Chapter 98: Zhang Long, a Married Man? (Please Keep Reading)

Zhang Long did not possess a photographic memory.

But after his soul fused with the former body’s remnant, his memory and physique had both improved to some degree; his hearing and sight had become sharper as well.

The Level One CFA financial exam was not difficult. Zhang Long had always studied and practiced questions diligently, and especially after leaving Shengxin to trade stocks at home, he had even more free time. He was thoroughly prepared.

...

“Brother, you seem pretty confident?”

After the morning session ended, there was still one exam in the afternoon before it would all be over. At noon, he grabbed a meal at a small restaurant near the testing center, where the people sharing his table were also candidates for the Level One CFA certificate.

Seeing how relaxed and at ease Zhang Long had looked in the exam hall, and still did now, they could not help but envy him.

“Mm, sort of. I’ll let fate decide.”

Zhang Long gave a noncommittal answer. The braised chicken was quite good, especially with a little vinegar to tame the heat. The mushrooms and enoki mushrooms were enough for the side dishes; he did not eat green peppers.

Still, they could not be absent. A little green in the bowl was pleasant to the eye, after all. It was not as though he intended to wear it on his head.

And then there were the bright red bird’s-eye chilies, there for decoration.

Truth be told, though the bear market had dragged on for years, there were still plenty of students taking the CFA exam. Zhang Long’s testing site was packed with people, young and old alike.

Tall and thin, handsome and beautiful—his own looks were not bad, and there were certainly those who could rival him.

There were also girls dressed in stylish, pretty ways, full of youthful energy, or else quiet and graceful in bearing.

Zhang Long had no interest in making acquaintances. After the afternoon exam, he left at once. The stock market and the futures market were both closed on weekends, so now that the exam was over, he could not accurately sense whether his golden finger could judge the result on its own, or whether it had leveled up. That disappointed him a little.

Fortunately, by Monday he would know. Tonight he would sleep well, and tomorrow he would go practice driving.

At the end of the month, he would take the third driving test. After New Year’s Day, he would sit for the final fourth test, and then he could wait for his license.

Buying a car and a house were now on the agenda.

The plan was beautiful, but reality always found a way to interfere. Just after he paid the rent for the next quarter, the agency informed Zhang Long that the landlord wanted to sell the apartment.

...

“Tsk, tsk. How interesting.”

Zhang Long went straight to the agency in person. The first day of the lease had been September 9, a Sunday; today was December 8. There was nothing wrong with a landlord wanting to sell, but only speaking up after he had just paid the next quarter’s rent made it seem like they were trying to swindle him.

“Brother Long, don’t be angry.”

The agency girl who had handled his rental before hurried to soothe him. “A sale does not break a lease. It will take time for the landlord to sell anyway. Even with ten sets of potential buyers, it may still take two or three months to close. There’s no need to worry.”

“And if there are clients who want to view the place, please cooperate with us. We’re truly sorry.”

“Hah, easy words.”

Zhang Long let out a faint sneer. “I’m not illiterate, and I know how to use the internet on my phone. There are plenty of posts about landlords and agencies selling places and screwing over tenants. Do you think I’m blind?”

“The landlord didn’t only tell you all they wanted to sell today, did they? I just paid the quarterly rent and then you told me.”

“That’s what really counts as dishonorable.”

Faced with Zhang Long’s sarcasm, the agency had no better explanation. The facts were the facts. In any case, they had to get the quarterly rent in hand first; not a cent of the money they were supposed to earn could be lost, and how the tenant felt did not matter.

Even if the place sold in a few days, they would be holding Zhang Long’s quarterly rent and deposit. If he looked for another place without going through their agency, he could forget about getting it back easily.

Almost all agencies were like that.

“Only Saturday afternoons.”

There was no point arguing with them. Zhang Long threw out a single line and left. The apartment could be shown and could be sold, but do not disturb him on weekdays. On Sundays he had to go to the driving school to practice, so he had even less time. Only Saturday afternoons were acceptable.

As for evenings, forget it.

“Saturday afternoon? Uh...”

Watching Zhang Long’s departing back disappear, the agency girl scratched her head. Buyers would not all have time only on Saturday afternoons. What a headache.

...

“Ninety square meters, five hundred and fifty thousand.”

Back home, Zhang Long searched online for the current market price of the neighborhood where he was renting. The average price for secondhand homes in the Bund area was currently forty-five thousand a square meter, though luxury new properties were pricier and older neighborhoods cheaper.

The two-bedroom apartment he was renting was not especially good in layout, but its riverfront location added a lot. The older community did lower the price a bit, yet it was still ten thousand above the average.

And that was only the listed price online; the actual transaction price might be even higher.

Still, if the landlord was in a hurry for money, this two-bedroom place could probably be bought for five million.

Of course, Zhang Long had no intention of buying it.

After living here by the river for three months, even the Huangpu River view had begun to feel tired. More importantly, the layout was not all that good; otherwise the landlord would not have entrusted the entire rental business to the agency in full. When Zhang Long first rented it, there had been no agency fee either.

This apartment had been rented out under a lease contract between the agency and the landlord, and then re-rented at a markup. At least they had not secretly split it into separate rooms, so they still counted as somewhat conscientious.

Too many landlords handed over entire apartments to agencies only to have the agencies secretly carve them into several rooms and rent them out individually.

“Haah, it’s time to buy a house.”

Zhang Long exhaled lightly. He would not be living here much longer. Fortunately, he had already planned to buy a place. In the first week of futures trading alone, he had made five million. If he opened two more accounts next week and worked through to the end of the month, making a total of thirty million would not be a problem. By then, even buying a villa in the Bund would be within reach.

And he would also make quite a lot from his stock accounts. At the very least, he should end the month with around ten million.

The agent account at Hongze had made seven hundred thousand in its first week. Next week, eight hundred thousand. In the third week, one and a half million. In the final week of the month, another two million. That was five million right there.

As for his own three accounts, with a bit of give and take and a little more play, making five million out of six million was no pressure at all.

Good heavens, he had not realized it before.

Zhang Long clicked his tongue. After counting it up, this month he could actually make forty million—and as long as he wanted to, he could earn it. He only needed to be bolder and let himself go a little more. Very good indeed.

...

“Good night, kisses.”

That night, after barely chatting with Liang Xue for a few sentences before saying good night, Zhang Long could not help but darken.

He had arranged to have dinner with Liang Xue today, but unfortunately she had no time.

She said she was meeting her close friend.

What was more, Liang Xue and this close friend met at least once or twice a month. Sometimes she stayed overnight at her friend’s place; other times the friend came to stay at Liang Xue’s. It was rather annoying. They never said clearly whether this friend was a girl or a boy.

What sort of close friend was this? Were they really that close?

“Heh-heh, something’s off with you...”

In a residential apartment somewhere in Magic City, Qin Miaotong looked at Liang Xue’s expression and the way her eyes shone as she chatted on WeChat, as though the water in them might overflow at any moment. She clicked her tongue.

“Tell me, is he handsome?”

On the large soft bed in the bedroom, Qin Miaotong stretched out her wicked claws to tickle Liang Xue’s waist, then slowly moved upward.

When friends fool around, naturally there is no order to it.

“Please. So vulgar.”

A moment later, Liang Xue pried Qin Miaotong’s hand away. She had already said good night to Zhang Long and was ready to sleep.

But seeing her best friend so tight-lipped only made Qin Miaotong more curious. The two of them were usually the kind who told each other everything; hiding her boyfriend so deeply was very suspicious. Could it be... she had fallen in love with a married man?

Hiss, that would not do. Absolutely not.

“Baby, you have to be careful.”

A few unpleasant scenes flashed through Qin Miaotong’s mind, making her shiver as she advised her, “A man’s financial situation is certainly important, but you need to think about other things too. You can’t just jump into a fire pit on impulse.”

“Baby, do you understand?”

“Mm, I understand, I understand...”

Liang Xue yawned and answered carelessly. She could not make sense of what her friend was talking about. Her little brain always seemed to race off in strange directions. Fine, let’s sleep.

So she pulled the blanket over herself and fell silent.

Seeing that, Qin Miaotong puffed out her cheeks. She knew Liang Xue had not listened to a word she said.

Forget it. She would have to check out that boyfriend of hers later. If he was a married man...?

“Eh? Brother Lin, what’s wrong?”

The next morning, with nothing said through the night, Zhang Long saw Lin Yuan at the driving school after many days without meeting him. The guy looked as if he had been boiled alive, listless and dispirited. Zhang Long could not help being surprised.

“Haah, I’ve been having a rough time lately.”

Lin Yuan shrugged and sighed. “The company’s being sued, and my uncle keeps looking at me like I’m wrong no matter what I do.”

“Ah Long, I’m having a really hard time.”

P.S. Monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, please. I’ll keep writing as usual, with the first update for Tuesday posted before dawn.