Hu Yang lifted his teacup and took a sip.
"I had a friend named Wu Ming."
Wang Xiaoliang looked up at Hu Yang and began listening closely.
"He went to the same school as Yaya. He was a bit clever, caught a few opportunities, and started a finance company right after graduation." Hu Yang set down his cup. "Everything went smoothly. He had more money than he could spend. He lived a life of excess every day, ruined his health in the end, and died in his forties."
"In the last few years before he died, he was especially fond of two young men at his company. They'd been recruited from the same school. One was called Zhou Wu, steady and capable. The other was Zheng Wang, a smooth talker and a born salesman."
Wang Xiaoliang wanted to laugh.
Those names sounded made up.
"Zhou Wu was utterly devoted to his girlfriend. Zheng Wang changed girlfriends every day. Back then, Wu Ming really envied Zhou Wu."
Wang Xiaoliang held his teacup without drinking, feeling that something wasn't quite right.
"After working for a little over two years, they suddenly resigned. Wu Ming spoke to Zhou Wu and learned that Zheng Wang had brought him into a financial investment venture. Zhou Wu's girlfriend's family had connections, and they'd secured the legal paperwork. In less than a year, the two of them had achieved financial independence. How old were they then? In their twenties. They strutted around for quite a while."
Hu Yang poured a cup of tea but didn't drink it.
"Zhou Wu wanted to keep working steadily. Zheng Wang wasn't satisfied. He wanted to double their money. Later, an illegal company of the same kind collapsed, affecting them and triggering mass redemption requests. They would have been fine if they'd