Upon hearing Chen Yan's words, astonishment could no longer be concealed in Qin Ming's eyes.

He looked down at the lightweight piece of paper in his hand again.

It said simply: "Xilin Education, buy at 9:30 am on December 27, sell at 11:30 am on December 30."

"Xilin Education?"

Qin Ming chewed over the stock's name in his mind and rummaged through his memory, but found nothing.

Although Qin Ming was not much of a stock trader, stocks to some extent reflect capital recognition of future trends, so he kept an eye on them.

However, he had no impression of this stock at all.

This meant that the stock was not famous.

"Can this really work?"

Qin Ming was somewhat hesitant.

After all, this was different from the previous favors he had done for Chen Yan; this required him to invest money.

Astute as he was, he inevitably thought more: Was it insider information? A trend prediction? Merely offhand persuasion? Or... setting him up to take the fall.

Of course, he couldn't blame himself for thinking too much. After all, according to what Chen Yan meant, not only did he have to invest all his savings, but he also had to borrow millions more to get the promised returns from Chen Yan.

The risk was too great.

So, even though he did not want to raise questions for fear of affecting Chen Yan's impression of him, due to the immense pressure, he still cautiously asked, "Chen, Brother Chen... is this information..."

Chen Yan nonchalantly snapped the pen cap back on, tossed the pen onto the desk, and said, "Trust me and just go for it."

"If you're hesitant, you can invest less, or not at all. I don't mind. After all, this is just a gift from me."

Looking at Chen Yan's nonchalant demeanor, Qin Ming wrestled intensely in his mind.

To trust?

Or not to trust?

This was an eternal question.

On one side was the risk of losing everything and incurring huge debts, and on the other was the chance of doubling his assets by catching a ride on this super potential stock.

Qin Ming was truly conflicted.

And Chen Yan, without urging him, just leaned back in his chair and watched Qin Ming with interest.

This was not a sudden whim of his to reward and test Qin Ming, but the result of thoughtful consideration all morning.

Chen Yan didn't know much about Qin Ming.

This man suddenly entered his social circle, perhaps because of a misunderstanding, or perhaps it was his own intuition, so he clung tightly to Chen Yan's coattails.

Which meant that Chen Yan actually didn't know him very well.

Moreover, given that Qin Ming was overly shrewd during their time together, Chen Yan thought of setting up a test to see what kind of person Qin Ming really was.

Whether he was reckless, cautious, merely cunning, or truly courageous.

And indeed, the stock had reached the maximum limit up four days in a row.

Because Chen Yan had obtained this information the previous night when withdrawing cash from the system.

Since the withdrawal amount was quite large this time, the system provided him with information on many stocks, as well as multiple buy and sell directions.

That morning, Chen Yan had reviewed them all and then selected this particular stock.

This stock had a relatively large market capitalization, so minor transactions wouldn't have a big impact. Qin Ming's five million wouldn't make a difference.

And if Qin Ming were more adventurous and recklessly invested much more in this stock, since the system instructed Chen Yan to invest only a small amount, even if there were problems, it would have little impact on Chen Yan.

Therefore, Chen Yan chose this stock to test Qin Ming.

Of course, apart from testing, Chen Yan was also influencing Qin Ming through this method.

Although Qin Ming had helped Chen Yan several times, those were initiated by Qin Ming. It was Qin Ming driving those efforts.

This stock trading, however, was led by Chen Yan. Getting Qin Ming to gamble his entire fortune was to give him a strong psychological suggestion: to place everything in Chen Yan's hands. His fate would be entirely controlled by Chen Yan.

And once Qin Ming accepted the idea of gambling his entire fortune, if Chen Yan made other demands in the future, he would hardly hesitate.

This was the multi-purpose test that Chen Yan had devised.

While Chen Yan was pondering all this, Qin Ming finally made up his mind.

He clenched the note, looked seriously at Chen Yan, and said, "Brother Chen! I trust you! I'll go borrow money from my cousin this very day."

Chen Yan activated his "inner headphones" for the second time today and listened to Qin Ming's internal thoughts.

The hesitation Qin Ming had felt just now had turned into resolve.

He had figured it out: with the financial strength Chen Yan had shown, there was no need for him to be set up, nor was there any point in deceiving him.

Although such a gamble was exceedingly risky, he still believed in his judgment! He was willing to bet!

His family had assets worth just one or two million, and he himself had saved just over two million over the years. Losing five Millionen would indeed be crippling.

Thus, this time, he was truly staking everything he had struggled to accumulate over the years on Chen Yan.

After listening to Qin Ming's thoughts, a smile finally appeared on Chen Yan's face.

Only now could he truly consider Qin Ming one of his own.

He smiled and said, "Good. Wait till next week. You will admire your courage today."

Qin Ming also looked at Chen Yan with eager eyes.

A gamble that staked everything obviously brought the two men closer. Their conversations became much more relaxed.

Chen Yan asked Qin Ming to take a seat at ease and even poured him a glass of water.

The two did not discuss stocks further but talked about Chen Yan's meeting with He Mengxue the next day.

After learning about He Mengxue's personality and working style from Qin Ming, Chen Yan also inquired about the resources she controlled.

According to Qin Ming, He Mengxue was fiery, shrewd, dominant, and somewhat vindictive.

Being He Ruifeng's only daughter and having graduated five or six years ago, she controlled considerable resources.

Even rumors in the circle suggested that the Qin Island Rich Foundation being established by the billionaires was intended to pave the way for her.

However, because Qin Ming's parents weren't eligible to participate, he was unaware of the details.

After seeing Qin Ming off, Chen Yan drank some water and then returned to his desk, opened his "Game Strategy Notebook", and recorded all this information.

"He Mengxue..."

"Qin Island Rich Foundation..."

As Chen Yan contemplated the content in the notebook, Zhao Ying's silhouette inevitably appeared in his mind.

From last night's banquet, Zhao Xuan's status seemed not too far off from He Ruifeng's.

If the foundation would mostly benefit He Mengxue, it would likely provide significant advantages to Zhao Ying as well.

Just thinking about it, Chen Yan once again thought of Zhao Xuan.

Since the previous night until now, Zhao Xuan had not contacted Chen Yan.

Nor had Yu Qiao Qiao mentioned any strange person visiting Zhao Ying.

This situation left Chen Yan unsure about what Zhao Xuan really thought.

Even though he had "rescued" Zhao Ying and learned much of the truth, he always felt that what he knew was just the tip of the iceberg, with many more "conspiracies" and unknown events hidden beneath the vast depths...

After a while with no new clues, Chen Yan closed the notebook, placed it in the safe, and returned to his work.

Even though the game project was now on track and Chen Yan, the main planner, could afford to relax a little, there were endless matters involving Lu Man.

With less than two months to Lu Man's promotion to the premier league, Mei Li was generating hype, and Yang Rou was planning a celebration banquet.

Each project needed to pass through Chen Yan's hands and required his signature, so he couldn't slow down...

Soon, a busy day went by.

At 6 P.M., Chen Yan glanced at the time and mused, "It's this late already?"

He involuntarily thought of Zhao Ying.

Zhao Ying had returned to her dormitory the day before with nothing—no cellphone, no money, not even clothes.

As the person who had "rescued" her, Chen Yan felt he should take a bit more responsibility.

So, after some thought, he called Yu Qiao Qiao.

"Hello...hello...hello..."

After a moment, the call connected.

Boss Qiao Qiao Meng Meng's voice came through, "Um... Chen Yan?"

Chen Yan heard Yu Qiao Qiao's slightly muffled voice and asked, "What are you doing?"

Yu Qiao Qiao said, "Eating, Chen Yan."

Chen Yan chuckled and then asked, "Is Brother Ying near you?"

Boss Qiao Qiao seemed to glance around and then said, "Yes. She's eating at the next table with Sister Nuan Nuan."

Chen Yan hummed a response and said, "Then, do you have time for a late-night snack? My treat for you and Brother Ying."

Yu Qiao Qiao adorably replied, "I'm okay with it. But I'll have to ask Brother Ying."

Chen Yan said, "Alright. Then send me a message later."

Yu Qiao Qiao hummed twice.

After hanging up, Chen Yan continued reviewing Lu Man's publicity plans.

It took a good five minutes before he received a WeChat message from Yu Qiao Qiao, [Chen Yan. Brother Ying said it's fine. Shall we meet at the campus gate later?]

Yu Qiao Qiao said, "Eating, Chen Yan."

Chen Yan chuckled and then asked, "Is Brother Ying near you?"

Boss Qiao Qiao seemed to glance around and then said, "Yes. She's eating at the next table with Sister Nuan Nuan."

Chen Yan hummed a response and said, "Then, do you have time for a late-night snack? My treat for you and Brother Ying."

Yu Qiao Qiao adorably replied, "I'm okay with it. But I'll have to ask Brother Ying."

Chen Yan said, "Alright. Then send me a message later."

Yu Qiao Qiao hummed twice.

After hanging up, Chen Yan continued reviewing Lu Man's publicity plans.

It took a good five minutes before he received a WeChat message from Yu Qiao Qiao, [Chen Yan. Brother Ying said it's fine. Shall we meet at the campus gate later?]

Yu Qiao Qiao said, "Eating, Chen Yan."

Chen Yan chuckled and then asked, "Is Brother Ying near you?"

Boss Qiao Qiao seemed to glance around and then said, "Yes. She's eating at the next table with Sister Nuan Nuan."

Chen Yan hummed a response and said, "Then, do you have time for a late-night snack? My treat for you and Brother Ying."

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