Chapter 20 Sweep Me

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[Even the most assertive girls will find their attitude becoming subtly complicated when faced with boys who suddenly confess. No matter how much they dislike him...

A confession isn't always about escaping singleness; sometimes, it's about escaping trouble.

Are you still troubled by having a bad relationship with a girl?

All you need is a bit of social badassery—confess to her! Confess to her! Confess to her!

——Excerpt from Duan Xian's colloquialisms!]

Meng Lang felt his face getting hot, thinking this must be the ceiling of his social skills.

However... the reaction of the other party seemed a bit different from what Duan Xian had said, right?

After hearing Meng Lang's "passionate confession," Lin Haitang did appear astonished at first, but her expression soon turned to one of bemusement.

Not until Meng Lang had finished did she stare at him expressionlessly, waiting until he started to look away, and then she suddenly smiled.

"You said you like me?"

"Ah? Uh...yeah!" Meng Lang nodded, his scalp tingling.

"Can you take responsibility for your words?"

"Uh..." This plot development isn't unfolding quite as I expected.

Shouldn't the normal Lin Haitang either have flatly rejected me, or flatly rejected me?

Take responsibility? Meng Lang's heart uncooperatively skipped a beat.

No... could it be? The willow planted by mistake has cast a shadow?

Is this the real reason "I" don't want to change the future?

"Of... of course, I can!" Meng Lang swallowed hard.

"Good!" Lin Haitang smiled gently, took out her phone, tapped a few times, and then placed it in front of Meng Lang.

"Scan me!"

Looking at the QR code on the phone screen, Meng Lang was completely dumbfounded.

Lawyer Lin, you weren't so casual when writing my autobiography.

"Scan it!" Seeing Meng Lang not taking any action, Lin Haitang urged again.

Her voice, entering Meng Lang's ears, seemed to automatically carry three parts reproach and seven parts coyness.

With nine parts trepidation and one part inexplicable anticipation, Meng Lang scanned the Fetion QR code and sent a friend request.

"Haitang," Lin Haitang's Fetion nickname was evident at a glance.

The friend request was quickly accepted.

"Ding!" Meng Lang looked puzzled at the first message Lin Haitang sent over. It was an audio file.

[Who are you, really? A regular insurance salesperson—I find it hard to understand how he could have detected a stalker and come into possession of confidential information about 'the Xu family's divorce case'...]

The sound emanating from his own phone left Meng Lang stupefied.

He looked up in astonishment, as Lin Haitang swayed her phone, watching him with a smile.

"That's right, I recorded it!"

[...I like you, so I approached Xiao Yu deliberately, intending to save the nation by a roundabout route, and thus coincidentally discovered the stalker.

I like you, which is why I kept 'bumping into' you on the bus you take every day.

I like you, hence I...

...

Can you take responsibility for your words...]

Meng Lang silently turned off his phone.

For the first time, he loathed just how high the audio fidelity of his Huawei phone was...

Orz!

Social death...

Words spoken in the heat of the moment didn't seem so bad at first, but hearing them again now, I'm dying, dying, dying...

"That's right, I started recording from the very beginning.

If you admitted you were sent by the Xu Group, every word you said would be evidence of your guilt! Although you didn't admit it just now, well..."

Lin Haitang narrowed her eyes menacingly and slowly advanced towards Meng Lang, who felt overwhelmed by her aura and stiffly took a step back, ending up cornered against the wall.

"Bam!" He got wall-slammed.

Wearing high heels, Lin Haitang was almost as tall as Meng Lang. The two locked eyes—one emitting deadly intent, the other's gaze wandering.

The balance of power was immediately obvious.

"I warn you! If I find you doing anything untoward to Xiao Yu, I won't hesitate to send a circle of friends this recording and your actions, along with your business card."

Lin Haitang tapped Meng Lang's chest with her phone, looking like an intimate couple teasing each other.

However, the words she uttered through clenched teeth carried three parts menace and seven parts threat, which chilled Meng Lang to the bone.

"Gulp," he swallowed.

"I... I promise!"

...

The fact is, a half-assed insurance salesman trying to outsmart a lawyer is like building a tomb for Emperor Qin Shi Huang—a pointless endeavor!

Lin Haitang is not only clever but also very assertive and opinionated.

She wouldn't really trust a "neighbor" she just met two days ago, who inexplicably knows a lot about certain matters.

Even if that neighbor seems to really be on her side.

So, she would choose to manipulate situations, making all things fall back under her control.

And what lawyers are best at is finding an enemy's weakness and latching onto other's vulnerabilities...

"Ah~~ why did I try to outwit such a lawyer!"

Meng Lang, utterly manipulated, clutched his head and howled in despair.

Thankfully, the delicious dinner Xiao Yu brought over that evening somewhat soothed Meng Lang's wounded soul.

However, the good side of this was that Lin Haitang could be a little more at ease with Meng Lang.

It's like an alliance between two nations, where Meng Country voluntarily offers a "hostage", greatly increasing mutual trust—it's truly a cause for celebration...

...

The next day, the storm outside continued unabated.

The stock market opened with a continued plummet, hitting the lower limit once again!

"Everyone run! This stock is toxic!"

"I'm selling out! Farewell, everyone—we'll meet again if fate wills it!"

"How can you not feel guilty with such a drop? Surrender and lose half—I'm out of here."

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"Two scoundrels! The greatest manipulation in history! 404, can I swear?"

"Everyone stay calm, this is just a technical adjustment!"

"..."

Investors were panicking big time, and one person was even more frantic.

"Niu Ben! You idiot, what kind of business have you conducted! Do you realize just with this one order, our branch has already lost so much?!"

"This... Manager, I did check with you about this order the other day, Didn't you also..." Tony said with a morose face.

"That was then, this is now! You need to figure out a way right now to make the client exercise their option and end the contract immediately, stop the losses right away!"

"But the exercise time stipulated in the contract is one month, and it's only been two days. With the current downward trend, I'm afraid the other party won't be willing to exit so early, right?"

"I don't care about that, whoever digs the hole for the company is responsible for filling it! If you can't fill it, I'll bury you in it instead!"

The bald manager stared with bulging eyes, beside himself with anger.

"Niu Ben, I'm telling you, if this continues to fall, our branch might lose all of our profits for the entire year!"

"No... There's no way, right?"

Seeing that Tony still hadn't grasped the severity of the situation, the bald manager's bulging eyes became even more ferocious.

"No way? We've already had two consecutive limit-downs, totaling a near two-dollar drop. With 3 million shares as the subject, even if the other party exercises now and minus the 500,000 option premium, they would still net over 5 million in profit! Tell me, does our Su City branch make a net profit of ten million a year?

If it keeps falling for a few more days, we'll be directly facing the cold wind from the Northwest!"

Hearing this, Tony's expression grew even more bitter.

You can calculate that all right, but the other party isn't stupid either! When the situation was great, they dared to bet heavily on a fall; now when it's clear the trend is continuously dropping, would they exit at this time?

Isn't that just turning their back on money?

I thought we were dealing with a naïve greenhorn, not a greenhorn who's stepped in a pile of lucky dog shit!

Over 5 million... In just two days, their wealth increased tenfold! They've basically achieved financial freedom, haven't they?

With a mix of envy and jealousy, Tony witnessed an astonishing life turnaround.

"But what if the price goes back up? After all, it's only been two days. If there's good news on the policy front, maybe..."

"Sigh! The situation is unpredictable now!" the bald manager sighed, disheartened.

"The investment research department at the headquarters got some reliable information; this turmoil won't subside quickly... So, that's why I'm so anxious to stop losses right away.

If we wait any longer... the risk is too great! I've already reported to the headquarters for advice, and the idea from there is also to act quickly and let the client take profit and exit."

"This... Alright, I'll try my best, but this client, how should I say... has a huge gambling streak!"

Remembering the moment Meng Lang seriously claimed he couldn't even get a cent out of his credit card, Tony felt like he had a huge headache.

Facing this madman, you're asking him to take profits and exit?

In their line of work, there's a saying.

Making a gambler lose money isn't hard, what's hard is getting him to the table.

Getting a gambler to the table isn't hard either, the difficulty is in making him leave...

You want to get a gambler on a winning streak to take his profits and leave? Isn't that nonsense?

"Sigh! Whether it works or not, we still have to try, right? Contact him now!"

Tony picked up his phone with resignation and dialed Meng Lang's number.

"Hello~" The voice on the other end sounded listless, nothing like someone who had just won over 5 million.

"Is this Mr. Meng? This is Tony from Galaxy Securities. Have you looked at the stock market today?"

"No, what happened?"

You've got to be kidding me!

A 500,000 investment, millions in profit, the whole world is going nuts, and you're telling me you haven't been watching the market?

Can't you be a bit more professional as an investor?! Even if not analyzing K-lines for 18 hours a day, at least show some dedication during market hours, right?

Meng Lang's casual "No, what happened?" left Tony struggling to respond.

He had prepared some persuasive points to discuss, but after a long pause, he forced a dry laugh and started speaking.

"Well, I need to congratulate Mr. Meng in advance. Your investment is making a major profit now!"

"Oh! And then?"

The voice on the other end was so calm, as if they weren't discussing a multimillion investment profit, but rather commenting on the nice weather today.

Tony felt that Meng Lang surely hadn't realized how much he'd earned to be so calm.

He took a deep breath and said with a shock like thunder.

"Mr. Meng, if you choose to exercise your option now, your net profit will exceed 5 million!"

"Oh! 5 million? So, why are you calling me?"

Meng Lang's puzzled words once again dumbfounded Tony.

What happened to realization? What happened to astonishment?

That's 5 million, not 500 bucks!

Could you at least sound a little excited? Even raising your tone a little would do!

"Mr. Meng, here's the thing, as your investment advisor, I need to remind you that the recent fluctuations in the stock price have been very drastic, so I called to ask whether you want to settle your profits now.

After all, a tenfold profit is rather astonishing..."

Tony hinted subtly at Meng Lang to leave the market quickly.

As a broker investment advisor, he wasn't actually allowed to give clients explicit investment advice, so Tony was careful not to be too explicit, just skating on the edge.

"Oh, exit the market? I'm not considering that for now.

Let's do this: you don't need to keep checking with me. Notify me when the profit reaches 13 million."

Wha... what?

13 million?! That target left both Tony and the bald manager stunned.

The market may be bad now, but 13 million... that would require several more limit-downs!

Tony wanted to say more, but Meng Lang had already hung up the phone.

The bald manager was stunned for a good while. His face turned from red to pale and then a roar burst out of the office.

"He's gone mad for money!"