Chapter 4: Going to Work

Chapter 4: Going to Work

"Did you bottom-fish crude oil?"

Gao Yun still shuddered at the memory of yesterday’s liquidation, but now, faced with his friend’s suspicion, he had no choice but to deny it. It wasn’t that he was too stubborn to save face; rather, he had found the perfect excuse for the piles of money he would soon have.

With more than two hundred million in hand, Gao Yun already had his plans.

Change the car, change the house, buy for himself, buy for his parents, buy for the friends around him—buy, buy, buy!

And then strive to break through the four indicators: attributes, skills, honor, and romance, and make a few more hundred million.

But if the friends and family around him saw it, they would surely ask: where did you get the money?

So the source of his wealth needed a proper explanation.

Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, when Gao Yun used the system to make several billion, the amount would be too large to explain. But for now, there was no way to hide this burst of spending. Without a doubt, futures trading was the perfect cover. Ten-thousand-fold leverage leading to overnight riches sounded fantastical, but not impossible.

Thus, Gao Yun replied in the group chat: "I am trading crude oil, but not bottom-fishing—I’m shorting it."

Diao Jun: "Shorting? So the negative oil price had your contribution?"

Zhou Tian: "Then you’re amazing. How much did you make?"

Gao Yun thought about it and didn’t say much. "A little over fifty million."

Liu Ximing: "Damn?"

Diao Jun: "Are you serious?"

Zhou Tian: "Heh."

Gao Yun didn’t bother explaining. He directly sent fifty red packets of two hundred each into the group, totaling ten thousand.

The red packets refreshed in the chat like rain. The three fools snatched them up at lightning speed, then all replied in perfect unison.

"Awesome!"

"Awesome!"

"Awesome!"

Chapter 4: Going to Work

Liu Ximing: "Seriously, you really made over fifty million?"

Diao Jun: "Given how miserly that bastard... no, given how miserly Handsome Yun is, it might actually be true."

Zhou Tian, with the fastest fingers and the most red packets received, said: "Tears of gratitude. Father, Brother Yun, from now on you’re my sworn father."

Gao Yun: "Good boy."

Liu Ximing: "So why did you post on Moments last night that you were in a bad mood? Isn’t this supposed to make you happy?"

Gao Yun: "I was suddenly financially free, and it felt like life had lost its goal. A little lost, that’s all."

Diao Jun, Zhou Tian: "..."

Liu Ximing: "Nice acting. You even added layers to it."

Gao Yun clicked on Diao Jun’s WeChat avatar and privately transferred him one hundred thousand yuan.

"Pay off the credit card you used for the renovation," he said with a laugh. "Stop coming to me for POS cash-outs and robbing Peter to pay Paul."

These three had met Gao Yun through the gym after he started working out, and by now they had known each other for four years.

At first, all four of them exercised together every day at agreed-upon times. As they spent more time together, they discovered that their outlooks on life matched. Since they shared the same interests, the longer they stayed together, the closer they became—talking about anything, supporting one another, knowing each other’s affairs before even their parents did.

Diao Jun came from a rural family in another province. He had come to this city to work, handling swimwear foreign trade, and Gao Yun’s part-time job as an independent model had been introduced to him by Diao Jun.

A few years ago, when the industry was booming, Diao Jun made a little money and decided to settle down in this city for good. He used that money for the down payment and took out a twenty-year mortgage on a place of his own, but the renovation funds were a little tight, so he had relied on his credit cards for part of it.

Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t have been a problem. But this year, for reasons everyone knew, every industry had been hit hard, and Diao Jun’s swimwear foreign-trade job had been placed on indefinite half pay. Faced with his monthly mortgage and credit card debt, the pressure on him was enormous.

Before, Gao Yun had been powerless and barely able to take care of himself. But now that he could, seeing his brothers and friends in trouble, he would help where he could.

On Diao Jun’s side, the typing indicator appeared. After a brief hesitation, he finally collected the red packet.

"Crying. Brother Yun, you’re more like my real father than my real father. From now on, you’re my second dad!"

"Fine, fine," Gao Yun replied with a sigh.

He let out a long breath and thought to himself: so this is the trouble of the rich? I just want to be brothers with you people, and you only ever think of making me your father!

...

At ten past eight, Gao Yun drove to the government building. His workplace was the Youth League Committee, on the top floor of the sixth story in the western Party and government office block.

When he had originally applied for this position, it had been purely for the leisure it offered, making it easier to find part-time work. After all, in this small county, an annual income of sixty thousand yuan was only enough to keep him from starving. If he truly wanted to buy a house and support a family, he would need to find other ways.

Chapter 4: Going to Work

In fact, as Gao Yun had expected, the workload of this job was very light, and the clocking in and out rules were not strict. If he had not obtained the system, he would absolutely never have resigned from this iron rice bowl.

"Xiaoyun, you’re here?"

As soon as Gao Yun entered the elevator in the building, he happened to run into a coworker: Sister Zhang Xiaofang from the Women’s Federation office next door on the same floor. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him, and she asked warmly, "That girl I introduced to you last time—you added her on WeChat, right? How’s it going?"

At Gao Yun’s age, blind dates were simply unavoidable.

Moreover, both his looks and financial situation were considered excellent. He had a house and a car, his parents had pensions, and besides his stable job he had two part-time jobs of his own, giving people the impression that he was ambitious and hardworking. Because of that, he was especially popular with the older women at the office. Just this one Sister Zhang Xiaofang had already introduced four girls to him.

If he flatly refused, that would obviously be inappropriate. Rejecting someone’s kindness could make things awkward, and if rumors of him being gay started circulating, that would be a real disaster.

For that reason, Gao Yun did not resist introductions from the people around him. But before adding anyone on WeChat, he always asked to see a photo first. If the girl’s looks were not sufficiently righteous, he basically would not pursue it.

Even after adding someone on WeChat, Gao Yun was never in a hurry to meet. He would chat casually for a few hours, and if there was no common ground, he would disappear immediately, never clinging to any false hope or wasting time.

Over time, fewer and fewer people tried to set him up. Being thought of as having high standards was still better than being thought of as gay.

But Sister Zhang Xiaofang was an exception. Perhaps because Gao Yun had once helped her lose weight successfully, she felt deeply grateful and was exceptionally persistent. She promised Gao Yun that she absolutely would match him with someone, or else she would be letting down the thirty pounds she had lost.

"Ah, that girl? We’re not chatting anymore," Gao Yun said to himself. I’d better find someone soon, or even if I quit, Sister Zhang probably still won’t let me go.

Sister Zhang frowned. "Liu Meiyu was the prettiest one I’ve introduced to you so far—an only child, with her own house and car. Her parents run a business, so her family conditions are very good. Why didn’t you keep talking to her?"

Gao Yun laughed. "She was a little too good. A big painter and self-media creator, basically half a freelancer. In summer she flies to Sanya, Southeast Asia, goes diving, swims, feels the sea breeze and basks in the sun; in winter she flies to Jilin and Heilongjiang for skiing and to see the northern scenery. I can’t keep up with her."

After saying that, Gao Yun seemed to think of something else. "My first girlfriend was basically the same—she liked traveling, skiing, diving, skateboarding..."

Sister Zhang tried to persuade him. "So what? When I was young, I liked those things too. Girls like to have fun, but once they meet someone they really like, they’ll settle down."

Gao Yun shook his head. "I’m not saying it’s bad to like traveling and all that. Maybe it’s just my prejudice, but I’ve always felt that girls like that are a little strange in character. I can’t accept it."

Seeing that Sister Zhang still wanted to get to the bottom of it, Gao Yun no longer wished to continue. He immediately changed the subject.

"By the way, Sister Zhang, I’m here to resign today."

"Ah?"

The End of Chapter 4