldn't recognize everyone, especially since they had never interacted before. "What do you need?"

Zhang Yang went straight to the point. Class was about to start, and he didn't want to be late.

Lai Weijie glanced at He Jing, then looked back at Zhang Yang. "Could we step aside for a moment?"

"Class is starting soon, you two go ahead," He Jing said, sensing the private nature of their conversation, and tactfully walked away.

Once she was out of earshot, Zhang Yang asked, "Alright, speak. What is it?"

"I want to hire you as a proxy."

As soon as the words left Lai Weijie’s lips, Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes, instantly understanding the other's intent. He lowered his voice and said, "After class, wait for me in the Finance Analysis Room on the sixth floor of the library."

"Got it," Lai Weijie noted silently.

The "proxy" side-hustle was common on university campuses, having evolved into a complete industrial chain that reached into every aspect of student life. Not to mention campus life, even for professional qualification exams, there were those brave enough to hire substitutes. Since the other party dared to propose it, Zhang Yang was curious about the offer.

Marx’s *Das Kapital* once noted: If capital has a 50 percent profit margin, it will take risks; if it has 100 percent, it will trample all human laws; if it has 300 percent, it will commit any crime, even risking the gallows.

This statement from *Das Kapital* is essentially the underlying logic of the world, or perhaps human nature. As long as the profit is high enough, there will always be people willing to break the rules.

Judging whether a person is an adult isn't about the age on their ID card, but about when they understand the meaning of the phrase: "As long as you can bear the consequences, you can do anything." This is also the biggest difference between society and the campus, between students and "corporate slaves."

...

Classroom 409. The "Microeconomics" class.

The lecturer, Chen Jiafa—a man with graying hair and stodgy black-rimmed glasses—was diligently reviewing basic concepts with the students. This discipline focuses on individual economic units, such as single consumers, single producers, and the economic behavior and interrelationships of individual markets. Because the market is composed of countless individuals, one can only better understand the market by understanding the economic behavior and relationships of the individuals within it. It’s akin to studying human cells; only by understanding the specific function of cells can one better understand the human body itself.

Chen Jiafa clicked his mouse, and the projector displayed demand curve data and a demand schedule. He looked at the screen and said, "As shown in the figure, the standard linear demand function is Q^d = a - βP, where 'a' and 'β' are constants, and a, β > 0. The demand curve corresponding to this function is a straight line."

"Let’s look at the demand schedule. When the price of the commodity is 1 yuan, the demand is 700; at 2 yuan, the demand is 600; at 3 yuan, the demand drops to 500."

At this point, he scanned the classroom and asked, "This was covered in the first semester of freshman year. Can anyone tell me the law of demand for this commodity?"

He Jing glanced at Zhang Yang, who was still typing on his laptop, and answered, "Under the condition that other factors remain constant, when the price of a commodity rises, the quantity demanded for that commodity decreases; when the price falls, the quantity demanded increases."

"The price and quantity demanded move in opposite directions, which indicates that this commodity is not a daily necessity or has substitutes. The rise in price corresponds to a decrease in demand."

"Correct!" Chen Jiafa looked at He Jing with approval and continued, "In cases where a single commodity can be substituted or replaced, a price increase leads to a decline in demand in the opposite direction."

Just after finishing his sentence, he changed his tone and posed a question: "If the price of a single commodity rises, but the demand increases instead of decreasing, what should you do as students majoring in Investment?"

"Hoard!" Wang Liu replied first.

"Why?" Chen Jiafa pressed.

"If the price of a commodity rises and market demand increases abnormally, it means it is irreplaceable. Such a situation might be due to supply chain issues, but external factors like war or natural disasters cannot be ruled out." Wang Liu paused for half a second before continuing, "In any case, as long as it is confirmed to be a daily necessity, hoarding is never a loss."

"What if it’s market speculation?" He Jing asked calmly, providing an example: "During the early stages of the 2003 SARS outbreak, the rumor that 'iodized salt prevents SARS' spread through the market. This not only drove an abnormal rise in salt prices but also triggered a nationwide panic-buying spree."

"As I said, if it’s confirmed as a daily necessity, you can hoard it first to prevent being unable to buy it later. Even if it turns out to be a rumor, you can still sell it at a discount later," Wang Liu argued, pushing up his glasses.

"From an investment perspective, selling at a discount already represents a loss," He Jing said flatly.

"Both students gave excellent answers," Chen Jiafa stepped in to mediate. "One approached it from the perspective of market scarcity, and the other from an investment standpoint. You are both correct."

As the saying goes, knowledge changes destiny. Knowledge isn't a "teacher" with only one face; it has many. Everyone’s cognitive dimension and starting point for considering problems are different; even with the same knowledge base, the results can be diametrically opposed.

...

With the teacher posing questions and students answering, the "Microeconomics" class came to a quiet end as the bell rang. Since it was evening, many students headed to the cafeteria to eat before returning to their dorms.

The moment Lai Weijie heard the bell, he hurried out of the classroom, heading toward the Finance Analysis Room on the sixth floor of the library.

"The cafeteria is open, what’s the plan, dorm head?" Chen Chuan asked.

"It’s too early to eat. I’m going to the library, want to come?" Zhang Yang asked.

"I’ll pass. I’ve got a date with Ruoruo in the computer room to review," said Xu Jiafeng, who had been timid for four years but was now ready to throw caution to the wind as graduation approached.

"I also have a date with a girl from the School of Accounting," Wang Liu said with a calm smile.

"Damn! No way, are you guys all going to get off the single market?" Chen Chuan felt a bit defeated.

"You should step it up."

"This is called leaving no regrets for our youth."

Xu Jiafeng and Wang Liu spoke one after another. It was April 1st; in two or three months, they would be "members of society." If they didn't confess now, they might never have another chance.

To this, Zhang Yang added, "Pursue bravely. At worst, cut your losses in time."

Under the constant preaching of his three roommates, Chen Chuan returned to the dorm alone, lit a Liqun cigarette, and fell into deep thought. Confessing during graduation season—it really wasn't a losing deal.

But who to ask? He thought through everyone he knew and couldn't find a suitable candidate; his social circle was too narrow, and he couldn't even scrape together 20 girls on his QQ friends list.

"Forget it, I won't think about it. Let’s just take off for a round first." Chen Chuan quickly pulled out two tissues, opened the D drive on his computer, and entered "Flight Mode."