Chapter 38: Shengxin,

The weekend slipped by in a flash.

Zhang Long told no one about the conversation and confrontation in Chairman You’s office. On Monday, the Trading Department was officially established and moved into its own office space.

After a brief meeting with the eight trading supervisors under his command to discuss basic maintenance strategies, everyone returned to their tasks.

As for Zhang Long himself, he was busy wrapping up the final affairs with his clients, laying the groundwork for future trading, cautioning them about risk, and preparing them for the possibility of a change in their account manager.

...

“What? Resigning...”

Chairman You was taken aback when the HR manager called to say Zhang Long had submitted his resignation and would not be coming to work the next day, the first of the month. It was sudden and caught him off guard.

The Trading Department had just been formed in the past two days and things were frantic—now the manager wanted to quit?

Giving up his position, his team?

“Sorry, I’m not up to the task.”

Chairman You stormed into HR, fuming, but Zhang Long was unmoved, responding calmly, “Chairman, there’s no need to persuade me. If my resignation isn’t approved, starting tomorrow I’ll just go through the motions—whether the Trading Department ever runs smoothly won’t be my concern.”

“I’m done. I’m tired.”

Chairman You frowned. He still had high hopes for Zhang Long. Luck may have played a part, but his abilities truly outshone the other eight trading supervisors. Otherwise, why hadn’t anyone else achieved such explosive performance? That alone was proof.

The reason Zhang Long wasn’t promoted to Director of the Trading Department was: first, he was too young; second, the director’s position was a senior one in the company and required further observation.

Performance alone wasn’t enough.

Besides, Zhang Long had always been considered Chairman Zhu’s man, and with a new boss, it was only natural to light a fire under him, to make sure he knew who called the shots and to win his loyalty.

Only after absolute loyalty would a promotion be possible.

As for the client complaints, they were real, but minor. What financial company doesn’t get complaints, or even the occasional client causing a scene? It was commonplace.

Withholding and then returning the commissions for the Flying Eagle and Pioneer teams was meant to win them over, not to be fussed over.

Who would have thought the star performer would really get angry?

...

“You really want to leave?”

Liang Xue hurried over when she heard the news, startled. Wasn’t he supposed to not care about the Director position? Why was he quitting just because he wasn’t promoted? This guy really didn’t mean what he said.

“Yes.”

Zhang Long nodded. Chairman You’s attempts at persuasion had failed and he’d left in anger—even when he offered to return the commissions for Flying Eagle and Pioneer, Zhang Long still chose to go.

What was there left to discuss? Just go.

“What happened, really?”

Liang Xue sensed something was off. At least before the end of work last Friday, things seemed normal. But after Zhang Long was summoned to talk with Chairman You, everything changed. Unless something special happened over the weekend, the problem must have come from Chairman You.

Did the new boss try to make things hard for Zhang Long?

“Distribute the clients as you see fit...”

Zhang Long chuckled and shrugged, showing no hint of sadness about leaving, not even for the ambiguous spark that had nearly flared between him and Liang Xue. He felt no nostalgia.

“Chang Song does have a knack for client maintenance—at least he’s good with words. Give them all to him.”

“As for Jiang Hao and Zheng Peng...”

Zhang Long didn’t say more, but Liang Xue understood. Clearly, the Flying Eagle and Pioneer teams had truly disappointed him—otherwise, he wouldn’t have left without handing over a single client. He and Jiang Hao used to be fairly close, one of the few real friends in the Investment Department.

Ironic, and a betrayal as well.

“Where are you planning to go next?”

Liang Xue asked in a low voice. Zhang Long just shrugged and smiled, “I’ll take a break for a while. Maybe I’ll open an account and try my hand at the stock market myself.”

“You have the authority to help maintain Blizzard Team’s clients as manager. Do your best to manage the risks.”

“Many clients have already recovered most of their previous losses. Don’t let them get trapped again.”

“All right, I’m off.”

...

And so, on Wednesday, October 31st,

Zhang Long left for good under the gaze of the office. The members of Flying Eagle and Pioneer teams avoided his eyes, as did Jiang Hao and Zheng Peng, unable to lift their heads.

But the Blizzard Team—his old team—whether Chang Song or the others, were truly reluctant to see him go.

Especially Bai Xiaoying, the petite girl afraid of heights, who was tearful: Brother Long, don’t leave.

Sobbing, pleading for him to stay.

“We’re just letting him walk away like this?”

Director Guan of the Investment Department was baffled. “What’s going on, Chairman You? He’s a real asset. Even if you have to swallow your pride for the company’s sake, isn’t it worth it? Aren’t you going to regret this?”

“What’s there to regret?”

Chairman You was noncommittal. “Zhang Long isn’t irreplaceable. He’s just more ruthless, more rational in executing the company analysts’ stock recommendations. Without our reports, what could he come up with on his own?”

“We have nearly two months of his client coaching recordings. The Trading Department will study them thoroughly.”

“Anyone can be Zhang Long.”

Director Guan said no more. Ruthlessness and rationality aren’t things just anyone can learn. Zhang Long, at least, was tough with clients, unafraid to push them.

He’d listened to the coaching recordings himself—nothing particularly flashy, but the cold logic and hard edge were unmistakable.

That kind of nerve is rare.

If a client called in furious after losing money, who else would dare demand they add more funds and keep trading? Most people wouldn’t.

Of course, those who can be both rational and ruthless will naturally perform well. The Investment Department did have others like that before Zhang Long’s transformation—some had always done well and earned good money.

Otherwise, if the whole department had no results, the company could never have survived years of losses, no matter how strong its foundation. Fine, let it be.

It’s just Zhang Long. If he wants to go, let him go.

...

“Ah, freedom.”

Stepping out of the building, Zhang Long looked up at the azure sky, the drifting clouds so pleasant and clear.

He didn’t know if, now that he’d quit, he’d actually be able to open a trading account—or, more to the point, if he’d be able to follow the market, pick stocks at will, and predict their trends. But he had no regrets. This was a step he had to take.

If you never take the step, you’ll never know.

If not for his desire to leave his record spotless in the industry, he might have secretly opened an account under another name long ago, just to try it out, or maybe traded on behalf of others.

He never expected his resignation would be a little less neat than planned—a few minor blemishes.

Still, it didn’t matter.

“Honey, are you off work yet?”

Zhang Long snapped back to the present and messaged Luo Man on WeChat. This girlfriend of convenience, whom he hadn’t seen for nearly a month—apart from the occasional chat or video call, nothing.

Now that he was free, he finally had time to spend with her, which was nice.

After two months of exhausting work, he was due for a break: time for romance, getting his driver’s license, opening an account and trying his hand at self-directed trading—all delightful prospects.

He hadn’t decided which platform to use, but it certainly wouldn’t be Shengxin.

They wouldn’t get a cent from him.

Did they really think that by setting up a Trading Department, they’d see a string of brilliant performances as planned? Did they really think that by having everyone study his client call recordings, they could turn out a dozen more Zhang Longs? Dream on.

His success came from playing with loaded dice, after all.

Plus, most of his former clients were used to making steady profits—once they switched managers and started losing again, well...

Let them deal with the angry clients showing up at the office.

Especially Zhang Lizhen, who depended on the market to support her family—could she afford to lose again?

Her due date was next month. If she came into the office heavily pregnant and made a scene, would they really dare provoke her?

Just wait, Shengxin—get ready to cry!