Starting with a fully invested A-share portfolio to become a capital...

Chapter 110 Shanghai University of Finance and Economics' Superstar

The darkness of the night seeped in a very faint gray-blue, like indigo paint being diluted with water, the color spreading little by little.

As time passed, the first rays of sunlight shone into the dormitory. Zhang Yang turned over sleepily, trying to avoid its radiance.

He wasn't used to sleeping in, but unfortunately he had three good-for-nothing "sons" who insisted on having him guide them in revising their papers.

As graduation approaches, graduating students are burdened with the dual pressures of writing and defending their theses.

It is worth mentioning that theses are divided into academic papers and "graduation theses".

As the name suggests, a graduation thesis is a paper written to complete a graduation task. It has virtually no academic value and is a copy of previous papers. In order to reduce the plagiarism rate, it will also repeat some of the same old ideas.

Of course, the value of a paper cannot fully represent a student's ability.

Because China's undergraduate education system is still mainly based on theoretical instruction, with only a few majors focusing on practical application, it is normal not to be able to write valuable papers.

These theses, created simply to meet graduation requirements, can generally pass as long as they are formatted correctly, meet the word count requirement, and have a acceptable plagiarism rate.

With Zhang Yang's guidance, not only did the plagiarism rate of his three roommates' papers decrease, but he also made some simple optimizations.

To put it bluntly, it's like "a gilded rim on a turd—it looks good," and even the supervising teacher would exclaim, "Expert!"

About half an hour later, Xu Jiafeng's phone rang.

He carefully got out of bed, picked up his phone, and went to the balcony.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I was working on my thesis last night and stayed up so late that I overslept. Please don't be angry, okay? Kisses~"

"I'll be there right away after I've finished washing up."

"Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me."

Although Xu Jiafeng was lowering his voice, Zhang Yang could still hear him.

Couples in the throes of new love often exchange mushy words, and even the most restless sleepiness vanishes without a trace under Xu Jiafeng's repeated "baby kisses."

After Xu Jiafeng finished washing up and left the dormitory, Zhang Yang also carefully got out of bed, trying to avoid making any noise.

Upon reaching the lower bunk, Zhang Yang picked up his Nokia phone and checked unread QQ messages.

Looking around, besides the usual greetings and invitations from my junior, there were messages from Liao Guopei and Lin Guangchang (who makes a living by trading stocks).

After adding Lin Guangchang as a friend, he would often discuss stock market trading techniques and stock selection skills with Zhang Yang. Through their conversations, the two became quite familiar with each other.

As for "Jumping Brother" Chen Sanrong, he also tried to add Zhang Yang as a friend through Liao Guopei, but was ruthlessly rejected.

Zhang Yang wasn't one to hold grudges, but Chen Sanrong's actions back then made him uncomfortable.

If you don't want to participate in "dragon interception" and think it's wishful thinking, you can simply block Zhang Yang directly. Why post screenshots in various chat groups and let speculative investors and retail investors laugh at you?
It was precisely his actions that made Zhang Yang realize a sense of crisis.

Once Xu Xiang, Sun Guodong, and the others calm down, even if Zhang Yang doesn't have a seat, the investigation might still trace it back to him.

Zhang Yang continued scrolling down.

[Xu Zhiruo]: Zhang Yang, do you want to go out and have fun? I heard that on May 520th, Shanghai will randomly refresh mysterious treasures.

[Kong Jie]: I suggest you outsource the front-end presentation layer and general function layer. It will be more efficient and save you money. For financial websites, you can consult Wenshi Haihui and Neusoft Group. They are quite professional in their business.

[He Jing]: The H1N1 flu concept has exploded. Pay more attention to stocks like Jianfeng Group, Hualan Biological, and Da'an Gene. The market lacks liquidity and may experience a correction.

[He Jing]: I sent you the second market research report for May via email.

After thinking about Xu Zhiruo's invitation, Zhang Yang decided to take a day to return the Maserati to her.

Kong Jie is He Jing's best friend and is a computer science student at Fudan University.

Last time, Zhang Yang and He Jing went to Fudan University to consult her about building a website, and she also listed a series of fees.

During this time, the two kept in touch, and gradually, Zhang Yang also had a general idea of ​​how to build a financial website.

Since he is in the early stages of his business, there is no need for him to invest huge sums of money to build a dedicated development team. Outsourcing to a contractor to act as the "client" is a good strategy.

"I'll look into it when I have some free time," Zhang Yang quickly typed back to Kong Jie.

As for He Jing's market research report, Zhang Yang had already read it in the early hours of the morning.

It has to be said that the other party has a very strong learning ability. They are already at the level where they can be handed over to Tao Yuang directly without needing Zhang Yang to optimize them. He is also considering whether to poach He Jing to work as a market analyst for a financial website.

The other party is the first place winner of the "Huaxin Simulated Trading Competition". They have probably already signed a letter of intent. Moreover, Zhang Yang can't offer any good terms, so he hasn't dared to speak up yet.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yang typed a reply to He Jing: "Thank you for your hard work. You have plenty of time this month, so don't push yourself too hard."

Zhang Yang continued scrolling down, but Xu Zhirou still hadn't replied to his message.

He guessed that Xu Zhiruo had sold the car, but he didn't know which used car dealership she sold it to. He asked Xu Zhirou, but she didn't reply all night, probably still angry.

However, even a dog would shake its head if it saw their chat history.

On May 8th, the other party requested to speak with Zhang Yang alone. Since Zhang Yang was still in Hangzhou, he replied: "Outside, another day."

Xu Zhirou replied with an "Oh," and the two ended their chat.

On the evening of May 10th, after the university exchange ended, Zhang Yang rushed to Hangzhou. The other party then sent him a message: "The university exchange ends tomorrow. Let's find a place to chat."
[Zhang Yang]: Another day, outside.

[Xu Zhirou]: Oh.

Now that Zhang Yang has made an appointment with her, it seems understandable that she hasn't replied.

However, Zhang Yang really couldn't find the time during those days, because the opportunity to "intercept the dragon" was fleeting, and he also had to lead his retail fans to build the walls of the Peak Group together.

Ask Xu Zhiruo?
If she finds out that Zhang Yang is paying for her car in installments, she definitely won't agree. She might even think that Zhang Yang is short of money and could ask his parents for a few million more.

To avoid getting involved in other matters, Zhang Yang decided to ask Xu Zhirou.

……

After washing up, Zhang Yang glanced at Wang Liu and Chen Chuan, who were sleeping like logs, and remarked, "They're sleeping really well." He then went to the cafeteria to eat alone.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, the cafeteria lady exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Zhang Yang, "Hey, isn't this Zhang Yang, the student majoring in investment?"

"Zhang Yang?"

Another woman leaned closer and looked her up and down.

"He's really flamboyant. My daughter sent me a picture of him and said that our Shanghai University of Finance and Economics has produced a super academic genius who isn't afraid of academicians."

"Right? I knew it was Zhang Yang."

"Does Zhang Yang have a girlfriend yet? My daughter is from Jiaotong University, she's very beautiful, I'd like to introduce her to you?"

The warmth of the security guard yesterday and the cafeteria ladies today made Zhang Yang realize that he seemed to have really become famous, and had even made a name for himself in the university circle.

Seeing the cafeteria lady pull out her phone and show a picture of her daughter, Zhang Yang quickly said, "We've talked to her, Auntie. Please take two fried dough sticks, two steamed buns, two zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and a cup of soy milk."

"It's okay if we talk, let's exchange contact information first. Who knows what the future holds, right?"

Under the enthusiastic sales pitch of the cafeteria lady with curly hair, Zhang Yang was forced to save her daughter's phone number and add the note "Wen Xiaohua".

Another cafeteria worker helped serve the food, entered the deduction amount into the payment machine, and gestured, "All done, Zhang Yang."

Hold the campus card close to the sensor area.

"Beep—" "Payment successful."

Zhang Yang then took his breakfast and found a seat near a corner.

He took out his Nokia phone, ate a fried dough stick, and opened his browser to access the WAP page of Baidu Tieba.

Although smartphones were not yet widespread in 2009, internet companies had already begun to explore the mobile terminal device market.

WAP web pages are characterized by their ability to adapt to the small screens, low memory, and slow network speeds of feature phones. The pages are mainly text-based with small data volumes, making them easy to load quickly.

As soon as Zhang Yang opened the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics' campus forum, he saw a striking post.

"A chance encounter with senior Zhang Yang in the cafeteria," posted 1 minute ago.

Zhang Yang clicked into the post and then clicked on the image to load it.

After the loading circle spun for three or four seconds, the image clearly showed his current location. Despite the blurry pixels, his face looked as if it had been filtered.

Based on the direction of the shot, Zhang Yang looked towards his 1 o'clock position and indeed spotted a girl with a flustered expression.

At this point, the number of replies in the post's comment section was slowly increasing.

[Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Student]: A super student like Zhang Yang, even sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, is like a firefly in the dark, so bright and outstanding.

[Creamy Cake Sauce]: Oh my god! Senior Zhang Yang's profile is so handsome, he's practically my ideal type. Could I ask him to extend my studies for a year so we can continue being classmates?

[Waiting for Rainy Day Blue]: Damn that arrogance! It's because of his irresistible charm that my girlfriend is having an emotional affair with him and has set his picture as her computer wallpaper!

[Panda Shrimp]: My girlfriend went even further. Last night at the hotel, she insisted that I wear a mask with a flamboyant photo on it, saying it would be more exciting.

Zhang Yang sighed inwardly as he read the replies.

As the saying goes, "People fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat." Now he understands why celebrities are so afraid of being followed by paparazzi; they have absolutely no privacy.

Zhang Yang pressed the back button on his phone and opened the pinned popular post.

A post titled "Eight Major Schools of Thought Discuss Investment Strategies" was the culprit that made him a "star" on Shanghai Finance.

The post contained several 30-minute videos, but because Zhang Yang was using a WAP webpage, the videos could not be loaded.

To watch online videos on a mobile phone, we'll have to wait until 3G networks and smartphones become widespread, which will likely be after 2010.

Looking at the tens of thousands of replies below, Zhang Yang treated them like "side dishes to accompany his meals."

……

When Zhang Yang was cleaning up after his meal, a bright flash of light caught his attention. It was a petite girl with braided pigtails taking pictures.

At this moment, she was at a loss, her face flushed, and she looked at her friend beside her with extreme embarrassment.

"It's over."

"I was caught taking pictures without permission!"

"Oh no! He's walking towards us. Is he going to call the police and have me arrested?"

Just as the girl with the braided hair and the two girls next to her were feeling uneasy, Zhang Yang asked, "You're from the School of Accounting, right?"

"Ah yes."

"What...what happened?"

"Is something wrong?"

After being caught taking photos without consent, the toes of several female accounting students are now facing a major undertaking, so embarrassing that they're practically digging themselves out of their toes.

“I met you in the financial analysis room of the library last time. You were walking to Xu Zhirou’s right.” Zhang Yang looked at a girl with long hair and a baby face next to him.

"Um, I think so."

The other party was even more embarrassed because they didn't expect Zhang Yang to remember.

But if he doesn't have any ulterior motives, like taking photos without permission, Zhang Yang won't mind too much. He's even willing to say hello and take a photo with him.

Moreover, Zhang Yang wasn't pursuing the issue of being secretly filmed; he just wanted to know where Xu Zhirou was, but no one answered his calls, though it's highly likely she'd been blocked.

"So you know Xu Zhirou, right?" Zhang Yang asked.

"know."

The baby-faced girl nodded.

What's your relationship with her like?

"It's alright. We're in the same study group, and we chat occasionally. She's a very helpful older sister."

"Give her a call and ask where she is, or invite her to the cafeteria."

As soon as Zhang Yang uttered those words, the three of them immediately beamed with excitement, as if they had stumbled upon some juicy gossip. They exchanged glances, their unspoken thoughts already subtly conveyed to each other.

"Is it inconvenient?" Zhang Yang asked again when he saw that the baby-faced girl hadn't moved.

"Convenient, convenient, definitely convenient."

Without further hesitation, the baby-faced girl picked up her phone and called Xu Zhirou.

Another girl with braided hair looked at Zhang Yang and subtly egged him on:
"Is Senior Zhang Yang pursuing Senior Zhi Rou? Let me tell you, Cheng Zhi Hong, the vice president of the junior badminton club, has been pursuing her all along. Last Valentine's Day, he even made a confession with 999 roses in the classroom. It was so romantic."

"Yes, I remember last year on May 20th, Cheng Zhihong wrote a 10,000-word love confession, and it was even written in the 'Slender Gold' calligraphy style!"

“So romantic!”

“It’s really romantic,” Zhang Yang echoed them.

It's normal for beautiful women to have suitors. He doesn't care how many suitors Xu Zhirou has; what he wants to know now is which car dealership Xu Zhiruo sold her car to.

The three girls were somewhat surprised by Zhang Yang's reaction.

If Zhang Yang is pursuing Xu Zhirou, and they've all said this, aren't they jealous?
"Hey, Xiaomei."

At that moment, the call was connected.

The baby-faced girl covered the microphone area of ​​her phone and asked in a low voice, "What do you want to ask?"

"Ask her where she is."

As soon as Zhang Yang finished speaking, the baby-faced girl released the microphone and asked, "Senior Zhirou, where are you now?"

"Playing badminton at the badminton hall, what's wrong?"

As soon as Xu Zhirou finished speaking, the baby-faced girl covered the microphone area of ​​her phone again and looked pleadingly at Zhang Yang, the person in charge behind the scenes.

"It's alright, I'll go find her."

"It's alright, I'll go look for it..."

The baby-faced girl subconsciously repeated, but before she could finish speaking, she abruptly changed the last "she" to "you".

Although Xu Zhirou found it strange, she still replied, "Then come over here."

(End of this chapter)