Chapter 10

8:10 AM.

After washing up, Meng Lang deliberately chose a long trench coat with an inner pocket to wear.

He carefully placed "My Struggle" into a leather case, then into the inner pocket of the coat, buttoned it up, fastened the belt, patted it, and only then felt secure enough to leave the house.

After much consideration, Meng Lang still felt it was safer to carry this thing with him.

Unfortunately, after a whole night, the book had not changed at all.

Arriving at the bus stop, he waited for about ten minutes before a 301 bus finally came.

Although the pace of life in Suzhou was much slower compared to first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the rush hour still posed a significant challenge to the bus system.

Meng Lang barely managed to squeeze onto the bus last. Before the doors could close, he heard a woman's breathless voice coming closer from behind.

"Wait, wait!"

In the next moment, he felt a sudden force from behind. If it weren't for the impressively built woman in front of him, Meng Lang would have crashed straight into the driver's seat.

"What are you doing? Trying to grope me?" The woman in front turned around, and as soon as she opened her mouth, a strong smell of garlic hit Meng Lang.

Meng Lang almost suffocated, "Sorry, sorry!"

He struggled to turn around, but his right hand remained in his pocket, protecting the book in his arms.

"Everyone, move further in," the driver called out, but no one moved.

The doors closed with a "whoosh," like pressing down on a can of sardines.

The woman who came later was tightly squeezed against Meng Lang.

Suddenly, a fragrance of orchids filled Meng Lang's nose, which helped to dispel the previous smell, making him feel a bit better.

Standing at the front door was a young woman with short hair, wearing a black business suit, black-rimmed glasses, and carrying a black briefcase.

Since she was facing away from Meng Lang, he couldn't see her face, but the soft touch from her body made him feel a bit awkward, and he tried to squeeze back.

However, the force immediately met with a counterforce.

The woman behind him easily twisted her waist, pushing the much lighter Meng Lang back.

"Uh..."

"Hmm?"

Meng Lang clearly heard the woman's dissatisfied hum and immediately stopped, finding a delicate balance between the forces in front and behind him.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, at the next traffic light, the bus accelerated to beat the green light, turning left...

"Hmm!" The two bodies were pressed together again.

More awkwardly, the woman behind him, demonstrating the principle that the greater the mass, the greater the inertia, gave a perfect assist from behind.

As a result, the short-haired girl was pressed hard against the door, and Meng Lang could clearly see her face deforming and twisting on the reinforced glass...

When the bus resumed its straight path, Meng Lang felt the pressure from behind suddenly decrease, and he quickly moved back a bit.

At this moment, a lipstick mark was still visible on the door glass.

The girl's face was slightly red, and she turned around angrily, glaring at Meng Lang with her big, expressive eyes. "Pervert!"

Meng Lang blinked speechlessly.

Is this my fault?

Have you heard of hitting a cow from behind a mountain?

To be fair, the girl was naturally beautiful, and her sudden turn left Meng Lang momentarily stunned.

But no matter how beautiful she was, her unreasonable behavior made Meng Lang a bit angry.

So many people were watching; didn't the Meng family have any dignity?

"Miss, if you're uncomfortable, I can switch places with you."

"You... pervert!"

Uh...

Meng Lang was speechless. How did this escalate so quickly? My words weren't that deep...

At this moment, the bus suddenly turned right, and the girl, losing her balance, pressed against him again.

Fortunately, the "back support" behind him was strong, and Meng Lang remained steady.

When she regained her balance, the girl turned around and glared at the innocent-looking Meng Lang, gritting her teeth.

"If you dare to press that thing against me again, I'll kick it to pieces!"

That thing? What thing?

Meng Lang looked down in confusion and saw that a corner of "Struggle" had somehow protruded from his coat.

Realizing what had happened, Meng Lang felt extremely embarrassed.

He wanted to explain, but could he just take out the precious book in public?

"Um..." Meng Lang tried to explain.

Just then, the bus arrived at a stop, and the girl jumped off like she was escaping, giving Meng Lang one last angry glare before leaving.

The doors closed with a "whoosh," and the bus started moving slowly.

Meng Lang had just relaxed when the woman behind him turned around roughly.

"Move, move, move, I'm getting off at the next stop."

This turn was no small matter; Meng Lang felt a powerful force push him, and he was plastered against the door glass with a "pia ji."

Unfortunately, his face landed right on the lipstick mark left by the girl.

Meng Lang's eyes widened as he met the girl's incredulous gaze outside the door... the atmosphere instantly froze.

At that moment, Meng Lang felt so embarrassed that if the bus floor weren't so hard, he could have dug a three-bedroom apartment with his toes...

The bus slowly drove away, leaving the girl standing in the wind, her face red with anger.

"Damn pervert! Don't let me see you again!"

...

9:00 AM.

Xinghe Securities Branch.

"Brother Meng, hello, hello, uh..."

Tony had just warmly shaken hands with Meng Lang when he noticed the faint red mark on Meng Lang's face, and he immediately gave a knowing smile.

"Ha ha! Looks like Brother Meng had a rich night life..."

"Uh..." Meng Lang realized he had been too embarrassed to wipe off the lipstick and quickly did so.

"Sorry, Tony."

"Young people! Ha ha!"

"I know Brother Meng is new to this. Come, let me introduce you to the basics of the stock market and some basic operations..."

"No need, Tony!" Meng Lang interrupted him directly. "I believe in the principle that professionals should do professional things, and I trust Tony's expertise.

I'm here to open an account and to trade Huaxia Energy."

Tony was stunned.

He had expected things to go smoothly, but he hadn't anticipated it would be this easy. Usually, he had to paint a few grand pictures to convince someone.

Are young people these days so efficient?

Could it be that seeing Huaxia Energy hit another limit yesterday made him unable to resist?

But saving his breath, what was there to complain about? Tony's smile grew even wider.

"Oh... I see. So, how much capital do you want to start with, Brother Meng?"

"Um... 500,000, or more."

Tony: "..."

How much?

500,000? And more?!

"Y-You said 500,000?" Tony wondered if he had heard an extra zero.

"Yep!" Meng Lang nodded.

Sigh...

Tony took a deep breath and then beamed with joy.

You don't look like much, but you're a hidden little tycoon? This is a good catch!

Anyone who can casually put up 500,000 to "test the waters" must be quite wealthy.

Who would have thought that a simple breakfast stall would lead to such a catch!

If I serve this gentleman well, I can introduce his relatives and friends to me, and then I'll have even more clients.

First place in performance this year! Here I come!

"Alright, let me take you to open an account. As you can see, Huaxia Energy has been setting new highs recently, and it's definitely a great long-term investment!" Tony said enthusiastically.

"Ha ha!" Meng Lang smiled noncommittally and then said, "I have a question about this stock."

"Go ahead."

"If I want to short this stock and add some leverage, how should I do it?"

"Uh..." Tony's smile froze.

Short it? And with leverage?!

What happened to "trusting my expertise"?