To Yuan Jiancheng, Shen Qiong was the only "lifeline" he could cling to at the moment. The first thing Shen Qiong saw when he looked up was the burning hope in his visitor's eyes.
Yuan Jiancheng (within 100 meters) Age: 45 Health Value: 76 Luck Value: 5
His highest Life Skill was Teaching: 43, followed by Communication: 40. Most of his other skills hovered around 30, though a few were much lower.
Before the visitor could speak, Shen Qiong asked, "Sir, do you work in education?"
Yuan Jiancheng was instantly delighted. "That's right! Master Shen truly can see everything!"
Teaching was an unusual skill. Most people rarely had any use for it, so Shen Qiong guessed his visitor worked as a teacher or in a similar profession.
Shen Qiong glanced at Ren Tianxue, who was peeking at them, and raised his eyebrows as if to say, See? Your master's abilities are unfathomable.
Ren Tianxue was indeed surprised, but she didn't let it show. She silently mouthed, "Oh."
Though Shen Qiong was young, after that small display of skill, Yuan Jiancheng completely forgot about his age. His mind was filled with the thought that he'd finally found help.
"Master Shen! I came all this way to see you because I wanted you to tell my fortune. I've been losing money in the stock market lately. I feel like my luck is terrible."
Shen Qiong glanced at his information. Yuan Jiancheng's Luck Value wasn't low. And while Shen Qiong wasn't an expert on stocks, he knew a thing or two. Stock trading was risky, but unlike gambling, it didn't depend primarily on luck. It depended more on an investor's mindset and skill—or, in other words, their financial acumen.
He found Yuan Jiancheng's financial acumen among the mass of data. The moment he saw it, he was stunned. Financial Acumen: 19?
The average ability score for an ordinary person was around 30. Nineteen was pitifully low. Shen Qiong spoke up at once. "As for your luck, it's actually pretty good. It isn't bad at all."
Yuan Jiancheng asked nervously, "Then what's going on? I've been trading stocks for five years. I know what I need to know, and I can do some data analysis, but I keep losing money."
Shen Qiong frowned. "Have you invested a lot?"
"Ah, I won't hide it from you, Master. I've invested quite a lot, but I haven't even dared tell my wife. It's all tied up in the market. My child's about to start high school, and my family's been discussing signing him up for tutoring. I can't tell them the money's stuck in stocks. I've been worrying about it every day." Yuan Jiancheng looked miserable.
"How can that be?" Shen Qiong's expression changed at once.
Yuan Jiancheng looked up at Shen Qiong. "That's why I'm begging you, Master. Is there any way to turn my luck around and help me recover my losses? I believe you can help me."
Turn his luck around? Shen Qiong couldn't do that. And even if he could, it wouldn't help. Yuan Jiancheng wasn't unlucky; he simply wasn't suited to investing.
"Recover your losses? You're hoping to do that through the stock market?" Shen Qiong asked, stunned.
Yuan Jiancheng nodded. "Of course. I've put all my money in, and I can't get it back out."
Shen Qiong shook his head without hesitation. "Impossible!"
Yuan Jiancheng stared at him, confused. "Why?"
"I read your fortune before you came in. Your luck isn't bad. If I had to explain why you keep losing money, the only answer is that you're simply not suited to stock trading." Shen Qiong tried to persuade him to give up the idea.
"I'm not suited to stock trading? How could that be? I've been doing it for five years! Maybe you don't know, Master, but there's a lot to learn about stocks. You have to study the charts, watch the flow of funds, and contend with the big players. You can't learn all that overnight."
Yuan Jiancheng explained, "I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but I've picked up a few things. I think I must just have bad luck. Could someone be working against me behind my back?" He tried to blame his failures on someone else.
Shen Qiong's brow furrowed deeply. "Aren't you worried that if you keep going, you'll only dig yourself in deeper? Your child's about to start high school, so your family's expenses will gradually increase. And in three years, your child will be going to college—that'll cost even more."
"That's why I'm asking you to help me, Master! The stocks I bought today dropped again. What am I supposed to do about that?" Yuan Jiancheng asked anxiously.
Shen Qiong answered without hesitation. "Sell. Liquidate everything, and never touch the stock market again. Don't invest in any other financial products either. You're not suited to investing."
Yuan Jiancheng's eyes widened. He clearly couldn't believe Shen Qiong would say that.
"How... How can you say I'm not suited to managing money?" he demanded angrily.
Shen Qiong challenged him. "Then tell me: are you making money or losing it right now?"
"Of course I'm losing money! If I were making money, why would I have come to see you?" Yuan Jiancheng shot back indignantly.
Ren Tianxue sensed the tension between the two men. She thought their visitor might be getting stubborn and fixating on his own ideas.
"Then listen to me, so you don't dig yourself in so deep you can't get out," Shen Qiong insisted.
Yuan Jiancheng was instantly annoyed. Raising his voice, he said, "I came here to have you read my luck, not to have you tell me how to live. Whether I'm suited to stock trading isn't for you to decide."
Shen Qiong replied coldly, "I guarantee that if you keep at it, you'll lose even more. There's no chance you'll win your money back."
At that, Yuan Jiancheng shot to his feet and pointed at Shen Qiong as he cursed, "Nonsense! You don't know the first thing about this! You said you'd read my fortune, but all you've done is talk a load of crap!"
Seeing things going badly, Ren Tianxue hurried over and leaned close to Shen Qiong's ear. "Maybe you should just tell him what he wants to hear. Make something up and say his luck has turned."
"No!" Shen Qiong refused outright.
She pouted and looked at Shen Qiong helplessly.
Most people running a business went out of their way to please their customers. He, on the other hand, kept contradicting them.
Yuan Jiancheng sneered. "I bet all those online reviews were posted by paid shills you hired! You make yourself sound like some kind of miracle worker."
Ren Tianxue also felt Shen Qiong was handling things poorly. She kept giving him pointed looks.
But Shen Qiong ignored her. His voice cold, he said, "You don't get to decide how capable I am. I'll say it again: you're not suited to stock trading."
Yuan Jiancheng had placed all his hopes in Shen Qiong. Now that his fantasy had fallen apart, he was deeply upset. He hadn't expected Shen Qiong not only to refuse to help him, but to say he was fundamentally unsuited to stock trading.
"You two are obviously con artists working together. One of you uses her looks to attract customers, while the other pretends to be some kind of fortune-teller and hires paid shills to boost his reputation online."
"What a joke, this so-called Master Shen! He's just a half-baked charlatan from Jianghu!" After cursing him out, Yuan Jiancheng turned and left.
Shen Qiong laughed coldly. "When you lose everything and your family falls apart, you'll regret this."
"What did you say?" Yuan Jiancheng spun around furiously and yelled, "You've got the guts to say that again?"
Shen Qiong stood up, meeting his imposing stance without backing down. "I, Shen Qiong, will put it on the line: if you can make money in the stock market over the next three months, I'll pay you double what you earn."
Yuan Jiancheng pulled out his phone and opened the recording app, sneering. "Go on, say that again. Let's see if you dare."
"I, Shen Qiong, promise that if Yuan Jiancheng makes money in the stock market, three months from now I'll pay him double what he earned. If he wins ten thousand, I'll give him twenty thousand," Shen Qiong said with absolute confidence.
Ren Tianxue stared at Shen Qiong, mouth agape. They were only arguing. There was no need to make a bet this big, was there?
"Fine!" Yuan Jiancheng had actually recorded his words. He sneered, "I hope this lousy shop hasn't gone out of business three months from now."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out..." Shen Qiong plopped back into his seat.
After returning to school, Yuan Jiancheng borrowed twenty or thirty thousand from each of several colleagues he was close to. In all, he managed to scrape together eighty or ninety thousand.
Now he wore headphones, but what he was playing wasn't music. It was Shen Qiong's voice.
He sneered. "I refuse to believe it. Does Yuan Jiancheng really not have what it takes? I'll put in another few tens of thousands. In three months, I'll show him."
Shen Qiong had no idea that his well-intentioned advice and an impulsive bet had sent Yuan Jiancheng plunging into the abyss.
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