novellhall Chapter 6, 55 points
Chapter 6, 55 points
Halfway up the mountain, Ligende Pavilion.
The elevator stopped on a high floor. The corridor was carpeted in dark gray, making no sound when stepped on. Li Jiaxin opened the door and stepped aside to let Lin Dong go in first.
The living room is not large, but its layout is well thought out.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows are the green hillsides and a corner of the harbor.
The sofa was off-white, and on the coffee table sat a crystal vase with a few sprigs of Bauhinia flowers inside, the petals slightly curled up—it had probably been placed there two or three days ago.
The moment the door closed, she pressed herself against me.
"Lin Sheng".
Her voice softened considerably. She wrapped her arms around his waist, rested her chin on his shoulder, and clung to him like a cat.
"How do you plan to use that money?" she asked directly.
Lin Dong didn't move: "What? How does it work?"
"So—besides movies, is there anything else?"
She traced circles on his back with her finger. "I've saved up some money in Hong Kong over the years. The interest rates in the bank are pitifully low. You're from Wall Street, you must know how to make money work for you."
Lin Dong looked down at her.
Her eyes sparkled, filled with a longing for money.
This woman never hides her love of money.
From the age of eighteen when she started competing for Miss Hong Kong, she openly admitted that she wanted to live a good life, live in a big house, wear designer brands, and not be looked down upon by others.
She accepted the 20 million yuan mansion Liu Luanxiong gave her; she also accepted the poems Ni Zhen wrote for her. She never thought there was anything wrong with it.
Her beauty is her asset, and she wants to turn it into cash.
Fair trade.
Lin Dong patted her waist and walked to the sofa to sit down. She followed him and sat down next to him, her legs touching his.
"Yes, there are," he said.
Li Jiaxin's eyes shone even brighter.
Lin Dong leaned back on the sofa, quickly going through his memories of his past life.
In his previous life, he didn't know much about this era. But there was one thing he remembered very clearly—the internet bubble.
The US internet stock market took off in 1998, then the bubble burst in 2000, leaving a mess behind.
With a two-year window of opportunity, you could make money even if you bought blindly.
Especially Amazon. He vaguely remembered that Amazon was one of the fastest-growing companies in that wave, with its market value soaring from over 2 billion in 1997 to over 40 billion in 1999.
Even if you remember it wrong, and it's not the most dangerous one, it doesn't matter—as long as you sell it before the end of 1999, you'll still make a profit.
He glanced at Li Jiaxin.
Her eyes were full of anticipation, her lips slightly pursed, as if she were waiting for a huge secret.
"But I have a rule," Lin Dong held up three fingers, then pulled one back, "When I bring people to invest, the returns are 70/30. I get 70%, and they get 30%."
Li Jiaxin's smile froze for a moment.
"I provide the information and channels, the other party provides the money, and I take 70% of the profits," Lin Dong said calmly. "I've never broken this rule on Wall Street."
Li Jiaxin bit her lip, placed her hand on his arm, and gently shook it.
"Lin Sheng..." she drawled, looking at him with teary eyes, "You're 70/30 with everyone else, and 70/30 with me too? But I'm..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but completed the rest with her eyes.
Lin Dong shook his head slightly, as if he were bewitched by her, and conceded, "Let's split it fifty-fifty!"
Li Jiaxin's eyes darted around, clearly still not satisfied. She leaned closer, resting her chin on his shoulder, her lips almost touching his ear.
"Four Sixes..." Her breath brushed against his earlobe. "Look, I've followed you back here. The whole of Hong Kong knows I'm yours. Can't you treat me a little better?"
Lin Dong turned his head and glanced at her.
Her face was only centimeters away from his, and her features, a blend of Chinese and Portuguese descent, looked almost unreal at that distance.
There was a thin layer of moisture in her eyes, it was hard to tell if it was real or just acting—she probably couldn't tell herself either.
"Fifty-five," he said. "One price."
Li Jiaxin paused for a moment, then gently bit her lower lip, her eyes flashing with a hint of reproach. She wanted to say something more, but seeing his expression, she swallowed her words.
This man isn't falling for that anymore.
She pulled back, paused for a few seconds, and then suddenly asked, "What if we lose money?"
Lin Dong looked at her.
Her expression turned serious. The previous coquettishness and reproach faded, revealing her shrewdness. This woman was no fool—she could play dumb in front of men, but when it came to money, she was more clear-headed than anyone else.
"Losing money?" Lin Dong picked up the water glass on the coffee table and took a sip.
"Yes. Stocks always go up and down."
Lin Dong put down his cup, looked at her, and sighed.
"Never mind, never mind."
Li Jiaxin blinked.
"Who told you to be so beautiful?" He leaned back on the sofa, his tone casual. "If you lose money, it's on me. I'll make it up to you."
The living room was silent for a second.
Then Li Jiaxin jumped up from the sofa.
"real?!"
She lunged at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms tightly around his neck. The hem of her long black dress billowed out, covering his knees.
She buried her face in his shoulder and let out a small, suppressed scream.
"Ah Dong!"
Lin Dong could feel her heartbeat through the fabric of her clothes; it was as fast as a drumbeat.
A sure-fire way to make money.
He probably knew what those four words meant to a woman who had lived in a rooftop tin shack since childhood and was only able to move into a luxury mansion on the hillside thanks to the charity of men.
"Don't get too excited." He patted her on the back. "It's a 50/50 split, not a penny less."
"Fifty-fifty it is!" She lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes shining brightly. "Whatever you say, that's what it is!"
Lin Dong looked at her.
Of course he knew he wouldn't lose out.
The internet bubble was still two years away from bursting, and he was absolutely certain that buying stocks like Amazon and Yahoo would be profitable, even with his eyes closed.
But Li Jiaxin knew none of this. All she knew was that the man in front of her had given her a guarantee—if she lost money, he would cover it; if she made a profit, he would split it 50/50. You couldn't find another business like this in all of Hong Kong.
So she was happy.
I was so happy that my whole body was trembling slightly.
She tightened her arms around him, her face pressed against his cheek, her breath warm and rapid. Sunlight streamed through the French windows, casting a golden edge on her bare legs.
The living room fell silent for a moment, with only her breathing and the distant whistles of ships in Victoria Harbour.
Just then, my phone rang.
Li Jiaxin didn't move. The phone rang five or six times before she reluctantly got off his lap and picked up her phone from the coffee table.
"Feed?"
After listening for a few minutes, her expression changed from languid to serious.
"Wait a minute." She covered the microphone and turned to look at Lin Dong. "Huang Baiming."
Lin Dong raised an eyebrow.
"He wants to meet you. He says he has a project he'd like you to invest in." She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips. "He said he read the morning paper and knows I'm... acquainted with you. So he called me first."
Lin Dong leaned back on the sofa and smiled.
The whole of Hong Kong knows.
This is the effect he wanted.
With 30 million spent, the whole of Hong Kong knew that Lin Dong was willing to spend a fortune to promote Li Jiaxin.
Now, Huang Baiming is calling, not for him, but for Li Jiaxin. Because Huang Baiming knows—calling this woman might be more useful than calling him directly.
And that's exactly what he wanted.
Money is spent on pretty girls who are just pretty faces, making them the absolute stars. They can't carry the box office, so the project naturally loses money.
If you've lost money, the system will refund you tenfold.
With a special fund of two billion US dollars, for every ten million lost, his personal account gains one hundred million. The more he loses, the more he earns.
As for those beauties—
He glanced at Li Jiaxin. She was holding her phone, waiting for his reply, her eyes still filled with the excitement and anticipation from before.
He also enjoyed the blessings.
Fair trade.
"Tell him," Lin Dong said, "about it."
Li Jiaxin spoke a few words into her phone, gave her address, and then hung up.
He said he's hosting a banquet tonight in Tsim Sha Tsui.
"OK."