Becoming the King of Bottom Fishing After Going All-In on A-Shares

Lu Chenzhou glanced at her: "How is Auntie's health?"

Wen Zhiyu handed the menu to the waiter, then leaned back in her chair with a relaxed smile on her face.

"I'm recovering well. The doctor said I can be discharged after a few more days of observation."

She talked to me for quite a while after the anesthesia wore off following yesterday's surgery; she seemed to be in good spirits.

"That's good."

"Yesterday my mom asked me..."

Wen Zhiyu stopped abruptly halfway through her speech.

Lu Chenzhou looked at her: "What are you asking?"

Wen Zhiyu picked up her water glass, took a sip, and glanced around. "It's nothing, I just asked you."

Lu Chenzhou didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.

Wen Zhiyu put down her cup and lowered her voice: "She asked me if you were interested in me."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Lu Chenzhou's expression didn't change much, but his gaze fell on Wen Zhiyu's face, paused for a second, and then looked away.

"What did you say?"

Wen Zhiyu looked up at him, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I said, my relationship with him is purely that of a client."

Lu Chenzhou picked up his water glass, took a sip, and said nothing.

Wen Zhiyu stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed: "You seem relieved?"

"no."

"Then why don't you dare look at me?"

Lu Chenzhou turned his head to look at her, his gaze calm: "I'm watching."

Wen Zhiyu felt a chill run down her spine under those eyes, and her ears slowly turned red. She quickly looked down and rummaged through her bag, saying, "Um, I haven't properly thanked you yet."

She took a red envelope out of her bag and handed it over with both hands: "This is a small token of my appreciation, please take it."

Lu Chenzhou glanced at the red envelope but didn't accept it.

"What?"

"It's just a small token of my appreciation," Wen Zhiyu said earnestly. "You've helped me earn so much money; it's enough for my mother's surgery and follow-up treatment. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

Lu Chenzhou looked at her and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Need not."

"Why?" Wen Zhiyu asked anxiously, "You helped me earn hundreds of thousands, if you don't accept this..."

"Wen Zhiyu," Lu Chenzhou interrupted her.

Wen Zhiyu was stunned.

This was the first time Lu Chenzhou had called her by her full name. It was just three simple words, but the way he said it felt different from how others would say it.

"I said I won't accept it, and I won't." His tone was calm, but there was no room for negotiation.

Wen Zhiyu opened her mouth as if to say something, but when she met his gaze, she swallowed her words back.

She remembered her roommate Xiao Zhou saying to spread her legs, and unconsciously spread her legs slightly.

She wanted to suggest we go to a hotel, but she didn't have the courage.

She slowly put the red envelope back into her bag, lowered her head, and said in a muffled voice, "Then I'll treat you to a meal sometime."

"Can."

Wen Zhiyu looked up at him and found that he still had that cold expression.

The red oil sizzles, Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers float on the soup, while the white broth quietly steams. The contrast between the two is like two completely different worlds.

Wen Zhiyu picked up a piece of tripe and put it into the red oil, dipped it in and out a few times, then took it out, hesitated for a moment, and put it in Lu Chenzhou's bowl.

"You should try it, the tripe here is especially delicious."

Lu Chenzhou glanced at the tripe in the bowl, then at Wen Zhiyu, and then picked it up and ate it.

"How was it?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.

"good."

"Not bad?" Wen Zhiyu was dissatisfied. "This tripe is their signature dish, and all you say is 'not bad'?"

Lu Chenzhou picked up another piece, chewed it slowly, and then said, "Not bad."

Wen Zhiyu smiled, a hint of smugness in her eyes: "That's more like it."

She cooked another slice of fatty beef in the broth, put it in her bowl, dipped it in the sauce, and ate it with a satisfied smile, her eyes half-closed.

As she chewed, she said, "You know what? It's been so long since I've had hot pot."

The last time I had hot pot was last winter, for my roommate's birthday. We split the bill, and it cost each of us over eighty yuan. I felt bad about it for days.

Lu Chenzhou looked at her without saying a word.

Wen Zhiyu continued, "I never went back after that, not because the food was bad, but because I couldn't bear to spend the money. Eighty yuan is enough for me to eat in the cafeteria for a week."

After she finished speaking, she smiled to herself, picked up a piece of duck intestine with her chopsticks, dipped it in the red oil, and then put it in her mouth, chewing it crisply.

She swallowed, looked at Lu Chenzhou, her eyes shining: "But it's different now. I have money now, and I can eat hot pot whenever I want."

As she spoke, she pushed a plate of shrimp paste toward his side.

"Try it."

Lu Chenzhou looked down at the shrimp paste in the bowl, remained silent for two seconds, and then picked it up and ate it.

"How is it?" Wen Zhiyu leaned closer.

"good."

"Not bad again?" Wen Zhiyu glared at him, but her eyes were full of laughter. "Do you just say 'not bad' to everything?"

Lu Chenzhou thought for a moment and said something that almost made Wen Zhiyu choke on her water:

"Not necessarily."

Wen Zhiyu put down her water glass and looked at him: "What do you mean, 'not bad'?"

Lu Chenzhou didn't answer. He picked up his chopsticks, took a slice of bamboo shoot, put it into the clear soup, cooked it, put it in his own bowl, and ate it slowly.

Wen Zhiyu stared at him for several seconds, her heart suddenly racing. She quickly lowered her head to scoop things out of the pot, pretending nothing had happened.

The soup in the pot was bubbling and steaming, and white mist rose up, blurring the air between the two people.

Wen Zhiyu stole a glance at Lu Chenzhou through the mist. He was quietly eating the food in his bowl, his demeanor composed.

That's how I do everything—unhurried, calm, and steady.

She remembered the question her mother had asked her yesterday: "Do you like him?"

She didn't answer, but her face turned red.

Now she blushed again.

Wen Zhiyu took a deep breath, suppressing those chaotic thoughts, picked up a piece of tripe and placed it in Lu Chenzhou's bowl, her tone deliberately relaxed:

"Eat up, eat up. Don't just eat vegetables, eat more meat. You're so thin, you'll fall over in the wind."

Lu Chenzhou glanced at the overflowing bowl of food, then at Wen Zhiyu.

Wen Zhiyu was looking down, pretending to be seriously rinsing the vegetables, her ear tips were red, like cooked shrimp.

He twitched his lips slightly, then looked away and continued eating quietly.

The steam from the hot pot rose, spread, dissipated, and then rose again between the two of them.

Wen Zhiyu had almost finished eating. She leaned back in her chair, holding a glass of plum juice in her hand, sipping it slowly, and occasionally glancing up at the person opposite her.

Lu Chenzhou was eating the last piece of bamboo shoot, his movements neither fast nor slow, just like everything he did, with a calming rhythm.

"Lu Chenzhou," she suddenly spoke.

Lu Chenzhou raised his head.

Wen Zhiyu looked at him and said earnestly, "If there's anything I can help you with, just say so. Anything is fine with me."

Lu Chenzhou stared at her for two seconds, then said, "In the future, I might start a company or buy a fund company. Would you be willing to be the legal representative of the company?"