Recaps

Reborn in 2016, Zhao Chen used his memories of the future to challenge Chen Hao’s confidence in the real-estate boom and warn that the industry would collapse. He left class determined to seize control of Henglong Group and saw a message from Su Wantang.

• Zhao Chen woke in his university lecture hall in 2016, remembering his imprisonment and the people who had betrayed him.
• When Chen Hao and Professor Wang pressed him for his view on housing policy, Zhao Chen predicted that real-estate firms’ high debt would lead to defaults and bankruptcies.
• Zhao Chen urged real-estate families to reduce debt, sell assets, save cash, or transform, while Chen Hao dismissed his warning.
• Zhao Chen left class resolved to make Zhao Jianguo listen and build his own empire from Henglong’s ruins.
• Zhao Chen saw a message on his phone bearing the name Porcelain Azalea, Su Wantang.

Zhao Chen sold his car and borrowed three million yuan to invest all his available funds in Sanjiang Shopping, relying on his memories of a future Alibaba investment. After his first trade was filled, he began preparing to short Henglong Shares and considered using his own ten-percent stake as collateral.

• Zhao Chen sold his white C200L for two hundred thousand yuan.
• Zhao Chen borrowed three million yuan from Boss Wu without collateral, promising to repay it with interest in three months.
• Zhao Chen invested his funds in Sanjiang Shopping at an average cost of 12.40 yuan per share, building a position of 300,200 shares.
• Sanjiang Shopping closed at 12.52 yuan, leaving Zhao Chen with an unrealized profit of over 30,000 yuan.
• Zhao Chen researched share pledges and equity financing as he prepared to short Henglong Shares, noting that Zhao Jianguo's shares were already pledged and his own ten-percent stake was the remaining option.

Shen Zhiyi met Zhao Chen at Wuli Coffee Shop to ask about his alarming predictions and learned that he planned to remake his family and company before a coming crisis. Zhao Chen warned her to protect her money and strengthen her skills, then offered her a choice if she was willing to trust him.

• Shen Zhiyi asked Zhao Chen whether his predictions in class were sincere, and he said the old Zhao Chen was gone.
• Zhao Chen described his plan to tear down the unstable old family and company structure and build a stronger one before the storm arrived.
• Shen Zhiyi asked whether Zhao Chen had sold his car to prepare, and he confirmed that he wanted more cash for survival.
• Zhao Chen advised Shen Zhiyi to avoid high leverage and real estate investment, protect her savings, and improve her professional and legal knowledge.
• Zhao Chen began offering Shen Zhiyi a choice if she was willing to trust him.

Zhao Chen planned to raise money by pledging his Henglong shares so he could invest in Bitcoin before its price surged. After arranging to meet Zhang Qingxue and pursue private financing in Singapore, he returned to class while waiting for the funds.

• Zhao Chen calculated that his Sanjiang Shopping shares would not give him enough money to seize control of Henglong and protect those close to him.
• Zhao Chen called Zhang Qingxue and asked her to arrange a private loan secured by his Henglong shares without his father's knowledge.
• Zhang Qingxue warned Zhao Chen about the risks, then agreed to contact a Singapore family office and meet him the next day.
• Zhao Chen checked Bitcoin's price at 734 US dollars and resolved to invest the pledged funds before Bitcoin passed 1,000 US dollars.
• Zhao Chen went to the School of Economic Law and sat in the back of a tiered classroom with his Financial Law textbook open.

Zhao Chen challenged Chen Hao’s claim that real estate was the best investment, arguing for high-quality stocks and Bitcoin instead. He predicted Bitcoin would exceed 1,000 US dollars by December, leaving the classroom stunned as he began explaining its value.

• Zhao Chen agreed that housing prices might rise but listed real estate’s poor liquidity, policy risks, and holding costs.
• Zhao Chen argued that long-term investment in high-quality companies could rival real estate while offering greater flexibility, and Chen Hao mocked the difficulty of finding such companies.
• Zhao Chen named Bitcoin as an undervalued asset, prompting confusion and ridicule from the classroom and Chen Hao.
• Zhao Chen predicted Bitcoin would break through 1,000 US dollars by December, then began explaining its scarcity, blockchain technology, and the post-2008 loss of trust in centralized monetary systems.

Zhao Chen met Zhang Qingxue at a riverside cafe and explained why he wanted to pledge his shares. He suspected Zhao Jianguo was trying to push him aside for another son, but Zhang Qingxue remained unconvinced without evidence.

• Shen Zhiyi reflected on Zhao Chen's remarks about Bitcoin and resolved to act.
• Zhao Chen met Zhang Qingxue and asked whether she remembered his mother's request to look after him.
• Zhao Chen told Zhang Qingxue that he felt Zhao Jianguo had someone closer to him and might have another son outside the family.
• Zhao Chen pointed out that Zhao Jianguo had repeatedly urged him to sell his ten percent stake in Henglong Shares, even though Zhao Jianguo already controlled the company.
• Zhang Qingxue agreed that Zhao Jianguo's interest in the shares was unusual but warned that they could not assume he had an illegitimate child without evidence.
• Zhao Chen realized he needed a more direct catalyst to convince Zhang Qingxue.

Zhao Chen told Zhang Qingxue he suspected his father was scheming to take his shares, and she agreed to arrange a discreet share pledge and investigate Zhao Jianguo. When Zhang Qingxue asked who Zhao Chen suspected, he named Lin Wanqing, the company’s finance director.

• Zhang Qingxue recognized Zhao Jianguo’s offer as a possible attempt to seize Zhao Chen’s shares and agreed to help arrange a share pledge and protect his rights.
• Zhang Qingxue promised to keep an eye on Zhao Jianguo and ensure the funds were transferred securely before he noticed.
• Zhao Chen asked whether his father might have an illegitimate child, and Zhang Qingxue urged him to investigate rather than wait passively.
• Zhang Qingxue asked whom Zhao Chen suspected, and he named Lin Wanqing, citing her close work with Zhao Jianguo and two maternity leaves despite no one having seen her husband.

Zhao Chen refused Shen Zhiyi’s offer of 127,000 yuan and urged her to invest it in Sanjiang Shopping instead. He left her considering the investment and offered to accompany her as the story turned toward their growing trust.

• Shen Zhiyi offered Zhao Chen her 127,000 yuan in savings to help with his difficulties.
• Zhao Chen thanked Shen Zhiyi but refused to take her money.
• Zhao Chen advised Shen Zhiyi to invest in Sanjiang Shopping, explaining its potential role in Ali’s New Retail strategy.
• Shen Zhiyi reviewed Zhao Chen’s evidence and listened to his investment reasoning, becoming interested despite having no stock-buying experience.
• Zhao Chen offered to go with Shen Zhiyi to buy the shares.

Zhao Chen returned to Zhao Jianguo’s villa for a family dinner, where Su Wantang treated him with careful warmth and Zhao Jianguo steered the conversation toward business. The chapter ended with Zhao Jianguo asking what Zhao Chen thought about their previous phone discussion, saying the company needed money.

• Zhao Chen instructed Shen Zhiyi to invest all available funds in Sanjiang Shopping at 12.52 when the market opened.
• Zhao Chen returned to Zhao Jianguo’s villa on Saturday evening and joined Zhao Jianguo and Su Wantang for dinner.
• Su Wantang served Zhao Chen his favorite dishes and looked after him attentively.
• Zhao Jianguo shared drinks with Zhao Chen and talked about his studies and childhood.
• Zhao Jianguo asked Zhao Chen about the proposal they had discussed by phone, saying the company was waiting for funds.

At dinner, Zhao Chen stalled Zhao Jianguo’s demand for his shares by citing legal risks, his mother’s legacy, and the need for more time. Zhao Jianguo postponed the discussion until after the New Year, leaving Zhao Chen relieved but wary of a stronger push to come.

• Zhao Chen invoked Zhang Qingxue’s legal warning to argue that the share arrangement could harm Henglong and expose it to regulatory scrutiny.
• Zhao Jianguo urged Zhao Chen to take responsibility and not let lawyers’ warnings stop him from acting.
• Zhao Chen asked for more time, citing his mother’s shares, his studies, and the need to consult Zhang Qingxue.
• Zhao Jianguo agreed to discuss the shares after the New Year, while warning Zhao Chen to focus on his studies.
• Zhao Chen left after dinner, claiming he had a group discussion the next day.

After Sanjiang Shopping suspended trading over undisclosed material matters, Shen Zhiyi worried that the strategic investment Zhao Chen had predicted might have fallen through. Zhao Chen reassured her at a cafe that the suspension was a signal that Ali had made its move, leaving Shen Zhiyi calmer but still waiting for his explanation.

• Shen Zhiyi saw Sanjiang Shopping’s trading suspension notice and called Zhao Chen to ask what it meant.
• Zhao Chen invited Shen Zhiyi to meet him at the Shiguang Cafe beside his hotel.
• Zhao Chen reflected that Ali had made its move and anticipated negotiations followed by a market-shaking announcement and limit-up days.
• Zhao Chen ordered Shen Zhiyi a milk-added Americano and waited for her at the cafe.
• Shen Zhiyi arrived, showed Zhao Chen the announcement, and began to ask questions before he calmed her with coffee.

Zhao Chen reassured Shen Zhiyi that her investment was safe and would likely grow once trading resumed, while explaining his business knowledge through his upbringing and family concerns. Their conversation grew warmer, and Shen Zhiyi joined him for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

• Zhao Chen told Shen Zhiyi to wait for trading to resume and predicted the investment agreement would trigger consecutive limit-ups, protecting and increasing her dowry fund.
• Shen Zhiyi thanked Zhao Chen for trusting her and showing her a part of his world, and he thanked her for trusting him.
• Shen Zhiyi said she was hungry and suggested they eat together, then blushed when Zhao Chen teased her about asking him to dinner.
• Zhao Chen led Shen Zhiyi to a cozy private-kitchen restaurant in an alley behind the hotel.

Shen Zhiyi’s roommates discovered she had invested all her savings in Sanjiang Shopping after trusting Zhao Chen’s analysis of a potential Ali strategic investment. The chapter left them weighing his reasoning against signs of mounting trouble in the Real Estate industry.

• Chen Shuhua, Li Jing, and Zhou Xiaowen saw Shen Zhiyi’s Sanjiang Shopping holdings and learned she had invested all her savings the previous Wednesday.
• Shen Zhiyi defended Zhao Chen, showing her roommates the public reports and Business Logic behind his prediction of an Ali investment in Sanjiang Shopping.
• Chen Shuhua examined the company’s store network and said it could make Sanjiang Shopping an attractive Acquisition Target for Ali’s New Retail strategy.
• Chen Shuhua and Li Jing shared reports from their families suggesting Real Estate projects faced delayed payments and tighter loan reviews.

Zhao Chen met Zhang Qingxue at the Shiguang café and learned that she had secured a 280 million Hong Kong dollar loan against his Henglong Group shares. He revealed that he planned to use the money to short Henglong, as the chapter ended with Zhang Qingxue confronting the risk of his plan.

• Zhao Chen waited for Zhang Qingxue at the Shiguang café while watching Bitcoin’s price.
• Zhang Qingxue told Zhao Chen that Rock Capital had transferred a 280 million Hong Kong dollar loan to his UBS account, secured by his 10% stake in Henglong Group.
• Zhang Qingxue warned Zhao Chen that a 25% fall in Henglong’s share price could trigger forced liquidation, and Zhao Chen said the five-day grace period was crucial.
• Zhao Chen told Zhang Qingxue that he was not buying Bitcoin and planned to short sell Henglong.

Zhao Chen learned that his father had secretly supported Lin Wanqing and her son, and he prepared a leveraged short-selling plan targeting Henglong Holdings. He left Zhang Qingxue to arrange the position, while she warned that borrowing so many shares would attract attention.

• Zhang Qingxue showed Zhao Chen evidence that Lin Wanqing lived lavishly and had a twelve-year-old son whose expenses were funded through a trust established by Zhao Chen's father.
• Zhao Chen said he suspected his father had two more children abroad, twins who were six years old, and asked Zhang Qingxue to preserve the documents.
• Zhang Qingxue offered to build a short-selling structure once the funds arrived, and Zhao Chen laid out his planned price, position size, leverage, and target closing price for Henglong Holdings.
• Zhang Qingxue warned that borrowing more than fifty million shares would be difficult to conceal and could leave a trail.

Zhao Chen planned to use Henglong's expected price collapse to seize control, while Zhang Qingxue arranged financing and short-selling counterparties for his campaign. By November 16, Zhao had begun building a massive short position, risking nearly all his cash if Henglong's share price rose.

• Zhao Chen asked Zhang Qingxue to prepare financing so he could buy Henglong shares dumped during panic selling and raise his stake above 15%.
• Zhao Chen checked his Swiss Bank account, which held 280 million Hong Kong dollars, and marked the month until his father’s arrest and Henglong’s share-price crash.
• On November 16, Zhao Chen monitored Henglong’s opening price and prepared to build a 55-million-share short position over the coming trading days.
• Zhang Qingxue provided four counterparties’ short-selling limits totaling 58 million shares and warned Zhao Chen about regulatory scrutiny.
• Zhao Chen instructed Zhang Qingxue to spread positions across the Xi Family and sign TRS agreements for 8 million shares each with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.

Zhao Jianguo discovered that Henglong was facing massive synthetic short selling and ordered a secret 200 million Hong Kong dollar defense effort while investigating who was behind it. Zhao Chen learned of the response and began Phase Two, a war of attrition, as other sellers joined the attack and buyers pushed Henglong's price back up.

• Liu Mingyu told Zhao Jianguo that banks' derivatives desks had established short positions exceeding six million shares, worth over 63 million Hong Kong dollars.
• Zhao Jianguo ordered 200 million in defense funds split across multiple accounts and assigned Lin Wanqing to handle the purchases.
• Zhao Jianguo asked Lin Wanqing to investigate overseas trust-account cash flows and contacted Director Chen about regulatory developments on short selling.
• Zhang Qingxue warned Zhao Chen that Henglong had prepared 200 million in defense funds, and Zhao Chen ordered Phase Two to proceed.
• At market open, Zhao Chen watched Henglong trade lightly until an unknown seller dumped two million shares, prompting a surge of buying that lifted the price from 10.43 to 10.46.

Zhao Jianguo ordered Henglong to keep defending its share price as he learned that short sellers had added 11 million shares and considered redeeming his pledged shares. Zhao Chen paused his own selling to let Henglong spend its defense funds and reveal the market’s underlying selling pressure, leaving Zhang Qingxue asking when he would resume the plan.

• Lin Wanqing reported that abnormal sell orders had reached 26 million shares, while Chen Qiming said Henglong had spent 130 million on market defense and had about 70 million left.
• Liu Mingyu warned Zhao Jianguo that the short selling might be based on insider knowledge, and Zhao ordered the company to keep defending its share price and prepare up to 500 million.
• Liu Mingyu suggested redeeming Zhao Jianguo’s pledged shares, but doing so would require more than a billion Hong Kong Dollars.
• Zhao Chen watched the market on Friday and sold only 500,000 shares while waiting to see how other short sellers acted without him.
• Zhang Qingxue told Zhao Chen that the Xi Family’s counterparties could deploy another 37 million shares, bringing the short position to 58 million shares, and warned him of the risk.
• Zhao Chen explained to Zhang Qingxue that he had paused to make Henglong waste its defense funds, gauge other investors’ selling, and increase its anxiety; Zhang asked when he would resume selling.

During dinner, Zhao Chen’s companions worried about Sanjiang Shopping’s trading suspension until an announcement revealed Alibaba’s strategic investment, confirming Zhao Chen’s prediction. The news left everyone stunned, and Chen Shuhua and Zhou Xiaowen demanded to know how he had known.

• Zhou Xiaowen, Chen Shuhua, and Li Jing asked Zhao Chen how long Sanjiang Shopping would remain suspended and discussed the market rumors.
• The phones at the table received alerts that Alibaba Group planned to acquire 9.33% of Sanjiang Shopping through a share issue priced at 11.11 yuan per share.
• Chen Shuhua realized Alibaba’s investment had gone through and said Zhao Chen had predicted it.
• Shen Zhiyi compared the announcement with Zhao Chen’s earlier forecast and recognized that his prediction had become fact.
• Zhou Xiaowen and Chen Shuhua asked Zhao Chen how he had known about the investment.

Zhao Chen watched Sanjiang Shopping open at its 10% limit-up and answered his friends’ excited questions about their investment. He reassured Shen Zhiyi that he would tell her when to sell and explained why Sanjiang’s ownership structure made it attractive to Ali.

• Zhao Chen saw Sanjiang Shopping open at 13.99 yuan with a large queue of buy orders.
• Zhou Xiaowen, Li Jing, Chen Shuhua, and Shen Zhiyi reacted in their WeChat group as Shen Zhiyi’s investment showed an unrealized gain of more than thirteen thousand yuan.
• Zhao Chen told Shen Zhiyi to go about her daily routine and said he would let her know when it was time to sell.
• Chen Shuhua asked whether Sanjiang’s ownership structure and willingness to accept strategic investment had helped make it Ali’s choice.
• Zhao Chen explained that Sanjiang’s state-owned background, lack of demand for absolute control, and openness to outside help made it a manageable experimental field for Ali.

Zhao Chen documented Henglong Group’s hidden debts while continuing his short-selling campaign, which had drawn the attention of outside capital. The chapter ended with Zhao Jianguo confronting the relentless five-million-share daily sell orders and calling Liu Mingyu.

• Zhao Chen began writing a review of Henglong Group’s concealed liabilities, estimating the hidden debts at a conservative three billion.
• By November 25, Zhao Chen’s short position had reached 36 million shares after traders sold five million shares daily, and other investors had begun shorting Henglong Holdings.
• Zhao Jianguo examined Henglong Holdings’ falling share price and abnormal trading records, which showed major financial institutions among the sellers.
• Zhao Jianguo crushed an empty cigarette pack, pressed the intercom, and called Liu Mingyu.

Zhao Jianguo faced mounting pressure from banks and reviewed Henglong Holdings’ 3.16-billion-yuan exposure, suspecting someone had leaked its concealed financial structures. He ordered a polished report for the banks and a candid cash-flow forecast for himself, then arranged to meet Wang Zhenhai as Henglong’s stock continued to fall.

• Liu Mingyu told Zhao Jianguo that Zhaohang and Zhongxin demanded a written explanation and cash-flow stress test, while Gonghang and Jianhang sought a meeting with Director Lin.
• Zhao Jianguo reviewed Director Lin’s summary of seven categories of financial exposure totaling 3.16 billion yuan and worried that an insider had revealed the structures.
• Zhao Jianguo considered possible sources of the leak, including Lin Wanqing, Finance Department executives, and Wang Zhenhai, but could not identify a culprit.
• Zhao Jianguo instructed Liu Mingyu to have Director Lin prepare a reassuring report for the banks and a realistic cash-flow projection for him.
• Zhao Jianguo asked Liu Mingyu to invite Wang Zhenhai to a quiet dinner that night, then watched Henglong Holdings’ share price fall as the day’s five-million-share sell order disappeared.

Zhao Chen returned to his family villa for dinner after arranging with Zhang Qingxue to delay the Share Pledge process. Zhao Jianguo pressed him to pledge his shares for the company, and the chapter ended with Zhao Jianguo angrily dismissing Zhang Qingxue’s warnings.

• Su Wantang called Zhao Chen and told him that Zhao Jianguo expected him home for dinner.
• Zhao Chen contacted Zhang Qingxue and learned there was a legitimate way to delay the Share Pledge process.
• Zhao Chen walked through the winter fog to the villa, where Su Wantang and Zhao Jianguo welcomed him to dinner.
• Zhao Jianguo discussed the company's financial pressure and asked whether Zhao Chen had decided about the Share Pledge.
• Zhao Chen cited Zhang Qingxue's warnings about the risks, and Zhao Jianguo cut him off, insisting the company might otherwise lose Henglong.

After Zhao Jianguo left for an urgent meeting, Zhao Chen stayed at the villa at Su Wantang’s request, and they shared tea and spoke about his ideas and her past. Their conversation turned to Su Wantang’s future, and she began to explain how her old ambitions had changed.

• Zhao Jianguo left the villa for an urgent company meeting and asked Zhao Chen to keep Su Wantang company.
• Su Wantang told Zhao Chen not to make things too hard on himself and invited him to stay overnight; he agreed.
• Su Wantang brought Zhao Chen Zhengshan Xiaozhong tea and asked about his schoolwork and views on real estate.
• Su Wantang said she had studied Art History at Beida University and once hoped to teach, research, and hold exhibitions.
• Zhao Chen asked Su Wantang whether she had thought about her future, and she began to explain that her old plans had changed.

Zhao Chen reflected on Su Wantang’s loneliness and decided her longing for warmth might be a greater opportunity than her 5% stake. The next morning, Su Wantang made him noodles, and her thoughtful gesture stirred a warmth he had not felt since his mother died.

• Zhao Chen chose not to contact Zhang Qingxue while staying under his father’s roof.
• Zhao Chen recorded and then deleted a private note about Su Wantang, her 5% stake, her child, and her loneliness.
• Zhao Chen woke in the impersonal guest room and remembered his conversation with Su Wantang.
• Zhao Chen found that Su Wantang had made him noodles for breakfast, and Wang Ma told him she had worked on them for nearly an hour.
• Zhao Chen thanked Su Wantang gently and tasted the broth.