Chapter Fifteen: The Romance Exposed—Liu Zhe Means to Tear the Lovers Apart

Around five or six in the afternoon, Yan Fei concluded his analysis of the copper futures market and drew some general conclusions. Since September 12 of last year, the Shanghai Copper 0909 contract had plummeted sharply, falling from a peak price of 59,400 yuan per ton to a low of 27,120 yuan per ton—more than a 50% drop. However, this was of little reference value, as trading volumes were almost nonexistent following the settlement on September 15, with only a few contracts traded daily.

From February 2009 onward, daily trading volumes steadily increased—from a handful of contracts to a much larger scale. Prices also rose steadily, with open interest climbing from 64 contracts at the February low to 19,946 contracts at the close on August 14, and a single-day trading volume reaching 4,516 contracts—a significant increase.

Compared with the 0909 contract, the 0911 contract saw the greatest volume, with an open interest of 184,300 contracts and a turnover of 643,300 contracts today—an enormous amount of capital engaged in arbitrage and speculation. The 0911 contract would not face a position limit of 800 contracts until October, leaving a month and a half without restrictions, ample time for Yan Fei to engage in short-term trading.

Observing today’s highest price at 51,290 yuan per ton, Yan Fei felt this level was likely the recent peak, confident that the next trading day would see a sharp decline. Although the five-, ten-, twenty-, thirty-, and sixty-day moving averages showed an upward channel, the MACD indicator was decreasing, signaling a bearish divergence. The K-line golden cross had also turned into a death cross, indicating an imminent downturn. Coupled with nearly a doubling in price, a correction was inevitable.

The Williams %R line had broken away from the bottom today and was climbing upward; the RSI continued to rise slightly but showed signs of a retracement similar to previous days. Both indicators suggested a market reversal was imminent tomorrow.

More importantly, the 0911 contract opened high but closed lower today, forming a solid green candlestick, and the red close was merely a false bullish illusion—further evidence that the copper price had reached a short-term peak.

After shutting down his computer, Yan Fei pondered whether to liquidate his crude oil futures positions on Monday and shift that capital into copper futures.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Answering it, he heard Zhang Xuhao’s voice: “Mr. Yan, the business registration change requires your cooperation with a U-Shield signature.”

Yan Fei agreed, hung up, and under the guidance of the staff, completed the U-Shield signing on his computer, finalizing the equity transfer for Ele.me. Then he remembered today was the day to pay the initial one million yuan investment for Ele.me.

Logging into his online banking, he saw over a million yuan had been credited from currency exchange. He immediately transferred one million yuan to Ele.me’s corporate account, marking it as the first installment, and informed Zhang Xuhao with a brief message.

Glancing at the time, Yan Fei went downstairs for dinner, then reclined on the sofa to read financial books, absorbing advanced knowledge to fill the gaps in his understanding.

The next day, just after ten o’clock, Yan Fei arrived at Liu Suxin’s café and went up to the private room on the second floor. Seeing him, Liu Suxin’s face lit up with a joyful smile as she called out happily, “Senior, you’re here!”

Yan Fei smiled and nodded, then began explaining some financial concepts that Liu Suxin was unfamiliar with. She quickly became absorbed in his clear and straightforward teaching, rapidly mastering the financial knowledge that had previously confused her—problems that now seemed as clear as day.

Time passed quickly until noon. At Liu Suxin’s invitation, they had lunch at a nearby restaurant, then continued their study session, both teacher and friend.

By mid-afternoon, Yan Fei had covered a week’s worth of financial topics Liu Suxin had accumulated. Through this explanation, Yan Fei’s own understanding of these financial concepts reached a new level.

After class, Liu Suxin said, “Senior, thank you for the lessons. I heard you went to Shanghai a few days ago. What was the purpose of your trip?”

Hearing her question, Yan Fei’s mind briefly flashed images of Shen Siqing, causing a pang of guilt. Yet he smiled calmly and replied, “I went to invest in two companies.”

“Invest in companies?” Liu Suxin’s face showed puzzlement. To her, Yan Fei was a knowledgeable scholar in finance with a talent for music, but she could never associate him with an investor. She had even investigated his background—a humble scholar from a poor family, living in a rented room in an urban village, barely able to scrape together tens of thousands of yuan.

Seeing her doubt, Yan Fei chuckled and said, “One is a newly established food delivery company called Ele.me; I invested ten million yuan for a 52% stake. The other is Dianping.com—I invested twenty million US dollars for a 20% stake.”

“Dianping!” Liu Suxin was shocked. She was unaware of Ele.me, but Dianping was already a nationally renowned company with significant weight in the internet industry. It amazed her that Yan Fei could invest in such enterprises.

After calming down, Liu Suxin looked at Yan Fei curiously and seriously asked, “Senior, do you really have that much money? What if you default? You’d be cutting yourself off from the capital circle forever, and then…”

She trailed off, but Yan Fei understood her meaning. He replied solemnly, “Of course I know. I intend to be a natural investor. Defaulting will never happen. As for the twenty million US dollars, I don’t have it now, but I can earn it quickly.”

Seeing Yan Fei’s confident expression, Liu Suxin was at a loss for words. He seemed a bit arrogant, but since meeting him, he had never told a lie. Yet believing he could raise that amount so quickly made her feel her intelligence insulted.

After a brief silence, Liu Suxin seemed to make a decision. Looking earnestly at Yan Fei, she said, “Senior, I’ve saved about fifteen million yuan in pocket money over the years. You can use it for now. I trust your ability to make money in the financial market, but with such a small principal, the speed of profit is very slow. Earning twenty million US dollars in a few months is a huge challenge.”

Yan Fei looked shocked. He hadn’t expected that in less than a week of knowing him, Liu Suxin would trust him so much as to lend him fifteen million yuan outright.

Liu Suxin saw the surprise and moved by emotion, covered her mouth and laughed softly. Then she said, “Alright, senior, give me your bank account number. This is nearly twenty years' worth of my New Year’s and pocket money. Be careful with it when investing.”

Looking at the beautiful woman before him, Yan Fei felt deeply touched. In all his lives, this was the first time an outsider trusted him so much—especially someone who was his ambiguous, almost-girlfriend.

Regaining composure, Yan Fei looked seriously at Liu Suxin and said solemnly, “Don’t worry, junior. I will pay you interest far above the market rate and guarantee your principal will never be lost.”

Liu Suxin shook her head and said seriously, “I don’t want your interest. I just hope you can get through this difficult period. In future investments, you must act within your means.”

Yan Fei knew she meant well, but investing early in promising companies was better than late. Once the financial crisis eased, valuations of these promising companies would soar, making later investment far more costly.

He kept these thoughts to himself, nodding in agreement. On the surface, he consented, and in that moment, their relationship deepened. Yet neither dared to break the delicate silence, both fearing the loss of the other and mindful of the vast social gap between them.

Sipping coffee, Yan Fei and Liu Suxin chatted leisurely, basking in the peaceful atmosphere, listening to beautiful music, enjoying the company of someone they liked—a serene happiness filling the private room.

Time flew amid this bliss, and soon it was evening. After dinner, Liu Suxin drove Yan Fei back to the urban village. Returning home, he hummed softly, his mood light and joyful.

Liu Zhe and Zhang Su watched their happy daughter and tried to engage her in conversation, hoping to glean some information about Yan Fei and their progress. But Liu Suxin did not reveal a word.

Watching her retreat to her room, Zhang Su worriedly said, “Suxin spent the whole day at the café with Yan Fei. It seems they may have reached the stage of a couple. We can’t wait any longer.”

Liu Zhe was about to speak when his phone rang. It was Wan, the branch manager of the Shenzhen An Futian branch of the Construction Bank, calling to report that Liu Suxin had transferred fifteen million yuan to a man named Yan Fei.

A few days earlier, Liu Zhe had asked Wan to monitor Liu Suxin’s account activity. Receiving this bombshell today, Liu Zhe’s face turned cold as he said, “They’re running a romance scam—and it’s hit my daughter. They must be truly fearless.”

Seeing her husband’s grim expression, Zhang Su immediately asked, “Zhe, what happened?”

Liu Zhe explained Liu Suxin’s transfer of fifteen million yuan to Yan Fei. Hearing this, Zhang Su frowned deeply and stood up to head upstairs, but was stopped by Liu Zhe’s firm grip.

“Confronting her now will only provoke rebellion,” he said sternly. “Consider this money a lesson, teaching her that in love, one must find a partner of equal social standing. Only those with abundant resources can offer true love.”

Zhang Su calmed down upon hearing this. Fifteen million yuan was nothing for the Liu family, one of Shenzhen’s most prominent clans. Liu Zhe’s net worth was in the tens of billions.

After a moment’s thought, Liu Zhe sneered, “The Liu family’s money isn’t so easily swindled. Tomorrow, I’ll send someone to meet Yan Fei and assess the situation. Then we’ll decide whether to take legal action.”

His aim was to gather a full set of evidence—losing fifteen million yuan was tolerable if it meant exposing Yan Fei’s malicious intent to his daughter.

The next day, after waking and breakfast, Yan Fei planned to meet Li Feng to discuss some matters. On October 30, the first batch of 28 stocks from the Growth Enterprise Market would be listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. If he could participate in offline co-investment, he was sure to make a fortune on the first day.

While waiting at a bus stop, a car pulled up beside Yan Fei. A burly man in a suit stepped out and approached him. “Our boss wants to see you,” he said.

Yan Fei was taken aback, and curious onlookers glanced over. Hesitating briefly, Yan Fei asked, “Who is your boss?”

Yan Fei never imagined such a scenario from a novel would happen to him. He quickly racked his brain trying to think if he had recently offended anyone, but found no clues. He decided to call the police just in case.

The suited man immediately noticed Yan Fei’s hesitation and recalled Liu Zhe’s instructions: “If he hesitates, give my name. If he refuses to come upon hearing my name, detain him and take him to the police.”

“Our boss is Liu Zhe, Miss Liu Suxin’s father,” the man said.

Hearing this, Yan Fei froze, embarrassed. His future father-in-law wanted to see him—judging by the tone, it was unlikely to be a friendly visit.

Thinking of fathers who dote on their daughters, Yan Fei felt a chill run down his spine. Such men often treat their daughters’ boyfriends like enemies, especially in a powerful family like the Lius.

Following the man into the car, Yan Fei was soon driven to a grand estate clubhouse. Led through, he entered a vast office where a stern, handsome middle-aged man sat at an opulent tea table.

With a “click,” the suited man closed the door and left. Yan Fei sat down respectfully, facing Liu Zhe, and greeted, “Hello, Mr. Liu.”

Liu Zhe said nothing, continuing to brew tea. His expression was somewhat softened. When the tea was ready, he poured a cup and said, “I’ve investigated you. I won’t mention the obvious. You didn’t call me Uncle Liu when you spoke—that’s good. It shows you have a sense of propriety and aren’t trying to leverage your relationship with my daughter to climb the Liu family ladder.”

Yan Fei steadied his emotions and replied calmly, “Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Liu. You’re surely aware of my connections with Miss Liu, so I won’t elaborate. As for the Liu family, I looked it up too—it’s a large clan with assets probably in the hundreds of billions. The old patriarch is Liu Shan, and you rank second in the family. Miss Liu and I are friends, though somewhat ambiguous, but neither of us has crossed any lines.”

Liu Zhe’s face first showed anger, then relaxed, his interest piqued. Yan Fei seemed quite impressive—if he were from a family of equal standing, he would be considered outstanding.

Seeing Liu Zhe’s intrigued expression, Yan Fei said quietly, “Miss Liu and I both understand the great social gap between us. Even if she wished, I would refuse, as I’m not yet worthy of her. So you needn’t worry that I would take her away, nor underestimate Miss Liu’s wisdom.”