Chapter 39

"How could that be?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow and said smugly, "I haven't lost once in over twenty days. Not a single stock I picked turned out wrong—they all made money. My initial capital of a hundred thousand has already grown more than fortyfold."

"Seriously?" Pei Qingjue glanced at Chen Mo in surprise. He knew the young apprentice he had taken on was quite talented at stock trading, but he had never imagined Chen Mo could be this monstrous at short-term trading. It made him see the boy in a whole new light.

"What do you think?" Chen Mo asked with a smile. "Do I have any reason to lie about something like this?"

Of course not.

Pei Qingjue shook his head with some emotion and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder. "When I first had you trade short-term, I only wanted you to get used to the fact that there are wins and losses. Who knew you'd be this freakish? You watch twenty stocks every day and still don't make a single mistake. Your sensitivity to finance and the stock market is beyond anything I imagined. Since that's the case, there's no need for you to keep focusing on short-term trades. They waste too much energy and don't bring in much profit. When you get the chance, you should buy shares in a few stocks with strong growth potential."

Chen Mo was somewhat surprised by that. "Don't you have any other tasks for me?"

"Not for now." Pei Qingjue shook his head. "With your current situation, you can only be a retail investor. You're still far from managing trades. But when it comes to short-term trading and retail investment, your talent and eye are even better than I expected. I have nothing more to teach you."

Only then did Chen Mo nod. Smiling, he said, "I think short-term trading is pretty fun. Besides, I don't have much capital on hand. Short-term trades take more effort and earn relatively less, but the money comes back quickly and doesn't get tied up. So I'm planning to split my funds into two parts from now on. One part will keep doing short-term trades for quick cash, while the other will be used to buy quality stocks as a store of value. What do you think?"

"Not a bad idea." Pei Qingjue nodded with a smile.

Just as they were talking, the bell marking the end of second period rang. The entire school building erupted in an instant. Students from every class rushed out of their classrooms like prisoners finally allowed out for exercise, scrambling toward the restrooms, the convenience store, or the cafeteria before gathering on the field for morning exercises.

In that atmosphere, Chen Mo and Pei Qingjue could no longer continue discussing stocks. Pei Qingjue could only shrug at Chen Mo and say with a smile, "I heard you're taking leave again to shoot a movie. Since you won't be staying at school, call me if anything comes up."

Chen Mo nodded and thanked Pei Qingjue.

Teacher Meng also came out of the office, preparing to watch over the class during morning exercises. Seeing Chen Mo still standing in the corridor, she seemed to remember something and said, "If you have time, try to come back to school once a week. Take your review notes and practice papers for each subject home and work through them. That way, after being away from school for too long, you won't get rusty on certain knowledge points."

With the system cheat at his disposal, Chen Mo naturally would not run into the problem Teacher Meng was worried about. Still, he thanked her for the thoughtful reminder. His deskmate Zhang Zongming came running over with a basketball in his arms. Seeing Chen Mo with his backpack on, clearly about to leave, he said enviously, "You're really leaving? When are you coming back? Can you bring me an autographed photo of Chen Yuxiu?"

Before Zhang Zongming had even finished speaking, the classmates behind him cried out eagerly, "I want one too!"

Students from other classes in the corridor saw this and crowded over as well. "We don't need autographed photos from those celebrities. We just need Chen Mo to sign something for us..."

Some even claimed they wanted to keep Chen Mo's autograph as an investment. Once Chen Mo became a huge star like Chen Yuxiu someday, they would sell the signatures to his fans. They could at least make half a month's allowance that way...

Chen Mo was rendered speechless. Teacher Meng was amused too, but after laughing, she urged the students in the corridor to hurry downstairs, since morning exercises were about to begin.

Seeing that, Chen Mo followed the crowd out of the school building and slowly left the campus to the broadcast music for morning exercises.

The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu was scheduled to begin filming in early March, during Chen Mo's second week away from school.

After the bustle and excitement of the Lunar New Year, the film city, which had been quiet for over a month, became lively again. Starting in mid-February, the number of production crews arriving to film there surged from fifteen during the holiday to more than thirty. Among those thirty-plus crews, the production of The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu, which was about to hold its opening ceremony, was undoubtedly the center of attention.

The ancients spoke of fireworks in March. In their poems and essays, early spring in March meant scattered apricot blossoms, rain during the Qingming season, a riot of blooming flowers, and the spring breeze turning the southern banks of the Yangtze green again. Yet far from all that poetic beauty, Huajing City, which had only just endured a harsh winter, remained steeped in bitterly cold temperatures.

Outside the only five-star hotel within five kilometers of Huajing Film City, the place was already packed. Fans and reporters from all sides stood in the biting wind with long-lens cameras, microphones, and support banners, eagerly awaiting their idols.

The chill of early spring cut to the bone. When Chen Mo stepped out of the warm, comfortable van in a light yet insulated down jacket, he could not help shivering. The fans waiting outside the hotel raised their support banners and shouted Chen Mo's name. The entertainment reporters stationed around the perimeter also rushed forward with microphones and cameras, hoping to get an interview.

Camera flashes and the constant click-click of shutters filled the air. The reporters' questions were drowned out by the fans' screams and their colleagues' frantic attempts to ask questions first. It was such a mess that no one could make out what anyone was saying.

Chen Mo smiled and waved at the fans and reporters. Then his gaze swept across several female fans struggling to squeeze forward through the crowd with his posters in hand. They were dressed too lightly, their faces red from the cold and their lips faintly purple. He paused before asking, "Aren't you cold, dressed so lightly?"

The girls had not expected Chen Mo to speak to them and froze on the spot. Meanwhile, Chen Mo's fans erupted into excited screams again at his considerate concern. The sudden hundred-person chorus of piercing female shrieks nearly deafened everyone present.

Chen Mo smiled and raised both hands, pressing them downward. "It's so cold out. What if you catch a cold? Don't wait here anymore. Go home and make some ginger soup to warm yourselves up—"

Before he could finish, the deafening screams interrupted him again. The fans shouted, "I love you!" and "We'll always support you!"

Chen Mo smiled when he heard that and teased, "If you want to support me, buy tickets after the movie comes out. Don't do it in a way that makes you sick. I'd feel bad too. As girls, you need to know how to take care of yourselves."

Before he had finished speaking, his gaze swept over the few boys among the fans, and he added with a smile, "Of course, boys need to know how to take care of themselves too. Otherwise, how can anyone expect you to know how to take care of your girlfriends when you grow up..."

Before he could finish yet again, Chen Mo, interrupted by more screams, suddenly noticed several younger fans in school uniforms with backpacks on. They looked as though they had sneaked over on their way to school. Chen Mo frowned and pointed directly at them. "You few in uniforms with backpacks, don't tell me you skipped school to come here?"

They had never expected Chen Mo to notice them and immediately cried out excitedly. But after that, they felt guilty, afraid Chen Mo would scold them for it.

Sure enough, Chen Mo put on a stern face. "You're being naughty. How can you skip school? If your parents find out, how angry and worried will they be? Your school and teachers will worry too. Hurry back to school."

After saying that, Chen Mo still was not at ease. He called over his assistant, Xiao Ding, and told him to find a way to take those fans who had skipped school back, making sure to deliver them safely into the hands of their teachers.

Seeing this, the fans asked timidly, "Does Mo Mo get angry too?"

"Of course I'm angry!" Chen Mo deliberately kept a stern expression. "I'm very happy that so many people like and support me. But I don't want you to show that support or affection by skipping school or doing anything that hurts yourselves or your families. Compared to that, I'd rather everyone properly arrange their studies and work. It's enough if you like me in your spare time. You don't need to come all this way just to see me, freezing in the cold wind and disrupting your own lives."

After saying that, Chen Mo smiled at everyone again. "I hope everyone who likes me studies hard and lives their own lives seriously. Even if you don't come pick me up, see me off, or stay with me, I'll still be very happy."

When the younger fans heard this, they immediately nodded obediently and promised never to skip school again or disappoint Chen Mo. The older fans and media reporters also looked at Chen Mo with deep emotion. None of them had expected him to say something like that at a time like this.

While feeling moved, the reporters waiting there became wildly excited. They could already sense tomorrow's headline—Piano Little Prince, Super Popularity King, Joins The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu, "Furiously Scolds" Fans Outside Hotel.

Chen Mo naturally had no idea those unscrupulous reporters were preparing clickbait headlines to grab the front page. After carefully reminding his fans, he entered the hotel.

Although his home was near the film city, director Wang Chusheng had insisted, for various reasons, that Chen Mo stay at the hotel with the rest of the crew. Chen Mo naturally would not go against the director's wishes just to save the production some money. Besides, a five-star hotel was certainly better at protecting guests' privacy than the ordinary property management of the regular residential complex where the Chen family lived. Now that The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu was about to begin filming, with big names gathered within the cast, there would surely be turmoil outside it as well. Those reporters would be like great white sharks that had smelled blood, unwilling to let even a single piece of news escape them. Chen Mo did not want to spend extra energy dealing with media outlets tailing him and taking secret photos while filming, so he simply stayed with the crew.

At six that evening, director Wang Chusheng personally called Chen Mo and told him to come downstairs for dinner, as well as to meet the rest of the crew.

Seeing this, Yang Qindong gave Chen Mo several special reminders. After all, The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu was a major film jointly funded by several of the country's largest distribution companies. Its cast was not like that of a youthful historical idol drama such as Emperor Wu of Han: The Young Emperor. The media and internet talk about a star-studded cast was not mere hype.

Not only was Chen Yuxiu, the male lead playing Zhou Yu, an international superstar and Golden Crow Award Best Actor, but Li Zhaoxi, who played Zhuge Liang and had scenes opposite Chen Yuxiu, was in no way inferior to Chen Yuxiu in either fame or ability. Since their debuts, the media had jokingly called them "Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang of their age." Now Wang Chusheng had brought them together to play Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang respectively, making them one of the film's biggest draws.

And beyond that, Lu Xiaonong, who played the female lead Xiao Qiao, was not only the previous Golden Crow Award Best Actress, but also had an ambiguous relationship with the film's producer behind the scenes. The actresses playing Da Qiao and Sun Shangxiang all had both powerful backers and genuine ability. As for the rest of the cast, they were all veteran actors who had spent years struggling in the entertainment industry. Some might not be famous, but their connections and influence within the industry were not to be underestimated.

Yang Qindong was afraid Chen Mo would let his stubborn temper get the better of him during filming and offend someone he should not offend. Even with Huaxia Entertainment's deep resources and Yang Qindong's skill at handling people, cleaning up such a mess would be troublesome.

Chen Mo did not take Yang Qindong's nervous attitude seriously. He was not stupid; of course he would not casually offend people. The reason he had acted dismissively before was mainly because he did not care and had never intended to seriously develop a career in the entertainment industry, so he was not afraid of offending anyone—at worst, he could just quit.