Chapter 55: A Frightening Surge

Qian Caiying was absolutely furious.

Dealing with someone as stubborn as Zhang Long, who remained unruffled no matter what she tried, not currying favor, not greedy or lustful, and even ignoring her texts about going to bars to pick up girls—it was hopeless.

So, you’re turning off your phone? Fine. Very well.

...

"So you only care about the rich, is that it?"

On Sunday morning, Zhang Long arrived at the driving school’s training center by shuttle bus. As soon as he stepped into the lobby, he heard a middle-aged woman shouting at the top of her lungs. What was going on?

"Brother Lin, what’s happening?" Zhang Long took two steps forward. He saw Lin, a fellow VIP student, already watching the scene, and leaned over to ask quietly.

"She’s just being unreasonable," Lin Yuan explained in a low voice without turning his head. "The regular class is packed today, and this woman saw that the VIP cars were idle, so she wanted to use one. Ridiculous."

"She’s accusing the school of discrimination and favoring the wealthy, but she doesn’t consider how much she actually paid."

"It’s not even half as much."

Alright, Zhang Long understood. But seeing the middle-aged woman making a scene at the front desk, he could only shake his head silently, choosing not to comment further.

This little drama had nothing to do with him.

"Let’s go. Time to study the questions."

Lin Yuan, having seen enough, stopped watching when Zhang Long arrived. The official test for the first section was in a couple of days, and today was their last review. Even though the instructor’s summaries were thorough, he was still confused.

He didn’t want to fail and retake the exam!

As for Zhang Long, he felt relaxed. Once he passed the first section, the rest would be a breeze—no pressure at all.

And so the morning slipped by quickly.

Though Zhang Long hadn’t intended to make friends at the driving school, he ended up sticking with Lin Yuan. Lin was outgoing and sociable, the sort who made friends easily, and, crucially, both of them were among the most attractive in the VIP class. Some of the female students found this troublesome and often came over to flirt.

Lin Yuan was annoyed by their attention. Spotting the quiet Zhang Long, his eyes lit up—brother, let’s team up.

Just the two of us—others, stay away.

...

"Hello, Brother Sun..."

"Ugh, can you not be so annoying?"

Bai Xiaoying’s face flushed with embarrassment. Before the client hung up, she thought she heard a faint gasp—was he really that desperate in broad daylight? Wasn’t that reserved for nighttime?

This month, Shengxin’s investment and trading departments worked overtime every Sunday afternoon to confirm the next day’s potential clients.

Either to open new accounts or encourage additional investments.

Last Sunday was the first overtime session. The results were decent, but it didn’t last. On Monday, several recommended stocks tanked, leading to heavy losses.

Whether old or new, clients’ trust plummeted and hadn’t recovered since.

Today’s work, both for development and maintenance, mainly focused on client relations—no rush to push for new accounts or investments. Once the market opened on Monday, they’d see how things went.

Better to be cautious—restrain first, then advance.

"Hello, Sister Yu..."

In the trading department, Chang Song called clients with an upbeat tone, but most hung up after just a few words. Some would chat longer, but it was just small talk.

Even if today’s main task was building rapport, they still needed to lay the groundwork for future trades or investments.

If all you did was chit-chat about food, drinks, or travel, well, you could expect a scolding.

Sales is about selling. If you don’t sell, what’s the point?

"How’s it going..."

Liang Xue wandered over. Almost all clients of their Blizzard Team were in Chang Song’s portfolio, so their performance was linked—they had to communicate regularly.

"Not bad," Chang Song replied with a slightly awkward cough.

He wasn’t as skilled at maintaining trading relationships as Zhang Long, and Zhang Long rarely made these rapport calls. He focused on stock analysis and recommendations, then guided or made decisions for his clients.

That kind of confidence was still out of reach.

"Mm, keep it up."

Liang Xue didn’t say more. She gave Chang Song a once-over—his mindset was stable enough. If she switched to Hongze, maybe she’d bring him along. She’d talk it over in a while.

If possible, she’d take him with her.

...

"See you, Zhang Long. If you pass the first section, I’ll take you out for some fun," Lin Yuan called out.

"Fresh-faced college girls."

Zhang Long broke into a cold sweat and waved him off. Lin Yuan was only a year or two older than him and looked every bit the rich kid, but it was odd that he was only now getting his license—not that it mattered.

This guy was too wild. Best to keep some distance.

With these thoughts, Zhang Long got on the bus back to the Bund. The ride took about an hour, but at least he could play on his phone, read novels, or chat.

It was almost evening now, and Luo Man had finished work. Her cold was completely gone, so she could reply at any time.

But soon she’d be unavailable—she had to go to her part-time job. She was desperate to make money.

"Go back to the dorm and get some rest."

"I’m fine now, all better."

"You’re not listening, are you?"

"Hehe, not listening..."

Zhang Long’s face darkened. Should you discipline a cheeky girlfriend? But he had no reason to restrict her freedom—part-time jobs, eating, drinking, having fun—it was her choice.

Controlling every aspect of a relationship was pointless.

"Ahem, are you mad?"

Seeing that Zhang Long hadn’t replied in a few minutes, Luo Man grew anxious. "I have Tuesday off next week. Can I come see you? Don’t be mad."

Zhang Long raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"No, I’m not mad. Tuesday’s fine. I’ll be done with my test in the morning. Let’s meet in the afternoon."

"Mm, okay."

With their plans set, the conversation died down. But Zhang Long now had another thought—where should they meet, how should they spend their time together? He wanted to talk things through.

This relationship didn’t feel quite right.

...

"Damn it, what’s going on?"

The night passed without incident. On Monday morning, Zhang Long was waiting for HSBC and UBS’s stock recommendations, which hadn’t arrived yet. The market wouldn’t open until 9:30, so he planned to check how last week’s recommended stocks would perform this week. But there was no response—had his golden finger failed?

"Phew, thank goodness."

A moment later, once the recommendations from HSBC and UBS came through, he relaxed completely.

Apparently, his ability only worked with the current week’s recommendations from the platform. Anything from previous weeks was invalid.

"Damn, that scared me."

Zhang Long blinked several times. He should’ve realized this sooner. When he worked at Shengxin, he had many clients, and their holdings were varied—most were stocks that had been recommended at some point, so he hadn’t noticed any limitation.

Now that he was investing for himself, and without an upgraded golden finger, he was restricted to the latest reports from the platform.

"I need to hurry up and get certified."

Zhang Long let out a long breath. Damn fate was setting up obstacles for him. Without a financial analyst’s license, he couldn’t make his own recommendations. Ridiculous.

Level 1—he had to get to Level 2 as soon as possible.

"Damn it all!"

After cursing fate and his golden finger, Zhang Long turned back to the trading screen. But within moments, he cursed again—none of HSBC or UBS’s recommended stocks were set to soar this week.

So much for being top-tier platforms.

"Buzz, buzz—"

Suddenly his phone vibrated. It was a text from Qian Caiying.

Just like last Friday, she’d sent over a few stock codes for him to analyze—nothing else.

One, two, three, four... eight stocks in all.

"Well, a timely rain."

Zhang Long’s eyes lit up. If he hadn’t been scouring forums for stock ideas, he’d have been stuck waiting for the platform’s recommendations. He might as well take a look at Qian Caiying’s picks—why not?

"Eh, this one’s no good..."

"And this one’s no good either..."

As Zhang Long went through them one by one, his excitement faded with each dismal forecast until only one was left. Suddenly, he jolted in shock.

Unbelievable—he was stunned.

Zhang Long’s eyes went wide. "Three consecutive daily limits, two closing higher, five trading days, a 40%+ return!"

"Buy them all—go all in!"