Chapter Eight: Reaching an Agreement

Library, Financial Analysis Room.

Lai Weijie paced back and forth, occasionally glancing toward the door with a hint of urgency in his eyes.

Today, he had made a grave mistake: failing to take profits in time. When the automotive sector surged and then fell back in the afternoon, his account’s gains for the entire day barely reached 0.29%.

Although he ended the day in profit, time was running out.

The deadline for the Huaxin Virtual Trading Competition was April 22nd. Excluding the weekends when the market was closed, only 15 trading days remained.

Currently, the top ten participants had returns of around 30%. To stage a comeback against the odds, Lai Weijie needed to push his returns above 50%.

In other words, over the next 15 trading days, his simulated account needed to grow by 46.81% to reach a total increase of 50%, averaging a daily rise of 3.12%—a near-impossible feat for him.

Yet, he didn’t want to lose the chance to intern at Huaxin Securities. Finally, he thought of asking Zhang Yang to trade on his behalf.

In Lai’s view, since Zhang Yang could write so many market reports, he must have a thorough understanding of A-shares. Besides, Zhang was recognized as a top student in their major; maybe he could pull it off.

*Knock knock—*

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Zhang Yang knocked on the doorframe and strode into the financial analysis room.

Seeing Zhang arrive, Lai Weijie hurried to greet him. “Brother Yang, I’ve been looking forward to your arrival. Let’s talk over here.”

“Got held up on the way,” Zhang replied with a faint smile.

Earlier, Tang Yingxia, a junior female student, suddenly asked him out to watch a movie that evening and suggested discussing trading strategies all night. Naturally, he had refused without hesitation.

Zhang wasn’t being aloof or dismissive because of her average looks; rather, he believed he should focus on his career at this stage.

As the saying goes: “Money breeds courage; children reflect their parents’ prestige.”

The first part means that with money, one can face life’s challenges with greater confidence and pursue their dreams.

In his previous life, Zhang Yang managed hundreds of billions of dollars in assets for Chinese Americans in the U.S., standing at the pinnacle as a fund manager.

His career success had attracted supermodels from the Kardashian family, daughters of Jewish aristocrats, and princesses of European royalty, giving him the freedom to indulge in worldly pleasures.

Now, reborn, he knew how to maximize returns.

Wasting prime time on fleeting romances, in his eyes, was no different from buying pharmaceutical or electric power stocks in this bull market—it was simply a squander of precious opportunities!

…

The two of them moved to a corner of the financial analysis room. Lai Weijie looked around to ensure no one else was present, then got straight to the point.

“I want to break into the top ten of the Huaxin Virtual Trading Competition. Brother Yang, name your price.”

“You make the offer.”

Zhang Yang was not surprised; he had already guessed what Lai intended. His reply implied he was confident he could get Lai into the top ten.

“How about ten thousand yuan?” Lai hesitated, lacking conviction in his offer.

During class earlier, Zhang had already reviewed Lai’s profile.

At the start of freshman year, everyone filled out information forms. From those, Zhang learned that Lai was a genuine “Shanghainese,” hailing from Pudong.

“What do you think?” Zhang asked calmly.

For students, ten thousand yuan was no small sum. Even ten years later, a university student would consider it a hefty amount.

But since Lai was a “Shanghainese,” he naturally had to show off his money.

Sensing Zhang’s slight displeasure, Lai quickly amended his offer.

“Thirty thousand. That’s all the savings I can muster.”

“Firm price: forty thousand,” Zhang countered, having gauged Lai’s bottom line.

“Thirty-five thousand, please. I really don’t have more,” Lai said, looking embarrassed. He still had 46,000 yuan in his account, but his girlfriend’s birthday was coming up, and he needed to buy her gifts.

For ordinary people, 6,000 yuan was more than enough for a birthday present.

But for a local heiress raised in Shanghai, 6,000 yuan wouldn’t even cover a limited-edition Louis Vuitton bag.

Lai had promised his girlfriend an LV bag and a gold necklace for her birthday.

“Forty thousand isn’t much. Once you shed your student identity, you’ll realize how hard it is to get into a top securities company,” Zhang pressed on without yielding.

“If you’re unsure, you can call your parents. I’m sure they’ll make the right choice.”

The implication was clear: Lai should ask his family for the money.

If his family was sensible, they would certainly provide it, since paying for this was essentially an investment in his future.

If his family refused and Lai truly couldn’t come up with the money, Zhang might consider lowering the price slightly.

Lai hesitated for a few seconds, still uncertain.

“Give me some time. I need to think it over.”

“Think carefully. Only 15 trading days remain until the competition ends. The later you wait, the more expensive it gets.”

Zhang left the remark and went to the study area in the analysis room.

He opened his laptop to continue gathering publicly available market information and preparing sector reports.

After much deliberation, Lai decided to call his mother, a businesswoman.

—

Shortly after, the call connected.

“Xiao Jie, what’s up?”

Lai explained everything in detail, including how promising the future was if he got into Huaxin Securities.

His mother immediately made a decision.

“That’s doable. Forty thousand yuan isn’t much. Have him send me his bank account. I’ll transfer the money shortly.”

“I’ll ask him later.”

“Anything that can be solved with money isn’t a problem, got it?”

“Got it.”

After hanging up, Lai approached the study area and lowered his voice.

“Brother Yang, what’s your bank account number? I’ll have my mom transfer the money to you.”

“Use your card to transfer to me, and make sure to note ‘Huaxin Securities Virtual Trading Competition trading service fee’ in the remarks.”

Zhang was meticulous.

For large transfers without any remarks, the recipient could be sued to reclaim the funds.

But as long as the transfer included relevant details and evidence of the trading service existed, even if it went to court, it would be futile—the transaction established a service relationship that required payment.

Lai understood Zhang’s concerns and nodded.

“Here’s the deal: I’ll give you twenty thousand now. After the competition ends on April 22nd, if I make the top ten, I’ll pay you the remaining twenty thousand.”

“Fine.”

Zhang nodded in agreement.

This was business; both parties had to be satisfied. Expecting full payment upfront was unrealistic.

“Send me your account number. I’ll transfer the money at the ATM.”

“Sent it to you on QQ.”

“Then I won’t keep you from work. Here’s to a successful cooperation.”

“To a successful cooperation.”

Lai hurriedly left.

Zhang typed away until six-thirty, finally finishing the latest issue of the “Infrastructure Sector Market Report.” Then, he leisurely left the financial analysis room.