Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 484: It Went Up

Wall Street was nothing more than a street spanning five hundred meters. In terms of prosperity, from the outside, it truly looked no different from the Lujiazui district in Shanghai. Yet, this short five-hundred-meter stretch was the wealth gathering center of the entire world. It was home to banks, insurance firms, and shipping companies established by several major families like Rothschild, Morgan, and Rockefeller.Now, with the changing times, most people could trade stocks and futures with just the tap of a finger from the comfort of their homes. However, the term Wall Street had long transcended the physical street itself, becoming synonymous with money.

In truth, Zhou Yuwen and Lu Wanting did not stay here for long. They simply registered a personal account and used Lu Wanting's connections to register his own company.

Over the following days, the five million US dollars were successively transferred over.

To be honest, Lu Wanting did not actually approve of Zhou Yuwen playing the stock market.

Lu Wanting always felt that Zhou Yuwen had achieved success at a young age back home and let it go to his head after making sixty million. Sixty million might be a lot domestically, but in a place like Wall Street, it was truly a drop in the ocean.

Throwing sixty million into this ocean of money might not even make a single splash.

However, Zhou Yuwen was very insistent. The first stock he looked at was the recently listed Vipshop. In 2012, it went public at four US dollars. For the following year, the response was mediocre, stabilizing at just over four dollars. But in 2013, it suddenly began advancing by leaps and bounds. From one hundred and twenty US dollars in early June 2014, it surged to two hundred US dollars. That nearly fifty percent profit was achieved in just one month.

After reviewing Vipshop's early trend chart, Zhou Yuwen told Lu Wanting that the US stock market was not that dangerous after all.

"You keep saying there is no bottom, but look at the facts. The upward trend of this stock has been quite steady over the past two years."

Hearing this, Lu Wanting lowered her head and remained silent. 'Fate always loves to play tricks on people,' she thought. 'Some stocks are just like that. They surge forward when you do not own them, but the moment you buy in, they start plummeting continuously.'

Actually, if it were any other stock, Zhou Yuwen might not have been so confident. But when it came to Vipshop, he had specifically researched it in the past when he was writing novels.

He could be considered to be standing at the forefront of the era.

Vipshop started out in e-commerce, primarily functioning as an e-commerce platform for women. However, before 2014, e-commerce was not popular, and it was even difficult to gain the trust of the general public.

It was not until after 2014, when Boss Ma ascended to the throne of the richest man in the country. Single-handedly, Boss Ma became the spokesperson for the entire e-commerce industry, telling everyone that e-commerce was the future of the nation!

Later, e-commerce blossomed everywhere, and various vertical e-commerce businesses began to emerge in an endless stream.

Because Vipshop had gone public early, it advanced rapidly during this period.

At this moment, Vipshop was already showing signs of an upward trend. Within a few minutes, there were percentage increases. Although there were fluctuations, the amplitude was relatively small.

Before coming to the US, Zhou Yuwen's plan was to play the stock market, make some quick money, and then purchase a batch of high-quality stocks to serve as his overseas assets, such as Apple and Coca-Cola.

But after arriving in New York, he realized that spending money was incredibly fast. Sixty million was absolutely nothing. Setting aside major purchases like a villa or a luxury car, just the daily hotel expenses amounted to around five thousand a day. He had booked half a month for Su Qing over there, and after coming to Wall Street, Zhou Yuwen booked another half a month nearby to use as his temporary studio.

Just like that, his monthly expenses reached three hundred thousand.

And that did not even include dining and shopping.

In this evil capitalist world, money was needed everywhere.

Yet, it was precisely this environment that bred Zhou Yuwen's ambition.

'Since I am already playing the game,' Zhou Yuwen thought, 'I might as well play big.'

He then asked Lu Wanting if she knew of any margin financing and loan companies.

This question startled Lu Wanting, prompting her to tell Zhou Yuwen not to scare her.

Buying a few stocks to allocate assets was fine, but adding margin financing on top of that was essentially seeking a quick, brutal death.

The New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street was indeed imposing. Even today, in 2014, when the internet had entered countless households, the trading hall was still packed with people. A group of white-haired old men were dressed immaculately.

Do not be fooled by these men in their sixties and seventies; every single one of them could be a wealthy nouveau riche figure who dominated their region. The more stubborn they were, the less they trusted the little computers sitting in their homes.

They preferred coming to this trading hall, watching the red and green numbers flash across the screen.

Standing in this trading hall heavy with history, Zhou Yuwen simply smiled at the slender girl beside him and asked, "Do you believe in me?"

Lu Wanting pointed out that it was not a matter of belief.

"Do you believe in me?" Zhou Yuwen pressed, asking the exact same question.

He possessed a fearless, forward-charging confidence. Zhou Yuwen told Lu Wanting that since they were already here, why not go crazy for once?

"We only have five million. If we lose, we will just consider it a contribution to the global stock market. But if we win, with tenfold leverage and a fifty percent profit, that is nearly thirty million US dollars! Two hundred and forty million! You will witness history!" Zhou Yuwen exclaimed excitedly, gripping Lu Wanting's arm with both hands.

Lu Wanting felt that Zhou Yuwen was crazy, but she had no way to refuse him.

After all, Wall Street lacked everything but margin financing and loans. Even if she refused to help, she knew Zhou Yuwen would just find someone else. Rather than letting him seek out strangers, it was better for her to handle the operations for him; at the very least, it would be safer.

Lu Wanting had a former classmate working as a stockbroker, so she easily found a channel for margin financing.

The maximum leverage they could provide was thirty times.

But it came with conditions.

And Zhou Yuwen met those conditions.

The broker communicated with Lu Wanting in English. She asked Lu Wanting how much leverage they wanted to use.

'Ten times should be about right,' Lu Wanting thought.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuwen, standing right beside her, heard everything clearly and blurted out, "Thirty times."

Lu Wanting's classmate looked over at Lu Wanting.

Seeing the manic expression on Zhou Yuwen's face, Lu Wanting could only sigh. "Listen to him."

And just like that, Zhou Yuwen secured thirty times leverage.

His five million US dollars were forcibly stretched to one hundred and fifty million.

If the stock he purchased dropped by three percent, his position would be forcibly liquidated, and his five million would be completely wiped out.

After securing the financing, Lu Wanting's classmate arranged an office for them at the exchange.

Zhou Yuwen originally wanted to go all-in on Vipshop, but Vipshop's current valuation was only six billion US dollars, with only ten percent circulating in the market.

If Zhou Yuwen used all his funds to buy in, he would acquire two percent of the shares, making his target far too obvious.

For a small-cap stock like this, buying half a percent—around thirty million or so—was the maximum. Moreover, it had to be bought through various different accounts.

The remaining funds had to be used to purchase less conspicuous shares, even if it meant taking a slight loss, such as JD.com, Dangdang.com, Yiche.com, and airlines.

These were all stocks Zhou Yuwen had meticulously selected. They might not earn a lot, but they would definitely not incur losses.

Of course, Zhou Yuwen's main focus was still Vipshop.

For the next week, Zhou Yuwen and Lu Wanting frequented the stock exchange. With the help of Lu Wanting's friend, Zhou Yuwen's stock acquisition plan proceeded very smoothly. The thirty-times leverage was not fully utilized, which meant Zhou Yuwen had a larger buffer for drawdowns.

In just one short week, Zhou Yuwen acquired one percent of Vipshop's shares in the secondary market.

While Lu Wanting was acquiring the Vipshop stock, she received news that a major shareholder wanted to sell one percent of Vipshop's shares. She asked Zhou Yuwen for his opinion.

Zhou Yuwen naturally wanted it; only a fool would turn down a chance to make money.

Thus, Zhou Yuwen's total holding in Vipshop reached two percent, all happening in the blink of an eye.

During this week, Lu Wanting could not sleep at night, feeling as though all her hair was going to fall out.

The pressure was far too immense.

Not only did she have to use different accounts to buy stocks every day, but she also had to worry about Vipshop's stock price dropping. Especially after she had finished acquiring all the shares, every single cent it dropped made her heart pound wildly.

She actually admired Zhou Yuwen. No matter the situation, he could calmly sit on the sofa and drink red wine.

Fortunately, during this week, the stock called JD.com was performing quite well. It had already risen by twenty percent; they should probably buy a bit more.

On the final trading day, Vipshop, which had been steadily climbing, suddenly dropped by one percent. This caused Lu Wanting's heart to leap into her throat!

She looked over at Zhou Yuwen and realized that he was actually quite nervous as well.

However, he forcefully maintained his composure, stating that it was merely a strategic adjustment.

Lu Wanting could only sigh in her heart. 'I hope so!'

After finishing their work, they returned to the hotel. Lu Wanting took a hot shower as usual, then focused on the company's movements.

At this time, Peng Xiaoyong called.

He asked if she had gone anywhere for fun, since it was rare for her to return to New York.

"No," Lu Wanting replied.

Peng Xiaoyong was curious as to why she had not gone out.

Lu Wanting told him, "I have spent this entire week at the New York Stock Exchange with your younger cousin."

"The stock exchange? He is buying stocks?"

"Yes, and buying on a massive scale. I have realized that your cousin is an absolute madman. No wonder he makes so much money," Lu Wanting said.

Peng Xiaoyong was actually quite happy to hear this. Truth be told, he really hoped to see his cousin be snubbed.

So he asked, "Which stock did he buy?"

Lu Wanting replied, "That involves commercial secrets. I cannot tell you."

Hearing this, Peng Xiaoyong felt helpless and asked with a laugh, "Can you not even tell me?"

Lu Wanting remained silent on the matter.

Peng Xiaoyong sighed, "Alright, I will not force you."

"Yuwen is still young and arrogant after all," Peng Xiaoyong offered his evaluation.

Lu Wanting somewhat agreed with this. Her recent stress levels had indeed been immense. She mentioned that Zhou Yuwen had bought many stocks whose prospects were not particularly bright.

However, there were also a few stocks with excellent upward momentum.

"Right now, all I can do is try my best to help him balance things out, so he loses a bit less," Lu Wanting said.

Peng Xiaoyong nodded, agreeing with Lu Wanting's approach, and then asked when she would be coming back.

"Next week, probably."

Lu Wanting thought for a moment before replying.

Today, Vipshop had dropped by one percent. If it continued to fall and hit three percent, their position would be forcefully liquidated. However, if it dropped by two percent, Lu Wanting planned to advise Zhou Yuwen to close the position.

That way, she could at least guarantee that Zhou Yuwen would not lose money right now.

Peng Xiaoyong said, "Alright, I will pick you up then."

"Okay."

The two agreed on this arrangement.

Thus passed a two-day rest period.

Zhou Yuwen gave Lu Wanting ten thousand US dollars in prize money, telling her to go out and have a good time.

But Lu Wanting found everything she did incredibly dull.

It continued like this until the trading day on Monday.

Everyone stared nervously at the stock's trend chart.

Vipshop opened with a half-percent increase, but immediately began to plunge, quickly dropping to a negative zero point eight.

Adding the losses from the previous trading day, they were down a total of one point eight percent.

Seeing that the situation was turning bad, Lu Wanting panicked for a moment. After some hesitation, she pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and said, "Why don't we sell a portion? That way, we will have more room to maneuver."

Yes, at this moment, Lu Wanting was wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

It could not be helped. Staring at the screen for a solid week, with all those flashing colors, was more than anyone could endure.

The people coming and going on Wall Street were all elites.

Having worked here for a week, Lu Wanting had somewhat acquired the look of an elite herself. She wore a small black suit paired with a tight skirt, and her slender, beautiful legs were wrapped in black stockings.

It was not that she deliberately dressed up to pander to men.

It was just that, after all, her former classmate was here. Plus, over the past week, friends had also come to visit her. Every one of her old classmates was now dressed in professional attire.

Lu Wanting certainly did not want to be outdone by them.

So, she carefully selected an all-black outfit.

Underneath the small suit, the tube top she wore featured a delicate lace edge.

Coupled with her fluffy, long hair, it truly gave her a striking allure.

Unfortunately, in the face of tens of millions of US dollars, none of that mattered.

Zhou Yuwen was also genuinely nervous at this point. In his memory, there was no such downward plunge.

'Did I remember wrong?'

Faced with Lu Wanting's suggestion.

Zhou Yuwen pondered for a moment before saying, "Wait a bit longer. It might just be a technical adjustment."

As soon as he finished speaking, the stock dropped to negative one point nine.

Lu Wanting grew anxious, but she said nothing more. Instead, alongside Zhou Yuwen, her heart leaped into her throat.

They waited for the entire morning.

Vipshop's board remained solidly in the negative.

By the afternoon, it continued its heavy-volume decline.

When there was only zero point three percent left before a forced liquidation.

Lu Wanting could not hold back any longer. She stood up abruptly. "Sell! If we do not sell now, we are really going to be liquidated!"

Yet, Zhou Yuwen remained curled up on the sofa, completely silent.

"Zhou Yuwen,"

Lu Wanting could not bear it. She strode over to Zhou Yuwen in her high heels.

But then she saw Zhou Yuwen whisper softly, "It went up."

"?"

Lu Wanting froze and turned back to look at the trend chart.

To her astonishment, Vipshop's trajectory had actually started to turn upward?

This?

And it was not over. This upward surge was like coming back from the dead, charging forward with unstoppable momentum!

In the final fifteen minutes, it flipped from negative to positive, instantly surging by three percent.

"It went up!?" Lu Wanting stared at the trend chart before her, her face filled with absolute disbelief.

At this moment, Zhou Yuwen let out a long sigh of relief. Restoring his previous confidence, he gave a calm nod. "It went up."