The Heiress's Game

Bai Junze finally decided to take Gu Yunjin out for a boat meal.

This boat restaurant isn't located in the center of Yunjing City, nor in any of the shopping districts she's familiar with, but rather on the side of an old section of the canal in the suburbs.

The car was parked under a crooked willow tree. After walking down dozens of stone steps, we finally saw several awning boats converted into private dining tables moored by the dock.

Each boat accommodates one table of guests, with a kerosene lamp hanging at the bow and an old boatman rowing at the stern.

They drift slowly on the water, taking two hours to finish a meal, without stopping at the shore or being disturbed by anyone.

The wind on the river was a few degrees cooler than in the city, carrying a light fragrance of water plants and osmanthus blossoms.

The boat awning was low, and the two people sat facing each other, their knees almost touching.

On the low table were five or six exquisite stir-fried river delicacies, a pot of warm yellow wine, and two rough earthenware wine cups.

Bai Junze picked up a piece of steamed ribbonfish for her and poured her a glass of Shaoxing wine until it was about seven-tenths full.

The old boatman at the stern hummed an off-key local tune, the oars clattering softly, the water still.

"It's more comfortable with just the two of us." Gu Yunjin leaned against the ship's railing, slowly turning the cup of yellow wine in her hand.

"Tianyi and Yuewei are both incredibly noisy during meals; they can make the whole meal just arguing about King of Glory. It's much quieter here."

Bai Junze picked up a napkin and wiped his fingers, a slight smile curving his lips.

"Judging by the time, Bai Wenxiong's cash should be almost gone."

"He has poured all the cash he can mobilize into the stock price, and if it goes down any further, he will have to sell off assets."

"Meng Wanqing's side has been almost completely drained as well." Gu Yunjin peeled a peanut. "She borrowed from all her relatives in Taicheng, so she must have spent quite a bit of that money as well."

She transferred money from several accounts; in her view, this battle with Brilliant International was a do-or-die situation, so she staked everything she could.

"This is clearly a gambler's mentality."

Bai Junze ate a peanut that Gu Yunjin had peeled for him. "The more someone feels they can't afford to lose, the more likely they are to put all their chips on the table."

"Yes." Gu Yunjin nodded. "Her current mindset is—if she wins, her son will turn things around; if she loses, she and her son will be eliminated together."

So she'll not only risk everything she has, but she'll also try every possible way to get your dad's money.

But have you noticed that Pak Man-hsiung made a very basic mistake?

"What?"

"He used all the funds to buy back shares."

Gu Yunjin placed the peanut shells on a small dish to the side. "He thought the other party wanted control, so he desperately increased his holdings and repurchased shares, trying to raise his shareholding ratio above the safe line."

But he hadn't considered what if the other party never actually intended to acquire Brilliant International in the first place?

Bai Junze looked at her and said, "As expected, top-notch financial traders are different."

"Pak Man-hung's shareholding ratio has indeed increased, but his cash flow has dried up."

If the stock price fluctuates wildly now, what will he use to support it?

If regulators suddenly intervene and suspect market manipulation, what will he do to deal with the investigation?

If the bank suddenly withdraws the loan and demands additional collateral, what will he use to cover the loss?

Gu Yunjin's tone became faster and faster, "He piled all his defenses in one direction, leaving all other directions exposed, like someone holding a shield in front of their chest and then getting stabbed in the side."

"What are you thinking about?" Gu Yunjin noticed that Bai Junze seemed to be lost in thought, so she threw a peanut shell at him.

"It's nothing." Bai Junze looked away. "I was thinking that Bai Wenxiong is probably still waiting for the next trading day to open."

"He won't be able to wait." Gu Yunjin took a bite of a peanut.

"The stock price can reach 120 yuan because someone is supporting it. If that supporting hand suddenly withdraws, what do you think will happen?"

"Free fall".

"Yes, and the speed of this free fall will be much faster than a normal callback."

Because the market will find that the fundamentals of Brilliant International, whose stock price is 120 yuan, are simply unsustainable.

No matter how impressive the financial reports were in the previous quarters, it's useless—cash flow doesn't lie.

She leaned against the gunwale, tilting her head to look at the ripples spreading across the river.

"The most interesting thing is that when he realized what was happening, he didn't even know who to blame."

Because from beginning to end, no one violated the rules.

There was no insider trading, no malicious short selling, and no illegal market manipulation.

Everything was legal; it was all market-driven. He just happened to run into a group of people who understood the market better than he did.

Bai Junze picked up the rough pottery cup and twirled it in his hand.

"Instead of teaching one class after another, it's better to finish the class all at once. Stunning him with a single blow is more suitable for him than slowly boiling him like a frog."

Gu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, leaned forward, and placed her hands on the table, adopting a posture of attentive listening.

Bai Junze leaned forward and whispered a few words in her ear. His voice was as soft as the sound of an oar cutting through the water, carried away by the river breeze and scattered into the night. Even the old boatman at the stern couldn't hear a word.

After he finished speaking, he stepped back and picked up his wine glass again.

"Bai Wenxiong is so lucky to have a brother like you," Gu Yunjin said.

"You're welcome." Bai Junze's tone was as flat as if he had just been complimented, "You look good today."

Gu Yunjin was amused by his matter-of-fact attitude, and her laughter was broken up by the river breeze and drifted on the water.

She shook her head, picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of ribbonfish, and slowly removed the fish meat from the bones.

"To be honest, after you give away this great gift, it will probably take Bai Wenxiong a long time to process it, maybe a lifetime."

"But it's good in a way. It lets him realize his place in the elite family sooner or later. He'll have to accept being on the fringes of the elite sooner or later. You just fast-forwarded that process for him."

Bai Junze picked up the wine pot and refilled her empty glass.

"He should thank me; if it were someone else, the progress bar wouldn't have gone by so quickly."

"Sometimes I think, if you could use all the resources of your family like I do, you would definitely be stronger than you are now."

Gu Yunjin was peeling the last salted peanut when she heard this and looked up at him with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"Your achievements are already remarkable," he continued.

"You built Cloud Whale Capital from scratch. From Wall Street to Da Hai City, from a few people to its current scale, you took every step by yourself."

I'm just hypothesizing: if the Gu family had given you the same amount of resources as the Bai family had given me, and if you started from the same point as me, where would you be now?

Gu Yunjin put down the peanuts in her hand, leaned back on the cushion, and thought for a moment.

"It will be a tiny bit better than it is now."