Lin Chen's Wild Dreams and the CEO's Doubts

(P.S. This is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real events is purely coincidental. Everything written here is fictional, so just enjoy it for fun. Thanks for your support!)

Early the next morning, Lin Chen arrived at the office half an hour early, an unprecedented move for him.

Faint dark circles shadowed his eyes, but he was unusually wired.

He had barely slept all night, his mind going over the investment advice the system had provided, the steps he needed to take, and the beautiful future that awaited him after he made a profit.

[Nine thirty! One hour and fifteen minutes to go!

Kexiang Technology, go, damn it! System bro, please bless me. Don't let anything go wrong!]

He sat down at his desk, absentmindedly switched on his computer, and checked Yan Qingyue's schedule for the day as a matter of routine. But his eyes kept darting to the stock market app on his phone and the time in the bottom-right corner of his computer screen.

"Morning, Assistant Lin."

His colleague Xiao Wang greeted him with a yawn. "You're looking good today. Something nice happen?"

"Huh? Morning! Nothing special, it's just... the weather's nice, so I'm in a good mood."

Lin Chen hurriedly pulled himself out of his thoughts and gave a perfunctory smile.

[Something incredibly good! But I can't tell you!

If I did, you'd definitely think I was crazy! After today, you might have to start calling me President Lin! Hehehe...]

His thoughts were in overdrive, but he did his best to look calm on the outside. He even threw himself into a few trivial tasks with more enthusiasm than usual, trying to use the work to suppress his excitement and the agony of waiting.

[Send the documents... check the schedule... make coffee for Yan Iceberg... right, coffee!]

The thought of Yan Qingyue jolted Lin Chen.

This was a major daily task where he absolutely couldn't afford to make a mistake.

He immediately got up and headed for the pantry beside the CEO's office.

He expertly ground the coffee beans and controlled the water temperature and flow, though his mind was still on the opening of the Hong Kong stock market.

[Fifty thousand yuan should get me... over seventy thousand Hong Kong dollars. Can I buy eighty thousand?

That means... whoa! An instant profit of over forty thousand!

And that's in Hong Kong dollars! That's more than my entire annual bonus! The system is freaking awesome! His voice cracked.]

He was so absorbed in his mental calculations that he didn't even notice Yan Qingyue standing at the pantry entrance, quietly watching him. He had no idea when she had arrived.

Today, Yan Qingyue wore a sharp black skirt suit, with immaculate makeup and a keen gaze. She had fully returned to the image of the cool, glamorous female CEO.

Only a careful observer would have noticed the faint, almost imperceptible curiosity hidden deep in her eyes.

She really hadn't slept well last night.

Half of it was because of Lin Chen's intermittent inner voice, which had swung between excitement and wild bravado. The other half was because of Secretary Li's investigation report on Kexiang Technology, sent to her in the early hours of the morning.

The report showed that Kexiang Technology was a company with extremely ordinary fundamentals. They could even be called somewhat poor.

Its performance had declined for three consecutive years, its market share was being steadily squeezed, and there had been no recent public news in its favor, much less any news of a partnership with the industry giant Xinghai Technology.

There were also very few analyst reports on the company, and those tended to be negative.

What made Lin Chen so excitedly certain that a company like this was going to soar?

He had even declared that he would make her work for him.

Was it really nothing more than his wild imagination?

Or... did he have some undisclosed source of information?

"Assistant Lin." Yan Qingyue's cool voice suddenly rang out.

"Whoa!"

Lin Chen jumped so hard he nearly dropped the coffee pot. "P-President Yan! Good morning! When did you come in? The coffee will be ready right away!"

[Scared me to death! When did she get here?

Doesn't she make any noise when she walks? Hopefully she didn't notice me spacing out.

My grand plan to get rich can't be delayed!]

Yan Qingyue ignored his inner panic and glanced at the coffee he was brewing, her tone neutral.

"Add an extra shot of espresso today."

"Certainly, President Yan!" Lin Chen quickly agreed, though he grumbled inwardly.

[Tsk, tsk, another extra shot. Didn't sleep well last night?

Could it be... she went on a date with some other man last night?

No, that can't be right. With an iceberg like her, what man would dare ask her out? Wouldn't he be afraid of freezing to death?]

The hand holding Yan Qingyue's coffee paused almost imperceptibly, and she shot him a cold glance.

Lin Chen immediately fell silent, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back.

[I'm done for. Did she somehow sense me complaining about her in my head again?

Why does she look at me like she can read minds...? Quick, think of something nice!

President Yan is wise and mighty! President Yan is beautiful and captivating!]

Yan Qingyue: "..."

Coffee in hand, she turned and left without a change in expression.

If she stayed any longer, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop herself from laughing or kicking him.

Back in her office, Yan Qingyue didn't start work immediately.

She opened professional stock market software and entered Kexiang Technology's ticker.

Its price sat motionless at 0.85, with sparse trading volume, like a pool of stagnant water.

From every angle, it looked like a hopeless penny stock.

She took a sip of the coffee with the extra shot, the bitter taste spreading across her tongue.

Reason told her that Lin Chen had most likely been fooled by some false information, or was simply daydreaming.

But an inexplicable instinct, along with the certainty about his true emotions that came from hearing his inner voice, kept her from completely dismissing the possibility.

Besides, there was that supposed "lottery prize" of his last night...

She picked up the internal phone.

"Finance Department? This is Yan Qingyue. Check whether there have been any large deposits or transfers out of Assistant Lin Chen's payroll account since yesterday afternoon... Yes, get back to me as soon as possible."

After hanging up, she leaned back in her chair and turned her gaze once more to the stock price chart on the screen.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Outside her office, Lin Chen was even more restless.

He kept refreshing the page on his phone, his heartbeat quickening as the time approached nine thirty.

[Almost there, almost there! Kexiang Technology... 0.84! A cent lower than the current price the system gave me! This is my chance! Buy, buy!]

Without further hesitation, he used his phone to place an order through his Hong Kong stock account, putting all his funds into a buy order at HK$0.84.

The moment he finished, he felt that his palms were covered in sweat.

[Filled! The whole order's filled! Eighty-five thousand shares! Now... I wait! System bro, please don't screw me over!]

In the time that followed, every second seemed unusually long.

The price fluctuated between 0.83 and 0.85, leaving Lin Chen's heart in his throat.

[Steady! Hold steady! What happened to that strategic partnership? When's the news coming out?

They're not going to wait until the market closes in the afternoon, are they? Do I have to suffer through this all day?]

Sitting in her office, Yan Qingyue was also watching the stock.

She couldn't hear the thoughts related to the system. All she could hear was the jumble of Lin Chen's thoughts as he prayed, worried, and encouraged himself.

She could feel his tension and anticipation. The sense that he had practically burned his boats and committed everything made her brow furrow slightly without her realizing it.

It was nearing eleven.

The stock price was still half-dead.

Lin Chen was beginning to waver and panic.

[No way... did I really get screwed over? My entire fortune!

Is the system a fraud? No, that's not right. The fifty thousand in startup funds was real... Wait a little longer! The system said midday, midday!]

Just then, the internal phone rang. It was the Finance Department calling back.

"President Yan, we've checked. At around four yesterday afternoon, Assistant Lin's account received an interbank transfer of fifty thousand yuan. The sender was listed as... an overseas investment foundation.

At around nine thirty-five this morning, there was a record of a large transfer to a securities margin account."

An overseas investment foundation?

Yan Qingyue's gaze darkened.

That definitely wasn't any lottery prize!

She immediately looked at the stock market software.

Just then, an abrupt change occurred!

Kexiang Technology, which had been barely rippling like stagnant water, suddenly saw its trading volume surge without warning!

Almost in the blink of an eye.

A glaring "No. 1 gainer" indicator lit up beside Kexiang Technology's ticker on the market screen!

From outside the office came a low shout from Lin Chen, audible despite his best efforts to suppress it:

"Yes!!!"

[Freaking awesome! The system is freaking awesome!!!

I'm rich! I'm really rich! Hahahahaha!

Yan Iceberg! Did you see that?!]

Yan Qingyue stared in shock at the almost bizarre chart on the screen, her fingers tightening slightly.

Almost at the exact moment the stock price took off, a breaking financial news alert popped up in the bottom-right corner of her computer screen—

"Breaking: Kexiang Technology (08237.HK) has announced a strategic partnership with industry leader Xinghai Technology to jointly develop a new generation of smart sensor technology, with broad market prospects..."

The time was exactly eleven in the morning.

Not a second off!

Yan Qingyue abruptly raised her head, her gaze passing through the glass wall and landing on the young assistant outside, whose face was flushed red and body trembling slightly with extreme excitement.

For the first time, her heart began pounding over something unrelated to work.

This was definitely no coincidence!

The lottery story was fake.

The money of unknown origin was real.

His certainty that the stock would soar was real.

Even his precise "prediction" of when the news would be released... was real!

How on earth had he done it?!

And what was the background of that overseas investment foundation?

Lin Chen...

Who exactly are you?