Chapter 57: Spoilers After a Night of Drinking~

If Yu Dazhang stopped now, his alcohol tolerance would be just right; drinking any more would definitely be too much. But alcohol is tricky—once you start getting tipsy, it's rare to control yourself because you simply don't realize how drunk you've become. Especially with a stunning beauty sitting across from you, sharing drinks.

Earlier, Yu Dazhang had spoken without thinking, just casually chatting and blurting out whatever came to mind. Qu Tuotuo, curious, asked, "You have some knowledge of finance?"

"No," Yu Dazhang said, settling back into his chair and waving his hand dismissively. "I don't know the first thing about it."

Qu Tuotuo grew even more curious and pressed on, "Then how do you know a bull market is coming?"

Draft beer has a way of getting to your head quickly. Combined with Qu Tuotuo’s keen interest in his words, Yu Dazhang’s passive instinct kicked in. What do people like to do most when drunk? The answer: they love to play the expert.

Faced with a ready question and a bright-eyed beauty staring eagerly at him, Yu Dazhang completely lost himself.

"Listen carefully: soon there will be news about lowering interest rates and reserve requirements—that's the signal the bull market is starting," he explained. "You need to build your position before that news breaks because leveraged funds will flood in once it does."

"Add to that the investors’ optimism and media hype, and the herd mentality kicks in immediately."

"Finally, a large number of retail investors will enter the market. By then, it will be around April next year, and you should be ready to close your positions and exit."

In just a few sentences, Qu Tuotuo was captivated. If all this was true, it would be a perfect stock market prophecy! Who could predict the movements of the Mainland A-share market? It's the most unpredictable stock market in the world.

Even the legendary Baron Buffett had been caught in it once, nearly suffering a heart attack.

Yet here, in this ordinary barbecue joint, the chubby man claiming total ignorance of finance had just painted a clear picture of the future A-share market in a few words.

Not understanding finance? Interest rates, leverage, herd effect... Could someone clueless even utter those terms? He’d even explained when and why to build positions, and when and why to close them.

It didn’t sound like nonsense at all.

The more Qu Tuotuo thought about it, the more confused she became, until she couldn’t help but ask, "You said you don’t understand finance, so how did you know all that? Don’t tell me you were just guessing."

Yu Dazhang’s eyelids drooped. He motioned for the waiter to bring more drinks before looking at Qu Tuotuo.

"There was a raid by the economic crimes unit once, and I went to assist," he said. "The suspect was a stock trading expert, but he was using public funds to speculate and ultimately got caught."

"By the time of his arrest, he’d made enough money to last a lifetime, yet hadn’t covered the hole in the public funds."

"Greed and desire are endless—he was still mumbling about future market trends in the car."

"Guess what? He got every prediction right. He really was an expert."

Yu Dazhang didn’t realize these things hadn’t happened in this lifetime yet. Or rather, the embezzlement case hadn’t occurred yet, and the stock expert hadn’t been caught.

He’d just given a spoiler in advance.

Drinking like this, he’d even abandoned his habit of not discussing cases after work.

Though Qu Tuotuo had also drunk quite a bit, her mind remained relatively clear. Still, she felt there was a logical problem in Yu Dazhang’s story and challenged him, "If the bull market hasn’t come yet, how did he make that money? And you mentioned 2015—that doesn’t add up."

"I hate it when people question me," Yu Dazhang said, giving up on thinking and replying bluntly, "Believe it or not."

Seeing his state, Qu Tuotuo knew he was drunk and starting to act foolish.

"Is that all your drinking capacity?" she asked with a smile. The chubby man looked so amusing—clumsy, with a hint of slyness. His gaze was fixed intently on her.

"Drinking capacity? Ha, don’t ask about my drinking. Just point your finger towards the sea," Yu Dazhang said, puffing out his belly to show off.

"Alright, alright," Qu Tuotuo laughed, not bothering to argue. "Since you’re not that drunk, let me ask you something."

"Go ahead," Yu Dazhang said confidently, patting his chest with pride.

"My domestic driver’s license is almost ready," Qu Tuotuo said seriously. "I want to give my instructor a banner as a gift. What should I write on it?"

Without hesitation, Yu Dazhang replied, "National Server Sun Ce."

"What? Who’s Sun Ce?" Qu Tuotuo heard the words clearly but didn’t understand.

"National server! Don’t even know that? Forget it, you’ll get it in a few years," Yu Dazhang said lazily, refusing to explain further. "Just trust me and write that. I guarantee this banner will still be the most dazzling one in the whole driving school ten years from now."

"Really?" Qu Tuotuo was half convinced.

"Relax," Yu Dazhang patted his chest again. "You can’t go wrong trusting me."

Qu Tuotuo knew he was drunk. Normally, she should persuade him to stop drinking and get him home while he was still sober.

But for some reason, she just wanted to stay with him a little longer.

Seeing Yu Dazhang take another gulp of draft beer, Qu Tuotuo thought for a moment and asked, "Why is it that robberies and kidnappings are usually done by men? It’s rare to see a man and woman doing it together."

She was just making small talk. The question stemmed from a kidnapping she had experienced, which left a deep impression on her. She also enjoyed seeing Yu Dazhang seriously answer her questions.

"Those are violent crimes," Yu Dazhang said, his eyes nearly shut as he hiccupped. "How could they involve women? Ever heard the saying..."

He paused, hiccuping again.

"What saying?" Qu Tuotuo asked curiously.

"Robbery with a woman? Either you die or face life imprisonment," Yu Dazhang replied smoothly.

Spicy... this isn’t a place to linger. Qu Tuotuo noticed the strange looks others were giving them.

Feeling awkward, she forced a smile, called the owner to settle the bill, and quickly pulled Yu Dazhang out of the barbecue joint.

Once outside, Yu Dazhang clutched a nearby tree and vomited violently.

Oh no, you can’t pass out now... Qu Tuotuo stood beside him, patting his back and silently praying.

The next morning, Li Xuehe had prepared breakfast and hesitated about whether to wake Yu Dazhang.

Her son had come home drunk last night, escorted by a stunningly beautiful girl. Judging by her looks and demeanor, she must be from a wealthy family—probably the so-called “friend of a friend” he had mentioned before.

The girl had been polite and had helped put her son to bed. If it hadn’t been so late, Li Xuehe would have liked to talk to her properly.

Just then, a noise came from her son’s room—he was awake.

But after waiting a minute, he didn’t come out.

Just as she was about to check on him, there was a sharp slap sound.

Li Xuehe was stunned. That sounded like a slap.

Then came a rapid series of five more slaps.

Soon after, Yu Dazhang’s anguished voice echoed: "I’ve said things I shouldn’t have, ahhhhhhh, I won’t survive, let me die!!"