ZS | Chapter 22

Traditional long positions usually meant buying stocks from the market, while shorting, on the basis of having a margin account, meant paying collateral to the broker to borrow shares. Besides the ordinary trading fees, margin financing and securities lending also required interest payments and carried relatively high risk. That required the trader to have solid professional ability, strong risk control awareness, and an extremely strong psychological constitution.

The level of collateral for borrowing shares was related to a stock’s liquidity. For example, most buyers hoped to hold Coca-Cola for the long term, so the margin for shorting that company was about 1% of the stock price. Many buyers were not optimistic about Baiyuan New Materials and rushed to borrow shares to short it, so the company’s collateral would rise to 2% of the stock price, or even more.

Baiyuan New Materials’ collateral was 2%, which meant many shorts had already entered the market. When to close out would become the key to earnings.

The upper limit on gains and losses for the Beijing Stock Exchange that day was 30%. Closing out today could earn at most 120 yuan per share. Tomorrow Baiyuan New Materials’ share price might still fall, but Zhuo Hang could not afford the risk.

Baiyuan New Materials did not involve financial fraud, and he could not produce an authoritative shorting report like Muddy Waters shorting Luckin. A company with real strength could absolutely not be shorted into delisting. After shareholders noticed that the stock had been shorted, they would definitely inject capital and fight back. Being bearish was the same as being bullish, not seeking the lowest trading point, only taking the win when it was good enough. Not losing money this time was already no easy feat.

A tablet and a laptop sat side by side on the round table. The numbers on the screens kept jumping. Zhuo Hang’s eyes kept switching between the two devices, catching every tiny movement. His knuckles tapped on the laptop, and in minutes he could dump 200 million and close out 50% of the stock.

At 14:10, Baiyuan New Materials’ share price dropped to 290 yuan, and Zhuo Hang still needed to close out the last 100 million.

The tense atmosphere was eased somewhat by the smell of coffee. His sharp gaze stayed locked on the screen, and Zhuo Hang clicked the mouse quickly, looking for the best time to close out.

He was a wolf in a cashmere sweater.

Gu Zheng dragged a chair over and sat across from him. His eyes could make sense of the colorful lines, but his brain could not keep up with the trader’s decision-making speed at all. After watching for three or five minutes, he simply gave up staring at the board, and Zhuo Hang was all that remained in his eyes.

The cuffs of Zhuo Hang’s cashmere sweater were slightly rolled up. Unmoved by the outside environment, he sent precise and rapid trading instructions, like a cold, stunning ice sculpture.

On the ice sculpture’s wrist was the green Submariner he had given him. The Oyster bracelet was like handcuffs, making the ice sculpture pick up his scent.

He really wanted to dirty the ice sculpture.

Zhuo Hang focused on a field that Gu Zheng could not figure out no matter how hard he tried. Maybe because he himself could not understand it, he felt Zhuo Hang was complicated and alluring.

He really wanted to pull apart that annoying cashmere sweater, grip that narrow waist, and enter his body.

The more focused Zhuo Hang was, the more excited Gu Zheng became looking at that ascetic face.

At this moment, the trader furiously closing out positions would never have guessed that the lecher across from him was fantasizing about him.

At 14:20, Zhuo Hang finally closed out all the stocks and let out a breath.

Business warfare was like battle, tricks were fair game, and to win you had to align interests.

In this shorting operation, Hua Xingwei entered the market when Baiyuan New Materials was 400 yuan per share. He closed out 100 million when the stock price was 350 yuan, and 200 million when it was 300 yuan. He made about 62.5 million, but constrained by the contract, his actual profit was 30 million;

Gu Zheng entered the market when Baiyuan New Materials was 350 yuan per share. He closed out 100 million when the stock price was 290 yuan. He made about 17 million, but constrained by the contract, his actual profit was 10 million;

And the biggest winner, Zhuo Hang, entered the market when Baiyuan New Materials was 350 yuan per share. He closed out 10 million when the stock price was 290 yuan. He made about 1.7 million, and with the income from the contracted services he provided to Gu Zheng and Hua Xingwei, his total profit came to 41.2 million.

All sides vied for profits in the stock market. Only with professional backing could capital break through a deadlock.

*

The difficulty of fabricating a shorting report was comparable to writing a graduation thesis. The intense work exhausted both mind and body to a great extent. Zhuo Hang was holding on by a single breath, working around the clock with no rest.

At this moment, seeing the earnings figure frozen on the screen, joy surged like a tide and instantly drowned out his fatigue and tension.

There was a shimmering light in Zhuo Hang’s eyes. It was the joy of winning, and also the lingering sorrow of surviving a disaster.

Gu Zheng’s touch pulled him back to reality.

He had hooked his leg under the table.

Zhuo Hang frowned.

Gu Zheng realized he had overstepped. He looked away and casually brought up a topic to cover for it, “Hungry, I want to eat.”

He had not eaten all day. By the afternoon, he really was hungry.

Last time at omakase, Zhuo Hang discovered that Gu Zheng liked seafood, so this time he very generously treated him to a king crab feast.

An eight-jin king crab, one crab, nine preparations. The baked king crab tasted rich and fragrant, the cheese melted in the mouth, and Gu Zheng ate heartily. Compared with his ravenous eating, Zhuo Hang was very elegant. The steamed king crab was tender, and in less than ten minutes he had eaten more than half the plate.

Crab was cold in nature. Zhuo Hang was afraid that eating too much would be hard on his body, so he could only put down his chopsticks.

Gu Zheng looked up while chewing crab roe and asked, “Why’d you stop eating?”

Zhuo Hang poured himself a cup of steaming barley tea and held it in his hands to warm them. “Too much seafood can cause diarrhea.”

Gu Zheng ordered a bottle of white wine and poured half a glass for each of them. “Alcohol can drive out the cold, and it can also get rid of the fishy smell. Hairy crabs go with yellow wine, king crab goes with white wine, flying crabs can go with a little baijiu, but you can’t drink beer, because it can cause gout.”

Zhuo Hang drank half the glass. His stomach warmed up a little, so he began slowly eating the scallion-stir-fried king crab.

Gu Zheng finished the whole glass, and the spiciness made him smack his lips.

Zhuo Hang thought that Gu Zheng did not understand dining etiquette, could not properly eat Japanese food, and had a mouth full of swear words, yet no one had ever called him uncouth. Maybe it was because he was rich, handsome, and kind.

Although Gu Zheng was very careless in many things, he had never said anything belittling him. Although he sometimes overstepped, he always asked for his permission first, and had never forced or humiliated him.

It was hard for two people who had slept together to still be partners, but the feeling Gu Zheng gave him was this, once they got off the bed, they did what needed doing.

Because he understood his experience and knew his difficulties, he had never brought up the past again.

Gu Zheng had moved past his lowliness, and in every negotiation he treated him as an equal, giving him more regard than a partner, but not to an excessive degree.

And this just-right respect could defend his dignity to the greatest extent.

Zhuo Hang had drunk alcohol and could not drive, so the two of them decided to return the next day.

Yesterday they had booked two suites. Zhuo Hang went to the front desk to extend the stay and asked Gu Zheng for his ID card.

Gu Zheng had both hands in his pockets, used his palm to block the ID card-shaped object, and said without batting an eye, “Lost it.”

Gu Zheng: “……”

This time, in the shorting operation, Gu Zheng had first helped him negotiate for money, and then helped him watch the board and close out. His contribution could not be denied.

He was already here, so they could not just drive him away, could they.

Since he wanted it, then indulge him.

Zhuo Hang turned around. A few cold glints rose in his eyes, and he lowered his voice. “One king-bed room.”

The front desk staff at the five-star hotel had considerable professionalism. After only two seconds of surprise, they processed his check-in.

Gu Zheng swayed into the elevator, and Zhuo Hang followed. When the elevator doors closed, Gu Zheng leaned over. Zhuo Hang took a half-step back and said, “There’s a camera.”

Last time Zhuo Hang had looked for cameras in the Japanese restaurant. This time too. That showed that compared with Gu Zheng taking liberties with him, he was more afraid of outsiders seeing what they were doing.

Heh, a closet pervert.

When the elevator doors opened, Gu Zheng pushed him into the corridor and dragged him into the room. Zhuo Hang’s expression remained normal, still with the attitude of neither refusing nor resisting.

At this moment, Gu Zheng naively thought he was the one leading this action movie about to begin, without noticing that the meek little sheep had already gone dark.

The instant they entered the room, Zhuo Hang pressed him against the door panel.

Money and desire were always inseparable. The excitement of closing out flooded Zhuo Hang’s nerves, and after eating and drinking his fill, he very much wanted to act on his desire toward Gu Zheng.

So he did not expose Gu Zheng’s clumsy lie. Rather than half-resisting and half-yielding, it was more like following the current.

“Bang”
The laptop and tablet fell to the floor.

“Click-clack”
Zhuo Hang pressed against Gu Zheng, and Gu Zheng against the door handle, making a sound.

“Clatter-clatter”
Two belts hit the entryway and the bedroom.

Gu Zheng looped his arms around Zhuo Hang’s neck and laughed. “If you like it, just say so. Why beat around the bush?”

“You were even being affectionate during negotiations, and when you wanted to do it, you still acted half-push, half-yield. Why aren’t you pretending this time?” Gu Zheng asked knowingly. “Could it be that you just can’t hold back anymore?”

If he could stop clinging to Zhuo Hang like a mangy dog right now and see the expression on the other man’s face, as if he were going to swallow him alive, what he should have been thinking about was fleeing for his life, not saying such shameless words.

Gu Zheng was pinned on the bed and was still secretly delighted by Zhuo Hang’s initiative. The next second his legs were pushed upward, then stretched and folded into the shape of a paperclip.

Hmm? This position seemed a little off.

Zhuo Hang’s eyes were dark, and his voice was hoarse. “If you want it, I’ll satisfy you.”

Gu Zheng’s expression changed at once. He stepped on Zhuo Hang’s shoulder and kicked him away.

Zhuo Hang frowned. “What?”

“The position can’t change.”

“Why?”

Gu Zheng racked his brains for a comparison. “For example, a man and a woman. If they switch positions, it’s not right.”

“I’m not a woman.”

Gu Zheng: “……”

Did he really not understand, or was he putting on an act here?

Zhuo Hang seized his ankle and forcibly dragged him back under himself.

Gu Zheng finally realized something was seriously wrong. He flailed his arms and struggled. “I’ve never done the bottom position. The position can’t change, absolutely can’t change!”

“Once you do it, you can switch.”

The obsessive madman only wanted to achieve his goal and was completely unreasonable.

“Get lost, don’t mess with me!”

The madman had practiced Sanda for years. Gu Zheng could not beat him or break free. Seeing the weapon about to gut him open, he was scared into a cold sweat and shouted himself hoarse.

“If you dare come in, I’ll definitely fight you to the death!”

“Zhuo Hang, I don’t want to. I don’t want to do this. If I do it, I’ll definitely hate you.”

The movement below stopped.

The madman’s reason returned, and he let go of Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng instantly shot half a meter up on the bed.

There were two people in the room. The previous second they had been about to link together as one, the next they had separated by half a meter. The previous second they had been shouting at the top of their lungs, the next it was eerily quiet.

With no agreement on position, both sides fell into a deadlock.

Gu Zheng got out of bed and calmed his agitated emotions.

It had originally been a mutually willing deal, but he had not expected it to become so violent.

Zhuo Hang always went beyond his expectations.

If he had not bid, he would not have slept with Zhuo Hang, would not have run away from home because he lost the bid, would not have traded the green Submariner for a guzheng, would not have awakened his negotiation bloodline, and would not now be raking in money with negotiation strategies.

Zhuo Hang only needed to lightly flap his wings to set off a tornado that changed the trajectory of his life.

Just like the butterfly effect.

*

Leaning against the headboard, Zhuo Hang lit a cigarette and suppressed the thick desire in his eyes. “If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

A child neither father nor mother loved had never hoped for love. He believed desire was only tied to physical needs, and that people who could not control their physical needs were no different from trash.

Gu Zheng respected him, and he was also willing to respect Gu Zheng.

None of their contests ended with one side losing and the other winning. From the start, they were not completely opposed.

Sometimes if one side was hurt, the other side did not necessarily get satisfaction. Cooperation between both sides instead increased the gains.

Gu Zheng walked over, drawing closer and closer, his handsome face just inches away.

He took the cigarette from between his fingers, held it in his mouth, and rested an arm around his neck. In a low voice, he said, “Actually, it wasn’t impossible.”

Then he took his hand and held their desire together.