8:10 AM.
After freshening up, Meng Lang specifically chose a long overcoat with an inner pocket to wear.
He carefully tucked "My Struggle" into a leather case, then into the inner pocket of his overcoat, fastened the buttons, tied the waist belt, patted it down, and then he felt reassured enough to head out.
After much consideration, Meng Lang still felt it was safer to carry the item with him.
Regrettably, after a night had passed, the book remained completely unchanged.
Upon arriving at the bus stop, he waited for about ten minutes before finally a route 301 bus arrived.
Though the pace of life in Su City was much slower compared to first-tier megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the morning rush hour still posed a significant challenge to the public transport system's capacity.
Meng Lang managed to squeeze onto the bus as the last passenger, but before the doors could close, he heard the breathless voice of a woman growing louder from behind.
"Wait up, wait up!"
Then, a moment later, he felt someone pressing against his back; he reluctantly squeezed forward to make some room, but the plump lady in front immediately turned around in annoyance.
"What are you doing? Why are you pushing?" She opened her mouth wide, and suddenly a blast of garlic breath engulfed him.
Meng Lang nearly suffocated from the fumes, "Sorry, sorry!"
He struggled to turn around with his right hand still firmly in his pocket, protecting the book inside.
"Everyone, please move further in," the bus driver shouted towards the back, but no one really moved.
"Tssk," the doors closed, further compacting the sardine can as if someone had squeezed more in.
The woman who arrived later was pressed tightly against Meng Lang.
Suddenly, a scent of orchid fragrantly filled Meng Lang's nostrils, diluting the previous odor and providing him with some relief.
Standing at the front door was a young woman with short hair, dressed in a black business suit, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and carrying a black briefcase.
Since her back was turned to Meng Lang, he couldn't see her face. They were so close that Meng Lang wanted to squeeze back a bit.
But his action quickly prompted an equal and opposite reaction.
The plump woman behind easily shifted her waist and pushed Meng Lang, who was nowhere near her weight class, back to his original spot.
Feeling the pressure, the woman at the front uttered a discontented hum, and Meng Lang didn't dare to move further, as the forces from both sides reached a delicate balance.
However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, at a traffic light intersection ahead, the bus accelerated through a left turn to beat the green light...
"Hmph!" Their bodies pressed even more tightly together.
To make matters worse, the plump woman behind perfectly demonstrated the principle that the greater the mass, the larger the inertia, with a beautiful assist from the back.
The result was the short-haired woman in front was pressed firmly against the bus door, and Meng Lang could clearly observe how her face deformed and twisted against the tempered glass...
When the bus resumed straight-line travel, Meng Lang felt the pressure from behind suddenly lessen and quickly retreated a small step.
On the glass of the door, the imprint of the girl's lipstick could still faintly be seen.
The girl turned around angrily.
Meng Lang blinked wordlessly.
How could this be my fault?
Ever heard of "hitting a cow across a mountain"?
To be fair, the natural charm of the girl when she turned her head was truly stunning to Meng Lang.
Just then the bus suddenly made a right turn, and the girl, unable to keep her balance, pressed up against him.
But with the sturdy support at his back, Meng Lang didn't budge an inch.
It was just that his lips inadvertently came into intimate contact with the back of her head...
Instantly, a fragrance of orchids enveloped the tip of his nose.
Once stabilized, the girl turned her head and glared fiercely at an astonished Meng Lang.
He looked on innocently.
If you saw the lady behind me, you'd understand the meaning of helplessness.
Misunderstandings are often a case of one person's inability to explain and another's tendency to overthink...
"That..." Meng Lang tried to explain something.
Just then, the bus reached the stop. As soon as the doors opened, the girl jumped off like she was fleeing and didn't forget to give Meng Lang a vicious glare before she left.
But Meng Lang didn't have the chance to offer an apologetic look as several more people boarded, immediately filling his field of vision in front of him.
"Tsk~" The doors closed again, and the bus slowly started moving, crowded and swaying.
Meng Lang heaved a sigh.
In an age where it's easy to be misunderstood, it seems I'm the only one still tossed about by life.
...
Nine o'clock in the morning.
Galaxy Securities office.
"Brother Meng, we meet again, hello, hello."
Teacher Tony greeted Meng Lang enthusiastically and shook his hand.
"Hehe! I know Brother Meng is a beginner, so let me start by introducing you to some basic knowledge of the stock market, and then I'll teach you some basic operations..."
"No need, Teacher Tony!" Meng Lang directly interrupted him, "I am someone who believes in letting the professionals handle their business, and I trust in Teacher Tony's expertise.
Today, I'm here to open an account and, by the way, I want to dabble in Huaxia Energy's stock."
Teacher Tony was stunned.
While he expected things to go smoothly, he never imagined it would be this easy. Usually, to swindle someone, you have to promise them the moon, right?
Are young people nowadays always this efficient in their endeavors?
Could it be that after seeing Huaxia Energy hit another trading limit up yesterday, he couldn't contain himself?
But saving his spiel—what's there to complain about? The smile on Teacher Tony's face immediately became even broader.
"Oh... really, well then! May I know how much capital Brother Meng would like to start with?"
"Hmm... 500,000, and possibly more."
Teacher Tony: "..."
How much?
500,000? And even more?!
"You... You're talking about 500,000?" Teacher Tony doubted whether he had just heard an extra Zero.
"Hmm!" Meng Lang nodded.
Hiss~
Teacher Tony took a cold breath, and the next moment he was overjoyed.
Who would have thought? This kid, with his casual and unremarkable attire, turned out to be a hidden little tycoon? This is a jackpot!
Someone who can easily drop 500,000 to "test the waters"—how could their net worth be anything less than impressive?
Who could've guessed? A common breakfast stall actually helped me reel in a koi!
If I look after this gentleman well, and later on he introduces his friends and rich acquaintances to me, won't I also have the green carps and donkeys?
This year's top performance! Here I come!
"Great, I'll take you to open an account right now. You must have seen that Huaxia Energy has been reaching new highs lately; it's definitely a big bull stock suitable for long-term investment!" Teacher Tony said enthusiastically.
"Hehe!" Meng Lang smiled noncommittally, then said, "Regarding this stock, I also want to consult on something else."
"Go ahead."
"If I want to short this stock and also use a few times leverage, how should I go about it?"
"Uh..." Teacher Tony's smile suddenly froze on his face.
Short selling? And he wants to use leverage to do it?!
What happened to "trusting my professionalism"?