That evening, He Zhengcheng received an angry phone call from Qian Yabo.
"I really have things to do. I've started a business, and there are many things to handle. I even have to pull an all-nighter tonight. Otherwise, how could I possibly not meet you?" He Zhengcheng said, trying to appease her.
"Really? You're not lying to me?" Qian Yabo asked.
"I wouldn't lie to anyone but you, ah. I even wanted to ask you for a favor, but I missed the opportunity again, and I don't know when I'll get another chance." He Zhengcheng replied.
"If you need my help, just say it directly over the phone, isn't that enough?" Qian Yabo said.
"This matter isn't small. I want to develop a high-tech product. The technology is already mature, but similar products haven't appeared on the market yet, so I'm a bit inclined to do this!" He Zhengcheng explained.
"What do you mean by asking me?" Qian Yabo inquired.
"Didn't you go to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology? I want you to help me ask if the professors there are interested in taking on this project. I'll provide the funding. If they develop it, the patent will belong to me, and then a company will be established to handle the production and sales of this product!" He Zhengcheng elaborated.
"What kind of project? It wouldn't be a small project worth tens of thousands, would it? No, didn't you lack money not long ago?" Qian Yabo questioned.
"Uh, that, it's hard to explain." He Zhengcheng thought, he couldn't very well say that the memories of a person named Duan Chao from the mainland had suddenly merged into his brain, could he?
"Tell me, I have time now!" Qian Yabo insisted.
"A few days ago, the Hong Kong Economic Journal had an article about Long-Term Capital Management, and I was credited in it. You should understand after reading it.
Let's get back to business. This research project should be in the millions. Don't worry, even if I don't have that much money, I can find investors.
The key is that I want to ensure this project succeeds as quickly as possible. Otherwise, once someone else thinks of it and invests in development, the patent could very likely be registered ahead of us." He Zhengcheng explained.
"You're doing well, ah. A few days ago, you were worried about hundreds of thousands, and now a million is no problem for you. When are you going to return my money?" Qian Yabo asked.
"???" Damn it, He Zhengcheng only then remembered that he had actually borrowed money from her. He truly was a thick-skinned fellow, borrowing money from someone he liked, it was too informal. He probably wasn't a good person before, borrowing money from classmates and friends... "Whenever you want it, but preferably by the end of this month, that way it will have less impact on me." He Zhengcheng said.
"Do you really want to develop a tech product?" Qian Yabo wasn't genuinely pressing for the money.
"Why would I lie to you? I've thought about this for a long time and already have a long-term plan. If all goes well, it should be able to change the current state of Hong Kong's technology companies.
If it doesn't go well, then I'll spend money to gain experience. In short, ever since you rejected me, my motto has changed!" He Zhengcheng declared.
"What's your motto now?" Qian Yabo asked.
"Life is endless, so is struggle! I want this world to change because of me!" He Zhengcheng said this with a bit of a guilty conscience, but then he thought about it, and it seemed fine. His very existence had already changed the world.
The richer he got, the greater his impact on the world. Of course, if he could stir up trouble for the opposite side... ahem, that's not something he should do!
"Then go ahead and cause trouble! Don't come looking for me, ah!" Qian Yabo said.
"This is my ideal, and it requires everyone's understanding and support!" He Zhengcheng replied.
"What are you going to develop?" Qian Yabo asked.
"You know about the USB port on computers, right? And flash memory chips, right? I want to combine these two things to replace current floppy disks and CDs!" He Zhengcheng explained.
"Let me think, it seems, this indeed has great potential!" Qian Yabo said. Her professional knowledge told her that realizing this idea would not be difficult.
"Yes, ah, even an outsider like me knows it's possible. If we don't develop it quickly, what if someone else realizes this idea first? We'll only be left to eat dust behind them!" He Zhengcheng emphasized.
"My mentor can solve this problem. I'll go ask him for you. If he's willing, then you two can schedule a time to meet." Qian Yabo was straightforward and didn't beat around the bush.
"That's great, you're really something." He Zhengcheng said happily.
"You know it. Don't stand me up next time!" Qian Yabo warned.
"Alas! Ever since I started a business with others, I've known that I'm not my own master. I can promise you now, but I really can't guarantee I can always deliver." He Zhengcheng would never promise something he couldn't do.
"Alright, alright, honestly, you don't even know how to lie to coax me." Qian Yabo sighed.
"Alright, alright, alright, you are the most beautiful girl in this world!" He Zhengcheng said.
"What, are you saying I'm not pretty?!" Qian Yabo challenged.
"Who said that? If you weren't pretty, how could I be so fond of you?" He Zhengcheng was drenched in a cold sweat. He couldn't speak the truth or lie... "I'm not talking to you anymore. You're really not honest now. I'm hanging up!" Qian Yabo said.
"Good night, sweet dreams!" He Zhengcheng whispered softly.
He hung up the phone and continued working. A USB drive, ah, this might be the beginning of his glory and dreams.
He slept without dreams. After his work was done last night, he started writing a story outline and couldn't stop until dawn. He finally finished it, caught a brief nap, until He Daixuan came to call him for breakfast.
"Big brother didn't sleep all night?" He Daixuan asked.
"That's how work is!" He Zhengcheng replied.
"Weren't you quite free a while ago?" He Zhengping asked.
"Both free time and busy time are work!" He Zhengcheng said without stopping.
"What are you busy with now?" He Daixuan asked.
"Busy scamming money!" He Zhengcheng declared.
"Are you going to do something illegal?" He Zhengping asked.
"What nonsense are you talking about? What I'm doing now is finance. If I scam someone, then I've scammed them. We are legally scamming! No one will come looking for trouble." Isn't the core of finance 'scamming'? Everyone knows that.
"How is that possible? Scamming other people's money and no one will come looking for trouble!" He Daixuan exclaimed.
"Heh heh, you know Li Ban Cheng, right? When Cheung Tze-keung kidnapped him, you didn't see him retaliate either! This time, Li Ban Cheng actively invested in us; he delivered himself to our doorstep, so there's no need to worry!" He Zhengcheng explained.
"Li Ban Cheng invested in you guys?!" He Zhengping asked in surprise.
"Oh, right, it's good that you two know, but keep it a secret! If you accidentally leak it, we might all end up in jail!" He Zhengcheng, the inexperienced fellow, had forgotten such an important matter as secrecy.
"Oh! Then don't say anymore." He Daixuan said.
"Remember, secrecy is real. What I mean by 'scamming' is my own understanding. Finance is about the strong preying on the weak, it's actually more like plunder.
I say 'scamming' because many financial practitioners use information asymmetry to illegally earn profits." He Zhengcheng didn't understand it perfectly, but he figured the less trouble, the better.
His words were somewhat biased. The development of an industry has its own laws. Finance and industry complement each other, like Yin and Yang, capable of mutual transformation. There is no high or low, as long as neither is neglected, it's fine.
"Alright, we understand!" He Zhengping said.
After finishing breakfast and freshening up, he took the subway to meet Ge Ge.
"I have two stories here, one simple and one slightly more complex. Both are female-led films." He Zhengcheng said to Ge Ge without preamble.
"One of them takes place on a cruise ship, a death cycle story that occurs due to the overlap of time and space. You can understand it this way: our female lead, Ying'er, simultaneously has three doppelgangers who repeatedly die on this cruise ship and are constantly reincarnated.
The cycle is like this: on the A-th boarding, Ying'er 3 kills everyone, Ying'er 2 watches the whole process, and Ying'er 1 throws Ying'er 3 into the sea; on the B-th boarding, the previous Ying'er 2 becomes the B-th Ying'er 3, the previous Ying'er 1 becomes the B-th Ying'er 2, and the one boarding becomes Ying'er 1. This repeats the entire process of the A-th boarding, but with slight changes in detail. On the C-th boarding, the B-th Ying'er 2 becomes the C-th Ying'er 3. The B-th Ying'er 1 becomes the C-th Ying'er 2, and the one boarding becomes Ying'er 1. This time, the scene from the A-th boarding is perfectly reproduced, forming a perfect cyclical closed loop, a perfect reincarnation triangle." He Zhengcheng explained.
"What are you talking about..." Zhang Guorong asked with an embarrassed expression.
"You didn't understand?" He Zhengcheng looked bewildered. Isn't this very simple? The movie 'Triangle' is quite good.