Chapter 40: The True Demon King

Downstairs at the Yongfeng Building, Tan Tao had been waiting for a long time.

He was here to retrieve the car. A Bentley Mulsanne rented for eight thousand per day, Lu Liang had rented it for a total of 23 days, amounting to 184,000 in total.

During the last lease extension, Lu Liang had prepaid 200,000, so after factoring in the deposit, 26,000 would be refunded.

"Mr. Lu, if you have any needs in the future, please contact us. We'll give you a twenty percent discount."

Seeing Lu Liang's own ride, Tan Tao knew the chances of a next time were slim to none, but he still brought it up out of habit.

Lu Liang nodded slightly, holding 26,000 in cash in his hand, and took the elevator up to the office on the upper floor.

It was already eight o'clock by the time he got back to the downtown area, and after having just grabbed a bite to eat, it was now close to nine in the evening.

Tang Caidie and Chen Jinchun had both gotten off work long ago, and the company was completely empty.

Lu Liang closed his eyes to rest his mind, enjoying a long-overdue moment of solitude.

Commonly known as... the sage time.

After a while, Lu Liang turned on the computer.

He looked at the calendar in the bottom right corner of the screen. If he remembered correctly, next Wednesday was his father's 55th birthday.

"It's about time I went home for a trip," Lu Liang muttered to himself.

For at least ten, or fifteen, or perhaps even more years, he had never celebrated his parents' birthdays with them.

The birthdays of the two elders—one in the fifth lunar month and the other in the eleventh lunar month—had no public holidays around them.

In previous years, Lu Liang had been working in Modu, only sending a red envelope and making a phone call, doing nothing beyond that.

Sometimes, he even felt like an unfilial son.

Besides, it was time to come clean about the divorce.

Lu Liang stayed in the office until the bell of midnight chimed, and the voice in his mind arrived right on schedule.

[October 19th, Telesun, 108.25 yuan]

Lu Liang immediately searched for related news. Seeing the stock price and the ticker code, he couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement: "This is a genuine freakish king of stocks!"

Telesun, stock code 000025, is a main board stock listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and also the 25th listed enterprise on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Unlike new stocks like Storm Technologies, Telesun was listed back in 1993 and has a history of 22 years to this day.

Its current stock price is 9.75 yuan, with a market value of 7.1 billion, and the total value of its circulating shares is also currently 7.1 billion.

Lu Liang was no longer a clueless newbie. The reason why the surge of Storm Technologies last month was so exaggerated had a great deal to do with the special attributes of new stocks.

Its issuing market value was only 780 million, the major shareholders had a six-month lock-up period, and the proportion of circulating shares would not exceed 15%.

In other words, Storm Technologies' initial capital pool would not exceed 100 million. Even if it rose to 327 yuan—a 46-fold increase—the total volume of the capital pool would only be 4.6 billion.

Telesun was different. This was an old stock, and all 7.1 billion of its circulating shares were out in the market, with no lock-up period for major shareholders.

Wanting to surge from the current price of 9.75 yuan to 108.25 yuan—an 11-fold increase—would require injecting 71 billion in real cash.

"Could it be that there's actually no stock market crash? Is it just a normal market correction? Is the mega-bull market coming back?"

At this moment, Lu Liang fell into deep self-doubt, momentarily suspecting that his judgment was wrong.

After all, an investment of 71 billion was just for a single stock.

Not to mention the so-called Mingzhou Faction, Yongjia Faction, Yuhang Faction, and northbound capital—these famous financial groups—even CITIC could not possibly invest 71 billion in a single stock.

Lu Liang thought and thought, and his tightly knitted brow gradually unfurled.

He thought of a possibility, and the more he thought about it, the more probable it seemed.

Normally, an 11-fold increase in a stock requires 26 consecutive daily limit-up sessions, which takes about 37 days.

Today is June 6th, and there are still more than four months left.

This indicates that this stock didn't surge to its peak in a single wave of market trends, but rather went through twists and turns, repeatedly buffeted back and forth.

During that period, perhaps countless institutions came and went, returned after leaving, and passed the parcel like playing drums, thereby creating this true freakish king of stocks.

This could also indirectly prove Lu Liang's judgment: what lies ahead is the period of a stock market crash, a great bear market.

As the old saying goes, when the world is in chaos, monsters are bound to be born.

Even during a stock market crash and a great bear market, financial practitioners still need to eat, and retail investors also want to fight their way out of a desperate situation.

"The freak stocks in a bull market are just fake demon kings; the freak stocks that rise against the trend are the true demon kings."

"A freak represents being elusive, unaffected by the market, abandoning the broader market, and carving out an independent trend."

Lu Liang realized this was an incredible opportunity. Over the next four months or so, this stock would become a chaotic battleground for institutions.

If he could stand out among them, it would be the best publicity possible.

...

At a little past one in the morning, Lu Liang returned home.

The living room was still brightly lit. Li Manli was hugging a plush toy, lying on the sofa. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she sat up all at once.

"Brother Liang, where did you go? I called you so many times just now, did you really not see them?" Her tone was hurried, seemingly full of concern, but also carrying a hint of blame.

"Didn't notice," Lu Liang dropped a casual remark and went to the bathroom to wash up.

He knew Li Manli had called him; she seemed to have called four or five times tonight.

He hadn't been busy at the time, nor was he occupied with anything, but he simply refused to answer.

Li Manli's mindset was not as mature as Zhang Qian's; she was young and lacked a sense of boundaries.

Lu Liang wanted to use this opportunity to make her clearly recognize the relationship between the two of them.

The bathroom, filled with swirling steam, suddenly cracked open a gap.

Li Manli poked her head out and asked timidly, "Brother Liang, did something happen today?"

Lu Liang wrapped himself in a bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom, a slightly forced smile on his face: "There was a bit of a matter, but it's already been handled."

Li Manli brought a cup of hot milk over from the water bar: "If you don't need to stay up late working tonight, you should drink less coffee."

"Thanks," Lu Liang chuckled, affectionately stroking the back of Li Manli's head as usual.

Li Manli breathed a sigh of relief, beaming with joy, and racked her brains to cheer Lu Liang up: "I recently learned a piece of otaku dance, how about I dance it for you?"

"Next time, I want to rest early tonight," Lu Liang finished the milk, stood up, and returned to the bedroom: "You should go to sleep early too."

Hardly had he lain down for a moment when sleepiness gradually crept over him, and suddenly the rustling sound of clothes being taken off came from beside the bed.

Li Manli crawled out from under the covers, bare-bodied, graceful and charming, with a sweet smile on her face: "I read an article that sleeping in the nude and cuddling can make your mood better. Want to try?"

Without waiting for Lu Liang's response, Li Manli took the initiative to remove the restrictions from his body, and then curled up entirely in his arms, speaking in a soft murmur: "No distracting thoughts, be a good boy and sleep."

There was no clothing barrier between the two of them.

They snuggled together, feeling each other's heartbeats.

Holding the naked body in his arms, Lu Liang softly replied: "Let's sleep~"

Before long, the sound of steady breathing came from beside his ear. Li Manli felt secretly overjoyed and closed her eyes with satisfaction.

...

June 6th, Saturday.

Going to sleep early last night meant waking up very early today.

As soon as Lu Liang opened his eyes, he saw Li Manli's smiling face: "Good morning! How did you sleep last night?"

"I think I've grown to like sleeping in the nude." Lu Liang reached out and wrapped his arms around Li Manli, feeling just like holding a human-shaped heating pad—soft and warm.

Li Manli raised her chin, humming with a face full of spoiled pride: "Your expression was so dark when you came back last night, you scared the life out of me."

Lu Liang smiled, then changed the subject: "How about we go play some tennis together later?"

Li Manli decisively dived back under the covers, burying her head and replying in a muffled voice: "No, I want to catch up on sleep."

"Then sleep a bit longer."

Lu Liang felt a sense of guilt, so he didn't force her.

He washed up, changed his clothes, and said at the same time: "I'm going out on a trip tomorrow, and I probably won't be back for three to five days."

Li Manli hurriedly burrowed out from under the covers again, exposing only a small head: "Then when are you leaving?"

Because of the lesson from last night, she no longer dared to ask where Lu Liang was going or what he was going to do.

"Tonight, I suppose."

Lu Liang kissed Li Manli goodbye and headed to the fitness center.