Chen Cheng walked over and looked Lin Kailun up and down; the woman was dressed all in black today.

A black suit, black shirt, black cropped trousers, black-rimmed glasses, plus a black handbag containing documents; her hair was tied directly into a ponytail, and the only two pops of color on her were the nude high heels on her feet and her yellowish-brown hair.

Karen was 167cm tall, and wearing high heels gave her a powerful aura; her temperament was also very ascetic and capable.

The only thing that felt out of place was that she was too beautiful.

Karen was of mixed Chinese and Ugly Country heritage; her father was Chinese, and her mother was a white person from the Ugly Country.

Her facial features were distinct, yet she didn't lose that Oriental charm, and combined with her wheat-colored skin, she looked very international.

This made her look less like a business elite and more like a Hollywood actress.

This was also the reason she wore black-rimmed glasses, as they made her look more mature and sophisticated.

Chen Cheng glanced at the two men and two women in black suits behind Lin Kailun and smiled at her, "What? Does your team have a uniform?"

At Company Name, Chen Cheng had never set any dress code.

Because he rarely wore formal attire himself, usually opting for short sleeves and shorts.

No one felt there was anything wrong with it; in fact, his subordinates felt that Chen Cheng was a natural alchemist.

The short sleeves and shorts actually added points to his image as an unrestrained genius.

Just like Steve Jobs, whose black turtleneck was his trademark.

People were used to bosses in suits and leather shoes, so occasionally having something fresh was a rather different experience.

"They aren't my people; I hired them from an investigation firm to put on a show." Karen pursed her lips, feeling quite helpless at the young boss's teasing.

Chen Cheng shrugged, not having thought that much about it.

Returning to his own company, it wasn't like he was going to a den of thieves... to need people to put on a show.

He was somewhat amused and helpless.

Don't employ someone you suspect, and don't suspect someone you employ.

Since he had placed Qu Honglei in this position, he naturally trusted him.

Qu Honglei was Chen Cheng's alumnus from Stanford and also the fund management supervisor at Company Name in Magic City.

His trading style was relatively steady; he disliked leverage, believing it to be the source of the collapse of all myths.

This was quite similar to John's style; both were conservatives.

This was also the reason Chen Cheng chose them.

As for taking risks, he could do that himself; after all, he had an information advantage.

As for whether Qu Honglei would develop any selfish motives after becoming a regional leader...

Chen Cheng didn't worry too much about that; it would be even more terrifying if he didn't have any selfish motives.

He didn't criticize Karen either, just nodded faintly, "Notify Old Qu."

Since he was back, he still needed to greet him.

Afterwards, Chen Cheng took the lead and walked toward the elevator lobby; Karen immediately followed, walking half a step behind on Chen Cheng's right side.

With four people following behind Karen, the scene instantly turned into that of a big shot going out with his entourage, which was very eye-catching.

Chen Cheng put away his playful expression, his eyes turning cold, giving off a feeling of looking down on the world.

He was already tall and large, and with a large amount of us dollars to his name over the years, his aura had naturally developed.

In the distance, Li Qixing frowned deeply and asked Lucy, who was also looking in that direction, "Lucy, who was that just now?"

Li Qixing's tone was humble; he didn't even dare to ask too loudly, fearing he might annoy the goddess.

Lucy glanced at Li Qixing, having some other thoughts, and said indifferently, "Oh, my neighbor."

Neighbor?

Li Qixing's sense of crisis immediately spiked.

It would be one thing if he was just handsome, but he looked like a big shot and was also Lucy's neighbor.

Damn it, I need to make a move quickly, or someone else will get the advantage of proximity.

Lucy saw Li Qixing's dazed expression and was very satisfied with his reaction.

"It's time for work."

As she spoke, Lucy took her coffee and walked toward the elevator lobby as well.

"Oh~~" Li Qixing, having regained his senses, hurriedly followed.

He looked exactly like an eager simp.

...

When the elevator arrived, Qu Honglei was already waiting at the company entrance with fourteen employees.

After some pleasantries, everyone entered the conference room.

Chen Cheng listened to the fund management report; he already understood the situation, so it was meant for the employees to hear.

Many traders could be described as worshipping Chen Cheng, regarding him as an idol to be revered.

In any industry, performance is prestige.

Chen Cheng was like a prophet, buying before the market and selling before the market.

There were many long-term investors, but investors like Chen Cheng who could avoid downturns were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

There is a saying in the stock market: if you avoid market downturns, you have surpassed 99% of investors.

Obviously, relying on his information advantage regarding politics, economics, and international situations, Chen Cheng had managed to avoid cyclical fluctuations every single time.

Company Name had very few employees; administration, finance, and human resources added up to only six people.

Two in the finance department, two each in human resources and administration, plus one receptionist and one network administrator.

The trading department had nine people: two senior researchers, six traders, and one fund manager, who was Qu Honglei.

The HR and Administration Director, Gao Yue, had been personally interviewed by Chen Cheng when Company Name was founded, so she could be considered his direct subordinate.

The reason he kept her at the time wasn't because she was particularly outstanding, but because Chen Cheng found her familiar and thought she must be a plot character, though Chen Cheng couldn't remember which movie or TV show she was from; he figured she was probably an extra.

After the regular meeting, Chen Cheng took Lin Kailun, Qu Honglei, Gao Yue, and other executives to his office.

As soon as they entered, Chen Cheng signaled for them to sit down, and Gao Yue had her subordinates bring coffee.

"Let's talk about the venture capital matter." Chen Cheng sat opposite them and went straight to the point.

He needed a venture capital team to manage the venture capital targets he had invested in over the past few years.

Five years ago, Chen Cheng spent 20 million us dollars to invest in Shenyin's Series B round, holding a 6.6% stake.

At that time, the valuation was less than 2 billion Chinese yuan.

In last year's Series C round, the valuation was 2.5 billion us dollars.

In this year's April Series D round, the valuation rose to 5 billion us dollars.

Chen Cheng chose to follow up on both rounds, maintaining his shareholding ratio.

Although he was optimistic, wanting a larger share was impossible.

Big venture capital firms wouldn't agree, and maintaining his share was already the best result.

Chen Cheng planned to exit once the valuation exceeded 100 billion us dollars, even if he had to sell at a discount.

Another interesting investment was in a cryptocurrency exchange.

It started from the angel round, where he held 20% of the shares for 8 million us dollars.

At the time, it was obviously severely overvalued; the founders all thought Chen Cheng was a fool with too much money and laughed behind his back quite a bit.

He also chose to follow up on the Series A round, but only to maintain his share.

Chen Cheng always felt that cryptocurrency was extremely risky and planned to sell off more than half of his shares at a deep discount when Bitcoin reached 60,000.

In any case, he couldn't be a major shareholder.

How much he earned became irrelevant; this damn thing might end up with him sewing in prison or picking up soap.

If it weren't for the fact that the temptation of this 20% stake was just too great, he would have run long ago.

This was an investment that could make him the richest person in the China region; no one would be willing to slip away early.

In two more years, the valuation would skyrocket to 200 billion us dollars; even accounting for dilution, he would probably still have 15% left. What would that look like?