Chapter 33.1

◎ Accompanying Her to Terminated the Contract ◎

When Fan Qi arrived at the office and saw Mr. Liao’s face clouded with gloom during the morning meeting, she immediately understood what was going on.

As she headed downstairs with Liao Yazhe, she commented,
“I saw the news. Changxing really crossed the line.”

Liao Yazhe gave her a look like she was being naive.
“You didn’t hear what happened at last night’s dinner. Xu Xia openly mocked us for aiming too high without knowing our own worth. He even made a show of suggesting reforms to fix the poor service reputation of stockbrokers. My dad was furious. He only dares act like that because of the Xu family’s backing and all their big clients.”

“That kind of guy—cheap mouth, cheap behavior. We just have to believe that sand will become a tower one day.” Fan Qi glanced at the auction orders on the stock screen.

Liao Yazhe, the big gossip, went on:
“Snatching our project opening? That’s nothing. Feng Xueming drank with me last night and said Xu Xia agreed to him breaking up with Xu Miao’er. But he also made a deal with Feng’s grandfather—once your husband returns to the Liu family, the Xu and Liu families will resume their marriage alliance.”

“What?!” Fan Qi was stunned. “Is he insane?”

“Who can resist the temptation of billions in assets?” Liao Yazhe clicked his tongue. “Even if you love your husband, you better be ready.”

“Keep dreaming. Screw that!”

That morning, the market was all over the place. Only Ailai Electronics, which had been wildly volatile yesterday afternoon, stood out. It opened strong and shot up past five cents.

Fan Qi noticed heavy sell orders coming in—large volumes at high prices. This was clearly big capital exiting. In her past life’s A-share market, such moves could lead to a flash crash—from limit-up to limit-down in a heartbeat. She told Liao Yazhe to sell off their Ailai shares.

She also called Ms. Xiang to suggest she sell too.

Soon, Ms. Xiang called back:
“Fan Qi, Mr. Ma told me to hold for now. He says someone’s accumulating shares.”

“That’s possible too. You can wait and see a bit longer.”

After offloading her shares, Fan Qi and Liao Yazhe discussed the market. Aside from the unexpected surge in console gaming stocks, the only sector showing sustained strength was real estate. After recent corrections, property stocks looked ready to move again.

But the biggest pitfall in stock trading is itchy hands—the urge to go all-in every day. She still had bank shares as her base position. That was enough for today.

Fan Qi went upstairs early. Sister Xiang, covering her phone, said, “Fan Qi, Ailai Electronics just tanked. Mr. Ma says to wait for a rebound. What do you think?”

“You’re still holding a decent profit, right?”

“Yeah, I made quite a bit earlier today. But now it’s nearly all gone again.”

Fan Qi called Liao Yazhe to check the current price and trading volume of Ailai Electronics. It sounded like a fierce tug-of-war between buyers and sellers.

Sister Xiang was full of regret. “When you told me to sell, it was such a good price. Now…”

“Don’t hesitate—just sell. At least it’s still at 0.35.”

Not everyone who can trade A-shares is suited for Hong Kong stocks. In Hong Kong, wild price swings are par for the course. Even blue chips can drop 30–40% in a day—it’s not uncommon.

In this kind of market, any hesitation is just disrespecting your own money.

“Okay, okay!”

In such volatile conditions, the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make.

Fan Qi went back upstairs early and reviewed her study manual again, preparing for tomorrow’s exam.

“Fan Qi, got time? Want to grab lunch together?” Sister Xiang came over and asked, “That Chang Kee beef brisket noodle place from North Point just opened a branch nearby.”

“Sure! I’m in.” Fan Qi could never say no to good food.

Sister Xiang brought her assistant and also invited a female colleague from finance. There were still five minutes until market close when they headed out together.

By the time they arrived, the shop only had a few scattered customers. On Sister Xiang’s recommendation, Fan Qi ordered a bowl of clear broth brisket rice noodles. The portions were generous—the beef brisket practically covered the noodles. There was a bright green choy sum, two slices of white radish, and the first sip of soup was light and savory.

She hadn’t even started eating when the small restaurant filled up, and people started queuing.

Fan Qi complimented Sister Xiang on her timing.

“Baomei, you’re here too?” A girl greeted Sister Xiang’s assistant.

“Yep! Came with my boss for lunch!” The assistant waved at them.

The girl pulled over a chair and sat beside them. “I’ll just reserve this seat. Perfect—four of us.”

“Great!”

The girl was Baomei’s former colleague and worked at Changxing. Baomei and she gossiped about Changxing and Yaohua, while Fan Qi answered questions from the finance colleague about stocks. Even though Fan Qi had later diversified and hadn’t gone all in or all out on Ailai Electronics, she’d still made a solid profit.

“Mr. Ma is considered one of our brokerage firm’s top traders, right? But his judgment isn’t as sharp as Fan Qi’s. She told me to sell—right at the morning peak. I didn’t listen. After I sold, the price kept falling.”

Hearing this, the girl from Changxing turned to look at them. “This morning’s dip was a golden opportunity. We were all buying Ailai Electronics. But don’t tell anyone—it’s confidential. Miss Xu from our company is trading on behalf of Tianhe, and she’s buying up Ailai Electronics.”

In the market, word spreads fast among competitors—rumors fly everywhere.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to her, but the girl turned to Fan Qi and said, “Isn’t Ailai Electronics manufacturing TV game consoles for your husband’s company? I heard Mr. Liu acquired it for him to solve his supply chain issue.”

Fan Qi curled her lips into a faint smile. “Oh? I don’t really get involved in his business.”

Just then, a few more folks from Changxing arrived. Fan Qi and the others quickly finished eating and gave up their seats.

On the way back, Sister Xiang asked, “Fan Qi, given what we just heard, should we buy more Ailai Electronics? If Tianhe Group is buying in, and Ailai might become one of their subsidiaries, won’t the stock skyrocket?”

“I’m not doubting the information. But do you really think Changxing is that generous—letting us buy in now, just so they can drive up the price later? Didn’t you notice how, after heavy trading around 0.50 this morning, the price started falling step by step? Even if they really are planning an acquisition, no one wants to buy at sky-high prices. They’ll collect some high-priced shares, then push the price down. Of course, you can still buy in and wait until the acquisition is officially announced. But ask yourself—why would they even buy this company?”

“To solve your husband’s supply issue,” Sister Xiang replied.

“What if my husband doesn’t need it?” Fan Qi said calmly. “I’ve already sold my shares and I won’t buy back in.”

Hearing this, Sister Xiang said, “Then I won’t buy either.”

Back at the office, it was only half-past twelve. Fan Qi poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled out her study manual.

The phone rang. She picked it up—it was Chen Zhiqian. He asked, “I’ll pick you up at 3:30 to go to the film company and finalize the paperwork.”

“Huh?” Fan Qi was surprised. “I can go myself—it’s just some paperwork.”

“Just be downstairs at 3:30.”

He wasn’t asking—he was informing her.

“Alright then.”

When Fan Qi went downstairs at the appointed time, she saw Chen Zhiqian in a crisp white shirt standing next to a brand-new black sedan. She quickly walked over. “What’s this?”

“Just bought it. Picked it up from the dealership.”

From the proud smile on his face, Fan Qi instantly understood—he wanted to show it off a little.

She got into the passenger seat and looked at the interior. Knowing how to read the room, she praised him: “Looks really nice!”

Chen Zhiqian smiled. “Rong Yuan told me I’d need a car once things get busier.”

“Definitely, definitely,” Fan Qi quickly agreed.

Thinking of what Liao Yazhe and that girl from Changxing had said earlier, Fan Qi figured this marriage between her and Chen Zhiqian wasn’t meant to last. But according to the original host’s memory, he was adopted by the Fan family. They were technically like siblings. Given that bond, whatever happened, they’d have to face it together.

“Chen Zhiqian,” Fan Qi called out.

He focused on the road. “Hm?”

“I heard from Liao Yazhe today that Liu Xiangnian and Xu Xia reached an agreement—if you go back to the Liu family, you’ll marry Xu Miao’er.”

“We can’t control other people’s fantasies.”

“True.” Fan Qi continued, “I also heard from someone at Changxing that Liu Xiangnian has tasked them with buying shares of Ailai Electronics. They say Ailai is manufacturing for your company, and this acquisition is for you.”

A mocking expression appeared on Chen Zhiqian’s face. “That factory is heavily in debt and has a tangled internal management structure. I’ve already partnered with a state-owned enterprise in Shencheng to set up a joint venture. The molds I previously invested in at Ailai Electronics have already been relocated. The state-owned factory is beginning production first, and once all the formalities are completed, it’ll be transitioned into the joint venture.”

In his past life, he had suffered a loss with Ailai Electronics—there was no way he’d fall into that trap again.

The owner of Ailai Electronics being duped by the Japanese wasn’t undeserved at all.

They were all clients, and while he paid promptly and even offered higher prices than the Japanese, the owner would always prioritize Japanese orders. As soon as a Japanese order came in, the factory immediately started production for them. If there was ever a production conflict, Tianyao’s orders were the first to be bumped.

At that time, the OEM model wasn’t yet mainstream. He had no capital to invest, and his business struggled along in fits and starts. That’s why Tianyao’s production volume never scaled.

Then came the stock market crash of 1987. The market was in turmoil and liquidity was tight. That factory, after taking his advance payment, suddenly stopped production and refused to procure raw materials. Just as home consoles and handheld game devices were entering a boom period, he found himself in a stalemate.

He had to pawn his grandmother’s necklace to raise funds. With that money, he acquired a controlling stake in Ailai Electronics, entered the board, and injected capital to restart production.

He thought the crisis was over—until Liu Xiangnian recognized the necklace at auction and forced him to acknowledge his Liu family roots. When that failed, Liu Xiangnian acquired Ailai’s shares at high prices from other shareholders and bought up shares on the stock market. Tianhe Group then took control of Ailai Electronics and tried to coerce him into negotiations.

Fortunately, around that time, a distributor in Shencheng named Fang Hao introduced him to a state-owned electronics plant. In just two months, they finished making all the molds. Within three months, they began consistently supplying Tianyao, completely resolving his production bottleneck.

From 1988 to 1991, in just three years, he transformed Tianyao from a tiny company with thirty or forty employees into a market darling with annual sales of HKD 800 million and a market cap approaching HKD 1.7 billion.

This time around, he had more time and insight—as if playing a game with cheat codes. He already knew Liu Xiangnian’s tactics. Despite claiming to help, Liu Xiangnian’s real intent was to control production to pressure him. If Liu Xiangnian wanted to acquire the company, whether through stock market purchases or shareholder transfers, he’d just ride along and profit from the opportunity.

Fan Qi asked, “So he’s buying it for nothing?”