Chapter 132: Hitching a Ride on a Luxury Liner, Heading to a Deadly Feast

At the Bund Dragon Residence, Zhang Long broke into a cold sweat.

It wasn't because of gains or losses in the stock or forex markets. It was because he had checked the official website for the seven-day luxury cruise that Lin Yuan had gifted him for the Spring Festival, only to realize that the ship would be arriving from Japan and South Korea, passing through Hong Kong and Taiwan, and then continuing on to other Asian nations in the south without stopping.

Ultimately, it would dock in Europe. That was a dead end.

...

"Damn it, useless paper."

Zhang Long felt a bit frustrated. Well, not entirely useless; since he didn't have a passport, he could just disembark when the ship stopped in Hong Kong and return home. Hong Kong was right next to Shenzhen, so he could easily get back after spending two and a half days on the cruise.

But he couldn't go any further. Without a passport, there was no way to catch a flight back from other Asian countries. If he were slapped with a charge of illegal immigration, that would be a disaster.

"Damn it all."

Zhang Long let out a soft sigh. It was clearly too late to apply for a passport now. He figured Lin Yuan probably hadn't realized he didn't have one, or perhaps it didn't matter—the gesture had been made, and whether he went or not was up to him.

Returning the ticket to Lin Yuan wouldn't be appropriate, and the guy wouldn't want it back anyway. Who else could he give it to?

Zhang Long scratched his head. He had an idea.

...

"What is this?"

It was rare for Zhang Long to take the initiative to ask her out, so Qian Caiying was quite pleased. However, she couldn't help but look confused as she stared at the seven-day luxury cruise ticket he handed her.

"Lin Yuan gave it to me."

Zhang Long shrugged, not mentioning that he had been the one to secure it, nor trying to make her feel indebted to him.

"Why aren't you going?"

"No passport."

Qian Caiying was speechless when she heard this, though considering Zhang Long's background, it was hardly surprising; it would be weirder if he did have one. "It's definitely too late to get one now. Such a pity."

Not to mention that the invitation and ticket were quite expensive and hard to get without booking in advance, simply going on a luxury cruise for a few days of fine dining and entertainment would be a great experience—at least, it would be for Zhang Long.

Qian Caiying had been on one before. Some of the activities were quite interesting, and there were plenty of romantic encounters to be had—one-night stands, or perhaps longer.

"Do you want to go?"

Suddenly, Qian Caiying looked up, her gaze flickering as she smacked her lips. "If we use an expedited channel, I should be able to get it delivered to you quickly when the ship docks in Hong Kong."

"How about we go together?"

...

Qian Caiying had left, and Zhang Long was a bit dazed.

He wasn't sure how he’d ended up agreeing to go get an expedited passport first thing tomorrow morning. After that, he wouldn't have to worry about anything until boarding the ship on Saturday at noon.

Of course, they weren't going on a honeymoon. One wanted to see the world, and the other simply didn't want to be nagged at home during the New Year.

Running away to have some fun—simple as that.

"Manager Liang, come here for a moment."

After leaving the coffee shop, Qian Caiying called Liang Xue directly into her office. "Do you have a passport?"

"Uh, what's wrong?"

"Just tell me if you have one."

Although Liang Xue didn't know what Qian Caiying was up to, she answered truthfully: no.

She had been busy working since graduation; she didn't even have a permit for Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan, let alone an international passport. Back at Shengxin, only directors and above were granted one overseas trip per year. Team managers like them were lucky to travel within the country; the benefits were mediocre.

"You don't?"

Qian Caiying furrowed her brows. If Liang Xue had a passport, she would have been the perfect match for Zhang Long. While running away for the New Year was appealing, she didn't necessarily have to go since she'd been on a cruise before. "Someone gave Zhang Long a ticket for a luxury cruise, but he doesn't have a passport."

"He just met me to give me the ticket, and I thought it would be great if you could go, too."

"Oh, I see."

Liang Xue was stunned and fell silent.

Qian Caiying spoke candidly, "It would be great for Zhang Long to go on a luxury cruise and see the world. He’s going to get an expedited passport tomorrow morning, and I'll arrange to have it delivered when the ship stops in Hong Kong. Why don't you get an expedited one too?"

"Don't worry, I'm very reliable. I won't leave you two stranded on the ship or in a foreign country."

"I'm going home for the New Year."

Liang Xue shook her head. "Neither of us has much experience; if something goes wrong on the ship, we wouldn't know what to do. I’ve already promised my best friend I’d go back to my hometown with her, and I've already bought the tickets."

"I'm sorry."

Qian Caiying frowned, looking at Liang Xue’s pursed lips, noncommittal. "Happiness is something you have to fight for. If you don't fight, you have no chance."

"Forget it, I understand."

...

Zhang Long, drifting off to sleep that night, was unaware of the conversation between Qian Caiying and Liang Xue. He never would have guessed that Qian Caiying would talk to her directly; her train of thought was just too strange.

But life had to go on. After finishing his forex trades and withdrawing his funds the next morning, he left home.

Passports didn't have to be applied for in one's hometown; they could be processed in one's long-term place of residence. Besides, Zhang Long already owned two properties in Shanghai—a two-bedroom apartment on the Bund and a commercial space near the university town. By all accounts, he had met the basic requirements for a Shanghai residency permit.

He had paid social security for two years and owned property; he was fully qualified to transfer his residency.

Whatever the future requirements might be, he met the current ones and could apply.

But all of that would have to wait until after the New Year.

"Is this expedited thing reliable?"

After taking the photos and filling out the paperwork, Zhang Long felt a bit anxious. Qian Caiying was usually quite scatterbrained; he didn't want to miss the boat.

"Don't worry, it's reliable."

Qian Caiying sounded confident. She had a few connections. Normally, a passport took about fifteen working days, but they processed batches every week. It was just a matter of skipping the line and submitting an extra document; it wasn't a hassle.

It was like getting a permit for a lottery—if you "donate" a little, it gets approved quickly. If you don't donate a single cent?

Fine, then just go through the slow process.

"Go back and pack."

Qian Caiying waved goodbye. There wasn't much to prepare—just some clothes. The cruise ship had everything—food, drinks, entertainment, and shops. Even if he only brought his wallet and passport, it would be fine; he could buy whatever he needed once on board.

And just like that, the seven-day Spring Festival luxury cruise for Zhang Long and Qian Caiying was tentatively settled.

They weren't a couple; they were just companions.

"What? A seven-day cruise?"

In the general manager's office at Hongze, Ling Zhiqin looked up in surprise. "You’re too bold! Running off during the New Year—aren't you afraid of the fallout when you return?"

"And Manager Liang doesn't have a passport, or doesn't want to go, so what’s this about you running off with Zhang Long?"

"What are you thinking?"

Facing the reprimand, Qian Caiying shrugged noncommittally. "I'm not thinking anything. Manager Liang is just overthinking things, which is why she hasn't made any progress. I’m just going to test Zhang Long’s true feelings for her. I won't do anything reckless."

"Anyway, that's that."

...

Forex withdrawals took one to three days. Zhang Long had submitted his applications on Tuesday morning, and the funds arrived one after another on Thursday.

The three accounts had each started with a principal of one million yuan. After withdrawing everything, each account still had over 200,000 US dollars remaining. In other words, each of Zhang Long’s three forex accounts had netted over 1.3 million yuan. It felt good.

Of course, he had traded heavily. There were piles of losing trades every day, but he either cut losses promptly or exited with stop-losses, avoiding any major damage. His trading was very sound.

His profitable trades ranged from twenty or thirty points to seventy, eighty, or even nearly a hundred, and he made several waves of profit every day.

With five products—Japanese Yen, British Pound, US Dollar, Gold, and Australian Dollar—the opportunities were far greater than with a single spot silver product. As a result, his three daily windows of "premonition" usually finished by the afternoon, leaving him staring blankly in the evening.

Oh, wait—no, he was just analyzing things for fun.

Just like with the spot trading, most of the trades Zhang Long analyzed and executed himself resulted in losses. Sometimes, even when he was in profit, he wouldn't exit after a dozen points, and then the market would reverse.

Or, he would exit manually after a loss, only for the market to move back in his favor shortly after, making the loss for nothing.

In short: if he played by himself, he was guaranteed to lose.

"Phew, that was intense."

After the stock market closed, Zhang Long smacked his lips as he looked at the finalized funds in his accounts. He had netted a total of 100 million yuan from spot trading, so seeing a few tens of millions didn't make him quite as excited anymore. But he was certainly happy—no one ever complains about having too much money. You can't imagine the joys of the wealthy.

Tomorrow, Friday, would be the last trading day before the New Year. He would clear his accounts and re-deposit after the holiday.

He didn't want to leave money sitting in the accounts over the New Year.

So, as Zhang Long withdrew his funds one after another the next day, the platforms—UBS, Juncai, and Jinchan—were powerless to stop him. And he wasn't the only one withdrawing; during the New Year, as long as people weren't trapped in a position, they generally withdrew some money.

But there was only one person like Zhang Long, who hadn't suffered a single loss and had been making massive profits all along—and who withdrew tens of millions at once.

It was a headache they couldn't even bother to complain about anymore.

...

"Buzz, buzz buzz~"

His phone vibrated. Zhang Long picked it up, saw it was Lin Yuan, and answered. A moment later, he hung up with a furrowed brow and let out a sigh.

What was meant to happen had finally arrived.

Du Hong had sent word for Lin Yuan to arrange a meeting for tonight. She hadn't said what it was about, only that it was important.

He’d learned during their last meeting that the spot trading summit was in early February. By now, the summit had likely concluded. It was inevitable that communications between peers would lead to some things being exposed, or perhaps the exchange had simply generated a list of client profits.

Performance statistics, whether profitable or losing, were always compiled, and eventually, things would surface.

Now, it seemed, he had surfaced.

"A-Long, what's wrong?"

He met Lin Yuan first to drive to the meeting. Lin Yuan looked grave as he asked. Sister Hong had told him to make sure he brought Zhang Long tonight, so it was clearly something unusual.

Logically, Zhang Long hadn't done anything to offend Du Hong, and in fact, Du Hong had held him in high regard.

That was why Lin Yuan was scratching his head in confusion.

"It's nothing, don't worry."

Zhang Long smiled, relaxed. The matter could be big or small, but since his "golden finger" had interrupted his premonitions ahead of time, it meant there shouldn't be any major trouble. Of course, reality was reality, and a one-in-ten-thousand chance was still a chance. It all depended on what Du Hong had to say or do tonight.

In a society governed by law, he was just making a profit through legitimate operations. Did they expect him to return the money he’d earned? That wasn't going to happen.

When you calculated it, no single platform had actually lost that much, considering the massive commissions he had generated for them.

In the evening, at the Night Bar.

Zhang Long had been here with Lin Yuan before—it was where he’d first met Du Hong. But when they arrived at the booth, Du Hong was already there.

During their previous two meetings, she’d been surrounded by several other "second-generation" elites, but tonight, she was alone.

Or rather, she was the only one in the booth.

"Uh, Sister Hong."

"A-Yuan, you step aside."

Lin Yuan had barely opened his mouth before Du Hong waved him away unceremoniously. Her gaze remained fixed on Zhang Long's face, a hint of an indescribable smile playing on her lips.

Zhang Long met her gaze steadily. Without standing on ceremony, he sat down next to her and poured himself some champagne.

"Sister Hong, long time no see."