If You Don’t Go To Hell, Who Will? - Chapter 48
Zhong Yuan and I were embracing each other like this for about ten minutes. Then Zhong Yuan let go of me and said, “I should go.”
“Go…?” So soon?
Zhong Yuan rubbed my nose and smiled. “Don’t want me to leave?”
I lowered my head and didn’t say anything.
“I don’t want to leave either, but I have a flight this afternoon. If I don’t go back, that old man will kill me,” Zhong Yuan said, lightly kissing my forehead.
The so-called old man was probably Zhong Yuan’s grandfather, but I was a bit puzzled and asked, “You didn’t go home before this?”
Zhong Yuan: “I’ve been in France for the past few days. I just got off the plane this morning.”
Me: “And then you came here?”
Zhong Yuan smiled and said, “Yes.”
Me: “You traveled for almost ten hours just to see me?”
Zhong Yuan warmly smiled and said, “Yes.”
Suddenly, my eyes welled up, and I sniffled, saying, “Zhong Yuan, you’re really silly.”
Zhong Yuan hugged me and chuckled, “I admit it.”
…
I walked Zhong Yuan to the door, and by this time, the group of playful kids had already dispersed. There was a dark SUV parked at the door with a serious look, but the trunk was open and looked a bit comical.
I knocked on the car’s window and asked, “Where did you get this car?”
Zhong Yuan: “Borrowed it.”
My attention was once again drawn to the emblem on the car, and I didn’t recognize this particular brand, which I already knew a few of. So, I curiously asked, “What kind of car is this?”
Zhong Yuan: “It’s a Land Rover.”
“Oh, I haven’t heard of it.” I scratched my head and added, “Well… be careful on the road.”
“Yeah,” Zhong Yuan nodded but didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave. He just looked at me quietly.
I felt a bit embarrassed, my gaze drifting, and said, “You haven’t left yet.”
Zhong Yuan reached into his pocket, took out a small bottle, and handed it to me.
The small bottle still carried his warmth, and I held it, asking, “What is this? Nail polish?”
Zhong Yuan smiled and replied, “Perfume.”
I opened my hand, carefully inspecting the pink bottle, which was very delicate and had words I couldn’t understand on it, all in French.
I pointed to the two largest words on the bottle and asked, “What does this mean?”
Zhong Yuan gently ruffled my hair and said, “First love.”
I blushed and looked down, hesitating for a while before saying, “Well… even though I don’t really like perfume, I really like this one.”
Zhong Yuan hugged me and whispered in my ear, “That’s good.”
Then Zhong Yuan hurriedly left, just as he had hurriedly arrived, leaving me standing alone at the door, gazing at the clouds in the sky.
The makeshift SUV quickly disappeared from my sight. I stood at the door like a waiting wife, unwilling to go back for a long time.
…
The following days passed quickly. Besides being constantly asked by various little rascals when “Brother Yuan will come again,” I had a rather enjoyable time. But without seeing Zhong Yuan, I always felt like something was missing. Even though this guy often called me at any time and in any place, complaining about his lovesickness, and our conversations always ended with his teasing, seeing him in person and hearing his voice were different.
The days slid by slowly like this, and soon we were about to start school. My emotions were conflicted at this point. On one hand, I didn’t want to leave home as I would miss it, but on the other hand, I was really eager to go to school and see Zhong Yuan.
Of course, no matter how conflicted I felt, the start of the school year was inevitable. So, I soon bid farewell to my dad with tears and returned to school.
…
Not long after the start of the school year, the movie we filmed last semester was quietly released. Shortly thereafter, our director, Xiao Jie, indeed faced a barrage of criticism from die-hard fangirls, and they didn’t spare me, the actress disguised as a man, from their scathing remarks either.
However, because the movie had beautiful visuals and attractive characters, most people still enjoyed it, considering it a pleasant eye-candy film. Therefore, the movie gradually gained popularity among universities in City B, and its reputation seemed quite good. There were a few occasions when I was walking on campus and people approached me for autographs. I felt quite proud at that time.
Of course, this wasn’t a big deal because, soon enough, I had something more substantial to be proud of.
One day, Zhong Yuan showed me a website. It was the official website of a financial trading competition. I knew next to nothing about this, so I didn’t look too closely, just casually asking, “Are you going to participate?”
Zhong Yuan replied, “Not just me, it’s us.”
I scratched my head, a bit puzzled. “Uh, I don’t really understand this stuff.”
Zhong Yuan put his arm around my shoulder and smiled, saying, “That’s okay, as long as I understand.”
I was even more perplexed. “If you understand it, why don’t you just participate by yourself?”
Why did he drag me into this?
Zhong Yuan explained, “Our professor said that the team winning the first prize can give a speech at the concluding conference.”
I asked, “And then?”
Zhong Yuan continued, “Then I suddenly remembered a time when you were jealous.”
With his reminder, I recalled it too. It seemed like I got jealous before because of a picture of Zhong Yuan and the campus beauty dressed very professionally. But… I was a bit dumbfounded and asked, “Are you sure you can win the first prize?”
Zhong Yuan ruffled my hair and chuckled, “Whether we can or not, we’ll find out after trying.”
I leaned in closer and carefully read the competition rules. To be honest, I was more interested in the prizes and such.
This competition was organized by a financial company and open to teams from all over the country. Each team could consist of one to five members, and the competition lasted for two months. There were first, second, and third prizes, as well as several excellence awards with substantial cash prizes. In addition to the cash rewards, the first prize winners would also get a free seven-day trip to Singapore.
Since Zhong Yuan was so enthusiastic about it, I felt a bit embarrassed to refuse. Besides, since they were studying finance, participating in such competitions was undoubtedly a good thing, whether they won or not. I didn’t expect them to win anyway, considering the large number of participants and the limited number of winners. But the fact that Zhong Yuan had this idea already made me happy.
A few days later, Zhong Yuan registered for the competition. Because the first prize-winning team could all win a trip to Singapore, he thought the more people, the better. So he roped me, Little Second, and some other acquaintances into the team. Strangely, apart from me and Little Second, even Passerby A seemed to believe even more strongly than Zhong Yuan that we could win the first prize.
I couldn’t understand this, so I asked Little Second. She mysteriously smiled and said, “I trust my own judgment. Once Zhong Yuan enters the competition, who can compete with him? Hahaha…”
I was speechless and went to ask passerby A. This time, he chuckled mysteriously and said, “Junior, do you know where Zhong Yuan’s financial resources come from?”
I replied without thinking, “Isn’t it from his family?”
“Wrong!” He raised a finger and waved it in front of me mysteriously. “Hasn’t he told you? His family has long left him to fend for himself. When he went to France, his parents didn’t even buy him a plane ticket.”
“Uh…” I wiped away my sweat. I couldn’t understand why. Maybe the teachers in France weren’t paid well?
I thought about it and felt that something was off. “But he still has his grandfather, right?” Perhaps his grandfather controlled the financial resources of his whole family?
Passerby A sighed and said, “His grandfather still has a bit of kindness left. He at least reimburses the plane tickets.”
“Then what?” I asked.
“What else?” Passerby A shook his head and sighed. “There’s nothing else.”
“But… where does Zhong Yuan get his money from?” I was curious.
Passerby A shook his head and sighed in amazement. “Speculation trading.”
“Speculate… what?” I was puzzled.
“Speculation trading ..Damn it, I lost money trading stocks, but this guy’s been speculation trading and not only hasn’t gone bankrupt but has earned a fortune, throwing around tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands like it’s nothing.”
I clenched my fist and worried, “Isn’t that very risky?”
“Not too bad. High leverage, high risk, high return .Those who don’t know how to play are just gambling on luck. People like Zhong Yuan are speculators.”
Me: “Zhong Yuan knows how to do that?”
Passerby A chuckled and shook his head, saying, “Junior, go ask Zhong Yuan. He’s been trading stocks since he was a kid… I was still watching ‘Huluwa’ when he started.”
Me: “…”
According to Passerby A, it seemed like Zhong Yuan had extensive experience in financial trading. But he was just in his early twenties; how extensive could it be?
With these questions in mind, I went to ask Zhong Yuan again, “Zhong Yuan, when did you start trading stocks?”
Zhong Yuan casually replied, “Around seven or eight years old.”
Uh…
Zhong Yuan ruffled my hair and smiled. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I snapped back to reality, swallowed hard, and asked again, “Didn’t you watch ‘Huluwa’ back then?”
Zhong Yuan smiled lightly and answered, “I could watch it after making money.”
I patted his shoulder and sighed, “Your family is really tough on you. Why did they force you to do all this?”
Zhong Yuan casually pulled me into his arms and hugged me, smiling, “Let’s not dwell on the past. They were tough on me, so be kind to me.”
I lifted my hand to encircle him, gently patting his back like comforting a child, and softly said, “Sure, I’ll be good to you.”
Zhong Yuan: “How good?”
Me: “Very good.”
Zhong Yuan: “For example?”
Me: “Well…”
“For example, like this,” Zhong Yuan said, lifting my chin and lowering his head to capture my lips.
