My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 439

Although they couldn’t figure out why Chen Yan knew gold prices would soar,

the fact was more convincing than any argument.

At least, Chen Yan had bet correctly,

and their earlier mockery had now turned into tears of regret!

If only they had also bought gold futures with Chen Yan, they would be the ones making a fortune now!

However, some financial institutions did not want to admit defeat.

After all, the Beautiful Country had blown the winds before, only to retract its statements later.

This was just a routine press conference, not a binding announcement.

Moreover, the Beautiful Country had a history of swallowing its own words.

Thus, some smaller financial institutions chose to take a gamble.

Since it was too late to buy, they decided to bet on the bear market instead.

They were not gambling mindlessly but had ample reasons.

All over the world, people started buying gold because of the Beautiful Country’s wind-blowing.

But don’t forget, the Beautiful Country merely mentioned a potential interest rate drop during a press conference.

If the subsequent rate cut fell short of expectations or did not happen at all, gold prices would certainly plummet,

and the decline would likely break through the current curve.

Therefore, at that moment, the financial institutions across Hong Kong began to take sides, preparing to respond to the gold market fluctuations.

As the world’s most pervasive Hong Kong media, with such significant financial market fluctuations, they couldn’t possibly ignore it.

Initially, they had only heard the news that gold prices were about to soar, so they wanted to interview financial figures to understand and complete their task.

However, they inadvertently learned about Chen Yan, the genius who had set up his gold position a month ahead,

and other financial institutions in Hong Kong had not predicted this rate cut expectation from the Beautiful Country.

Thus, they swarmed like wild dogs sensing blood, beginning to dig deeper into the news about Chen Yan and the Hong Kong financial sector.

At this time... Chen Yan did not know that the system’s prompt had come true.

He was still in Qin Island, trying to deal with Lu Man.

Previously, it was Lu Man who had discovered Yu Qiao Qiao’s "Queen Qiao Qiao," felt jealous, and wanted a similar gift.

Now that their "schemes" had been discovered by Yu Qiao Qiao, Chen Yan couldn’t fulfill his promise to Lu Man. Naturally, he needed to find a way to smooth things over.

However, speaking honestly,

Lu Man’s request was not excessive. Chen Yan had also promised her a surprise.

Now unable to fulfill it, it was indeed difficult to keep his word.

Thus, Chen Yan pondered for a long time, so much so that his head was about to burst, but still couldn’t figure out how to resolve the matter.

Feeling dejected, he decided to avoid handling official duties and went to visit Yu Qiao Qiao’s school.

However, this time he wasn’t there to see Yu Qiao Qiao but to check on the third Virtual Girlfriend: Zhao Ying.

Since Chen Yan had given Zhao Ying tens of thousands of yuan to invest in her news agency, her Professional Line had begun.

Hence, Chen Yan planned to inspect, then proceed to promote Zhao Ying’s Professional Line and try to earn some cashback.

Thinking so, Chen Yan called Zhao Ying and, after getting her answer that she was currently at the "news agency," he went to Qin Island University.

Arriving at Qin Island University, Chen Yan confidently headed to the teaching building, to the Gossip Society’s venue he had visited before.

Now, this Gossip Society had truly become a "Gossip Society."

When Chen Yan arrived, he found the girls, each cooperating and compiling various gossips from the school that week.

Some were recording while also discussing what headlines would attract people.

As the president of the entire Gossip Society, Zhao Ying unarguably sat there... drinking a beverage, enjoying the hard work of her club members.

Seeing her like this, Chen Yan knocked on the door.

The classroom door had a glass panel, so when Chen Yan knocked, Zhao Ying saw him.

She jumped up from her seat, then with a push of her hand, leaped to the corridor.

Then, she quickly reached the classroom door in a few brisk steps and walked out smiling.

Seeing such excitement from the president made the busy club members look up.

After seeing it was Chen Yan, they started discussing among themselves,

The first girl, "Eh. Isn’t that the handsome guy from last time?"

The second girl, "Yeah, yeah. He’s back to see the president again."

The third girl, "Isn’t he here to collect a debt?"

The other girls looked at the third girl with puzzled faces.

The third girl, getting so much attention for the first time, blushed.

She stuttered an explanation, "I just feel like, if he were her boyfriend, he wouldn’t only come once in so long."

"It looks more like he’s coming to collect a debt."

The other girls: ...

"Why do you know so much?"

The third girl: ...

....

Outside at that moment, Chen Yan and Zhao Ying walked and talked.

Chen Yan asked, "Is the Gossip Society doing well?"

Zhao Ying nodded happily and replied, "I’m telling you. Your idea was such a great help."

"Although I always liked our club, it always felt a bit odd."

"Because our daily activities were just watching me box. After I finished, we’d all chat about gossip."

"It didn’t really feel like a club, more like a tea party. Moreover, one that came with its own performing guests."

"Now, we have a goal, and suddenly everyone has a sense of unity, everyone’s cooperating, doing their bits. It’s not aimless like before."

Chen Yan nodded.

Any organization needs a goal.

Only with a goal does it have cohesion.

Lost in thought, Chen Yan asked, "So, what’s your main distribution method now? Newspapers?"

Newspapers were the first suggestion Chen Yan had made to Zhao Ying.

Not that they were particularly good, but Chen Yan thought this was the closest to traditional media, and the best way to test the waters.

To Chen Yan’s surprise, upon hearing his question, Zhao Ying just laughed and shook her head, "Not at all!"

She looked at Chen Yan with a cheeky grin and said, "That method is too old-fashioned."

"Which young person still reads newspapers today!"

She explained, "We’ve built our own public account and set up a website."

"We post all the gossips we collect each day on the public account."

"Every week, we summarize the week’s key news into a summary."

"In the public account, we also provide a link to our website."

"People can post tips or chat on the website."

"Our public account already has over three thousand followers."

"And our website has hundreds of visitors and chats each day."

As she spoke, Zhao Ying glanced at Chen Yan and then patted his shoulder, saying, "But don’t feel too bad."

"Although we didn’t use your newspaper idea... we did incorporate some of your thoughts."

Chen Yan curiously asked, "Incorporated some of my ideas? What do you mean?"

Zhao Ying, "Although we didn’t launch a newspaper, we actually published posters!"

"It’s thanks to the money you gave us for making posters that our Gossip Society was able to thrive!"

Chen Yan: .....

For some reason, Chen Yan felt slightly insulted.

Posters and newspapers—are they even the same thing?

This was truly no joke!

But joking aside. Zhao Ying not publishing newspapers, yet starting her media career, was actually good news for Chen Yan.

After all, this meant that Chen Yan wouldn’t have to delve into traditional print media; he could just focus on acquiring some online media to achieve cashback.

Now, with print media on the decline, online media was much more appealing.

Chen Yan thought that he should select some of the better online media outlets when he got back, to see if he could buy them out and earn a fourfold return!

After all, ever since Zhao Xuan had left his legacy with Chen Yan, he had spent money only on Zhao Ying, even securing a trillion-level project (Headline Technology) for her—it was time to see some returns!

Thinking this, the two headed to a shop near the school.

As it was nearly summer and the weather was heating up, Zhao Ying bought two beverages and tossed one to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan caught it and was just about to play the gentleman by opening Zhao Ying’s bottle first when he saw her casually flick the cap off with her thumb, it popping off with a snap.

To someone unaware, it might look as though she was merely tearing a piece of paper.

Chen Yan: .....

Well, Brother Ying is not your average girl.

Thinking this, Chen Yan opened his bottle and began to drink.

On their way back, Zhao Ying seemed to remember something and curiously looked at Chen Yan, asking, "Hey, have you seen Qiao Qiao lately?"

"She hasn’t been coming to class these days, and even at home, she’s out early and back late, I wonder what she’s up to."

In recent days, feeling guilty because of Lu Man, Chen Yan hadn’t been in touch with Yu Qiao Qiao much.

So, hearing Zhao Ying’s words, he asked in surprise, "Really? When did this start?"

Zhao Ying thought for a moment and said, "It should be this week."

She looked curiously at Chen Yan and added, "You didn’t know?"

"I thought she was out on a date with you."

"After all, you’ve also been missing in action, not even showing up for morning exercises."

Chen Yan: ...

That’s not the same!

I was just being lazy, okay.

But what Zhao Ying said about Yu Qiao Qiao caught Chen Yan’s attention.

After all, Chen Yan had recently had a minor conflict with Yu Qiao Qiao because of Lu Man, and he needed to keep a close eye on Yu Qiao Qiao—lest he lose more than he bargained for!

Thinking this, after finishing his chat with Zhao Ying, Chen Yan called Yu Qiao Qiao.

The voice on the phone was quiet,

and when Yu Qiao Qiao spoke, her voice echoed as if she were in a very spacious place.

Chen Yan, puzzled, inquired further.

Yu Qiao Qiao didn’t divulge much, only saying she was busy.

Chen Yan, growing curious about what Yu Qiao Qiao was busy with,

decided to check her status in the game.

Upon checking, Chen Yan was even more baffled.

Because... Yu Qiao Qiao’s pixel character hadn’t gone anywhere, just staying in the company’s clay sculpture room.

And there, she was molding a small clay figure...

What secrecy is needed for molding a clay figure?

Was he supposed to surprise himself or give himself a gift?

Chen Yan was a bit puzzled.

But after confirming that Yu Qiao Qiao’s status was "happy" and "in the midst of clay sculpting," Chen Yan also let go of his concerns.

He didn’t continue to investigate what Yu Qiao Qiao was doing.

After feeling reassured, he still wanted to give Boss Qiao Qiao some freedom.

The next two days.

Gold was still skyrocketing.

Zhao Ying continued working on his newspaper affairs.

Yu Qiao Qiao was still secretly sculpting clay figures in the studio.

Chen Yan was also still struggling among several girls.

Lu Man was not as simple and naive as Yu Qiao Qiao, easy to fool.

After Chen Yan agreed to her request to create skins in the game and leave easter eggs, she would occasionally check on Chen Yan’s progress.

What could Chen Yan do?

He couldn’t think of a good idea and could only stall by saying he was busy recently and hadn’t had time to work on it.

So, this also made Lu Man not quite happy, always feeling that Chen Yan was brushing her off.

Chen Yan really had a massive headache.

A week passed in such a manner.

During this week, news from the Beautiful Country kept coming continuously.

From an initially subtle mention of lowering interest rates, to gradually releasing definite signals for rate cuts. Gold, like a charging steed, began to surge.

In just half a month, gold had risen a quarter of its value.

Including the inherent leverage of futures, it was like adding a wealth enhancer.

Those who bet on the right direction made a fortune.

Of course, those who bet wrong were also plenty.

In the financial circles of Hong Kong, some were celebrating, others were crying.

It was, indeed, like a spectrum of human life.

During this time, Yang Nuannuan became incredibly excited.

Because she realized she had bet right again!

Of course, when she spoke of betting right, she wasn’t referring to gold, but to Chen Yan.

She noticed that by following Chen Yan, she could succeed.

She counted Chen Yan’s achievements; since she had met him, it seemed he was constantly succeeding, succeeding, and succeeding!

And everyone following Chen Yan was also walking towards success.

Last time, when investing thirty million, Yang Nuannuan was apprehensive.

But now, after these two victories, Yang Nuannuan realized: Why worry! Just blindly follow.

Was there anything easier than making money with Chen Yan?

Yang Nuannuan thought there wasn’t.

After all, including the ambush period, a total of one month had passed, turning her capital fivefold—from five million to twenty-five million and still rising.

Such a substantial fortune, even if her mother were to invest, would take five to six years!

And for her, it only took a month of trading futures with Chen Yan.

Was there an easier thing in the world?

As she marvelled at her own foresight, Yang Nuannuan also began to ponder the revenue Chen Yan made this round.

She herself had put out five million for trading futures.

Chen Yan must have also put in at least fifty million, or even a hundred million, right?

Yang Nuannuan counted on her fingers.

If it was fifty million, that would earn two billion.

If it was one hundred million, that would earn four billion!

Just in one month...

Four billion!

When this figure surfaced, Yang Nuannuan found it somewhat unimaginable.

For someone like Chen Yan, a favored son of heaven, was earning several billion really that simple?

For the next two days, the gold trend stabilized, no longer soaring, but still making incremental gains.

Occasionally, there were small downward trends, but they quickly recovered without drawing anyone’s attention.

Yang Nuannuan also continually monitored the trends of gold futures.

Her total capital had risen from five million to thirty million.

The increase was so startling that she continuously wanted to sell everything and run.

And just when Yang Nuannuan was living in daily fear,

Finally, that day, she received a message from Chen Yan.

"Sell gradually over the next few days. Adjust the price as you see fit."

Seeing the message from Chen Yan to let go, Yang Nuannuan breathed a sigh of relief and began to act.

Millions in fund size were a drop in the ocean in the vast market of futures.

Except for slightly bending the curve for a moment, there was almost no change.

Yang Nuannuan took two days to sell all the futures.

But on the third day, gold futures were still soaring.

And on the fourth day, still rising!

It seemed endless.

Watching that curve, even though she had already made a lot of money, Yang Nuannuan still felt an urge to dive back in and gamble again.

Fortunately, her trust in Chen Yan stopped her from taking action.

And indeed, it saved her life.

On the fifth day, the Beautiful Country announced a rate cut, but it was minuscule—hardly noticeable.

Although it still signified that international finance was about to start a cycle of quantitative easing, the rate cut far below expectations took a heavy toll on the entire gold futures market.

Gold futures fell by one-tenth then and there.

It continued to drop swiftly.

Soon, it returned to the price levels from a week ago.

But there might have been some who were still optimistic about gold, so gold futures again rose by 6%.

However, the rate cut was too unexpected, so the bulls did not hold on for long, quickly bursting.

Bears began to dominate the situation, falling all the way to the original level, and even dropping a bit further.

Thus, under the reckless manipulations of the Beautiful Country, the gold futures market went up and down for half a month, pulled by both bulls and bears. In the end... everyone was wiped out.

It is worth noting that forex inherently carries a ten-fold leverage.

Meaning, just a 10% fluctuation can result in a 100% loss or profit.

As a result, with such significant volatility in the gold futures market and apart from a few with lesser leverage ratios, almost everyone else was wiped out.

It was truly a case of devouring bulls following bears, reaping financial institutions worldwide like leeks.

Consequently, many accused the legislators of the Beautiful Country of manipulating the futures market.

But the legislators of the Beautiful Country gave no commentary on the matter.

And just when there was mourning everywhere in the world.