PNB 052 said she would definitely work hard.
052 said she would definitely work hard.
Wang Zhe dragged his suitcase through two rows of camphor trees and arrived at the boys' dormitory area.
Building No. 4
This is an old red brick building, with ivy climbing all over its exterior walls.
Wang Zhe stood downstairs, looked up at a window on the fourth floor, and felt a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.
In his previous life, he watched the sunset countless times from that window, had countless long phone conversations with Song Zhiyi across hundreds of meters, and also cursed at teachers and crammed for final exams with his roommates...
"Old friend, I'm back."
He took a deep breath, hoisted the box, and climbed to the fourth floor.
The familiar 404 dormitory room, the door unlocked.
Wang Zhe pushed open the door and entered.
The beds in the dormitory were exactly the same as I remembered—simple but sturdy. Underneath the beds were desks, and one of them was already occupied.
A rather muscular young man was sitting at his desk. He was wearing an authentic Adidas T-shirt and shorts, along with Nike basketball shoes, clearly a wealthy guy from a well-off family. He wore thick-rimmed black glasses and was intently staring at the laptop screen on the desk.
The red and green candlestick chart on the screen was flashing continuously.
Hearing the door open, the boy only glanced back, without even getting up, merely nodding as a greeting before immediately turning his head back, muttering, "What's going on...?"
Wang Zhe smiled.
This is Fang Gang.
In his previous life, this guy was the richest guy in the dorm and also the most obsessed with stock trading. Although his skills were mediocre and he often got burned, he had a good mindset, after all, his family was wealthy.
Wang Zhe pushed his suitcase to his bedside and walked over.
"Hello, I'm Wang Zhe. We're roommates, and we should both be classmates in the Architecture Department, Class 1."
Fang Gang finally had to look away from the screen: "Hello, hello, my name is Fang Gang. Fang as in square and upright, Gang as in outline."
"Okay, then I'll call you Lao Fang from now on," Wang Zhe said familiarly.
"Old Fang?" Fang Gang was taken aback for a moment, then pushed up his glasses. "Brother, we've only just met, why are you already calling me 'Old'?"
Wang Zhe smiled and pointed to the candlestick chart on Fang Gang's computer screen: "This thing can't be convincing without the word 'old' in it. Stock trading is all about experience and seniority. Calling you 'Old Fang' is a wish that you'll be shrewd and calculating in the stock market, and not be a sucker."
Upon hearing this, Fang Gang's eyes lit up immediately.
He turned his chair around and looked at Wang Zhe with some excitement: "You play the stock market too?"
Most freshmen are just adults. Adulthood qualifies them to open a stock market account, but it's rare for a college student to be thinking about investing in stocks right after turning 18. But one of their roommates is, and how could Fang Gang not be excited?
"I know a little bit." Wang Zhe leaned over and glanced at the screen.
Unsurprisingly.
The screen displayed that volatile stock, Wasu Media.
The stock price at that time was 12.15 yuan.
It has fallen a bit since Wang Zhe sold off his entire position at 12.50 yuan a few days ago. Furthermore, today's candlestick is a green bearish candle, showing a drop of -1.2%.
Wang Zhe immediately said, "Wasu Media, it's been the most aggressive one these past two months."
"Oh, don't even mention it," Fang Gang sighed, looking worried. "I saw it rising sharply a couple of days ago, so I bought in at 12.6 yuan. But it started falling as soon as I bought in, and it's been falling for the past two days."
Wang Zhe looked at the trend chart and understood it perfectly.
This stock is indeed correcting, but it will likely surge again before October. And this is something Fang Gang from my previous life made me aware of.
Wang Zhe said confidently, "Don't worry, the fundamentals of this stock are fine, and the hype surrounding backdoor listings hasn't died down yet. The current decline is just profit-taking from the early stages, a way to shake out weak hands. The major players haven't left."
"Really?" Fang Gang asked, still somewhat skeptical.
Wang Zhe smiled and decided to show off a little: "To be honest, I've done this stock before."
"You bought it too?"
"Yeah. I bought it for around ten yuan, and then sold it all at twelve and a half yuan."
Holy crap!
Fang Gang stared at Wang Zhe with wide eyes, as if he were looking at a monster.
"Bro, you really made a killing this time. How did you do it? Do you have some inside information?"
Wang Zhe waved his hand: "There's no inside story, it's just luck. Besides, I saw that it couldn't rise any further, so I switched to other stocks."
"What was changed?"
"Gree Electric Appliances"
After listening, Fang Gang didn't quite understand why they should switch to such a slow-moving large-cap stock, but he was already full of admiration for Wang Zhe's god-like operation.
"Awesome! That's amazing! Looks like a genius has joined our dorm. Okay, since you said so, I'll take it, Lao Wang."
Wang Zhe smiled and shook his head, not refuting the title.
The two chatted for a few more minutes, then Wang Zhe turned around and started making his bed.
Fang Gang looked at the candlestick chart again, and his mood improved somewhat. But as he stared at it, he thought of Wang Zhe's actions and sighed with some melancholy. His hand instinctively reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboros.
He pulled out a cigarette, and just as he was about to light it, he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Wang Zhe, who was making the bed, "Hey, Lao Wang, do you mind if I smoke?"
Wang Zhe stopped what he was doing and pointed to the balcony: "I don't smoke. If you want to smoke, I suggest you go to the balcony and close the door. After all, our dorm isn't full yet, and not only me, but the two guys who came later might not like the smell of smoke."
Fang Gang was taken aback for a moment, then nodded gratefully: "That makes sense, you're very thoughtful. I'll go to the balcony then."
As he spoke, he took the cigarettes and lighter to the balcony and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Wang Zhe watched his retreating figure and chuckled inwardly.
Smoking a cigarette in front of a rebellious pretty girl is for showing off and flirting, but in front of this guy, there's no need to hurt your lungs just to fit in.
While Fang Gang was smoking on the balcony, Wang Zhe took out his phone and connected to the dormitory's WiFi.
He opened WeChat, found that familiar profile picture, and initiated a video call.
"Beep...beep..."
The call was answered after only two rings.
Jiang Di's pretty face appeared on the screen.
"Hey? Wang Zhe! You're at the dorm?"
"Yeah, I just arrived. I'm making my bed now," Wang Zhe said, showing her the entire dormitory with his phone. "This is where I'll be staying for the next five years."
"Wow..." Jiang Di looked at the somewhat simple dormitory on the screen, a hint of longing in her eyes. "That's so nice. I wish I could be there too."
Wang Zhe laughed and said, "This is a boys' dormitory. What are you doing here?"
"Tch, I was just saying it offhand."
Jiang Di pursed her lips, then seemed to remember something, and her tone became very excited.
"Oh right, the results of the pre-semester diagnostic test are out! I was fifth from the bottom last time, but this time I'm twelfth from the bottom! The teachers all praised me! They said I've finally figured it out!"
Wang Zhe nodded and praised, "Not bad, it seems that you didn't waste your summer studying. You really worked hard, well done."
However, Jiang Di's excitement upon hearing the praise did not last long.
She suddenly bit her lip, her eyes becoming somewhat unfocused.
"that……"
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"I think... I think this result is still not good enough."
"So what?" Wang Zhe raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the girl meant for a moment.
Jiang Di whispered, "Could you...discipline me a little more?"
Wang Zhe was taken aback for a moment, then smiled helplessly: "I'm thousands of miles away right now, how can I discipline you? The belt can't even reach you."
"No need for that..." Jiang Di blushed. "You can scold me a little harsher."
Wang Zhe understood instantly.
Is this girl experiencing a masochistic tendency?
Wang Zhe cleared his throat, his smile vanished, and his eyes instantly turned cold and sharp.
He said in a rather authoritative tone, "Jiang Di."
Jiang Di on the other end of the screen trembled and instinctively straightened his back: "Yes!"
"You still have the nerve to ask for praise? Being in the bottom ten or so, is that something to be proud of? How many people are in your class in total?"
"Fifty..."
"Ha, out of fifty people in the class, you're still one of those who get eliminated! Do you know how fierce the competition is these days? What are you thinking about all day? Do you think you can relax now that I'm gone, and that it doesn't matter if you only get a junior college diploma?"
His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck like a hammer blow.
Jiang Di lowered her head subconsciously, but her eyes were still fixed on the screen, on Wang Zhe.
Wang Zhe continued, "You're far from doing enough! With this kind of performance, you can't even get into a regular undergraduate program! If you want to only see me in videos from now on, then keep messing around!"
The phone screen clearly shook a few times.
Jiang Di's hands were trembling.
But does her trembling hand mean she's afraid or terrified?
Jiang Di quickly said, "I know I was wrong... I'm sorry, I will definitely try my best!"
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.