Chapter 476: Left Eye Twitch for Wealth
Chapter 476: Left Eye Twitch for Wealth
There were only four days left until October 19th. To be precise, there were two days left, as the market didn't open on weekends. Lu Jiaxin recalled what Nie Zan had mentioned before about having some money in America, although she didn't know the exact amount. Given his personality, he wouldn't bring it up if it were a small sum.
After her evening routine, Lu Jiaxin got into bed and noticed that Nie Zan was still reading financial news. She took the newspaper away from him and said, "It's late. Time to sleep."
Nie Zan looked at her with a surprised expression and quickly turned off the light.
Lu Jiaxin knew he had misunderstood her intentions and quickly moved closer to the edge of the bed. She asked, "Now that you've sold all your stocks, how much capital have you retrieved?"
If it had been before, Nie Zan would have definitely shared the details with her. But after witnessing her frenzied short-selling of the Dow Jones and Hang Seng indexes, he now felt anxious whenever she brought up the topic of money.
"Not much," he replied. "Why do you ask?"
Lu Jiaxin stared at him and said, "What? Are you guarding your secrets from me now?"
Nie Zan was direct in his response. "If you want to short-sell, I won't stop you. But I won't join you in this risky venture. If we blow up the account, all your previous efforts will be for nothing."
He strongly disagreed with her gambling-like behavior. Since he couldn't stop her, he could only ensure that he didn't get involved himself.
Lu Jiaxin pointed to her left eye and said, "My left eyelid has been twitching for the past two days. There's an old saying in my hometown: 'Left eye twitch for wealth, right eye twitch for disaster.' My left eyelid has been jumping nonstop today, indicating that I'm about to strike it rich."
Nie Zan found her explanation amusing and exasperating at the same time. "Are you serious? You dismiss these things as superstitious nonsense, and now you're believing in them yourself?"
Lu Jiaxin refuted his claim. "This isn't superstition; it's the crystallization of our ancestors' wisdom from thousands of years ago. I have a hunch that a major stock market fluctuation is imminent."
Nie Zan couldn't bring himself to believe such reasoning. "Stop joking around. It's getting late; let's go to sleep."
Lu Jiaxin paused for a moment, changing her approach. "Nie Zan, let's make a bet. If I win, you must promise not to stop me from making any investments in the future. If I lose, I'll listen to you regarding any investment decisions from then on. If I disagree, I won't proceed."
"Are you serious?" he asked.
"If you don't trust me, I can write you a guarantee. If I don't live up to it in the future, feel free to bring it up," she asserted.
With the conversation reaching this point, Nie Zan asked, "What's the bet?"
"Lend me the money you have in America to short-sell the Dow Jones index using 25 times leverage," Lu Jiaxin proposed.
With 25 times leverage, a 3% rise in the market would lead to a margin call. It was nearly three times riskier than the previous 10-times leverage. Unless one had absolute certainty, it would be akin to giving money away.
Recalling the previous incident, Nie Zan asked, "Jiaxin, when you took all your money to short-sell the Green Dollar against the Yen, was it also based on intuition?"
Lu Jiaxin's heart skipped a beat. He was indeed perceptive. "Yes. My left eye was twitching then as well, and I felt it was an opportunity, so I took a gamble and won."
After a moment of silence, Nie Zan said, "I can lend you 50 million Green Dollars to short-sell the Dow Jones index with 25 times leverage. But I don't want a written guarantee; I want you to agree to one condition."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Whether you win or lose, you have to agree," he stated.
Lu Jiaxin felt a sense of foreboding. "What is it? Tell me first."
"Let's get engaged after you graduate," Nie Zan proposed.
Lu Jiaxin glared at him, annoyed that he was taking advantage of the situation. "I'll be graduating from university next year. It's way too early to get engaged at the age of 20."
Nie Zan revealed a hurt expression and asked, "Jiaxin, have you never thought about getting engaged to me?"
Lu Jiaxin had never considered breaking up with him, but she wasn't ready to be tied down just yet. "Are you saying that if I don't agree, you won't lend me the money?" she asked.
Nie Zan wasn't a fool; he knew better than to phrase it that way. "No, even if you don't agree, I'll still lend you the money to short-sell. I just thought that if we were engaged, I wouldn't have to worry about you leaving me."
As he spoke, he put on a pitiful expression. After being together for so long, he had a good understanding of Jiaxin's temperament—she responded better to gentleness than firmness. Of course, when she had made up her mind about something, neither gentleness nor firmness would work.
Lu Jiaxin knew he was putting on an act, but the fact that he was willing to support her and risk such a large sum of money in this gamble meant a lot to her. "Then, arrange for someone to buy the stocks tomorrow. As for the engagement, we can discuss it after I graduate from university," she said.
In the past, whenever engagement was mentioned, she would insist on talking about it only after she turned 25. Now, agreeing to discuss it after her graduation was already a step back for her.
Nie Zan knew that he had to take things slowly and not rush her, or he might scare her away. "Okay, I'll listen to you," he said softly, his voice as gentle as a flowing stream.
Lu Jiaxin leaned in and kissed him, and soon, their room was filled with her soft moans. However, Nie Zan's stamina was impressive, and one round wasn't enough for him.
While he could indulge in their playful antics during the weekend, Lu Jiaxin had to remind him that they had to get up early the next day. "We have to wake up early tomorrow, so let's get some sleep now," she said, gently pushing him away and putting on her pajamas before heading into the bathroom to take a shower. Nie Zan tried to follow, but the door was locked. By the time he finished his shower and got into bed, Lu Jiaxin was already fast asleep. Her ability to fall asleep so quickly was truly admirable.
The next day, as soon as Nie Zan got to work, he made a transpacific phone call. The news he received from the other party shocked him. After a moment of contemplation, he immediately instructed someone to short-sell the Dow Jones index.
There were 80 million dollars in the account, but Nie Zan only used 50 million for the short-sell, leaving 30 million untouched.
When Lu Jiaxin returned to the apartment after school, she was surprised to see Nie Zan there. "Haven't you been busy lately? Why are you home so early today?" she asked curiously.
Nie Zan pulled her into the room and lowered his voice as he shared the news with her. "I just received word that the stock god of America is selling off his stocks."
When he had first received this information, he was startled. He hadn't held much hope for Jiaxin's bet, but now he felt that she might actually win. Even so, Nie Zan was still unwilling to take the risk. He couldn't afford any mishaps with the 17% stake; the consequences would be unimaginable.
The stock god, Warren Buffett, was a household name among those with even a passing knowledge of finance. However, Lu Jiaxin was unaware that he had sold his stocks before Black Monday.
"Do you want to short-sell with me?" Lu Jiaxin asked.
Nie Zan refused. He felt that Jiaxin's gamble was already risky enough, and he preferred to play it safe. "Just know about it, but don't tell anyone else," he said.
Lu Jiaxin didn't ask how he had obtained this information, but she was certain that Nie Zan's connections were truly impressive. This was something she lacked, and it was where they complemented each other well.
Seeing her quick agreement, Nie Zan felt a bit unsettled. "You can suggest to Su Heyuan that he should sell his stocks," he said.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and replied, "No need. He's already sold all his stocks and, like me, is short-selling the Hang Seng Index with a ten-times leverage."
Nie Zan didn't say anything. While he wasn't willing to be so aggressive himself, he couldn't stop others from joining Jiaxin in this risky venture.
(End of Chapter)
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