46: Chapter 45: Termination of Cooperation, A Narrow Escape

The next day, 9:00 AM.

Wang Zhong entered the office, his brows furrowed.

He tried to contact Tian Xue today, but she didn't answer the phone.

He had originally made an appointment with her to discuss becoming his VIP client.

He knew a margin trading company and planned to coax Tian Xue into opening a leveraged account so he could manage it for her.

Whether she could make money or lose it was not within his scope of consideration.

As long as he could make money, that was all that mattered.

However, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, she hadn't answered his calls.

"Old Wang, what's the matter? You seem restless."

"Oh... Tian Xue, that university teacher, she isn't answering my calls."

"No need to be nervous, she's a teacher, she might be in class."

"That's true. I'm just afraid she might change her mind at the last minute."

"I checked, at the opening today, Huaxia Ocean Shipping rose by 2 points. The overall trend is positive; she won't change her mind."

"I know a friend who works in ocean shipping, and he says the market is doing quite well right now. There won't be any problems."

"Hmm... logically speaking, there shouldn't be. She must be busy with something."

Wang Zhong nodded, feeling much more at ease.

He brewed a cup of tea and prepared to turn on his computer to check the day's market.

However, the receptionist's voice came from outside the door.

"Miss, who are you looking for?"

"Is Manager Wang in? I'm his client."

"Oh, he just arrived. I'll take you to him."

"No need, I know where his desk is."

Wang Zhong looked up and saw Tian Xue walk into the office. His heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable sense of unease arose.

"Miss Wang, why are you here? I called you many times, but you didn't answer. I thought you were busy with something."

"I'm here to inform you that I have already closed my positions."

"Closed your positions? Why?"

"I don't want to buy anymore. I received news that the ocean shipping industry is about to implode and will plummet, so I'm out."

"That's impossible, I have inside information."

"Inside information? The stock market is unpredictable and closely linked to the international situation. Is inside information 100% correct?"

"Miss Tian, I've helped you make quite a lot of money."

"I know, and I haven't paid you any less in consulting fees either."

"Then... then what about our agreed-upon future cooperation?"

"Manager Wang, I've considered it. The risk is simply too high. With the leverage from the margin trading company, I don't think it's appropriate. If the position gets liquidated, it's all over."

"Then what do you mean..."

"We are terminating our cooperation. From now on, I have nothing to do with you."

"Hey, Miss Tian, you can't do this. Don't go, let's talk it over. Is there some kind of misunderstanding here?"

Tian Xue smiled and said, "As a former partner, I'll give you a piece of advice: close all your positions related to ocean shipping stocks, otherwise it will end badly."

"You... on what basis are you saying that?"

"Because I also have inside information."

The sound of high heels gradually faded away.

"Old Wang, why did she suddenly change her mind?"

"I... I don't know either. It's inexplicable."

At the same time, he lowered his head, a flash of imperceptible schadenfreude crossing his brow.

The workplace is like a battlefield; there is no such thing as friendship between colleagues.

Wang Zhong was the company's best consultant; now that a big client had run off, how could he not be happy?

"Forget it, look on the bright side. It just means she wasn't destined to make money."

Wang Zhong ignored him, instead opening his computer, logging into the securities software, and opening the hao123 portal, selecting the finance section.

About half an hour later, he discovered a very inconspicuous piece of news in an inconspicuous corner.

A week ago, an international institution claimed that the international ocean shipping industry was facing new challenges.

The number of ships responsible for transport was too high, while the international market was nowhere near having such a large demand.

Globally, except for the ocean transport ships within Huaxia, which still had some orders to maintain, all countries had already seen a situation of oversupply.

A European financial expert predicted that within a week, the global ocean shipping industry would gradually fall into a state of having no orders to receive, and all major stocks related to ocean shipping would plummet.

This was news from 10 days ago, and it didn't have many views.

It was just some small websites, posted by editors to fill up the section.

Something wasn't right. How could such news suddenly appear?

He opened a search engine and entered the keywords: "Financial expert recent assessment of ocean shipping industry."

In this era, search engines were still somewhat reliable; at least what they pulled up wasn't entirely advertisements.

[European ocean transport vessels are shutting down on a large scale due to insufficient market supply and demand.]

[Currently, in Asia, except for Huaxia ocean cargo ships maintaining regular transport, most countries are facing a state of having no orders.]

[Economic experts point out that one needs to be wary of the false prosperity in the ocean shipping industry, and stock investments need to be cautious of a collective plunge in the industry's stock prices.]

Wang Zhong's eyes flickered, and the unease in his heart grew stronger.

He clicked on the company backend to check the dozen or so clients under his name, and cold sweat gradually broke out on his forehead.

If the situation Tian Xue mentioned really occurred, his reputation would be completely ruined.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly opened his computer, logged into QQ, and entered the client group.

Tian Xue had already left the group; she hadn't said anything.

After thinking for a few dozen seconds, Wang Zhong gritted his teeth and began typing on the keyboard.

[Respected clients, due to some instability and rumors, please close your positions in Huaxia Ocean Shipping immediately. Right now. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself.]

After he sent the message, the group immediately became lively.

"Holy crap? Didn't you say this stock was as stable as a dog?"

"Damn it, I've already lost some money, do we really have to close the positions?"

"Manager Wang, you said this stock was more stable than Mount Tai, why does it change every day?"

"Bear the consequences, is it that serious?"

"Holy crap, why did Manager Wang go offline..."

Wang Zhong went offline immediately, and he also closed his own positions in Huaxia Ocean Shipping.

There was no reason; he just felt that if he didn't close his positions, he would lose everything.

After lunch, Wang Zhong was restless, his phone full of missed calls.

At 1:00 PM, when the market opened, he stared at the computer and didn't move.

One hour later, at 2:00 PM.

Wang Zhong's face was pale; the stock price of Huaxia Ocean Shipping not only hadn't fallen, it had even risen a little.

Just when he thought his career was about to end, his pupils suddenly constricted.

What was originally a +1.05 increase turned into -0.56 in the blink of an eye.

He thought he had misread it, rubbed his eyes, and it had become -1.25.

"What's going on? It suddenly plummeted."

One hour later, he slumped in his chair, his strength seemingly drained.

The market closed at -10.56.

This was a total disaster.

He logged into QQ; the group had exploded.

"666, awesome, Manager Wang is too fierce."

"Stock god, this is a real stock god. 500k! If we hadn't run, we would have been 100% trapped."

"Manager Wang is my own father."

"Damn, I almost misunderstood him. He really has genuine skills."

"From now on, I'll buy whatever Manager Wang points to. Don't stop me."

Wang Zhong looked at the scrolling praise for him on the screen, his heart filled with excitement.

After a narrow escape, he had inadvertently become a god in the eyes of his clients.

It must have been that his dedication had moved the heavens.

In Lin Feng's home, Tian Xue stared blankly at the limit-down Huaxia Ocean Shipping, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

"Slap..."

Lin Feng slapped her on the buttocks and laughed, "What are you spacing out for? Let's play poker first."

"Hey, wait a second, I... ugh..."