A Chan – CH 024

Chapter 24: The Billion-Yuan Girl (2)

The secretary left, and Li Weiyi stayed in the room for a while, but soon her eyelids became heavy, and she couldn’t keep them open anymore. She had caught a cold from being caught in the rain last night and hadn’t slept well. Now, feeling relieved, she could barely stay awake. She wasn’t one to compromise her principles; she’d tossed and turned in Zhang Jingchan’s 19-year-old bed countless times, so what did she care now? Without hesitation, she climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

She slept soundly for a long time. At noon, his secretary came in with lunch and, seeing this scene, felt a complex mix of emotions—this was the first woman in all these years to sleep in President Zhang’s bed. The secretary quietly left.

Meanwhile, when Li Yunmo, whose wrists ached from copying company regulations, heard this gossip, he was almost moved to tears… Pregnant women were prone to sleepiness; it really was true. It was all thanks to him that the mother and child were kept together.

Li Weiyi woke up hungry, and it was already dusk when she opened her eyes.

“I wonder if that guy has made up his mind…” she muttered as she sat up, startled to see someone sitting on the sofa. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you say anything!”

The room was dark, and Zhang Jingchan’s silhouette was outlined against the shadows. Perhaps it was the room’s comfort or the surrounding silence, but he sank into the sofa, his daytime sharpness and coldness replaced by a relaxed and listless air.

“This is my room,” Zhang Jingchan said. “I just came in a little while ago, intending to wake you.”

Li Weiyi sat on the edge of the bed, putting on her shoes, and asked, “So, what have you thought about?”

Thin light filtered in from the opposite building, illuminating him and making him look even more like someone sitting in the pale moonlight. He clasped his hands in front of him, his eyes lowered, his voice hoarse: “I won’t ask how you’re going to save your sister; I assume you already have a plan. What do you plan to do with Fuming Group?”

Li Weiyi was taken aback by the question and answered truthfully, “Last time I traveled through time, I only stayed there for three days. I thought I’d be there much longer, so I wasn’t in a hurry. Your father was always away on business; I didn’t even get to see him. I roughly know that Fuming Group collapsed back then because its operations were too large and its debt ratio too high. When policies tightened, its cash flow dried up, leading to its complete collapse. So, I plan to go and try my best to persuade your father to reduce the scale of loans and investments to maintain cash flow. I’m not sure exactly how far we can save him, but I’ll do my best.”

This statement was clear and logical, showing self-awareness, which made Zhang Jingchan look at her a few more times and nod, saying, “That’s the right way to think. However, he’s a very stubborn person. It’s not that no one warned him about the risks back then, but he made his fortune through taking risks; it’s ingrained in his bones. Even if you explain things very reasonably, I’m afraid he won’t listen.”

“Then what should we do?”

“So I spent a day creating a comprehensive risk analysis report for the Fuming Group at that time. Come here.”

Li Weiyi was delighted and walked to the sofa. Zhang Jingchan picked up his laptop from beside his feet, opened a PowerPoint presentation, and Li Weiyi glanced at it—it was over 70 pages long, clearly the culmination of his hard work.

Zhang Jingchan began explaining it to her page by page. Li Weiyi, being a financial analyst, found it easy to understand. Zhang Jingchan comprehensively analyzed the pros and cons of the Fuming Group at that time, covering its sources of funding, interest burden, investment scale, market risks, and internal management problems. Even though Li Weiyi didn’t know much about the group, she was deeply shocked by what she heard.

“Your analysis is so sharp and insightful!” Li Weiyi couldn’t help but praise.

Zhang Jingchan replied calmly, “Later, I reviewed it many times.”

Li Weiyi remained silent.

After a full hour of presentations, Zhang Jingchan finally finished the PowerPoint slides and asked, “Did you understand everything?”

Li Weiyi replied, “Don’t underestimate me. I’m a financial elite at Muchen Group.”

Zhang Jingchan smiled faintly and said, “Weren’t you laid off?”

Li Weiyi: “…That’s because I only have a bachelor’s degree, while everyone else in the department has a master’s! Are kings and generals born with a special destiny?”

Zhang Jingchan glanced at his watch: “Since you’re so confident, it’s 7:02 now, about three hours before the scheduled experiment. You absolutely must memorize all 74 slides. I’m going to order some fast food.”

Li Weiyi: “…”

She’d been so engrossed in listening that she hadn’t realized these slides couldn’t be taken with her, and Zhang Jingchan couldn’t be brought over either; she had to memorize them herself!

Zhang Jingchan got up and offered the sofa to Li Weiyi. Li Weiyi took the laptop and said wistfully, “Zhang Jingchan, did I copy a lot of your homework in my past life? I had to memorize for you when I transmigrated, and I’m still memorizing now that I’m back!”

Zhang Jingchan paused, then said, “Memorize it well. If you can help me recover this 1 billion yuan loss… I’ll grant you any wish up to 100 million yuan.”

Li Weiyi: !!!

“Go order food quickly; don’t waste a minute!”

Zhang Jingchan turned to face his reflection in the glass as he left the room, unconsciously flashing a smile. He stifled a smile as he stared through the glass at the slowly fading night, as though he were peering into a very far-off place.

————

Perhaps the capitalist’s reward was too tempting; Li Weiyi, dreaming of becoming rich overnight, performed exceptionally well, memorizing the entire plan by 9 PM.

To avoid disturbing her, Zhang Jingchan didn’t come in. Li Weiyi glanced at the window; there were still about ten minutes until their agreed departure time. A thought flashed through her mind.

Inspired by Zhang Jingchan, she had a bold idea.

She glanced at the door again; Zhang Jingchan hadn’t arrived yet.

She opened the lottery website and quickly flipped through the historical winning numbers.

After memorizing 74 pages of text-filled PowerPoint slides, what did a mere 10 sets of winning numbers for the Double Color Ball lottery matter?

10:04 AM.

Zhang Jingchan’s car was parked on the side of the road, only 100 meters from the tunnel entrance.

It wasn’t raining today, and the moon hung in the sky. Li Weiyi asked, “Is it almost time?”

Zhang Jingchan glanced at his watch: “Wait one more minute.”

“Why?”

“We entered the tunnel at 10:06 yesterday. I checked my watch then. If you completely replicated your actions yesterday, then our tunnel crossing time should be the same.”

Li Weiyi: “How did you notice the time?”

Zhang Jingchan didn’t answer. He had wanted to check the time because he needed to go to his father’s funeral hall.

The car started.

Li Weiyi had slept all day, and now she couldn’t sleep even if she wanted to. She could only wait and see.

When the car reached the bottom of the tunnel, Li Weiyi asked, “If you see your parents again, do you want me to say something to them for you?”

Zhang Jingchan was silent for a moment, then answered, “Tell them that no matter what the future holds, I’ll support them.”

The car smoothly exited the tunnel, and streetlights and the surrounding scenery were already visible.

Li Weiyi’s heart sank. “Should we…try again?” she asked.

“Okay.”

After exiting the tunnel, they prepared to turn around. Although it was late at night, the main road along the river still had considerable traffic. There was a subway station nearby, and a large group of people were just emerging.

Zhang Jingchan’s car was first in the left-turn lane at the intersection, waiting for the red light. The large group of pedestrians began to cross the road. Li Weiyi felt uneasy, trying to recall the differences between today’s crossing and their first. Zhang Jingchan’s hands were on the steering wheel. She glanced at the red light, then turned her gaze to the dark river to the side, lost in thought.

A sharp engine roar and the sound of tires screeching against the ground came from ahead. The two looked up abruptly and saw two people being thrown into the air by a collision and the crowd screaming and scattering.

Li Weiyi shouted, “Zhang Jingchan!” A large jeep, its front end already smashed, hurtled towards them at high speed, hitting another person. The blinding white headlights made it impossible for them to see anything.

The moment she lost consciousness, Li Weiyi realized that they had been in a car accident last time.