Chapter 14: The Lie of Art

  "Sister?" Wu Yijie was slightly surprised.

  "Uh-huh, and she's my own sister!" Zhong Xiaofei said it as if it were true.

  "Oh?" Wu Yijie was even more surprised and very puzzled, "Then why did she call you sister-in-law?"

  Zhong Xiaofei revealed a bitter smile, "It's like this, Xiao Wei was given away by my parents at birth. Alas, you might not know, it was because of the family planning policy, in our place, if the first child is a boy, they don't allow a second child to be born. Because I exist, she could only be given away. At that time, the place they sent her wasn't far, but her family moved away and couldn't be found."

  Zhong Xiaofei's eyes slightly lifted, gazing into the distance, his voice filled with emotion and gentleness, as if immersed in memories of the past. "Originally, there was no hope left, but a few years ago, I met a female classmate in college, went to her home for summer vacation, and suddenly discovered while chatting that her younger sister was actually my long-lost younger sister!"

  At this point, Zhong Xiaofei's eyes were a little moist. He turned his head to the side, not letting Wu Yijie see the expression he wanted to burst out laughing with, because he really admired himself for being so talented and able to come up with such a story that could bring tears to his own eyes.

  "...She thought I was her sister's boyfriend, so she always called me brother-in-law, but she was wrong..." Zhong Xiaofei sighed softly, "I and her sister actually broke up a long time ago..."

  Speaking is an art, telling lies is also an art, making others believe it is the art of arts.

  Zhong Xiaofei is now like an artist, a performing artist plus a playwright.

  Wu Yijie listened to Zhong Xiaofei's explanation, just like an audience under the stage. It was clear that she believed him, and she was infected by Zhong Xiaofei's sorrowful tone. A sympathetic expression appeared on her beautiful face. Women are easy to deceive, and kind-hearted women are even easier to deceive.

  Zhong Xiaofei's lie was bold and adventurous, if it failed, everything would be lost, but apart from this, Zhong Xiaofei couldn't think of a better reason, because Xiao Wei is now living with him, he can't explain it otherwise, or else Wu Yijie will still have doubts in her heart.

  "Now, Secretary Wu, do you understand? My sister and I... But please don't tell Xiaowei the truth, or she won't be able to accept it..." Zhong Xiaofei sighed and pleaded.

  "I understand, Xiao Wei is really pitiful..." Wu Yi Jie let out a soft sigh, her beautiful big eyes fixed on Zhong Xiao Fei. "Thank you for telling me these things, I'll keep your secret for you..." After finishing speaking, she turned around and left, leaving behind a refreshing fragrance that touched the heart.

  Zhong Xiaofei stood still, watching her leave, and let out a sigh of relief.

  "Yi Jie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to deceive you, it's just that if I didn't, you would have left me... Sigh, slowly you will understand my heart!" Zhong Xiao Fei felt remorse in her heart.

  At 8 o'clock in the evening, it was the opening time of foreign stock market futures. Zhong Xiaofei sat in front of the computer on time and waited. He was surprised to find that only he and Li Sanshi were participating in the transaction tonight!

  "Don't be nervous, today is just a small transaction, go ahead and do it boldly, no matter what the result is, you don't have to worry." Li San Shi sat beside Zhong Xiao Fei, holding a cup of coffee, smiling and comforting.

  Zhong Xiaofei was very nervous, because today's transaction was not small at all. From the operating account, he could see that the funds he could use had already exceeded 1 billion yuan! This was his first time dealing with such a large amount of money in his life, and the use of these funds was entirely up to him.

  "Manager Li, this is your account..." Zhong Xiaofei felt a bit uneasy and turned his head to glance at Li San Shi. The account in front of him was Li San Shi's exclusive account, and the funds inside could only be used by Li San Shi himself in the stock market. Others couldn't use it, let alone withdraw from it.

  "Uh, I know, now I'm entrusting it to you, don't worry, today is an opportunity for you to gain experience, as long as you achieve results, in the future, accounts like this A-level one, you will also have one." Li San Shi's eyes narrowed, the muscles on his fat face seemed to be twitching, and his gaze was a bit uneasy, although he was comforting Zhong Xiao Fei, but he looked tense too.

  Zhong Xiaofei found it strange that Li San Shi, the manager of the investment department and TY company's top trader, would hand over his personal account to someone else. His account was a top secret and should not be easily handed over to others for operation. If there were any problems with the account, the company would hold him responsible first. With hundreds of millions of dollars in funds at stake, if something went wrong, he could end up in jail.

  Why is Li Sanshi so confident in himself?

  Zhong Xiaofei was very uneasy. He wasn't a trusted aide of Li Sanshi, and their relationship had never been good, but in just a few short days, he became Li Sanshi's blue-eyed boy, not only getting promoted but also being entrusted with important tasks, even having his account handed over to him for operation. No matter how hard Zhong Xiaofei racked his brains, he couldn't think of any reason for this.

  If today's operation ends up in loss, will Li Sanshi really take all the blame?

  "Don't be nervous, just do what you need to do, I trust your judgment," Li San Shi said with a smile, taking a sip of his coffee. His smile seemed a bit sinister, as if he was hiding some kind of plot.

  For his cunning smile, Zhong Xiaofei was not unfamiliar, it was precisely because of the unfamiliarity that he couldn't guess what was behind it.

  Zhong Xiaofei was very nervous, not only because of the 1 billion yuan in funds in his account, but also because he vaguely felt that things might not be simple.

  The dense red and green curves on the screen kept changing, Zhong Xiaofei stared at them tightly, his palms sweating, not daring to blink, thinking rapidly in his mind, ready to act at any moment. There was also a cup of coffee beside him, but he didn't have time to drink it.

  Li San Shi held a cup of coffee and kept smiling at him.

  "Xiao Fei, I heard you're pursuing Secretary Wu?" Suddenly, Li San Shi asked a question.

  This question shocked Zhong Xiaofei, because he never expected that Li Sanshi would suddenly raise this question! You know, this is a workshop, not a tea house for chatting.

  Li San Shi smiled and looked at Zhong Xiao Fei's surprised expression without any surprise.

  "Hmm," Zhong Xiaofei nodded in acknowledgement, he and Wu Yijie's conversation at the company entrance had already spread throughout the company, with most people treating it as a joke, thinking that he was a toad trying to eat swan meat. Even though Zhong Xiaofei got promoted today, most people still thought so.

  Li San Shi is the manager of the investment department, but it's unknown how he heard about this. However, Zhong Xiao Fei didn't intend to hide it either, and openly admitted that if a man can't pursue a woman who is being coy and not daring to admit her feelings, then what kind of man is he?

  "Haha, very good." Li San Shi nodded in praise.

  Zhong Xiaofei was a bit wary, the three words "Wu Yijie" coming out of Li Sanshi's mouth gave him a sense of danger. After all, Li Sanshi's position in the company was second only to Chairman Yang Tianzeng, he had money and power, if he really took a liking to Wu Yijie and made a move, it would be like adding a powerful opponent for Zhong Xiaofei. Moreover, Zhong Xiaofei had heard rumors that many beautiful female employees in the company had connections with Li Sanshi. Although Li Sanshi's appearance was not impressive, he had money, and having money meant having charm, to many girls, having money was everything.

  "But it seems you don't have many chances." Li San Shi took a sip of coffee, and suddenly poured another bucket of cold water on Zhong Xiao Fei, with a hint of sarcastic smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Zhong Xiaofei's face didn't look good, whoever heard such words wouldn't be happy.

  Li Sanshi didn't care, he continued to mock.

  "I'll just say it straight out, do you think someone like Wu Yujie, a beautiful woman like her, would be interested in you? Even if she was interested in you, could you afford to support her lifestyle? You know that even one of her handbags costs tens of thousands."

  Zhong Xiaofei's face turned even uglier, and his mood became even more depressed, because Li San Shi said something that was not wrong. Every word of Li San Shi was like a sharp sword inserted into his heart. Between Zhong Xiaofei and Wu Yijie, there existed a huge gap, except for Wu Yijie's stunning beauty, it was also the economic disparity.

  In terms of income, Wu Yijie should now have around 30,000 yuan per month, while Zhong Xiaofei only has 10,000. The two people have a big gap. Think about it, how could someone as beautiful as Wu Yijie marry someone like Zhong Xiaofei who is unknown and has an income lower than hers?

  "If I don't try, how will I know she won't like me? As long as I make an effort, I don't believe I won't be able to catch up with her." Zhong Xiaofei stubbornly argued.

  "Hmm, very good, having perseverance and courage, but to chase after beauties, relying solely on perseverance and courage is absolutely not enough," Li San Shi said with a sly smile, as if imparting the ways of flirting, "because there's something that's far more important than these two things..."

  Zhong Xiaofei looked at Li Sanshi, "You're saying... money?"

  "Brilliant!" Li San Shi smiled slyly, "Do you think you have it?"

  Zhong Xiaofei didn't say anything, remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Just because it doesn't exist now, doesn't mean it won't in the future."

  "Yes, but by the time you have money, Secretary Wu will already be taken, and who knows, maybe even with kids in school..." Li San Shi's words still carried a hint of sarcasm.

  Zhong Xiaofei was completely speechless. Yes, based on Zhong Xiaofei's current salary level, wanting to become a rich person would be impossible, even if he didn't eat or drink for a hundred years. So he couldn't afford to raise Wu Yijie.

  "I know you're a bit unhappy, but Xiaofei, I'm telling you the truth, yeah, I rarely tell people the truth," Li Sanshi said suddenly with great sincerity. "It's just that I see in you the young me, who was also a penniless white-collar worker, barely scraping by..."

  Li San Shi's sudden "sincerity" truly surprised Zhong Xiao Fei, who could hardly believe that beneath Li San Shi's sinister smile lay a genuinely sincere heart! However, there was one thing Li San Shi didn't lie about: when he was young, he was indeed just a poor white-collar worker with nothing to his name. Just like Zhong Xiao Fei now. But later on, due to his outstanding performance and who-knows-what other reasons, he managed to snag the beautiful Xiong Hui Lin, and with her help, rapidly rose through the ranks in the company, becoming the second most powerful person after Chairman Yang Tian Zeng.

  But Zhong Xiaofei soon became vigilant again, because he had long known that Li Sanshi had been eyeing Wu Yijie.

  Li San Shi's wife was already the most beautiful woman in the world, but he was not content with what he had and kept looking at other women, which made Zhong Xiao Fei extremely disgusted.

  Is he saying these words to Zhong Xiaofei today in order to make her give up?

  "Alas," Li San Shi let out a soft sigh, "the truth is, I'm saying all this just to make you understand that if you want to pursue beautiful women, money isn't everything, but without it, it's absolutely impossible. No woman, especially a beauty, would be willing to follow a man into poverty and suffering. Those stories about rich misses marrying poor scholars in the movies are all lies..."

  Zhong Xiaofei looked at Li Sanshi without speaking, he knew that there was more to what Li Sanshi had said.

  "If you want to make money, you must have the guts, and that's when you'll be attractive to Secretary Wu..." Li San Shi smiled at Zhong Xiao Fei, "I've looked at the reports, in the past two months, you've made several trades, although the trading volume wasn't large, but the returns were great. Most importantly, I found that your judgment is accurate, and your timing for buying and selling was very appropriate. You're the top talent in the investment department, and I believe you'll definitely achieve something in the future. However... right now, you still lack a bit of guts. If your guts were big enough, your commissions from the past few months would be ten times what they are now."

  Zhong Xiaofei remained silent, because Li Sanshi was right. In trading, Zhong Xiaofei had always adhered to a cautious strategy of taking profits when good opportunities arose and never made risky investments, which affected his returns.