Chapter 30 - Made a profit of 50 million yuan

Two years ago, the memory of Chinese housewives snapping up 300 tons of gold to fend off Wall Street tycoons was still fresh in people's minds—so much so that it spawned a new English word, DAMA. That year, these underdogs pulled off an upset against heavyweights like Goldman Sachs, crushing their positions and forcing them to throw in the towel. If they could win a uphill battle back then, they were even more unstoppable now that they had the wind at their backs. The gold price soared, with irresistible momentum. The rally in domestic gold prices drove up international gold prices, which in turn influenced the London Bullion Market. At 3:00 PM, China's stock market closed. The index fell back to 4,823.48 points, a drop of 6.85%. This day was destined to go down in history. Of the 3,124 stocks across the market's three major sectors, 1,250 hit the daily limit-down. The entire market was a sea of green, with only a handful of newly listed stocks remaining in positive territory. Retail investors who had won IPO lottery shares flaunted their gains everywhere, while those holding other stocks complained bitterly. Chinese Online lay completely flat on the floor. Three major institutional investors were so furious they were practically driven to jump off a building. This was no fault of their own trading strategy. They had already formulated an exit plan and been executing it methodically. Everything had been going smoothly. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that a single official document would bury the entire market, leaving them with no way to escape. Lu Liang hadn't slept in 32 hours, yet he remained sharp—except for a slight soreness in his eyes and a hint of blurriness in his vision. He stared at the London Gold market: the price had climbed to 1,475.55 US dollars per troy ounce, an increase of 110.31 US dollars. The 732 contracts held in his personal account now had a total value of 108.01 million US dollars. "This rally should be drawing to a close soon." After pondering for a long while, Lu Liang decided to cash out and exit the market. His 100 million-plus US dollars in holdings was like a grain of sand in the desert compared to the market's 20 trillion US dollar daily trading volume. His sell-off didn't stir up the slightest ripple. The funds borrowed with 100x leverage were automatically returned to the brokerage. After deducting 12,900 US dollars in fees and his 500,000 US dollar principal, his profit from this rally came to 7.4971 million US dollars. Including the funds in his margin account, Lu Liang now held a total of 8.6271 million US dollars—equivalent to 54.782 million yuan. "Half a small target," Lu Liang murmured, feeling quite pleased. He went ahead and withdrew the remaining 4.63 million yuan from his domestic brokerage account. He had no plans to convert the 8.6271 million US dollars in his London Gold account back to yuan; instead, he transferred it directly to his international card. He had learned his lesson the hard way before. If his foreign exchange quota hadn't been capped at 1 million US dollars, his total assets would have already exceeded 100 million yuan by now. US dollars could be converted to yuan without restrictions, but the reverse was not true. Lu Liang intended to hold onto these US dollars, because he knew the overall London Gold rally was far from over. Over the next two days, there would be a further 41.7 US dollar increase. With the right moves, by the end of this rally, his total assets should break the 100 million yuan mark. The international market allowed not only going long, but also shorting. Once the rally ended, a correction was inevitable—and a correction meant falling prices. Falling prices meant opportunities to short, which could be just as profitable. At 3:30 PM, Lu Liang completed the settlement and stepped out of his study. His gaze drifted to Li Manli, who was lying on the sofa editing a video, and he paused for a moment, slightly dazed. She was wearing a black-and-white Lolita dress, with her hair styled in twin tails, paired with white knee-high stockings and black leather shoes. The ruffled skirt, bow at the chest, and lace details blended classic and modern styles seamlessly. The striking contrast between her demure elegance and playful charm was nothing short of magical. "Brother Liang! You're finally out! I was about to knock on your door if you didn't come out soon." Li Manli jumped up excitedly and scurried over to him in small steps. Lu Liang had only left the study a few times all day to make coffee. He hadn't eaten or slept a wink, and she'd been growing increasingly worried. Lu Liang looked her up and down, admiring her outfit. "You look lovely in this." "Is it just the dress that looks nice?" Li Manli beamed and twirled around to show it off. Her leather shoes squeaked softly against the tiled floor. "The dress is nice, but you're even prettier." As the skirt swirled with her movements, a sliver of her fair thigh peeked out. The white stockings, which were clearly a size too small, dug slightly into the curve of her thighs—exuding an unexpected allure. Li Manli smiled sweetly, then darted to the dining room and lifted the lid of the food warmer. "You must be starving. Let me reheat your meal for you." There were three dishes and one soup, arranged on the plate with exquisite care. But Lu Liang knew all too well that when it came to appearance, aroma, and taste, her cooking usually only nailed the first one. It looked great, that was for sure. "No need to reheat it—it's still a bit warm. I'll just have a few bites and then go to bed," Lu Liang said, exhausted and lacking any appetite. He planned to eat just enough to tide himself over before crashing. "You've had so much coffee today. Why don't you take a hot bath first to relax?" Li Manli suggested. "Sure, that sounds good." "I'll go run the bathwater for you right away." Being exhausted for too long was just like being hungry for too long. When you're hungry for too long, you stop feeling hungry; when you're exhausted and finally lie down, it takes ages to fall asleep. What Lu Liang wanted most right now was to soak in a nice hot spring, followed by a proper massage to relax his mind and body completely. But he was far too lazy to go out. It was as if Li Manli could read his mind. No sooner had Lu Liang stepped into the bathtub than she followed him in. She tiptoed over to his back and smiled. "Brother Liang, let me give you a massage." Lu Liang turned his head to look at her and chuckled. "When did you buy so many 'unique' outfits?" She had changed into another costume—a deep red garment printed with camellias, cinched at the waist with a wide blue obi. It looked like the kind of yukata-style outfit often seen at summer festivals in Japanese anime—similar to a kimono, but not quite the same. And she was wearing nothing underneath. As Li Manli leaned forward slightly, Lu Liang caught a glimpse of her cleavage through the neckline. "You told me to research the market and figure out what the audience likes before starting as a video blogger, right?" "So I did my homework! I found out that most of the viewers on that platform are anime fans." "The views I get wearing cosplay outfits are totally on a different level compared to regular clothes." Li Manli said proudly, "I only posted two videos, and I already have 3,000 followers!" "Keep up the good work. When you hit 100,000 followers, you can start live streaming, and I'll be your top donor," Lu Liang laughed. He saw nothing wrong with this. If you had an advantage, you should make the most of it—and her looks were definitely an advantage. It also gave him a chance to experience something different. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I remember Boa Hancock from One Piece is pretty popular, isn't she?" "You mean Hancock? You like her? Then I'll buy that costume next time!" "It's alright, I guess." Lu Liang closed his eyes, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He leaned back and enjoyed Li Manli's massage, though her technique was rather clumsy and she missed all the right spots. Lu Liang had to give her a few pointers. By the time the bathwater started to cool, he stood up, wrapped himself in a bathrobe, and said, "I'm going to bed. Don't wait up for me for dinner." Even though the sight of her in the bath was tempting, he was completely relaxed, and the exhaustion hit him like a wave. He had no energy left for anything else. ... He slept straight through until midnight. The house was eerily quiet. After washing up, Lu Liang got back to work, continuing his quest to become a billionaire. At 4:00 PM, the London Gold Asian Session came to an end, and the European and American Sessions took over one after another. While Lu Liang had been sleeping, the gold price had risen by 12 points, but bearish traders had entered the market, triggering a temporary 17-point correction. As of 1:30 AM, the international gold price had stabilized at 1,470.25 US dollars per troy ounce—leaving a potential 47-point gain remaining, just as the voice had predicted. "47 points to gain in 30 hours… Where's the next catalyst going to come from?" Lu Liang wasn't in a hurry to open new positions. Instead, he browsed through the news, searching for the spark that would ignite the next leg of the rally. In a market as massive as London Gold, his profit of a few million dollars was like a butterfly flapping its wings—unlikely to have any significant impact on the overall trend. There would definitely be a minor rally ahead, but short sellers were already jumping in, betting that the current rally had run its course and a correction was imminent. Which meant there had to be another catalyst waiting to ignite that minor rally, driving the gold price up further and squeezing the short sellers out of their positions. Lu Liang kept searching, but his lack of English proficiency was a hindrance. Every time he read international news, he had to rely on translation software. "Looks like I really need to sign up for an English class. Blame it on my old English teacher for not teaching me well enough," he sighed. He'd actually been pretty good at English back in school—so close to passing the CET-4 exam—but after years of disuse, he'd forgotten almost everything he'd learned.