Hong Kong.
What a great place!
The climate is so pleasant.
This wasn’t Tang Xin’s first time here, and she had shared plenty of insights and precautions along the way.
Upon arrival, they were greeted by their local partner company.
It wasn’t just Cao Cheng and Tang Xin who came—they were part of a team that included specialized financial lawyers and professionals well-versed in the financial regulations of mainland China, Hong Kong, and the U.S.
There was a lot to do.
But Cao Cheng didn’t need to handle everything personally. He just had to delegate tasks and let the team negotiate.
Things like currency exchange, opening bank accounts.
Most importantly, leveraging the futures market to buy RMB-USD futures contracts…
What did that mean?
Well, knowing there would be exchange rate fluctuations next year and that the RMB would appreciate, it was only natural to position themselves early.
Otherwise, after shorting the U.S. market and returning, they might find that the profits from the short were partially wiped out by exchange rate volatility. That would be a huge loss.
Truth be told,
this time, Young Master Cao was relying entirely on himself.
His memories didn’t include any news reports about exchange rates—unless there were drastic rises or falls, normal annual fluctuations rarely made headlines.
So,
Young Master Cao didn’t know the exact details of next year’s exchange rates.
But he had studied enough finance to work backward. Once he confirmed a major crisis was looming in the U.S., he deduced that the RMB would appreciate.
He didn’t know by how much.
But that was enough.
So, he secured some futures contracts, added options for hedging, and arranged currency swap agreements with local financial institutions…
Using RMB as collateral, they borrowed USD from banks, with contracts stipulating repayment in RMB a year later.
In simple terms, money borrowed at 7.5 now could be repaid at 6.5 later.
Doing nothing, they’d make a 13% profit in a year.
All it cost was a small amount of interest.
And they didn’t have to worry about exchange rate fluctuations.
A guaranteed win.
That was the gist of it.
However,
all of this required negotiation.
With plenty of cash on hand, Cao Cheng had leverage in every discussion.
Finance is ever-changing.
Even if something didn’t exist yet, as long as there was profit to be made, capital would inevitably find its way in.
……
Two weeks later.
The team was exhausted.
But Cao Cheng and Tang Xin were living leisurely.
For the first time, Tang Xin experienced the sheer bliss of doing nothing.
No worries at all.
Especially with Cao Cheng around—it felt like nothing could bother them.
Shopping, strolling, occasionally checking the domestic stock market.
The two looked every bit like a young couple, drawing endless envy and resentment wherever they went.
The fact that they even had bodyguards only added to the “disdain”—clearly, they came from extraordinary backgrounds.
By the end of those two weeks,
the domestic market had been stuck in a sideways trend.
It seemed like bulls and bears were locked in a fierce battle—from around 5,300 points on January 2nd to roughly 5,500 points by January 14th.
A slow, volatile climb.
Signs of a market recovery, with the bulls gaining the upper hand.
Was it going to keep rising?
But professionals knew better. The daily trading volume was sky-high, with massive sell-offs and buy-ins.
Who was selling? Who was buying? It was obvious!
It wasn’t just retail investors jumping in—foreign capital was involved too.
After all, the bursting of this bubble had… certain influences behind it. Deliberately triggered. It wasn’t hard to imagine how many international hedge funds were sitting on paper losses.
They were getting trapped too.
……
That evening.
Tang Xin rested her legs on Cao Cheng’s lap—she was tired after a whole day out.
Cao Cheng was massaging them for her.
Tang Xin scrolled through messages on a laptop.
She was browsing domestic forums, logged into Cao Cheng’s account.
His inbox was flooded with hate.
She was reading through the insults.
At first, it had annoyed her, but after two weeks with Cao Cheng, his attitude had rubbed off on her. Now, instead of getting angry, she burst into laughter from time to time.
“This guy’s insults are filthy.”
“And this one—full of rhymes, mocking you and your fans in doggerel! ‘White dog bloated, followers brain-dead!’ Hahahaha…”
“…” Cao Cheng was speechless.
Tang Xin glanced at him, eyes glinting playfully. “This guy’s roasting you with solid arguments. Hard to refute.”
Cao Cheng kept massaging.
Focused on kneading her muscles, he asked casually, “What’s he saying?”
Tang Xin grinned. “He says, ‘Don’t be such a stock god wannabe.’ Hah, that’s actually funny…”
Cao Cheng shot her a look. What did she know?
A decade later, that line wouldn’t even qualify as a meme.
Tang Xin kept laughing. “He claims you cost him hundreds of thousands. He liquidated his positions in December after reading your post—back when the market bottomed at 4,800. He panicked, saw your analysis, and trusted you. Hahaha…”
“…” Cao Cheng pinched her leg hard.
Tang Xin yelped, glaring. “Ow! Why take it out on me? He’s the one complaining! The market rebounded to 5,500 this month. He could’ve kept profiting, but now he’s down over 500K…”
“Overall, he’s still up, but he blames you for his sleepless nights and lost appetite!”
Cao Cheng scoffed. “Ungrateful bastard. I saved his life, and he’s still whining. Hand me the laptop—let me shut him up.”
“Tell me what to type, I’ll do it.” Tang Xin smirked.
Cao Cheng didn’t refuse. “Tell him: If he’s so smart, he shouldn’t read my posts. A crash is coming—no one can stop it. If he doesn’t believe me, go all in. Don’t let me look down on him.”
Tang Xin typed while giggling, relaying Cao Cheng’s words.
Lately, she’d gotten into the habit of helping him clap back.
Not only had she discovered the joy of doing nothing, but she also found that trolling could be cathartic.
As long as she stayed unbothered, others would be the ones seething.
“Haha, he replied.”
“What’d he say?”
“Calls you trash. Says he’s going all in tomorrow—Tuesday. Any dip, and he’s buying. Never trusting a ‘stock god’ like you again.”
Cao Cheng nodded. “Spine of steel. I respect that. What’s his username?”
“Stock Market Hunter.”
“Great name!”
Cao Cheng chuckled. “Follow him. Remind him daily. Push him to keep adding positions—until he’s maxed out.”
There were plenty like him.
Inbox full of curses.
People regretting ever listening to Cao Cheng.
Some had been grateful—back at 4,800, those who followed his advice avoided losses and even gloated over others’ misfortune. They felt smart for picking Cao Cheng’s analysis out of the noise.
That counted as skill, right?
Their own achievement.
But then,
when the market bounced to 5,500, gratitude turned to vitriol. Now they blamed him for missing out.
Such was human nature.
……
Yet,
the next two weeks showed everyone what it meant to catch a falling knife.
The global situation took a nosedive…
True devastation everywhere!
No one was spared.
It finally stopped after dropping from 5500 to 4200!
At that moment,
Cao Cheng said to Tang Xin, "This is just the beginning. It’ll probably go back to where it came from!"
Those words sent a chill down Tang Xin’s spine—back below 1600?
Her admiration for Cao Cheng instantly soared to its peak.
And…
Everything fell perfectly into place.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
