Chapter 52: I’ll Smash Your Bathtub to Pieces

Damn, that's terrifying.

Zhang Long shivered lightly, then looked up at Qian Caiying, who was not far away, smiling cheerfully and waving at him. His phone had just vibrated with a text message: a photo titled "Haircut at the Barbershop."

It was taken from the window seat, very clear.

...

“How did you find me?”

In a café below a commercial building, Zhang Long looked at Qian Caiying with some frustration. She’d only gotten his number yesterday, had ditched him at dinner, and yet here she was, having tracked him down today.

“I guessed. Pure coincidence,” Qian Caiying stirred her steaming coffee, her eyes crinkling with a smile. “A guy with a straightforward personality and a considerable income is unlikely to live far from the company. Here on the Bund, you can see the Oriental Pearl and Lujiazui across the river. So…”

“My plan is to stroll around the Bund every evening from today. The nearby neighborhoods are closest to the ferry across the river, so this was my first stop.”

“It really was just luck. I was wandering, looking around, and happened to see you through the barbershop window.”

“All right, you win,” Zhang Long conceded. This woman’s logical reasoning was impressive, and her luck was even more so.

Annoying, she’s practically blessed by fortune.

“Okay, let’s get to business,” Qian Caiying’s expression turned serious, wasting no time. “You left Shengxin. Are you planning to switch to another company, or do you have other arrangements?”

“The latter,” Zhang Long replied. Qian Caiying nodded, having anticipated this. It only confirmed his capabilities.

“You’re trading on your own now?”

Zhang Long nodded and shrugged. “If I don’t trade, how can I test the depth of the stock market? The outcome is still uncertain. So if you want me to manage your funds, forget it. Doing it myself is different from analyzing for others. You understand that feeling.”

Qian Caiying frowned; of course she understood. When you don't risk your own money, you can keep a rational perspective. But once your own funds are involved, your mindset shifts with every loss or gain.

In short, emotions and reason are swayed by the market’s ups and downs, making objective analysis harder.

...

“Okay, that’s fine.” After a moment’s silence, Qian Caiying exhaled softly, her beautiful eyes flashing. “Whether you truly have skill, or there’s someone extraordinary guiding you…”

“Do me a favor.”

Zhang Long was puzzled. Was she joking?

“Don’t worry, it won’t be for nothing.” Meeting Zhang Long’s uncertain gaze, Qian Caiying smiled slightly. “You left Shengxin with a mess behind you. You know Liang Xue is going to have a tough time. I plan to sign her.”

“To be honest, I run a financial company. You probably guessed as much.”

Zhang Long’s brow twitched, recalling that Qian Caiying’s trading account didn’t match her real name—a common practice among industry insiders.

“I’d like you to be a consultant for my company.” Qian Caiying smiled calmly. “You don’t have to come to the office. I’ll pay you a monthly consulting fee; you name the amount. We can discuss profit-sharing later.”

“Though I made quite a bit from your guidance before, the situation is different now.”

“I need to see your mindset.”

Zhang Long’s expression remained composed—he understood what she meant. Now that he was trading on his own, could he still analyze stocks objectively, or was there an invisible mentor guiding him?

Either way, it was the same.

“What, you want to decline?”

Zhang Long was about to reply, but Qian Caiying seemed to sense his reluctance and stood up, interjecting, “Your eyes say you’re not interested and that it’s a hassle.”

“No problem, I’ll give you time.” Qian Caiying smiled lightly, took a hundred yuan bill from her wallet and placed it on the table to pay.

“If you change your mind, call me.”

...

Back home, Zhang Long gazed out at the Bund.

Qian Caiying was undoubtedly from a wealthy family; she could casually invest millions in stocks, and owning a financial company clearly meant she had extraordinary connections. There was potential here.

Connections and favors.

If he was content to be comfortably wealthy, trading stocks for pocket money and living a life of indulgence, there’d be no need to bother. But he wouldn’t.

Being a financial consultant wouldn’t conflict with his own trading. Should he accept?

Even if the consulting fee was a million a month, that was just average. The real value lay in securities licenses; if he ever wanted to start his own financial firm, these relationships would be essential.

Another wealthy woman meant another network.

“Sister Xue, are you off work yet?”

He sent a message, but there was no reply for a long time.

There was no need to guess whether Liang Xue was having a rough time. Last time, Director You had made her stay overnight with Zhang Lizhen; even though Zhang Lizhen admitted defeat and settled things, there would definitely be more trouble to come.

So he’d advised Liang Xue to give careful thought to whether she wanted to stay at Shengxin.

Shengxin had changed. If Director Zhu managed both investment and trading departments, it would be fine.

But Director You was not someone he could work with.

“Just finished. What’s up?”

Suddenly a reply came. Zhang Long glanced at the time—half past ten, not early but not late. For overtime, this was typical; any later and it would be unreasonable. You couldn’t expect employees to call clients at eleven or midnight.

“Nothing, just checking in.”

On the other side, Liang Xue rolled her eyes at the reply. Was he too free? Didn’t he know working late was exhausting? He was deliberately provoking her.

“If you’ve got something, spit it out.”

From her message, Zhang Long could almost picture Liang Xue gritting her teeth. He smacked his lips and chuckled, “I’m off to shower and sleep. Good night, sweet dreams.”

“Get lost! I’ll smash your bathtub!” Liang Xue took a deep breath. Damn him.

...

The night passed without incident; morning arrived.

Yet Zhang Long, still asleep, was awakened by his phone vibrating. Who was calling so early?

“Sister, do you have any manners?”

Groggy, Zhang Long glanced at the caller ID and retorted bluntly, “Didn’t we agree you’d wait until Saturday for my answer? I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Oh? Worn out last night? Such a bad mood when you wake…” Qian Caiying’s playful voice laughed.

“All right, check your messages. Hurry.”

With that, she hung up. Zhang Long squinted his eyes, forcing himself awake, and opened the message. He was speechless—damn it.

Qian Caiying had sent a stock recommendation for today: three stocks to analyze.

She said today was Friday, a small test, no need to wait for Saturday. Not playing by the rules.

“Women are nothing but trouble,” Zhang Long grumbled as he got up. Yesterday, he’d already gone all-in with his HSBC and UBS accounts; he’d cash out this afternoon, so he’d planned to sleep in and wait for the market to close.

After all, his ability couldn’t yet foresee next week’s trends over the weekend; whether he checked or not made no difference.

But Qian Tiger Girl launched a surprise attack.

Well, it was an opportunity to test whether he could analyze stocks for others. If he couldn’t, consulting was out of the question. His abilities depended on being “overpowered;” if the cheat didn’t work, there was nothing he could do.

Even if Qian Caiying begged, it wouldn’t help.

“Tsk, what awful trends…”

The computer booted quickly, the stock market screens opened in moments. No way to foresee, but as for analyzing for others, that he could do.

Yet the three stocks she wanted analyzed? One would crash after midday, the other two?

Well, same story—they’d break support and plunge!

Whichever platform’s analyst recommended these stocks today, they were digging graves for their clients. This kind of breakdown meant they’d keep falling come Monday’s opening.

This platform was a no-go, too risky.

“Uh, could it be…?”

Zhang Long froze, scratching his head as an uneasy suspicion took root. Heaven help them.

That woman’s clients were in for a miserable ride.