185: Chapter 185 Ye Ziming's Favorability Soars, What Will Happen to Hongtai Construction? (Part 1)

Just then, Ye Ziming's phone suddenly rang again. He glanced at the caller ID; it was his stockbroker. Without any hesitation, he quickly answered the call.

As soon as the call connected, the broker's incredibly excited voice came through: "Mr. Ye, Mr. Ye, you are amazing! How did you know this stock would plummet?"

"Hahaha," Ye Ziming laughed smugly, his gaze involuntarily shifting toward Qin Yi. "As for that, you don't need to ask. What's the situation in Hong Kong Island right now? I looked at the K-line; it's a total rout."

The broker explained in detail on the other end: "We just received an announcement from the China Securities Regulatory Commission stating that Shengneng Group's equity is highly concentrated, warning investors to be careful. As soon as the announcement came out, the stock price took a vertical dive."

"Holy crap, luckily I got out fast. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to escape even if I wanted to," Ye Ziming exclaimed, a trace of cunning flashing in his eyes.

"Mr. Ye," the manager suddenly lowered his voice and followed up curiously, "If I may ask, did you get some inside information? Don't worry, I'm just curious and definitely won't spread it."

"Haha," Ye Ziming laughed heartily, turning his gaze to Qin Yi again and even winking at him. "I don't have any inside information, but I think I might have encountered a stock god..."

At this moment, Qin Yi remained calm on the surface, looking unperturbed, but in reality, he was secretly delighted.

Although he wasn't very close to Ye Ziming, they were in the same club after all. Moreover, Ye Ziming was from the Ye Family of the Capital. Although he wasn't yet clear about the depth of the Ye Family of the Capital's foundation in the Huaxia Dragon Kingdom, since the System had listed his identity separately, it likely wouldn't be lower than the Zhao Family of the Capital. He would eventually clash with Zhao Lintai; having one more powerful ally meant one fewer potential enemy. Furthermore, this could be considered a validation of the Financial Prophet's effectiveness.

At this time, Wang Tengfei's eyes widened. He looked at Qin Yi with a face full of shock, involuntarily giving a thumbs up and praising: "Old Fourth, you're truly Freaking Awesome! Quick, tell me, how did you see that there was a problem with this stock?"

Qin Yi gave a couple of sheepish laughs, waving his hand in a casual manner while making up a story on the spot: "Actually, I'm not too sure either; it's just a kind of intuition. Whenever I see the K-line chart of a certain stock, it's as if my brain can automatically depict its future trend. Especially for those problematic stocks, it's like a warning bell is ringing 'ring-ring-ring' in my heart. Do you understand what I mean? Maybe this is just talent."

Wang Tengfei grinned and teased: "Holy crap, Old Fourth, I really didn't see it; your ability to brag has really improved. I admit your professional grades are good, but it shouldn't be to the point where you can predict stock fluctuations, right?"

Qin Yi sighed with feigned helplessness and shook his head: "See, you asked me, I told you, and you don't believe me... Sigh, being invincible is so lonely."

Ye Ziming looked at Qin Yi with a firm gaze and interjected: "Young Master Qin, he doesn't believe it, but I do. Could you recommend a few more stocks to me?"

Qin Yi frowned, putting on a thoughtful expression, and said slowly: "Young Master Ye, it's not that I don't want to recommend any to you. It's just that the stock market has risks, and investment requires caution. Besides, I'm better at quick, short-term operations; I'm okay at looking at short-term fluctuations, but as for the long term, I don't have much confidence yet."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ziming looked at Qin Yi with a fawning smile: "Young Master Qin, saying that is a bit too humble. Even God Ba wouldn't dare say he can predict short-term fluctuations; being able to see short-term trends is already incredible! Just simply recommend a few for me so I can make another small profit. How about this: if we make money, we'll split it sixty-forty. I'll take sixty, you take forty, and I'll provide the capital."

Qin Yi laughed and waved his hand: "Haha, if you put it that way, I can't refuse anymore." Saying that, he picked up his phone and performed a quick operation on the app, sorting the top ten stocks by their increase. Simultaneously, the light screen in his eyes revealed the trend of these ten stocks for the next hour.

"Do you have paper and a pen?" Qin Yi looked up at Ye Ziming.

Ye Ziming immediately waved to a waiter not far away and shouted: "Waiter, bring a pen and paper over here!"

Before long, the waiter brought the paper and pen and handed them to Ye Ziming. Ye Ziming passed them to Qin Yi. While observing the stock price fluctuations, Qin Yi carefully wrote down the buy and sell prices for each stock on the paper. Of course, he didn't follow the trend predicted by the System exactly; he slightly increased the buy price and slightly decreased the sell price. After all, if he were too accurate, wouldn't he become a Prodigy? If Ye Ziming leaked it, he might even be summoned for a talk by the relevant departments.

After writing, Qin Yi handed the paper to Ye Ziming and reminded him: "Young Master Ye, just follow what I've written. Although I can't guarantee you'll make too much, it shouldn't be a problem for your eight million to turn into twenty million within an hour."

Ye Ziming took the paper, his eyes fixed on the content without blinking. He took a deep breath and then nodded heavily: "Good! I believe you!" After saying that, he couldn't wait to pick up his phone and call his manager.

At this time, Wang Tengfei, sitting beside Qin Yi, heard that eight million could be turned into twenty million within an hour, and a strong impulse immediately welled up in his heart. His eyes flashed as he also hurriedly pulled out his phone and silently opened the stock trading app. Being a finance major himself, he knew that working a job could only allow him to survive without starving, but achieving financial freedom was unlikely. Therefore, back in school, he had also opened a securities trading account, thinking of finding some opportunities in the stock market. However, due to limited savings, his previous operations had always been relatively conservative.

But at this moment, seeing Qin Yi's certain expression, the hesitation in Wang Tengfei's heart vanished instantly. 'Damn it, take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!' Thinking this, he resolutely transferred the full amount of the compensation the company had just paid him into his stock account. Next, he leaned closer to Ye Ziming, keeping a close eye on the buy and sell prices Qin Yi had listed, his fingers operating rapidly on his phone.

Watching his two friends so invested, Qin Yi also felt a surge of enthusiasm. He thought to himself: "Then I'll play along with you guys." With that thought, a trace of cunning flashed in his eyes, and his fingers began to operate skillfully on his phone.

...

Meanwhile, in the first-floor lobby of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the elevator doors slowly opened, and Wang Hao walked out with heavy steps, his eyes empty and looking dazed. Wang Ming followed closely behind. Unlike Wang Hao's expression, a smug smile hung on his face. Upon reaching the hotel entrance, he put on a hypocritical appearance, proactively reaching out to shake Wang Hao's hand, and then said with concern: "Little Chairman Wang, please take care of your health. When Chairman Wang's funeral is held, remember to notify me; I will definitely be there to see him off."

Wang Hao nodded slightly as a response to Wang Ming's concern, but he couldn't squeeze out a single smile, his expression appearing exceptionally lonely.

Just then, a taxi came to a steady stop in front of Wang Hao. Seeing this, Wang Ming immediately and solicitously opened the car door for Wang Hao and gestured for him to get in. As if he had lost his soul, Wang Hao silently sat in the back seat of the taxi. Wang Ming closed the door with a quick motion. Standing outside the car, he smiled and waved at Wang Hao through the window, watching as the taxi slowly drove away.

The taxi driver looked at Wang Hao in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Seeing his soul-less appearance, the driver couldn't help but be curious. He asked: "Sir, where would you like to go?" However, the first inquiry did not get a response from Wang Hao. The driver had to raise his volume again: "Sir? Sir?!"

This time, Wang Hao finally looked up somewhat blankly at the driver in the front seat. He was stunned for a moment before slowly saying: "What did you say?"

"Oh, I said, where are you going?" the driver patiently repeated the question. After all, this customer had come out of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Based on his years of driving experience, such people were usually wealthy and not to be easily offended.

Wang Hao looked out the window, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. After a moment, he regained his senses and responded in a low voice: "Go to the Hongtai Construction Building."

"Hongtai Construction?" Hearing this destination, the driver's gaze couldn't help but size up Wang Hao through the rearview mirror again. He followed up curiously: "Are you a reporter, sir?"

"No." Wang Hao also looked into the rearview mirror and asked back with some confusion: "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's like this," the driver explained. "Didn't you see the news this morning? Something happened at Hongtai Construction. It's said that the company's chairman passed away in a car accident last night. Many negative reports about the company have also surfaced online. The city has even formed a Joint Investigation Team, which has already moved into the company to start an investigation. I've already driven several groups of reporters there today, so I thought you were a reporter too."

"I see," Wang Hao murmured thoughtfully, his mood seeming to grow even heavier.

"Yeah, so if you're not a reporter, could you be an employee of that company?" the driver continued to guess.

However, this time, Wang Hao just silently shook his head and didn't respond.

Wang Hao just shook his head and didn't respond. Just then, his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID; it was from the company's legal counsel, Zhou Qian, Uncle Zhou.

Wang Hao's heart was in turmoil, and he hesitated over whether to answer the call. After all, before he went to see Zhao Lintai, Uncle Zhou had sternly warned him not to sign anything. But now, not only had he signed that lethal agreement, he had also completely cut off his possibility of inheriting the company's shares.

He struggled internally, and the expression on his face kept changing—one moment his brow was furrowed, the next he was gritting his teeth. Finally, he took a deep breath and muttered in his heart: "Fuck! Whether I face it now or later, it's the same. What's coming will come!" Having made up his mind, he resolutely answered the phone.

As soon as the call connected, Zhou Qian's slightly urgent voice came through: "Xiao Hao, how did the talk go? What did the other party say?"

Wang Hao answered haltingly: "Uncle, Uncle Zhou, I, I gave up the inheritance of my dad's shares..." His voice grew smaller and smaller until it was almost inaudible.

"What did you say?!" Zhou Qian felt like he'd been struck by lightning. His voice suddenly rose, almost roaring: "Wang Hao! Do you fucking know what you're doing?! You gave up the inheritance? With just your 10% stake, what can you achieve?! You're giving away the business your father worked so hard for all these years for nothing!"

Wang Hao bit his lower lip hard, his eyes red, and his voice trembled as he responded: "Uncle Zhou, I had no choice. He has some dirt on me. If I didn't agree to him, I'm afraid I'd have to spend the rest of my life in prison." As he spoke, his tears fell uncontrollably.

Hearing the commotion from Wang Hao in the back, the taxi driver looked at him through the rearview mirror with some surprise, having some guesses about this person's identity in his heart.

Hearing this, although Zhou Qian was shocked, he still tried his best to suppress his anger and said urgently: "Don't talk about it over the phone. Where are you now? I'll come find you immediately!"

"Uh, I'm in a taxi, on my way to the company," Wang Hao replied, wiping away his tears with his hand.

"Don't come here!" Zhou Qian immediately interrupted him. "This place is full of reporters and people from the Joint Investigation Team now. You'll definitely become the focus if you show up. Go home first; I'll come to your house as soon as things are handled here."

"Oh, okay," Wang Hao replied obediently.

"Remember, don't go anywhere before I get to your house," Zhou Qian instructed again.

"Understood." Wang Hao hung up the phone and let out a long breath. He looked up at the driver and said: "Driver, we're not going to the Hongtai Construction Building anymore. Change it to Hongtai Dijing."

The driver responded with an "okay," skillfully changed lanes, and made a U-turn at the intersection ahead.

More than twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped steadily outside Villa 101 in Hongtai Dijing. Wang Hao paid and got out. Seeing this, the family's servant immediately ran out urgently to open the large iron gate for him. The servant bowed with a sorrowful look: "Young Master, you're finally back! The Master, he..." As she spoke, tears were already flowing.

Wang Hao took a deep breath and waved his hand to signal her to stop talking. He responded in a low voice: "I already know. Let's go inside first." With that, he walked straight into the villa.

"Sigh," the servant sighed, slowly closed the large iron gate, and followed Wang Hao into the villa.

The taxi driver didn't leave immediately. A trace of cunning flashed in his eyes as he took out his phone and snapped a photo of the grand villa, capturing Wang Hao's slightly dejected back in the process.

He chuckled and sent this photo to a WeChat group, followed by a voice message, his tone unable to hide his smugness: "Brothers, look who I picked up today? The eldest young master of Hongtai Construction. I just drove him from The Ritz-Carlton Hotel to this Hongtai Dijing villa. Look at this villa, how luxurious!"

The group quickly became lively. Someone replied with a voice message, their voice full of envy: "Holy crap, Old Yao, not bad! Don't just stand there bragging; hurry up and sell this news to the reporters. The heir to Hongtai Construction is big news right now; those reporters will definitely be scrambling for it."

Before Old Yao could respond, another message popped up in the group: "Hehe, Old Yao, no need to thank me. I've already helped you sell the news. Five hundred bucks in hand. Three for you and two for me. How about that for being a pal?"

Hearing this, Old Yao felt such regret in his heart that he almost wanted to slap himself. He secretly cursed himself for not contacting the reporters before bragging, losing two hundred bucks for nothing. But on the surface, he had to pretend he didn't care, responding with feigned generosity: "Oh, fine, fine, it's all yours. Just remember to treat me to a good meal later!"

"Haha, Old Yao is so straightforward! Tonight at the food stalls, be there or be square, my treat!" the person in the group responded happily.

...