Chapter 36: Xia Wei's Diary

Time slipped by, and it was May 6th. It had been one month since Zhou Ziyang was reborn.

It was an ordinary day, yet at the same time, it was anything but.

Starting in March 2015, the Shanghai Composite Index had been quietly creeping upward. Baofeng Technology, a "demon stock" that had just gone public, hit its daily limit repeatedly, surging from its initial price of nine yuan to one hundred and fifty yuan in just half a month. During this period, no stock trader was unaware of Baofeng Technology. However, even those who knew it was a money-maker could only look on and sigh in frustration. From the moment it listed, the stock stayed locked at its daily limit, never giving anyone a chance to buy in.

The only window of opportunity was May 6th!

That day, investors opened their trading software as usual, took a customary glance at Baofeng Technology, and sighed, "Sigh, it's still rising."

Wait.

Baofeng Technology had dropped!?

What the hell!?

It had dipped from the previous closing price of one hundred and fifty yuan down to one hundred and forty yuan—a drop of nearly two percent. When the stock was soaring, many had sighed, lamenting that profitable stocks never seemed to come their way; everyone knew it could rise, but the problem was they couldn't get in. But when it actually fell, they hesitated. Was this the start of a freefall?

While everyone else was shrinking back, Zhou Ziyang did not hesitate for a second. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. At that moment, excluding the twenty thousand yuan his mother had saved for his college tuition, he had five hundred and forty thousand yuan in total capital after a ten-fold margin loan.

Originally, Zhou Ziyang had intended to keep ten thousand yuan to buy a new phone and some daily necessities. As it turned out, his cheapskate father had done something right yesterday by buying him the latest Apple model. Zhou Ziyang was not a cold-blooded person, and having been reborn, he knew that until he succeeded, he had to keep a path open for himself.

So, late last night, Zhou Ziyang had sent a text to his father: "Thanks for the phone."

At that moment, Zhou Guowei was feeling melancholic in his study. Deep-seated tradition dictated that he had to choose Zhou Ziyang; he could maintain a harmonious marriage with Xu Qing, but Zhou Ziyang was his only bloodline. Still, arguing with Xu Qing made him uneasy. After all, she was his wife, and if she was unhappy, his life wouldn't be easy. Furthermore, with his son's attitude toward him remaining unclear, he couldn't help but wonder if he was doing the right thing.

Then, Zhou Guowei received the message. The seasoned official, usually one to keep his emotions hidden, felt a spark in his eyes upon reading those few words. His face visibly glowed with joy.

He was so excited he could barely breathe. Carefully cradling his phone, he replied: "I'm glad you like it (smile)."

Seeing the "(smile)" emoji, Zhou Ziyang found it amusing. A man in his forties, sending emojis to his own son. After a moment of thought, Zhou Ziyang replied: "Actually, you should have waited until after I finished the college entrance exam. Apple refreshes their lineup in September; the phone you bought will drop in price in two months."

Zhou Guowei smiled with relief. It had been a long time since he’d had such a conversation with his son. He replied generously, "My money is for you to spend, don't worry about it. (grin)"

Zhou Ziyang wrote: "No, what I mean is, if you wait two months, you could buy me the newest model. (sweat)"

Zhou Guowei realized his mistake and continued, "Then in two months, I'll have your uncle get you one!"

"(grin)(grin)"

Zhou Ziyang sent two emojis to his father and added: "Thanks, Dad!"

"Dad is really rich!"

For Zhou Ziyang, these were just casual words. But for Zhou Guowei, they held profound significance. He couldn't remember how many years it had been. This was the first time his son had called him "Dad." He could hardly believe it was real. The man, nearing fifty, felt his nose sting and his eyes grow moist. He didn't know what to say. After a long while, he finally sent a message asking if Zhou Ziyang had enough money to spend.

Zhou Ziyang replied that it wasn't quite enough. "You know how much Mom makes, and she's trying to save for my college."

"Tell your mother not to worry about saving. We already agreed that I would take care of your tuition and living expenses."

"Okay, it's getting late, I'm going to sleep."

"You get some rest too, Dad."

Zhou Ziyang sent those last two messages. Zhou Guowei didn't reply for a long time. Finally, he sent a single, precious word: "Good!"

This morning, Zhou Ziyang received another message from Zhou Guowei, asking for his bank account number so he could send him some money for food and drink. Zhou Ziyang complied, sent the account info, and then went all-in on Baofeng Technology with his 540,000 yuan.

Baofeng Technology opened at 148 yuan and immediately dropped five percent. Investors, watching the decline, were hesitant, feeling the stock had peaked. But Zhou Ziyang had calculated it perfectly. After the five-percent drop, at 140 yuan, he went all-in with his 5.4 million. Just as he finished buying, the stock surged. Other investors scrambled to buy, but it was too late—Baofeng hit its daily limit again, reaching 163 yuan.

Within two hours, Zhou Ziyang had earned 810,000 yuan. Knowing the future trends, he was aware there would be another minor dip today, but since his entry price of 140 was the absolute bottom, he stopped paying attention.

For the next while, life became easy for Zhou Ziyang, and he could focus on his studies at school. With less than fifty days until the college entrance exam, he continued to make 600,000 yuan a day for the next month. Because he had ranked first in the school during the third mock exam, his status had changed drastically. Even when he skipped class for days, no teacher said a word. If other students complained, the teachers would retort, "If you had Zhou Ziyang's grades, you wouldn't even have to pay tuition." When he did show up, they would say, "Look, even someone with grades as good as Zhou Ziyang is here in class; what excuse do you have not to study hard?"

In short, the next month was incredibly comfortable. Zhou Ziyang was free from the pressure of the exams and had become the teachers' favorite student.

Whenever the teachers praised Zhou Ziyang, Xia Wei would watch him with a dazed expression. In the past, such praise had always belonged to her. Whenever teachers wanted to hold up an example, they would always say, "Look at Xia Wei." But since Zhou Ziyang took the top spot, everything had changed.

Xia Wei didn't know why, but she didn't feel angry. She didn't understand what was happening to her. When Zhou Ziyang wasn't in the classroom, she would feel restless, constantly thinking about him. And when he was there, she found herself wanting his attention. For example, when she answered a question in class and received praise, she couldn't help but look for his reaction, thinking to herself, *See? I'm not so bad either, right?*

Unfortunately, Zhou Ziyang didn't seem to notice. He would either keep his head down or look out the window. She didn't understand why he could be so indifferent to her. Was he playing "hard to get"?

*Fine, Zhou Ziyang, if you're playing hard to get.*

*Congratulations, you win!*

*"I really have fallen for you!"*

Xia Wei secretly wrote these words in her diary.

That day, Xu Qing was helping Xia Wei clean her room. She saw the diary lying casually on the desk and couldn't help but laugh. *Weiwei, how old are you, still keeping a diary? Let me see what you've written.*