Chapter Fourteen: The Grace of a Beauty and the Dynamics of the Futures Market

As Yan Fei placed this large order, countless hesitant retail investors instantly realized that a major player was following the main force to short the market. Without hesitation, they all rushed to short, sending orders flying like snowflakes, relentlessly driving the price downward.

Watching the price continuously fall, a broad smile spread across Yan Fei’s face. Meanwhile, the long-side main force showed no sign of resistance. Yan Fei immediately understood that the long and short leaders had agreed on a delivery price; only when the price dropped to their agreed level would it begin to stabilize.

Sure enough, the subsequent movement unfolded exactly as Yan Fei had anticipated. When the crude oil futures price fell to 32.56, an enormous volume of long orders appeared instantly. Seeing this, Yan Fei decisively closed his position, pocketing all the floating profits.

After deducting transaction commissions and fees, his account still held $1.23 million. Yan Fei set aside $200,000 to find Miss Chen from the marketing company to exchange into RMB, leaving $1.03 million in the account for further investment.

After communicating with Miss Chen, Yan Fei continued to watch the crude oil futures market. He found that the long main force’s orders were merely propping the market, showing no intention of pushing upwards. After some thoughtful consideration, he felt this long trend might not be over but would not be as volatile as before. Since no better investment opportunities had emerged, Yan Fei decided to follow the longs again, believing the current market would only rise slowly and not decline gradually.

Seeing the short orders on the board, Yan Fei no longer hesitated. He leveraged his entire $1.03 million at 20 times, buying 632 long contracts at an average price of 32.58.

After Yan Fei’s large order was executed, the longs withdrew their propping orders, causing the crude oil futures price to fall rather than rise. Within seconds, it dropped from 32.58 to 32.45.

This drop seemed to signal the start of a plunge. A massive 2,000-contract short order slammed onto the market, driving the price down to 32.20. Yan Fei’s expression turned icy and stern, a sudden wave of panic rising within him.

His eyes fixed intently on the screen, Yan Fei doubted the shorts would target his relatively small funds out of malice. There must be information he was unaware of. The question was whether to hold on or accept losses and close the position.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Yan Fei concluded the problem was not difficult. If Saudi Aramco and the U.S. authorities had agreed on a price of $32.56, then the drop was nothing to fear—likely just speculative action by some institutions.

Sure enough, as Yan Fei predicted, when crude oil futures fell to $32.10, a series of long orders flew in, rapidly absorbing the shorts and pushing the price up to $32.15.

Suddenly, among some small long orders, a massive 10,000-contract long order surged out, swallowing all short orders above and driving the price sharply upward to $32.60. Subsequently, large supporting orders appeared at various lower price levels.

Relieved, Yan Fei exhaled deeply. Everything was unfolding just as he had anticipated. He then shut down his computer and glanced at the time—it was already after seven in the evening. Shen Siqing should have finished work by now.

Thinking of Shen Siqing, Yan Fei’s phone rang. It was her. After answering, her calm voice came through: "Xiao Fei, I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes."

"Okay, I’ll get ready and come down," Yan Fei replied, tidying his things before heading downstairs. He saw Shen Siqing arriving in a Mercedes by the roadside.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Yan Fei smiled and said, "Qing Jie, my flight is tomorrow."

Shen Siqing’s smile froze for a moment before she smiled again. "Alright, I’ll see you off tomorrow. Tonight, let’s go have dinner first."

They quickly arrived at a restaurant. Shen Siqing smiled and said, "This is a well-established Shanghai restaurant, serving authentic Shanghai cuisine. You can try it; it may not suit your taste, but it offers a nice experience."

Listening to her, Yan Fei wasn’t sure if she meant the food or herself but feigned curiosity and smiled, "Sure, I’ll try it. Although I’ve heard Shanghai cuisine doesn’t quite suit the Central Plains palate."

The dishes arrived swiftly. Yan Fei picked up a piece of braised pork belly, admiring its glossy, rich sauce. Upon tasting, the sweet and salty flavors melted effortlessly in his mouth.

"Delicious!" Yan Fei then tried a hairy crab, which was also fresh and succulent. Sampling the other dishes, he found the flavors excellent, showcasing Shanghai cuisine’s inclusive style.

Seeing Shen Siqing smile, Yan Fei returned the gesture. "The braised pork’s rich sauce balances sweetness and saltiness perfectly; the hairy crab is fresh and juicy; the other dishes are delicate and expertly cooked."

Hearing his praise, Shen Siqing smiled and said, "With your status and position, Shanghai is a great place to develop. Here, there’s not only delicious food and beautiful scenery but also good friends."

Yan Fei sensed Shen Siqing’s warmth and refrained from provoking her further, pretending not to understand. They ate while discussing some business matters. Seeing this, Shen Siqing gave up probing Yan Fei’s intentions.

After dinner, Shen Siqing asked, "Have you ever been to a bar? I haven’t, could you take me sometime?"

Yan Fei sighed inwardly, regretting his flirtation the day before. "Qing Jie, I’ve never been to a bar. I want to rest tonight—my flight is early tomorrow."

Hearing this, Shen Siqing’s expression darkened briefly before she quickly masked it with a smile. "No worries; I’m just curious. I’ll take you back to the hotel!"

The next day, Shen Siqing didn’t go straight to the office but drove to the hotel. Yan Fei politely accepted the ride. They didn’t speak much during the drive, arriving at the airport a little after eight.

In the departure hall, Shen Siqing looked at Yan Fei boarding and couldn’t help but ask, "Will you come back to Shanghai? Will you remember me?"

Feeling her sincerity, Yan Fei answered seriously, "I will, Qing Jie."

Shen Siqing smiled, her serene, beautiful face glowing with happiness. Watching Yan Fei’s retreating figure, she quietly resolved to hold onto this promising man.

Raised under strict parental guidance, Shen Siqing had always known that happiness must be pursued actively. When encountering someone she liked, she must take the initiative; waiting only invites mediocrity.

From her recent interactions with Yan Fei, she sensed his immense confidence and aura of capability, traits only a truly powerful person possesses. Moreover, Yan Fei appeared wealthy and spoke with remarkable business acumen.

Regardless of character, ability, or wealth, Shen Siqing felt it would be hard to find a better prospect than Yan Fei. At 26, time to wait and search was running out.

For her own happiness, Shen Siqing had set her sights on Yan Fei. After their flirtation, she began to actively pursue him, hoping to become his girlfriend. Yet she hadn’t anticipated that Yan Fei harbored the soul of a veteran flirt, hardened by sixteen years of experiences with countless beauties, now utterly indifferent to mere physical desire.

At this moment, Yan Fei was already thousands of meters above the earth, quietly resting with his eyes closed. Two and a half hours later, the plane landed at Shen’an Airport. Yan Fei followed the crowd off the plane, checked his phone—it was Thursday, 11 o’clock.

Finding a spot, Yan Fei opened his laptop and pulled up the domestic A-share market. The CSI 300 index rose by 1% as he had expected, opening high in the morning, dipping, then quickly rallying, demonstrating strong rebound momentum.

Looking at the volume compared to the same time yesterday, there was no significant increase. Yan Fei immediately discerned the main force’s intention—to create a false rebound trend to mask their true purpose. A big drop was certain tomorrow. Today’s market offered no trading opportunities, so Yan Fei closed his laptop and left the airport.

By noon, Yan Fei returned to his rented room and after lunch opened the crude oil futures market, seeing the price still hovering around 32.60. He lost interest in watching the market closely.

Around four or five in the afternoon, Yan Fei’s phone rang. It was Liu Suxin: "Senior, I have some questions I’d like to ask tomorrow. Would that be convenient?"

Yan Fei thought for a moment, smiling: "Saturday then. I have plans tomorrow."

Hearing this, Liu Suxin sounded a bit disappointed but sweetly said, "Okay, Saturday then, see you at the usual place."

After hanging up, Yan Fei began studying gold, silver, and other metal futures for speculative opportunities. Hours passed quickly until evening, the peak trading time for crude oil futures.

After dinner, Yan Fei opened the crude oil futures market. Long and short sides battled fiercely, but overall volumes were small. Although intense, the largest orders were only a few hundred contracts, rarely exceeding a thousand.

After watching for half an hour, Yan Fei felt the main long and short forces were inactive. Possibly after the last delivery, both sides had ceased fighting, or had reached a truce.

He watched the market for a full hour. The volume inside and outside remained nearly balanced. Crude oil futures prices climbed only to 35.64 before oscillating.

Feeling there was nothing more to see, Yan Fei closed the markets and resumed studying various metal futures and gold, searching for opportunities while scanning domestic and international news. He stayed busy until midnight before going to bed.

The next morning, after breakfast, Yan Fei opened the A-share market. During the pre-opening auction, he reviewed dozens of blue-chip stocks, most of which opened slightly lower, though only marginally so.

At 9:30, the CSI 300 index opened at 3,437.95, down just three points from yesterday’s close—essentially flat.

Seeing this opening price, Yan Fei frowned. The lack of a significant gap down was unexpected and contrary to his prediction, prompting deep reflection.

After the open, bank stocks and blue chips all opened low but quickly surged into the green. Yan Fei doubted his analysis but resisted the urge to close positions immediately.

The CSI 300 index rose a few points before faltering, oscillating around the same level. Its highest rise was just ten points, while the drop reached thirty points.

Watching this two-minute movement, Yan Fei exhaled deeply, smiling. Although the market opened almost flat, the trend aligned with his forecast—a big decline was inevitable.

Minutes later, a massive 400-contract sell order slammed in, breaking through more than ten points and signaling the start of a sell-off. Numerous large sell orders rushed in, marking the shorts’ offensive.

One after another, short orders descended like tigers from the mountains, swiftly consuming all long bids below. Within minutes, the CSI 300 plunged to 3,400, setting today’s low.

Under fierce short pressure, the longs struggled to defend 3,400 but failed. The key support held for less than ten minutes before collapsing.

The market reacted swiftly. Seeing the break of 3,400, countless retail investors understood a sharp decline was underway. They quickly placed short orders, small lots raining down like a storm, utterly crushing the longs’ resistance.

By midday close, the CSI 300 fell to 3,385.54.

Yan Fei watched the midday close with satisfaction, then checked crude oil futures again. The price stabilized around 33.565, roughly matching his expectation of a slow rise.

In the afternoon, Yan Fei continued monitoring the CSI 300. Shorts dominated all day; longs offered almost no resistance. The index closed at 3,344.46, down 2.8% for the day.

Scrolling through stock forum comments, Yan Fei saw nearly all traders calling it a “Black Friday” as the market’s plunge ruined their weekend plans.

Joining in the fun, Yan Fei posted a few jokes about the market’s future, instantly resonating with others and sparking many responses.

After some lighthearted interaction, Yan Fei closed the A-share market and resumed studying gold and various metal futures. Today, gold (AU) closed at 210.15, opened at 210.88, and settled at 210.00, trading in a narrow range all day.

Yan Fei judged there was little speculative opportunity in domestic gold (AU) in the short term. More importantly, accounts had a limit of 300 contracts, with maximum holding time until the 15th of the following month (extended to the next trading day if a holiday). This meant gradually reducing positions to 60 contracts before the deadline and completing delivery by the settlement date.

Although forward contracts lacked holding limits, such as the AU0911 gold contract, their volume and capital were much smaller than AU0910, and gold’s daily price movement was capped at 4%, limiting profit potential. Moreover, gold prices were extremely stable currently, diminishing Yan Fei’s interest in deeper research.

After comprehensive evaluation, Yan Fei chose copper futures for in-depth study. Domestic non-ferrous metals trading was dominated over 70% by copper futures, with large capital flows, active trading, and fewer restrictions: a limit of 800 contracts one month before delivery and 200 contracts during the delivery month, offering ample profit space.