[Brother Cheng, as soon as I got back, Sister Fan felt something was off. Then, she tricked me into admitting I went to the bookstore with you.]

[But I didn't say anything about us being together.]

Chen Cheng looked at Guan Juer's message, the corner of his mouth curling up. [Just tell her. She'll find out sooner or later anyway.]

Guan Juer replied quickly; she had likely finished washing up and was already lying in bed.

[...]

[I haven't thought about how to say it yet.]

[Then wait. Tell them when you've figured it out.]

[Tomorrow at 8:10 AM, I'll wait for you where you just got off the car.]

[You don't need to drop me off. I can hitch a ride with Sister Andy.]

[What's wrong? Don't want your boyfriend to drop you off? I can still manage to keep it up for the first day.]

Guan Juer replied as if possessed:

[Then what about the second day? The third day?]

[I don't know if I'll be able to get up.]

Picking her up and dropping her off every day wasn't his style, but he had to make an effort on their first day together.

"Giggle~" Guan Juer let out a silly laugh while looking at her phone.

After a long while, Guan Juer suppressed her smile. [Goodnight, lazy Brother Cheng. See you tomorrow.]

[Goodnight.]

Chen Cheng put down his phone but didn't go to bed immediately. He poured a glass of whiskey, put the vinyl record Guan Juer had given him on the turntable, and sat in front of the computer to check the trading situation in America.

He was an exceptionally rational person. Even in moments of sentimentality, he could quickly detach himself.

Making money was his primary objective.

Over in Angel City, the trading plan Chen Cheng had set before leaving was being executed. Today, the positions should reach their target levels.

For a long time after this, the team in Angel City would neither decrease nor increase the number of shares in their main holdings.

They would only engage in high-frequency hedging transactions unrelated to the core positions.

One couldn't say today was critical, but it was profoundly significant.

Likely Chen Chengs company bought $3 billion of Yinda and $2 billion of Emma, holding 3.1% and 4.99% of the shares respectively.

This step Chen Cheng took was bold and very risky.

By gobbling up so many chips in a short time, industry peers in the market would surely think Likely Chen Chengs company was a piece of fat meat, just waiting to take a bite.

But if this piece of fat meat was going to stay in the pot for five or six years without moving an inch, they wouldn't be able to eat it even if they wanted to.

Before his transmigration, Chen Cheng had watched an interview with Old Wang of Yida and held his views in high esteem.

"Whether it is wealth or status, it's impossible to obtain them without taking risks. Profit is directly proportional to risk. If you seek stability, the profit will be minimal, and success will be impossible."

"The ancients had a saying: Wealth is found within risk."

The remaining billion dollars were used to buy some blue-chip stocks, leaving about a hundred million in capital for the traders below to play with.

It looked like Likely Chen Chengs company was fully invested and had lost liquidity. In reality, they hadn't even used leverage yet, so liquidity wasn't an issue.

To call it tightrope walking would be an exaggeration; at most, it was like crossing a single-plank bridge.

Besides, he had a golden finger now. Feeling flustered? Non-existent.

Chen Cheng's previous goal was to become a billionaire.

But now that he had achieved it, he felt a sense of emptiness.

With the golden finger, he gradually developed a new goal.

Having reached billions, he now wanted to reach trillions.

Life is like that; one needs to constantly revise their goals; it's not something achieved in one go.

The next day.

Chen Cheng picked up Guan Juer at the underground lobby entrance.

Guan Juer wore a slight smile. "Brother Cheng, good morning."

The Scum nodded with a gentle smile. "Good morning. Have you had breakfast?"

Guan Juer shook her head. "No, I'll just buy something when I get to the office building."

"Alright, let's go have breakfast near your building."

Guan Juer nodded stiffly, as if they had become strangers again after not seeing each other for one night.

Chen Cheng frowned slightly at Guan Juer's reaction, the corner of his mouth turning up; this girl already had intimacy-perception detachment so soon.

The Scum leaned over and pressed his lips against Guan Juer's.

The kiss came so suddenly that Guan Juer didn't have time to react, her hands gripping the seatbelt tightly in nervousness.

The kiss was brief, without any lingering or passionate entanglement, lasting only a few seconds.

Sitting back, Chen Cheng said cheekily, "Alright, I've got my morning kiss. Now I can drive with peace of mind."

With that, he started the engine and drove off.

On the other side, Ye Zhenzhen sat in her car, gritting her teeth in anger.

This bastard, he's only been back for a few days and he's already hooked up with a girl from the neighboring building.

It's really driving me crazy!

Aaaaaah~

Ye Zhenzhen, who had managed to wake up early for once today, saw Chen Cheng's car at the entrance of Building 6 as soon as she sat in her car. Just as she was about to honk, she saw a quiet and gentle girl get into that bastard's passenger seat.

Instantly, Ye Zhenzhen bristled, and even the Aurora Green M8 she had just received didn't seem so great anymore.

Over the years, Ye Zhenzhen had experienced many such scenes, and her immunity had been built up quite a bit by the Scum.

After a long while, she suppressed her anger and cursed under her breath, "Who told you to be so cheap as to like that playboy?"

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng was happily having breakfast with Guan Juer at the office building's cafeteria.

As Chen Cheng watched her eat, she seemed to become a bit unhappy. He frowned and asked:

"What's wrong? Is it not good?"

Guan Juer shook her head. "Yingying didn't come back all night last night. I'm a bit worried about her."

"Is she with her boyfriend?"

Chen Cheng's expression looked like he was constipated, and he secretly thought it was a pity.

Guan Juer nodded. "Yeah. But I just always feel like that Supervisor Bai doesn't seem like a good person. With Yingying staying out with him like this, I'm really worried."

Chen Cheng smiled and comforted Guan Juer, "You can put your heart at ease. For someone at Supervisor Bai's level, tricking her into bed or stealing her heart is one thing, but he wouldn't have the guts to commit murder or arson."

"Ah? Isn't tricking her into bed and stealing her heart scary enough?"

Hmm?

Chen Cheng frowned, put down his utensils, and said solemnly:

"Guan Guan, have you ever considered that all of this is Qiu Yingying's own choice?"

"And she is definitely enjoying it 100%, otherwise she wouldn't have stayed out."

"Guan Guan, for adults, nothing is a big deal except for life and death."

"As a friend, you should congratulate her. Congratulate her on being on the path to finding happiness right now."

"So what if that Supervisor Bai is a good person or a bad person?"

"As a friend, you only need to congratulate her when she's happy, comfort her when she's in pain, and be her strongest support."

"Qiu Yingying is an adult with an autonomous personality. She has the right to choose who to love, who to break up with, and to make any decision she can be responsible for."

"Even her parents have no right to interfere with such decisions."

Guan Juer knit her brows, thinking over Chen Cheng's words.

Chen Cheng continued to crazily gaslight her.

"Guan Guan, you have to learn to respect your friends."

"Don't impose your values on them."

"Everyone's circumstances and upbringing are different. Even when facing the same problem, everyone's choice will be different."

"We have no standing to criticize whether their choices are right or wrong, or whether they are moral."

As he spoke, Guan Juer's tears began to fall, and she said with a sob, "Brother Cheng, I didn't..."

Seeing this, Chen Cheng thought to himself that it was bad; he had overdone it.

He quickly got up, walked over, and gently hugged her.

Guan Juer looked up at Chen Cheng, tears swirling in her eyes, "Brother Cheng, I didn't disrespect Yingying."

Chen Cheng reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks, his gaze extremely gentle, "Silly girl, I know. You're just too worried about Little Qiu."

"In this matter, the worst-case scenario is just that guy Bai finds someone richer and dumps Qiu Yingying."

"So, you just need to be prepared to support a heartbroken Little Qiu."

Guan Juer thought for a moment and then nodded. "Mhm."

Chen Cheng smiled. "Alright, don't cry. So many people are watching."

Guan Juer immediately turned her head and saw several pairs of gossiping eyes.

Guan Juer quickly let go of Chen Cheng's waist, turned around, and began eating with her chopsticks in a serious manner.

Chen Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

"Guan Guan, coffee."

Guan Juer had just sat down in her office when Gu Juan handed her a Starbucks cup.

Guan Juer hadn't quite recovered from her emotions yet and was a bit surprised. "Ah? Thanks, Sister Jennie. How much was it? I'll transfer the money to you."

Gu Juan waved her hand. "Oh, no need. It's on me."

With that, Gu Juan's eyes lit up as she continued, "Quick, tell me, how was your date with Handsome Chen yesterday?"

...

There's yet another expert.

[Manually thanking the big boss Potato Cake for the reminder charms and likes, and also thanking all the yanzus who support this book. Love you all.]