16: Chapter 16 Dating?

Jiang Chen slowly pressed the lock screen button and stretched.

Beside him, Wang Hao was like a restless spring; his head was almost on Jiang Chen's shoulder, his eyes were wide, and his lowered voice was thick with irrepressible curiosity.

"I say, you've been distracted from morning till night, staring off in class like you're listening to gibberish. You've checked your phone at least ten times. What secret are you hiding? If you don't tell me, I'm going to tickle you!"

Jiang Chen turned his head and looked at his good friend Wang Hao, who had a "tell me or I won't let it go" expression. A faint but certain smile curled at the corners of his mouth as he softly uttered a single sentence.

"It's nothing. I just made some money today."

Just then, on the podium, Teacher Su gently closed her Finance textbook, a trace of imperceptible solemnity in her clear and beautiful eyes.

Just five minutes ago, the Risk Control Director of the CITIC Securities Branch had called her directly, his tone full of surprise.

"Wanqing, that student Jiang Chen you introduced today to open a chinext account is quite impressive! He used his 75,000 principal for margin trading and went all-in on Xinghan Jinyuan. He made a net profit of 74,000 in a single day! When our back-end monitored the data, the entire risk control team was stunned!"

Seventy-four thousand?

Margin trading?

Su Wanqing's fingers tightened slightly around her phone, and a storm of shock instantly surged in her heart.

She knew the volatility rules of the chinext market all too well, and she understood even better the deadly risks behind 1:4 leverage.

A 9% drop would trigger a forced liquidation, and the principal would vanish instantly. This wasn't investing; it was clearly walking a tightrope on the edge of a cliff.

Her gaze landed softly on Jiang Chen, who was feigning composure below the podium. Teacher Su cleared her throat, her voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable weight.

"Jiang Chen, come to my office after class."

As soon as she spoke, the whole class's gaze shifted toward him. Wang Hao froze instantly and secretly tugged at Jiang Chen's sleeve with a miserable look on his face.

"It's over, it's over. Chenzi, is Teacher Su targeting you? Why has she been looking for you so often these past two days?"

Jiang Chen patted his hand, his expression calm and unruffled: "It's fine. I'll be right back."

By now, he had a good guess as to what it was about.

A faint scent of jasmine wafted through the office, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the horizon was dyed red by the setting sun.

Teacher Su pointed to the chair opposite her. Once Jiang Chen was seated, she didn't beat around the bush and directly turned her phone screen toward him, showing a screenshot of the account holdings and profits captured by the CITIC Securities back-end.

"Jiang Chen, this account belongs to you, right?"

Her voice was soft but carried a force that struck at the core. There was no blame in her gaze, only worry and confusion.

Jiang Chen looked up. The numbers on the screen were clear and piercing. He didn't dodge at all and nodded gently: "It's mine, Teacher Su."

"I helped you open the chinext account because you asked. I thought you would use it for paper trading practice or to test the waters with small funds, but you actually touched offline margin trading, and with the maximum leverage of 1:4."

Teacher Su's brow furrowed slightly as her fingertips gently tapped the desk.

"You are an excellent Finance student. You understand the rules of warning lines and liquidation lines better than anyone. Do you know that if Xinghan Jinyuan had dropped by 9% today, not a single cent of your 75,000 principal would be left?"

Jiang Chen sat up straight, his gaze honest and firm, without the slightest hint of panic.

He knew that the teacher before him truly cared for his well-being.

"Teacher Su, I know what you're worried about."

Jiang Chen's voice was steady and powerful, every word clear and certain.

"I chose a legitimate local firm for margin trading. They have full qualifications and are connected to actual brokerage accounts; I didn't touch any virtual accounts or black platforms."

"I've tracked Xinghan Jinyuan's trend for three weeks. The chip distribution, main capital flow, and sector logic all align with my predictions. This wasn't gambling; it was a trade based on precise calculations."

He paused and added: "From interest and transaction fees to the risk control line, I calculated every single cost down to the decimal. I can bear the worst outcome, and I've also seized the best market conditions."

Teacher Su looked at the young man before her in silence.

He lacked the impetuousness of a youth who had struck it rich overnight. His eyes held a calmness and clarity beyond his years, and even the technical details he mentioned were airtight.

She had seen too many retail investors blinded by the stock market, but it was her first time seeing a student so methodical and strategic.

After a long while, she sighed softly, and her tense expression gradually softened.

"I'm not dismissing your insight, but the capital market never lacks opportunities; what it lacks is reverence. You're still young. Don't bet all your chips on a single leveraged play."

"I'll keep that in mind, Teacher Su."

Jiang Chen stood up and bowed slightly, his tone full of sincerity.

"If you hadn't helped me connect with CITIC Securities to open the chinext account, I wouldn't have been able to operate so smoothly today. I've wanted to thank you all along, so I'd like to take this opportunity to treat you to dinner as a small token of my gratitude."

Teacher Su paused for a moment upon hearing this. Her first instinct was to refuse; she had never liked accepting dinner invitations from students, and she didn't want to cause unnecessary gossip.

But thinking of the risks of margin trading and Jiang Chen's all-or-nothing drive, she couldn't rest easy. She felt she had to find a quiet place to thoroughly explain the pros and cons and establish a bottom line with him.

After a moment of silence, she looked up at Jiang Chen, her tone returning to her usual composed and mature demeanor.

"Fine, I'll go with you. No need for anything too extravagant. It just so happens I have more to say to you about margin trading and risk control."

"Thank you, Teacher Su!" Jiang Chen took out his phone. Just as his fingertip was about to touch the ride-hailing app icon, Teacher Su stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Don't call a car."

She picked up her bag from the back of the chair and grabbed her car keys from the corner of the desk. "I drove here today. We can just take my car; it's on the way."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher Su." Jiang Chen immediately put away his phone and followed her out of the office.

The two walked down from the teaching building side by side, the afterglow of the setting sun coating the road in a layer of warm gold.

Teacher Su pressed the key to unlock the car. In a nearby parking spot, an obsidian black Mercedes-Benz C-Class lit its headlights in response.

The car's lines were simple and sleek, without any unnecessary decorations. It exuded a low-key, steady quality that perfectly matched her intellectual and capable temperament.

Mercedes-Benz C

"Get in."

Teacher Su opened the driver's side door and looked back at Jiang Chen with a tilt of her chin.

Jiang Chen nodded, opened the passenger door, and sat inside, closing the door behind him with a natural and swift motion.

"Buckle your seatbelt."

Teacher Su reminded him softly as she started the car.

The engine gave a steady low hum, and the car slowly merged into the flow of traffic at the school gate.

Twilight gradually enveloped the entire city. The streetlights along the road lit up one by one, their warm yellow glow spilling through the car window and onto the two of them.

No one forced a conversation inside the car; there was only the soft sound of the wind and the low hum of the engine. The atmosphere was quiet but not awkward.

Ten minutes later, the car smoothly entered the parking lot under a high-end commercial building.

Teacher Su turned off the engine and unbuckled her seatbelt: "We're here. Let's get out."

They got out of the car one after the other. Teacher Su locked the car and walked into the mall side by side with Jiang Chen.

The elevator went all the way up, arriving at an affordable luxury restaurant on a high floor.

The warm lights were soft, and light music flowed slowly. The low-key, luxurious decor allowed one to relax instantly.

Although it was Jiang Chen's first time in such an upscale place, he didn't show any stage fright at all. He still sat up straight with a composed expression.

Walking to the reserved table, he naturally reached out to pull out the chair opposite him, making a "please" gesture.

"Teacher Su, please have a seat."

Teacher Su saw his natural movements, and a faint smile appeared in her eyes as she sat down gracefully: "Thank you."

Once Jiang Chen sat down as well, the waiter timely handed over the menu.

He took the menu and immediately pushed it in front of Teacher Su, his behavior proper: "Teacher Su, you order first. See if there's anything you like."