Chapter 37

When Yang Qindong heard Chen Mo say that, he immediately thought of the stacks of documents on the coffee table and frowned. "You really seem interested in the stock market. Aren't you afraid one wrong move will wipe out all the money you invest?"

Chen Mo chuckled softly. "You're that worried about me? Then be my witness!"

With that, Chen Mo smiled and turned on his computer.

Back when Pei Qingjue had assigned Chen Mo the task of short-term trading, it had originally been meant to cultivate Chen Mo's composure and make him understand that gains and losses in the stock market were nothing more than a set of numbers. A truly qualified trader would never obsess over temporary wins or losses. But Pei Qingjue had accounted for everything except Chen Mo's heaven-defying cheat.

So he did not know that some people, given enough information and enough time, could truly plan for every possibility.

Take Chen Mo, for example. Though he could not be certain which stocks would make money, he could pick any stock at random and use its past data, the company's operating conditions, the trader's life experience and thought patterns, as well as broad market and policy shifts to predict its future trajectory.

Such vast calculations were impossible for ordinary people to complete. But for Chen Mo, who possessed endless time and energy within the System Space and could even receive technological support from more advanced novel worlds in the Immersion Space and Training Space, all he needed was detailed, accurate objective information. As long as the data and information were correct, projecting a stock's future changes from those basic factors was merely a matter of time.

And for Chen Mo in the real world, the time and energy spent within the system were precisely the things he had no need to worry about.

Chapter 37

When Chen Mo openly admitted that he was very interested in stock trading, Yang Qindong had not realized just how deep that "interest" went. Not until he stood behind Chen Mo and watched him spend an entire afternoon buying and selling more than twenty stocks without making a single mistake, turning his original capital of one hundred thousand into three hundred and sixty thousand, did he truly understand Chen Mo's "interest" and "talent" for stock trading.

As a top agent who had spent many years immersed in the entertainment industry and knew how to fully leverage his connections for profit, Yang Qindong would occasionally glean insider information from major bosses during social gatherings, buy a few stocks, and earn some extra cash. When luck was good, his net worth could rise by millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions overnight. It was not as though he had never experienced that before.

For example, when Huaxia Entertainment successfully raised funds and went public a few years ago, most of the company's veteran employees and heavyweight artists had become rich overnight because of it, transforming into multimillionaires in an instant.

To Yang Qindong, whose own net worth had once multiplied by several hundred times overnight, Chen Mo turning one hundred thousand into over three hundred thousand in a single afternoon was nothing remarkable in terms of sheer numbers. Yet it brought Yang Qindong an indescribable shock—not because Chen Mo could make money, but because of his precise operations and judgment.

Before this, Yang Qindong had never seen anyone who could grasp timing and figures with such precision while trading stocks. Only after witnessing Chen Mo's methods today did he have no choice but to admit that there really were people in this world capable of being so monstrously gifted.

"You're sure you're not just so lucky that every stock you pick makes money, right?" Even after witnessing the miracle himself, Yang Qindong could not help asking suspiciously.

Chen Mo curled his lips in a smile and played along. "Yeah. I don't know what's going on either. My luck's especially good today."

Who was he trying to fool?

Yang Qindong stared at Chen Mo as though he had seen a ghost. Picking one profitable stock could be luck, but picking twenty in a row? How absurdly heaven-defying would that luck have to be? If someone had reached that point, then luck was absolutely part of their strength, wasn't it?

After thinking it over, Yang Qindong tentatively asked, "Then when you buy stocks in the future, can you let me know?"

No one ever thought they had too much money, especially when there was an opportunity to earn hundreds of thousands in extra cash just by moving a few fingers and making a few calls. More importantly, the amount of money he earned from following Chen Mo was secondary. The exhilarating satisfaction of picking a winner every single time, of having every calculation come true, was even harder to resist than orgasm.

Yang Qindong was a normal man too, so naturally he could not resist the thrill of absolute control.

Chen Mo merely smiled at Yang Qindong's words. "Starting today until the end of this month, I'll probably buy around twenty stocks every day. If you're interested, follow my lead. But you're responsible for your own profits and losses. I can't guarantee they'll all make money."

"Of course." Yang Qindong nodded with a smile and held out his hand to Chen Mo. "I'll be counting on you from now on. I'll even put up my wife fund."

That was obviously a joke. Chen Mo laughed as well. "Then you'd better be careful. You might lose so much you can't afford to get married."

"Then I can exploit you without any guilt. After all, I'm an agent. Getting paid by my artists is perfectly natural." Yang Qindong joked as he reached out and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder.

At seven that evening, Mu Yu finally remembered to call Chen Mo after finishing his work at the company. At the time, Chen Mo's body was lying on the double bed in his bedroom, but his consciousness had already sunk into the System Space, repeatedly practicing Sun Ce's role in The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu.

The energetic ringtone shattered the silence of the bedroom. Chen Mo opened his eyes, glanced at the deep darkness outside the window, and picked up the phone from the bedside table.

By the time the two arrived at the hotpot restaurant, it was nearly eight o'clock. Both were starving and finished seven or eight plates of meat, two plates of shrimp paste, and two plates of vegetables.

After the meal, Chen Mo habitually ordered two bottles of yogurt to aid digestion. When Mu Yu saw Chen Mo hand one of them to him, he said helplessly, "I don't like drinking that."

"Then do you like digestive tablets?" Chen Mo raised a brow and said with a smile, "Didn't you say it yourself? A grown man drinking yogurt looks too weird."

Mu Yu laughed helplessly and could only nod. "All right, I'll drink it with you. Consider it an apology for being late today."

Seeing Mu Yu force himself to drink the yogurt, Chen Mo smiled and curled his lips.

Early the next morning, Chen Mo packed his luggage and returned to the film studio.

At that point, there was only one week left until the Lunar New Year.

It was Chen Mo's first time spending the New Year in an unfamiliar world. There were no familiar family members, no familiar friends, not even anyone he disliked. Only Father Chen and Mother Chen were by his side. They each gave Chen Mo a red envelope, one containing 6,666 yuan and the other 8,888 yuan, hoping that after receiving them, Chen Mo would have a smooth and healthy year ahead.

Chen Mo accepted the red envelopes and thanked Father Chen and Mother Chen. Yet memories of celebrating the New Year with his family and friends in that other world flashed through his mind.

This was the loneliest and coldest New Year Chen Mo had ever spent. Though calls from people offering visits and New Year greetings never stopped before or after the holiday, the loneliness that had seeped into his bones ever since he woke up in this world was more intense than ever.

Even though the Spring Festival Gala in this world was actually very good, with excellent programs and nothing much to criticize; even though the adults and children from neighboring households gathered in the residential square downstairs to set off fireworks and firecrackers, with children's noisy shouts mingling with the crackling explosions in a festive atmosphere; even though the dark night sky was painted by fireworks of every shape until it resembled a work of art, like the projection of another world—it still could not dispel the solitude in his heart.

He wanted to cry, as though the whole world had abandoned him.

Chen Mo stood alone on the balcony, watching lights shine from every household in the cold night and merge into a sea of lights. The icy wind howled. At some point, light snow began drifting down from the sky, landing in tiny specks on his face, body, and hands. It was like the tears in his eyes could no longer be held back; with a blink, they rolled down and fell onto his hands. When the wind blew over them, they felt icy cold.

The television began the New Year countdown, from ten to nine, then eight... Chen Mo counted silently along with it. Then his phone suddenly rang. He instinctively looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Mu Yu.

He answered without thinking. On the other end, Mu Yu was also standing on a balcony, staring at his watch as he counted down. "Three, two, one. Chen Mo, Happy New Year."

In an instant, fireworks bloomed across the sky.

Mu Yu's low, magnetic voice came through the receiver as he laughed softly. "Chen Mo, Happy New Year."

Chapter 38

Just after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Huajing Experimental High School's senior class began school early.

At six-thirty in the morning, the sky had not yet fully brightened. The northwest wind howled as it carried remnants of snow, while fine snowflakes slipped through every opening and burrowed into collars and sleeves, melting instantly and leaving people shivering from the icy cold.

More than half the city was still immersed in darkness, but Huajing Experimental High School's senior students had already bundled themselves up tightly and headed to school from every corner of the city, whether by bus, bicycle, or private car.

Because they had entered the second semester of their senior year, which was also the final stretch of revision before the college entrance exam, Huajing Experimental High School followed its usual practice and strictly required all senior students to live on campus. Morning and evening self-study sessions were each extended by an hour as well.

That meant that from the first day of school onward, Huajing Experimental High School's seniors would face a rigid revision schedule: waking up together at six in the morning, washing up and eating, group morning runs, self-study beginning at six-thirty, then continuing until evening self-study ended at ten-thirty, followed by returning to the dorms to sleep.

Yet even more brutal than the extended study hours was another decision by the school: a placement exam would be held during the second week after everyone returned, supposedly so the school could strictly monitor the students' revision progress.

As a transmigrator blessed with cheat abilities, Chen Mo naturally took first place in the entire year again in the placement exam. Then, beneath the envious, jealous, and resentful gazes of the school's other seniors, he requested a two-month leave of absence from his homeroom teacher, Teacher Meng.

Teacher Meng had already learned from the overwhelming online and television publicity that Chen Mo had joined famous director Wang Chusheng's new work, The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu, and would play the substantial role of Sun Ce.

To be honest, as the homeroom teacher of a senior class, Teacher Meng naturally did not want to see one of her students delay the most important revision period of senior year for something as unreliable-sounding as acting. But neither Chen Mo nor his parents believed it would interfere with his studies, and Chen Mo's excellent exam scores strongly proved their point. In addition, Huajing Experimental High School's administration did not object to the matter. Left with no choice, Teacher Meng approved Chen Mo's leave. Still, she reminded him not to neglect his studies while away and to return to school for monthly exams, midterms, and placement exams whenever possible, so that his grades would not slip.

Chen Mo agreed readily to Teacher Meng's instructions. After leaving her office with his backpack, he ran into his math teacher, Pei Qingjue, in the corridor.

Today, Teacher Pei wore a British-style V-neck knitted sweater with a printed pattern, fitted black trousers with smooth lines, a dark blue wool overcoat, and a pair of polished custom calfskin shoes. He looked both handsome and stylish, with better looks than most actors Chen Mo had encountered in the industry.

Chen Mo whistled playfully and smiled at Pei Qingjue. "Teacher Pei keeps getting more handsome. No wonder the girls in our class keep getting better at math."

"Teasing me again." Pei Qingjue smiled and flicked Chen Mo on the forehead. Then he casually asked, "How is the task I assigned you coming along? Don't tell me you got busy and forgot about it?"