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Zhou Xing ordered a serving of bobo chicken for Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi, but even a single serving was huge. Ning Ruoxi was full after eating less than a third of it.

And Ye Ling, true to his principle of never wasting food, finished off the rest.

It was a habit he’d developed since childhood, one he stuck to even now that he had absolutely no shortage of money.

"Teacher Zhou, we’ve finished eating. Can you tell us what this is about now?" Ye Ling asked, putting down his chopsticks and looking at Zhou Xing, who had finished his meal long ago.

"Have you heard of the Xia Wei Group?"

Zhou Xing said, not minding Ning Ruoxi’s presence.

Although he was a professor, he kept up with the times. He frequented things like the campus forums, so he was already well aware of Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi’s relationship.

’Those two were always so lovey-dovey.’

"Of course I know about the Xia Wei Group."

Ye Ling nodded.

The Xia Wei Group had become very famous in recent years, even showing signs of surpassing the momentum of the United States’ top fruit-branded phone. It was arguably one of the most successful companies in the Xia Country.

"Here’s the thing. A few days ago, some people from the Xia Wei Group came to our university, primarily to discuss a joint university-corporate training program."

Zhou Xing paused for a moment before continuing:

"If you’re interested, I can apply to the university to get you a spot."

This type of joint university-corporate training was a very popular model these days.

The internet industry was developing so rapidly that some computer science students would find that the things they learned in school were completely useless once they started working at a tech company.

The joint training program, however, sent students to a company for a semester. It was similar to an internship, allowing them to understand the corporate environment and learn cutting-edge technology.

The joint programs at some second-rate universities could be a rip-off, sending students to small-time companies and possibly charging high fees to boot.

But a program with the Xia Wei Group was a completely different story.

To a certain extent, getting one of these spots meant you undoubtedly had a leg up if you wanted to build a career at the Xia Wei Group after graduation.

Clearly, Zhou Xing was telling Ye Ling about this because he truly thought highly of him.

After all, people would be climbing over each other for a spot like this.

"Teacher Zhou, thank you for your generous offer, but I’m too used to my freedom..."

After a moment’s consideration, Ye Ling declined the offer.

First of all, the Xia Wei Group was in Peng City. If he were to intern there, he’d have to travel halfway across the Xia Country, and he’d probably have to stay there for several months...

That was something Ye Ling found unacceptable. He didn’t think he could bear not seeing Ning Ruoxi for several months.

And as for the benefit of getting the spot—the so-called "priority"—it didn’t hold much appeal for Ye Ling either.

"Well... alright, then."

Zhou Xing nodded, not pressing the issue.

In truth, he wasn’t surprised by Ye Ling’s refusal. After all, Ye Ling had previously stated he had no interest in delving deeper into computer science.

...

At one o’clock in the afternoon, the afternoon trading session opened on schedule.

Over the past hour and a half, news about Bauhinia Energy had continued to ferment, with all sorts of information creating a firestorm online.

At first, someone behind the scenes was still trying to control the narrative, but things had gradually spiraled completely out of control.

After all, far too many people knew about it.

The moment the afternoon session began, Bauhinia Energy’s stock price took a nosedive, falling another three percent. Compared to the morning’s opening, it had already dropped a full fifteen percentage points.

At that moment, everyone from retail investors to the big whales holding the stock began dumping their shares of Bauhinia Energy without the slightest hesitation.

Ye Ling and Zhu Yun were also communicating on WeChat. Of course, they were both careful to omit any keywords from their conversation.

All in all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

’Zhu Yun: Chairman Ye, when do we move in?’

’Ye Ling: At the current rate, how long would it take to acquire it all?’

’Zhu Yun: About five minutes. A lot of people are selling right now.’

Ye Ling checked the news online, then glanced at the stock chart, lost in thought.

’He could definitely make a profit if he moved in now, but to maximize his returns, he’d undoubtedly have to wait a little longer.’

’In that case, buy everything up before the market closes for the day,’ Ye Ling decided.

This wasn’t a rash decision; it was the result of careful consideration.

Bauhinia Energy’s stock had plummeted because of the subsidy fraud scandal, but at the end of the day, the Jiang Family was still backing it.

With the Jiang Family’s resources, weathering this storm wouldn’t be especially difficult.

Moreover, with Bauhinia Energy being one of the country’s new energy giants, the Xia Country government would never actually let it fail.

Therefore, the drop in stock price was only temporary. It was bound to rebound sooner or later.

A rebound would take time, however. The Jiang Family was likely swamped at the moment, but one thing was certain: there was absolutely no chance of a recovery today.

After all, the entire market was dumping Bauhinia Energy stock. Even with a powerful intervention, it would be impossible to turn the situation around in such a short time.

To truly maximize his profit, the best move would be to wait another day or two, but Ye Ling wasn’t willing to take such a big risk.

The Xia Country’s stock market operated on a T+1 system, meaning stocks bought on a given day could only be sold the following day.

This greatly increased the risk.

With a bit of bad luck, he could miss the opportunity entirely.

Ye Ling had always followed the middle path. As long as he made money, it was enough. He was just looking to fleece the sheep this time, anyway.

’Understood,’ Zhu Yun replied.

Around three in the afternoon, Zhu Yun messaged Ye Ling. The full two billion had been invested, maxing out their position. However, the average purchase price was about one percent higher than anticipated.

It couldn’t be helped. A buy order that large was bound to have some impact on the price.

"Still busy?"

Ning Ruoxi came over to Ye Ling’s side. Staring at the colorful, jagged lines on his laptop screen, she felt her head spin.

"Almost done," Ye Ling said. "Barring any surprises, we’re going to make a lot of money."

Ye Ling pulled Ning Ruoxi close, inhaling the scent of her hair. The corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

He loved holding her like this, and the scent of her hair gave him a profound sense of contentment, of fulfillment.

Ning Ruoxi giggled and started massaging his shoulders. "You’ve worked hard today, Chairman Ye!"

"Hm?"

Ye Ling raised an eyebrow. "My little secretary’s hands are too weak. Put some more muscle into it."

Hearing this, Ning Ruoxi shot him a playfully reproachful glance, but she did apply a little more pressure. "Is this strong enough for you, Chairman Ye?"