Chapter 9: Chen Hao’s Focused Expression Is Truly Captivating
“Actually, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to help you resolve your identity issue,” Lizhi said thoughtfully to Chen Hao. “But I will do my best to help you.”
She hadn’t been on the island for many years, and her connections there weren’t yet strong enough. So, she wasn’t confident she could solve Chen Hao’s problem outright. She planned to ask her father for assistance, hoping he might be able to lend a hand.
Deep down, Lizhi wasn’t entirely sure why she was so willing to help Chen Hao. Perhaps it was because, like her, he was from the mainland, and that gave her a strange sense of kinship.
“Whatever happens, I want to thank you first,” Chen Hao said gratefully.
“All right,” Lizhi replied, glancing at her watch. “It’s about time. Let’s head to Prosperity Securities now.”
“Okay,” Chen Hao nodded.
Together, they left the apartment and the residential complex, preparing to hail a taxi to Prosperity Securities. Suddenly, Lizhi turned to Chen Hao.
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going now?” Chen Hao asked curiously, wondering if she had another surprise in store.
“I’m going to buy you a mobile phone,” she said. “With a mobile phone, it’ll be easier for us to stay in touch.”
By ‘mobile phone,’ she meant a cellular phone. At that time, these phones were rather bulky and were colloquially called “brick phones” on the mainland.
“No need,” Chen Hao replied with a slight shake of his head. “There’s already a landline phone in your friend’s apartment. I don’t need a mobile phone right now. Let’s save some money and invest more in the stock market. Once we’ve earned enough, buying a mobile phone won’t be too late.”
Mobile phones were expensive back then, and Chen Hao thought it would be wiser to invest in stocks rather than spend money on a phone. Still, he was deeply touched that Lizhi wanted to buy one for him.
“Fine,” Lizhi agreed with a slight nod.
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Later, Chen Hao and Lizhi hailed a taxi and arrived for the second time at Prosperity Securities. By now, the staff had already started their day.
Lizhi approached the reception desk and found the same clerk who had helped her open an account before.
“Hello, how can I assist you today?” the receptionist asked politely.
Though she dealt with many clients daily, she immediately recognized Lizhi — partly because Lizhi was stunningly beautiful, her breathtaking looks even surprising this woman, and partly because she saw Chen Hao alongside her.
The receptionist remembered Chen Hao clearly; during their previous visit, Chen Hao had actually borrowed money from Lizhi. That left her with a poor impression of him, thinking he was a freeloader.
However, she did not realize that Lizhi was the reigning Miss Asia or a celebrity — perhaps because Lizhi was still relatively new to the island and not yet widely known.
“I’d like to deposit 360,000 Hong Kong dollars into my account,” Lizhi said, handing over a bank card from her purse.
“Certainly, please wait a moment,” the receptionist replied, taking the card and sneaking a glance at Chen Hao, feeling even more disdainful toward him — a man with no money to invest who relied on a woman’s funds.
Still, she kept to herself.
“The deposit has been made,” the receptionist said, returning the card to Lizhi.
“Thank you,” Lizhi said, taking the card back.
“Is there anything else you need today?” the receptionist asked politely.
“No, that’s all,” Lizhi answered, putting the card away and turning to Chen Hao. “It’s done. Let’s go.”
“Okay,” Chen Hao nodded.
“Have a good day,” the receptionist said politely as they left. Yet, as she watched Chen Hao’s retreating figure, she sneered inwardly, “What use is a good-looking man who’s worthless?”
Chen Hao, of course, had no idea he was being mocked.
Together, they headed once more to the trading hall of the Stock Exchange.
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At that moment, the market had not yet opened but would soon. After waiting a bit, trading began.
Lizhi had just deposited another 360,000 Hong Kong dollars into their securities account. Along with the previous 10,000 Hong Kong dollars and the more than 10,000 they had earned that morning, their account now held over 380,000 Hong Kong dollars.
“Let’s do the same as this morning. I’ll watch the market,” Chen Hao said to Lizhi. “You follow my instructions and call the traders at Prosperity Securities to buy and sell.”
“All right,” Lizhi replied with a nod.
Chen Hao took a deep breath and began to focus intently on the electronic screens displaying the key stock price movements.
His mind whirred rapidly. He wasn’t watching every stock but concentrated on a select few to reduce the burden on his memory and calculations.
He recalled the morning’s key stock trends from memory and began analyzing and predicting based on the current price movements.
Beside him, Lizhi was captivated by Chen Hao’s focused demeanor. She didn’t dare interrupt him, and yet she found herself drawn to his intense concentration.
Chen Hao’s focused expression was incredibly captivating. Deep within, she felt her heart flutter inexplicably.
“Buy 10,000 shares of HSBC,” Chen Hao suddenly commanded, eyes fixed on the screen.
Lost in admiration of Chen Hao’s absorbed expression, Lizhi hadn’t heard his instruction.
Noticing her inaction, Chen Hao glanced at her and saw her gazing at him with a dreamy look.
Puzzled, he said, “Why are you staring at me? I told you to call Prosperity Securities and buy 10,000 shares of HSBC.”
“Oh!” Lizhi snapped back to reality, her cheeks flushing.
She hadn’t expected to be so enchanted by Chen Hao’s concentration. Was she acting foolishly?
Flustered, she quickly took out her mobile phone and dialed the trader at Prosperity Securities.
The call connected swiftly, but she wasn’t sure which stock Chen Hao wanted her to buy.
She sheepishly asked, “Which stock did you want me to buy just now?”