I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

mountain city.

Known as the hotpot capital, the city is also the most prosperous financial center in western China.

Most of the lending institutions in the country are registered here, and there are countless collection agencies.

The well-known companies like JD Finance and Xiaoman Finance originated from here.

13th floor of an office building, XXX Financial.

"Boss, we've already reached a record high in lending this month. But the amount of lending out exceeds the amount of loans received. If this continues, we won't have any money left to lend in less than three months."

"Increase the collection efforts; anyone who doesn't meet their targets is fired. Also, secretly raise the interest rates on the existing loans a little..."

In the manager's office, two men were discussing shady dealings.

"Everyone, take your hands off the computer and stay where you are!" Suddenly, a dozen or so uniformed law enforcement officers rushed in with lightning speed.

The employees at the financial company who were still making calls to collect debts were all dumbfounded.

The office manager had just gotten up when the door was flung open. A middle-aged man, holding an arrest warrant, coldly said, "Tian Youcai, you're the company's head, right? You're suspected of helping online gambling platforms extend loans to users and using irregular methods for debt collection..."

The same thing was happening inside a payment company on the other side of the 13th floor.

"Hao Datong is suspected of using third-party payment platforms to facilitate the deposit and withdrawal of funds on online gambling platforms and helping other financial institutions launder money. Take him away!"

Today, several financial institutions in Chongqing were investigated, but this incident did not cause much of a stir in the industry.

Because there are so many companies like this in Chongqing, there are no legitimate rice laundering agencies, and third-party agencies laundering rice is a common occurrence.

Colleagues usually attribute such incidents to a lack of good relationships or insufficient personal connections.

A few days later in Shanghai.

"Chen Xi, I've got the job done! My uncle can catch any criminal without me!" Zhang Ruoxi's triumphant voice came through the phone.

"Haha, thank you very much. This is not the end yet, it's just a test. The real big fish is yet to come... I will give your uncle a generous gift then."

"Okay, have you been in touch with Xinyi lately? She's currently helping Hengxiao with a project."

"Forehead……"

"Never mind, I'm going to visit Dongdong in a few days. I heard he put on some kind of national sculpture exhibition. That big, burly guy is actually pretending to be an artist now..."

"Hehe, he's just responding to the local government's call to develop cultural tourism projects."

After chatting for a while, Chen Xi hung up the phone.

He checked the time and got into a taxi.

Inside a private room at a club.

"We talked about making friends before, and we've been friends for so long, but we haven't mentioned what we want at all," Tan Guang complained.

"I don't think this is a bad thing. Maybe he didn't even discover the secret in the card." Jiang Xiaoyu took a sip of her drink.

"I don't think so. He might be planning something big to blackmail us later."

"Yes, my dad asks me every day how things are going, and I don't know how to answer him."

"Hehe, my dad told me to be good friends with him."

The other people gave conflicting answers.

"You know, he's a strange guy. Most people befriend us with ulterior motives. But Chen Xi just eats, drinks, and has fun with us every time we meet..." Tan Guang stroked his chin, unable to understand it at all.

"They have so many big businesses, why would they cooperate with us?" Jiang Xiaoyu rolled her eyes.

They had investigated Chen Xi's background thoroughly.

"No, if we keep eating and drinking with him all the time, he'll get tired of it eventually. If we want to maintain the relationship, we have to make him unable to leave us."

"What do you want to say?"

"Of course, you should help him with something. You're the only woman among us, so you'll have to handle this. Find an opportunity to ask him if he needs any help."

"Tan Guang, are you out of your mind? How would he react if I said that? Help him satisfy his physical needs?" Jiang Xiaoyu said angrily.

"Um... my thoughts aren't as filthy as yours."

"Give me a break. I can't even count how many girlfriends you change every day. Zhang Lili, Tian Mengyu..."

"Oh dear, everyone's here! Sorry to keep you waiting." Just as the two were bickering, Chen Xi pushed open the door to the private room.

"Hey, Chen Xi. We just arrived too." Tan Guang greeted him with a smile.

Now that they're all familiar with each other, they don't address each other as "Young Master Chen" or "Young Master Tan" anymore.

"Xiaoyu has become even prettier lately." Chen Xi praised the girl in front of him with a smile, and the latter's eyes immediately turned into crescent shapes upon hearing this.

Chen Xi understood that to properly control this group, he needed to maintain good relationships with everyone. Furthermore, he needed to make everyone feel that he treated one particular person with special consideration.

This will cause them to distrust each other, thus preventing them from forming a united front.

"Chen Xi, we all work for our family companies, and we're really envious of you and others who have started your own businesses. Although we're not short of money, our families look at us like we're good-for-nothings. You're so successful, why don't you take us along to do something together?" After drinking for a while, Tan Guang seized the opportunity to say.

Actually, all of them had their own small businesses. Chen Xi understood what was going on, so he didn't refuse: "That's easy to say. If there's money, I'll definitely help everyone make money together."

"Chen Xi, you often travel abroad for business. Don't you sometimes find it difficult to manage things back home? If you encounter any difficulties that are hard to resolve, please don't hesitate to ask us for help." Under the prompting of several men, Jiang Xiaoyu finally spoke up.

“Well, there are so many cities in China, and I don’t have connections in every place. I have indeed run into some trouble recently.” Chen Xi thought for a moment, his expression becoming serious.

Upon hearing this, Tan Guang was overjoyed and secretly gave Jiang Xiaoyu a thumbs up.

"What is it? Tell me about it," someone nearby asked curiously.

"Sigh, forget it. I'm afraid it'll be a burden to you guys." Chen Xi sighed and waved his hand.

"Chen Xi, what are you saying? What do you mean by being a burden? Don't you consider us friends?" Tan Guang stood up angrily.

"That's right, we're all brothers, we should share the burden. Your enemy is our enemy." The others chimed in.

Seeing how earnest they all looked, Chen Xi would probably have been moved to tears if she didn't know the truth.

"Alright, then I'll tell you." Chen Xi reached out and grabbed Tan Guang's arm, forcing him to sit down.

Huajing, Huahetong.

"Fuck you, I've lost over a million dollars, and you're telling me it's some kind of violation that prevents me from getting points? I think that's just like sticking chopsticks up my ass and stirring things up!..." Wang Xianqi sat in his office, his phone chat box filled with profanities.

"Dear user, we are a legitimate platform and do not welcome arbitrageurs or studios."

"Screw you! You want me to keep topping up and making money? Do you think I'm an idiot? There are so many platforms out there, why would I choose yours? Consider this million-plus yuan as dog food. Goodbye!"

Wang Xianqi typed a string of words and sent it, but the result showed that the account had been blocked.

He slammed his phone on the table in a fit of anger, just as Wang Zhi walked in. "Dad."

"What about the brokerage fee from last time? I've asked you to transfer it several times, but you haven't done so. I need it urgently the day after tomorrow, so please hurry up."

"Oh, okay, I'll go to the bank to handle it tomorrow."

Wang Xianqi replied, trying to appear calm.

He doesn't have any brokerage fees in his account now; it's all been used for gambling and to support his girlfriend's food, drink, and entertainment.

"Look at you all day long, all you do is hang out on your phone. You're the supervisor of the company, your job is to oversee things, not for me to sit here and supervise you all day!"

"understood……"

Wang Xianqi's voice grew softer and softer.

After his father left, Wang Xianqi quickly took out his phone and downloaded a bunch of online loan apps.

After completing the transaction, he looked at the amount and cursed, "Damn it, I borrowed 500,000, but I only received 300,000? What the hell is this 200,000 deposit and service fee?"

With the money due by tomorrow, he made several phone calls, the last one to his girlfriend: "Hurry, hurry, get me some money."

"Where would I get money? Why don't you ask Chen Xi for it?"

"I called him but he didn't answer. I borrowed money from him once before, and I still haven't paid him back! By the way, the last time I borrowed money from him was to help you pay off your credit card."

"Damn it, you're trying to cling to me now? Where am I supposed to get the money for you?"

"Didn't I give you two or three hundred thousand before?"

"I've already spent it all, so don't blame me entirely. I bought you things too."

“It’s okay, just follow my instructions. The platforms I used before all took a cut, so try some other ones…” Wang Xianqi explained the online lending process to the other party.

Once he had raised the money, he checked the time. It was still early until tomorrow; he needed to find a reliable platform to recoup some of his losses. After all, the money was a loan, and he still had to repay it later.

Now that I have the funds, I don't believe every platform is a shady operation.

Thinking of this, Wang Xianqi picked up his phone and started searching online.

At night, on the top floor of a historic building in Shanghai.

"Today I'll show you around Shanghai's high-end underground social scene. This place is by invitation only. It's a regular gathering place for rich kids, collectors, and celebrities. Of course, the location is different each time," Tan Guang said eloquently in the elevator.

Chen Xi, who was standing to the side, did not speak. He was familiar with this kind of place in his previous life.

Private art salons are held regularly in certain historical buildings along the Bund, such as the Ross Mansion, the X Hotel, and places like XXX on Moganshan Road.

"Hey, Tan Guang, you five are really close, always going out together, like Siamese twins. Wait, why is there an extra one today?" A chubby young man called out to Tan Guang as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"You fatso, you're the one who's a Siamese twin! This is Chen Xi, my brother. Let me introduce you."

"Hello, hello. I'm Fang Wenjie." The fat man shook hands with Chen Xi.

The group walked inside, chatting and laughing.

Although this is an old building from the Republican era, the top floor has been renovated, and the overall appearance is still quite luxurious.

Along the way, Chen Xi met several well-known young artists, and even some foreigners.

"Let me explain briefly. This is similar to the auction we had when we first met. But the items up for auction aren't very valuable; it's purely for entertainment. You probably won't be interested in those things anyway, so just treat it as fun. Yeah, just look, don't bid..." Tan Guang's voice was very soft at the last sentence.

"Hey, Jiang Xiaoyu. Why are you dressed so plainly today? Don't you usually wear all sorts of designer brands?" After we sat down, a woman in a long dress spoke up, her words carrying a hint of provocation.

"Mind your own business, I'm happy!" Jiang Xiaoyu said, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Your bag looks like something you'd find at a street stall. How about trying this limited edition one I have here? You didn't go bankrupt and can't afford it, did you?" The woman persisted, picking up a small handbag from the coffee table.

Chen Xi sat on the sofa, expecting Jiang Xiaoyu to say something like, "Who wants your used, secondhand bag?" But the result was completely different.

Jiang Xiaoyu took the bag, examined it carefully, and then nodded: "Hmph, who said I can't afford it? This bag is in pretty good condition; it's a limited edition from two years ago, only three of which were made in the world. How much do you want for it?"

"Then let's make it 300,000!" the woman said, holding up her fingers.

"Three hundred thousand it is. Let me show you if my family is bankrupt." Jiang Xiaoyu sneered.

"Hey, you've started before everyone's even arrived?" Fang Wenjie laughed, clutching his stomach.

Soon, more and more people gathered around them. This was unlike any ordinary auction. The number of people attending the auction far exceeded the number of seats; in fact, there were no chairs at all, only a few sofas of varying sizes.

Those without seats would stand with a wine glass in hand, chatting and laughing with those around them, without feeling ashamed at all.

"Same as always, everyone is free to sell anything they want. After that, we'll move on to the next round..." In the center of the hall, a young man with a buzz cut, an earring, and a hip-hop style cleared his throat.

"This is tonight's host - Yu Fen. His family has business dealings with the Australian region," Tan Guang whispered.

Chen Xi didn't speak, but simply nodded.

He knew this person; he was quite famous in Shanghai's social circles in his previous life.

"What do you think of this rare Patek Philippe? I recently bought a new watch, so I don't want this one anymore."

"How about this sculpture I made myself? A fan offered me a million, but I didn't sell it."

"Look at my oil paintings. I had planned to exhibit them in Paris, but I didn't have time..."

One by one, the people around him took out their treasured items, and Chen Xi came to a conclusion after glancing at them.

These guys are selling junk!
It's not really worth calling it junk, but the value of the item is far below the selling price; it's not worth the money at all.

Even ordinary people have heard about how the wealthy launder money through auctions, and the regulatory efforts are increasing.

So these people used clubs and salons to conduct small transactions to complete multiple money laundering operations.

Among them, the most proactive are the celebrities in the entertainment industry, who have very few channels for making money. Private salons provide them with excellent opportunities, and these guys naturally want to take full advantage of them.

The play that Jiang Xiaoyu performed when she bought the bag was actually the process of washing rice.

"Alright, let's move on to the next round." When it was almost time, Yu Fen clapped his hands.

Several men in suits carried over metal boxes one by one.

"These are two gold-inlaid jade artifacts. Of course, they are replicas from the Palace Museum! As the saying goes, if the Palace Museum has one, I'll have one too. Buying them to keep as souvenirs will be very meaningful. The starting bid is ten thousand yuan!" Yu Fen showed the items in his hands to everyone.

The first item was eventually sold for 800,000.

"Do you think these people are out of their minds? Two counterfeit items were bought for 800,000 yuan. This must be a scam?" Tan Guang whispered in Chen Xi's ear.

“Isn’t it no?” Chen Xi nodded.

"Then let me tell you, this is not a fake at all, but the real thing."

Ok?
Chen Xi was startled upon hearing this. (End of Chapter)