Chapter 14 - Trying something totally new

"Good thing you didn't sell. Hold onto it for now." Lu Liang didn't ask how many shares Zhang Qian had bought—it couldn't have been many, certainly not enough to affect the market either way. After all, a shrewd woman like her would definitely only dip a few tens of thousands of yuan into the market to test the waters, not sink in a huge sum. Lu Liang glanced at the price limit of 19.25 yuan, then at the 588,800 shares in his account. He sold 3,800 shares, cashing out 73,100 yuan. Even though he knew the stock would double in value later, peaking at 39.82 yuan, after paying for the gym membership and the high-performance computer, only a few thousand yuan was left in his bank account. If he didn't cash out some money soon,he'd probably even struggle to afford gas for his car. "Mm-hmm, I'll listen to you." Zhang Qian replied obediently, then asked cautiously, "What have you been up to lately, Brother Liang? Why haven't you come to the club to see me?" From Lu Liang's tone, it sounded like the stock still had room to rise. She wanted to know when the rally would peak and if she should invest more later—she still had 500,000 yuan in available funds, after all. Working as a marketing manager at Wanli Palace, she made anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 yuan a month on the low end, and up to 70,000 or 80,000 yuan on a good month. But it was all hard-earned cash—nothing compared to how fast money could be made in the stock market. When an opportunity like this came along, she had to seize it. "I've been busy moving house." A faint smile tugged at Lu Liang's lips. He could hear the unspoken question behind her words, so he promptly invited Zhang Qian over to see his new place. "Sure! I'm off work these next few days. I can come over and help you figure out what else you need to buy." When Zhang Qian got the address of Lu Liang's new home and realized it was Tomson Riviera in the Lujiazui Financial District, she couldn't help but gasp. But then she thought about it—Lu Liang drove a Bentley worth millions. Living in a top-tier luxury mansion was only fitting. After hanging up the phone, Zhang Qian quickly got dressed and put on her makeup, then drove her little car across the Huangpu River to Tomson Riviera. But it was her first time visiting the community, and she needed the homeowner to come down and personally escort her in. Lu Liang was still monitoring the market's movements when he suddenly got a call from Zhang Qian. "Wait for me—I'll be right down." He glanced at the bottom right corner of his screen. It wasn't even 11:30 yet; the morning trading session wasn't over. "Money really is a wonderful thing." Lu Liang chuckled, slipped on his slippers, and hummed a tune as he headed to the west gate of the community. He still remembered where Zhang Qian lived. The drive between their two places took at least forty minutes, and with getting dressed and putting on makeup, it would be at least an hour total. It had been less than an hour and a half since they hung up the phone. That was more than enough time to show how eager she was, how she hadn't dared to waste a single minute. When Lu Liang reached the west gate, he saw Zhang Qian—and she looked like a completely different person from when she was at work. She was wearing a light green maxi dress that hugged her slender waist and showed off her graceful figure. The hem of the dress fluttered in the wind, revealing her white strappy high heels. Her ten toes were painted with pale pink nail polish, delicate and alluring like cardamom pods. She wore a bucket hat and had on light makeup, with a tiny beauty mark dotting the corner of her mouth. She looked fresh and elegant—charming, but not overly made-up. She wasn't particularly young, but time hadn't left too many traces on her. Instead, it had added a touch of mature allure. "You look stunning today." Lu Liang praised her sincerely. If a nine-tailed fox could take human form, this was exactly what it would look like. Zhang Qian's style was so versatile. She could be glamorous, she could be seductive, and she could be as elegant and poised as a wealthy lady when she wanted to be. There were a few real wealthy ladies walking by the gate, but compared to Zhang Qian, they seemed to pale slightly in comparison. Lu Liang thought of Li Manli. If he compared Li Manli to Zhang Qian, the only advantage Li Manli had left was her youth. "Was I not beautiful before?" Zhang Qian giggled behind her hand, clearly pleased with the compliment. All her effort in getting dressed had been worth it. She hadn't had any formal training, but through years of experience, she knew exactly what to wear and how to act around different people and in different situations. She could be demure when she needed to be demure, and bold when she needed to be bold. "You were beautiful before too, but today you're especially beautiful." Lu Liang signed his name in the visitor log and told the security guard to let her in. Then he got into Zhang Qian's Volkswagen Beetle and directed her to a public parking space in the underground garage. He only had one parking spot, and his Bentley was already parked there, so the two of them had to walk a little further to the private elevator. The elevator had only one button—taking them directly from the underground garage to the 28th floor. It was also Zhang Qian's first time visiting what was arguably one of the top residential communities in the country. Her eyes were filled with curiosity, but she managed to keep her composure, making sure not to look like she was out of her depth. But when they stepped out of the elevator, walked down the long corridor, and Lu Liang opened the door to his apartment, the stunning, unobstructed river-view balcony came into full view. Zhang Qian still froze in shock. After all, to have a view like this from this location—if you weren't born into it, you'd probably never get the chance to experience it in your entire life. Her gaze toward Lu Liang grew even more eager. Lu Liang was one of the latter—he hadn't been born into wealth, but now he had it all. The apartment's decor was brand new and looked very high-end, but a pile of cardboard boxes in the corner ruined the aesthetic. "Brother Liang, your place is... a bit messy, isn't it?" Zhang Qian frowned slightly, thinking for a long time before coming up with a suitably polite word. "They're useless anyway, so I just piled them over there. I'll have the cleaners come and tidy them up in a few days." Lu Liang had bought a lot of things these past few days, leaving behind a pile of empty cardboard boxes. He'd been too lazy to carry them downstairs to throw away, so he'd just dumped them in the corner. He planned to hire a cleaner to come once a week anyway—he'd just have them clear everything out then. "But it looks so untidy like this." Unable to stand it any longer, Zhang Qian slipped off the sheer shawl from her shoulders and quickly started stacking the cardboard boxes neatly in one corner of the balcony. She smiled and said, "See? A little tidying up goes a long way. It doesn't even take that much effort." "You're right. Having a woman around the house really makes a difference." Lu Liang wrapped his arms around Zhang Qian's waist—it was so slender he could almost encircle it with two and a half hands. He buried his face in her wine-red, naturally curly hair and took a deep breath. "Did you change your perfume? It smells different from last time." "Do you like it?" Zhang Qian placed her hand on the back of Lu Liang's hand, gazing at the otherwise empty apartment. A strange thought crossed her mind. He was unmarried, and she was unmarried. Maybe they could... But she quickly pushed the thought away. She'd been burned by that kind of thinking many years ago. Now, all she cared about was making money—nothing else. "I love this scent." Lu Liang whispered, slowly lifting the hem of her dress. He wanted to make her kneel on the sofa, facing the Huangpu River, with the river breeze blowing against her face—it would be an experience unlike any other. "It's already noon. Shouldn't we eat first?" Zhang Qian giggled, wriggling out of his grasp like a slippery loach. Men were all the same—they never cherished things they could get too easily. Sometimes, refusal was also a form of temptation. Like a spring—the more you pressed down on it, the more powerful its rebound would be. If she let Lu Liang have his way with her whenever he wanted, he'd quickly lose interest, and all her advantages would disappear. "What do you feel like eating for lunch?" Lu Liang smiled, letting out a breath as he forced down his desire for the moment. "Don't worry. These next few days, I'm all yours." Zhang Qian looked at him affectionately, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she skipped away like a little girl to the semi-open kitchen. The kitchen was fully equipped with utensils, but there wasn't a trace of cooking fumes anywhere. Zhang Qian checked the cabinets and said, "Brother Liang, how long has it been since you cooked a meal at home? I'm actually a really good cook—why don't I make you something?" Lu Liang had climbed his way up from the bottom and was even divorced. Ordinary tricks probably wouldn't work on him. She needed to try a different approach. She wouldn't invest any real feelings, but she could pretend to—letting Lu Liang experience the warmth of having a home again. "How could I say no to such a confident chef?" Lu Liang grinned, touching the spot where she'd kissed him. "Great! I'll check which supermarkets deliver groceries nearby. We need to buy a lot of things." Zhang Qian pulled out her phone to place an order. Lu Liang walked over to the kitchen, leaned against the wall, and watched her with narrowed eyes. He realized she was trying something totally new. Or was it just another one of her schemes? Either way, he didn't mind. In fact, he was looking forward to seeing what she would do next. Because Lu Liang knew exactly what Zhang Qian was after—and he was the one who held all the cards.