This Bad Luck is Awesome!

If he went short, given Hongyin Jingtong’s rally, his position would be liquidated in minutes.

He wouldn’t just not make money; his entire margin could be wiped out.

Besides, he had plenty of other opportunities to make money. It wasn’t worth the risk.

...

There was still some time before the market opened.

Xihe’s Proprietary Trading Department held its usual Monday morning meeting.

During the meeting, they discussed the plan for the week, among other things.

"Does anyone have anything to add?"

After the main points had been covered, the minister scanned the room and asked.

At his words, both Xia Shiqing and Pan Kejia spoke up.

"I believe we should liquidate our position in Hongyin Jingtong."

Xia Shiqing and Pan Kejia spoke in unison.

Hearing them both say in unison that they should liquidate Hongyin Jingtong, everyone in the conference room turned to stare at them, baffled.

Ai Yikun had just won an award, and Hongyin Jingtong’s stock was clearly on the rise.

’Never mind not increasing their position—they want to liquidate it entirely?’

’What kind of move is that?’

However, despite their confusion, no one rashly objected.

Xia Shiqing was the deputy minister of the Proprietary Trading Department, second in command only to the minister.

Besides, she had made a name for herself with her last major success and was currently riding a wave of popularity.

They were all workplace veterans; none of them would needlessly make an enemy.

As for Pan Kejia, while she was only a junior employee who hadn’t even made it to department supervisor, her father was a partner in the firm. Even though he wasn’t present, no one was willing to get on her bad side.

An unspoken understanding fell over the room, and it suddenly went quiet.

As everyone looked at the two of them, they were also looking at each other.

A flicker of surprise showed in Xia Shiqing’s bright eyes. She hadn’t expected Pan Kejia to also propose liquidating their position in Hongyin Jingtong.

’Did she get the news from another source?’

She didn’t dwell on it, simply guessing that Pan Kejia must have heard the same information.

After all, for Chen Mo to call her about it, he must have gotten some inside information.

And if inside information was circulating, it was perfectly normal for more than one person to have it.

Pan Kejia, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised that Xia Shiqing would bring this up.

Since Chen Mo had told her, he naturally wouldn’t have forgotten to tell Xia Shiqing.

Though she wasn’t surprised, she still lifted her chin slightly, casting a faintly provocative glance at Xia Shiqing.

Xia Shiqing noticed the look but chose to ignore it.

"Your reasoning?"

The minister glanced at the two of them and asked.

Liquidating Hongyin Jingtong was certainly possible, but only with a valid reason.

"There might be a major development with Hongyin Jingtong soon."

Xia Shiqing replied without a moment’s hesitation, her tone certain.

Chen Mo hadn’t told her *why* they needed to liquidate, but this was the only logical reason.

She had absolute faith in Chen Mo, which filled her with confidence.

She didn’t give a single thought to the consequences she would face if the information turned out to be false.

"I also believe something is about to go wrong with Hongyin Jingtong."

Pan Kejia chimed in a moment later, her voice just as firm.

’If Xia Shiqing trusts Chen Mo, why shouldn’t I?’

’She’d been subjected to Chen Mo’s aggressive driving a few times now; if she didn’t trust his word, there’s no way she’d have willingly "drawn maps" for him.’

At their words, the minister grew pensive.

Neither Xia Shiqing nor Pan Kejia was a simple person. For both of them to be so confident and adamant about liquidating Hongyin Jingtong, it was clear they weren’t just talking nonsense.

’Is there really some inside information?’

"I don’t object in principle, but if this results in losses, you two will be held responsible."

The minister replied after a moment of thought.

At the minister’s words, everyone in the conference room turned to look at Xia Shiqing and Pan Kejia.

Their expressions were a complex mix of curiosity, anticipation, and schadenfreude.

In any case, everyone had their own agenda.

Xia Shiqing’s expression was serene, showing no signs of worry.

Pan Kejia had felt a flicker of nervousness, but seeing Xia Shiqing’s composure, she somehow felt much more at ease.

’Worst-case scenario, I’ll be taking the blame with Xia Shiqing.’

Soon, the meeting ended.

The stock market was also just about to open.

As news spread that Ai Yikun had won an award at a ceremony in Modu a couple of days ago, Hongyin Jingtong’s stock price soared during the opening call auction.

By the opening bell, it had shot up by the 10% daily limit.

Many institutional investors were increasing their positions, believing Hongyin Jingtong would continue to climb.

Seeing Hongyin Jingtong hit the limit up at the open, many institutions were buying more.

All eyes turned to Xia Shiqing and Pan Kejia.

’Are we really still liquidating?’

"Liquidate."

Not a trace of hesitation or conflict showed on Xia Shiqing’s cool, beautiful face as she gave the firm order.

’If Chen Mo said to liquidate, then there’s definitely something wrong with this stock.’

"Yes."

Since Xia Shiqing had given the order, there was nothing left to say. All they had to do was execute.

If things went south, someone higher up would take the fall.

And in the Proprietary Trading Department, no one stood "taller" than Xia Shiqing and Pan Kejia.

’Perfect. Let those two take the heat.’

Soon, Xihe had liquidated its entire position in Hongyin Jingtong.

It wasn’t a loss, not really.

After all, the stock had been rising ever since they bought in, and they had even cashed in on the day’s limit-up price.

But after liquidating, any future gains would have nothing to do with them.

There are no secrets in the financial world. Soon, word got out that Xihe had liquidated its position in Hongyin Jingtong.

An institution’s moves aren’t like an individual’s, after all. Xihe’s liquidation of a hot stock like Hongyin Jingtong drew considerable attention.

Plus, some people within Xihe felt it was a shame to liquidate and mentioned it in a few group chats.

"I hear it was that beautiful deputy minister of theirs who pushed for the liquidation."

"Does she have some info?"

"Who knows? In any case, there’s no negative information out there right now."

"Is she trying to replicate her last big success?"

"I’m just afraid she’ll fail to replicate it and ruin her reputation instead."

"She got addicted to that ’one-shot fame’ thing. Let’s hope she doesn’t overplay her hand."

"..."

Many people in the industry were discussing the move, but the focus was all on Xia Shiqing.

Hanchen Capital.

Office of the Deputy General Manager.

Jiang Qifeng sat at his desk as his secretary, Xiaozhang, gave him a report.

"By the way, President Jiang, Xihe has liquidated its shares of Hongyin Jingtong."

Xiaozhang added hesitantly, "And apparently, it was your daughter who insisted on it."

They had just bought a significant number of Hongyin Jingtong shares at the limit-up price today, only to immediately hear that Xihe was selling off its position.

The crucial part was that Xia Shiqing was the one who had insisted on it.

That’s why she felt it necessary to inform President Jiang.

"What? Is she crazy?"

Jiang Qifeng was taken aback, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He knew Xia Shiqing was quite capable. How could she make such an irrational decision?

’It doesn’t make any sense.’

He pulled out his phone and saw that many people were indeed talking about it.

It was just as Xiaozhang had said.

"So headstrong!"

Jiang Qifeng was getting angry. He felt Xia Shiqing was just being reckless.

He wanted to call Xia Shiqing and talk some sense into her, but she had blocked his number long ago.

As for WeChat, she’d never even accepted his friend request.

After a moment’s thought, he opened Maimai and logged into his account.

His account name was simply Jiang Qifeng, with "Deputy General Manager, Hanchen Capital" as his title.

"Young people shouldn’t be so impulsive. Trades should be based on market logic. Don’t always try to take unorthodox shortcuts to get famous. The higher you climb, the harder you’ll fall!" #HongyinJingtong

After composing the post, Jiang Qifeng published it immediately.

He didn’t name names, but anyone in the financial industry would know exactly who he was targeting.

Because he had included the Hongyin Jingtong hashtag, his post was seen by many people.

Coupled with his high standing in the industry, his post quickly drew widespread attention and sparked discussion.

Screenshots were forwarded to numerous group chats.

"He’s firing shots directly at Xihe’s Goddess Xia!"

"Grab your popcorn!"

"Wait, what’s this got to do with him?"

"Probably feels like one of the old guard financiers whose spotlight has been stolen by the younger generation. He’s probably just salty about it."

"He has a point, though. Taking unorthodox risks doesn’t always pay off. One loss, and your career and reputation are ruined."

"He probably thinks Xihe’s deputy minister is getting too full of herself and wants to knock her down a peg."

"Heh, such a condescending ’daddy-knows-best’ attitude. Makes me want to puke."

Seeing Jiang Qifeng’s post, some felt it was none of his business and wondered who he thought he was to comment.

They found his condescending, paternalistic tone nauseating.

Others, however, agreed with him, feeling that Xia Shiqing had indeed gotten ahead of herself.

In any case, Jiang Qifeng’s words sparked widespread discussion within the industry and soon reached the ears of people at Xihe.

The employees at Xihe soon learned that someone had publicly criticized their deputy minister.

Both outsiders in the industry and people within Xihe...

...everyone was anticipating how Xia Shiqing would respond.

Would she ignore it?

Or would she issue a rebuttal?