Chapter 75: "Brother Fang, Is the 'Weathered Salted Fish' You?"
He Xuan had finally figured things out, and a sense of relief washed over her.
She realized that no woman could possess Fang Hong exclusively. One could either choose to leave him or give up on the idea of monopolizing him.
Looking back on the days she had spent with him, He Xuan realized she had gained unparalleled satisfaction, both materially and emotionally. Since she had settled into a relationship with him, she never once thought of leaving.
The situation had changed now. She had recently signed an IOU at the Apple Store for more than 50,000 yuan and could not possibly afford to pay it back immediately. Her financial situation tied her to Fang Hong for the time being.
He Xuan was suddenly struck by clarity. She understood that she would never take the initiative to leave Fang Hong. As his partner, there were no flaws in him, aside from the fact that he could never be hers alone.
Finally, unable to hold back, He Xuan looked up at him and said, "On the way back, I figured it out. As long as you don't favor one woman over the other, I can accept it if your relationship with Ruoshui gets back together—or even if she lives here."
Fang Hong, slightly surprised by her change in attitude, didn't show it. He immediately broke into a smile, his voice deep and magnetic: "A woman like you, with such a tolerant heart, meeting me—Fang Hong—is no accident. Fate could not be kinder. You've decided to entrust your life to me, and I promise you, I will never let you lose. I give you my word as a man."
In that moment, He Xuan looked into his eyes, uncertain of what to say. She realized that she had been completely conquered by him, not through force, but through admiration for his strength.
If she had confessed to Fang Hong before out of obligation, now she was confessing out of respect, even reverence. The feeling of being conquered by him was no longer about submission, but rather a genuine admiration for the strength he exuded.
She was fully convinced of his power and influence. A sense of security and dependence washed over her, along with a subtle feeling of vanity.
Fang Hong smiled again and said, "Bring me my phone. It's in the study."
He Xuan's face lit up with a bright smile. She nodded obediently, her steps light as she went to fetch the phone. When she returned, she handed it to him and said softly, "I'll take a bath first. Later, you'll join me, right?"
Fang Hong immediately understood her true meaning. With a knowing smile, he nodded and replied, "I'll wait for the good times."
He Xuan, now smiling mischievously, walked toward the bathroom. Fang Hong turned his attention to the task at hand. He dialed the special line at the bank where he was a VIP customer.
The bank's employees, who knew his financial prowess, would not recommend wealth management products to him unless they were genuinely worthwhile. They were well aware of his ability to identify good opportunities on his own.
After a short call with the bank, Fang Hong arranged for He Xuan's diamond credit card to be unfrozen, ensuring it would be functional by the next day.
When He Xuan returned from her bath, she found Fang Hong sitting on the sofa, admiring her summer college-style uniform—both innocent and seductive.
Fang Hong looked up and spoke. "The good news has arrived. You'll be able to use your card again around three or four in the afternoon."
He Xuan nodded and smiled, "I understand."
It was now about 7:20 in the morning. School started at around 8:10.
After lingering in bed for a while, He Xuan, nestled in Fang Hong's arms, asked softly, "Do you want to go to morning class together?"
Fang Hong smiled gently. "I won't go today. The company has some matters to attend to. The most important thing is to make money to support you."
He Xuan responded playfully, "Stop with the sweet words."
The cozy bed time ended, and He Xuan got up first. Fang Hong, watching her, remarked, "The card will be unfrozen around three or four in the afternoon."
He Xuan nodded again and said, "Got it."
It was now about 7:40 a.m., and Fang Hong got up after another lazy half-hour. After washing up, he had breakfast and prepared for the day.
By 9:00 a.m., he was in his study, opening the market software. The day before, he had invested a full 29 million yuan into Zhongxin Securities. He was already aware that the People's Bank of China had announced a cut in interest rates and the reserve ratio, which would surely cause the market to open high.
As expected, the market surged at the opening, and Fang Hong, ready to take advantage of the situation, sold his position in Zhongxin Securities. He made a significant profit in a short amount of time. Zhongxin's stock opened 8.02% higher, and Fang Hong's funds were easily liquidated.
Less than a minute after the opening, the market plunged sharply. By the time the stocks fell, Fang Hong had already sold out, making a profit of 2.33 million yuan. His total assets in the account had now reached 31.33 million yuan, with a return rate of over 59,000%.
Fang Hong shut off the software, changed into his outdoor clothes, and left his home.
Around 10:00 a.m., he arrived at the headquarters of Qunxing Capital. In the CEO's office, Huayu handed him several important documents. "The second batch of funds, totaling 3.8 billion, will arrive tomorrow. The remaining 4 billion yuan will take a bit longer, arriving around December 24. Currently, the total cost of the company's stock assets stands at 6.973 billion yuan, with stock pledges accounting for 3.75 billion."
Fang Hong read through the documents and nodded. "Once the funds are in place, we'll continue as before, increasing holdings in the selected stocks."
Huayu nodded and then looked at Fang Hong, a playful glint in his eyes. "Brother Fang, there's one more thing I need to confirm."
Fang Hong, curious, asked, "What is it?"
Huayu laughed softly and said, "The company has noticed a very popular figure on the Internet—'Weathered Salted Fish.' We've checked, and this person's posts on Tianya Forum seem to align closely with the stock movements you've been involved in. Is this account yours?"
Fang Hong smiled and answered casually, "I don't have an account under that name." He was aware that his identity on the Tianya Forum was not known to everyone, so the connection was likely only a coincidence.
Huayu chuckled, having his suspicions confirmed, but didn't press further.
Huayu did not realize that the person behind the Weathered Salted Fish account was actually Cao Chenghui, because Cao Chenghui's securities account was not with Xinhong Securities but with Zhongxin Securities. Since Huayang Group had no access to Zhongxin's internal data, they could not track his trades. However, Fang Hong's trading data was accessible to them since Xinhong Securities was an unlisted local securities firm based in Xincheng.
Hearing Huayu's question, Fang Hong smiled and said casually, "I don't have an account on Tianya Forum."
This response surprised Huayu. He immediately followed up, "It's not you? But the content of the posts made by this person on Tianya Forum—his stock picks and entry points—align almost exactly with the trades you executed during the same period."
Fang Hong was taken aback for a moment before a look of realization crossed his face. With a calm and composed expression, he replied, "I know who it is. It's probably a friend of mine—I guided him on some trades a while ago."
From Huayu's reaction, Fang Hong could tell that he was unaware that the account belonged to Cao Chenghui. To prevent any potential embarrassment for Mr. Cao in the future, Fang Hong deliberately referred to him as just a "friend."
After all, Cao Chenghui had been portraying himself as an expert on Tianya Forum, as if he had extraordinary investment foresight. If Huayu found out the truth, he would immediately see through the act. That would be quite embarrassing for Cao Chenghui.
Hearing Fang Hong's explanation, Huayu suddenly understood and nodded. "Ah, I see."
So it wasn't Fang Hong himself, but rather one of his friends showing off online. With the matter clarified, Huayu no longer pursued the topic.
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Discussing Entertainment Industry Connections
After a brief silence, Fang Hong rested one hand on the armrest of the sofa, looked at Huayu, and asked, "Do you have any connections in the entertainment industry? Especially with popular celebrities—singers, actors, and so on?"
Huayu wasn't sure why Fang Hong was asking, but he answered truthfully, "Huayang Group had plans to enter the entertainment industry, but we never took action. We have a few connections, but not too many."
Fang Hong nodded in acknowledgment but didn't say anything further.
Curious, Huayu asked, "Brother Fang, why are you asking about this?"
There was no need to hide it from Huayu, so Fang Hong explained in a composed manner, "I guided a few of my roommates in establishing Quantum Beat, and one of our key promotion strategies for Quantum Weibo is leveraging celebrities to attract users to the platform. This will be crucial in achieving early user growth."
So that was the reason.
Huayu responded concisely, "Is this urgent?"
Fang Hong crossed his legs and smiled, "Not urgent, but we need to prepare in advance."
Huayu nodded and said, "Alright, leave this to me. I'll use some of Huayang Group's connections to make introductions. It shouldn't be a big problem. After all, working with celebrities just requires the right financial investment."
In the entertainment industry, you don't directly deal with the celebrities themselves, but rather with their agents or the agencies managing them.
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Fang Hong's Vision for the Future
Suddenly, Fang Hong spoke in a serious tone, "In the long run, we can't keep relying on others. We need to create our own celebrities."
His words carried weight.
"At a small scale, this is about competing for traffic and audience attention. But at a larger scale, it becomes a battle for control over public discourse and even a struggle over societal values."
Huayu was momentarily confused. He couldn't immediately connect the dots between Qunxing Capital, celebrities, audience traffic, and public influence. What was the internal logic behind this?
Sensing his confusion, Fang Hong looked at him and asked, "Do you know why I refuse to let Qunxing Capital use a VIE structure? Why I won't register offshore?"
Without hesitation, Huayu answered, "Because of sovereignty."
Fang Hong nodded approvingly, "Exactly. It's a matter of where we stand."
He continued, "Think about it—when the time comes, will celebrities who have already immigrated or obtained foreign citizenship still be willing to work with us? Will they still provide us access to resources?"
Speaking with conviction, Fang Hong concluded,
"Even if these partnerships are going well for now, they may not last in the future. That's why if we want to secure our position, we must build our own foundation.
When the time comes, we won't need to depend on others. We'll play the game our own way, and we might even play it better than them."
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End of Chapter
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