"Meng Die, you know my situation. I'm just afraid you'll regret this," Yi Anguo said earnestly.

"Things are already like this. Is there anything left for me to regret?" Zhou Mengdie retorted.

Yi Anguo said no more. He lowered his head to kiss her again, then scooped her into his arms and carried her into the lounge.

Now that Zhou Mengdie had said as much, it was clear she had made her decision. Yi Anguo no longer had any reason to stop. Besides, he didn't want to hesitate any longer. He didn't want to live with the regret of not keeping Zhou Mengdie, of watching helplessly as she married another man.

In his heart, he had long considered Zhou Mengdie his woman. How could any man just stand by and watch the woman he likes become someone else's?

"You're my woman now. Are you happy?" Yi Anguo asked, holding her in his arms.

"Mhm. I do have one regret: not taking this step sooner," Zhou Mengdie said, her face flushing crimson.

"Why? It's not too late to be my woman now, is it?" Yi Anguo asked.

"Silly. If I had gotten together with you earlier, I could have found happiness sooner, couldn't I?" Zhou Mengdie said shyly.

"Are you saying you weren't happy with me before?" Yi Anguo countered.

"Before, I was worked to death every day, and all I could do was watch you being affectionate with other women. What happiness was there in that?" Zhou Mengdie complained.

"So that's what this is about. In that case, let me make it up to you now, alright?" Yi Anguo said with an irrepressible smile.

With that, he began again…

"Oh! We didn't use any protection! What if I get pregnant?" Zhou Mengdie asked, suddenly anxious after they had made love a few times.

"If you get pregnant, we'll have the baby. It's not like you're too young anymore," Yi Anguo said nonchalantly.

"No! I don't want my parents to know about us yet. They would be furious and terribly disappointed in me," Zhou Mengdie said, shaking her head.

Although she had chosen to take this final step, she was not ready to face her parents. If she became pregnant, the secret would be impossible to keep. Her parents would demand to know who the father was and pressure her to marry. But given Yi Anguo's circumstances, how could they possibly have an open and proper marriage?

That would be a huge problem, and Zhou Mengdie, at least, was not mentally prepared to face it.

The reason Yi Anguo had been hesitant to consummate his relationship with Zhou Mengdie was also this very problem.

His past with Li Sisi was a cautionary tale. If her parents hadn't died in a car accident, that problem might have remained unresolved to this day.

"If you don't want to get pregnant, you can go to the pharmacy later and buy a box of Postinor," Yi Anguo said, certainly not about to force her to forego contraception.

「On October 18, 2008」

The domestic A-share index, which had been over 6,000 points in 2007, bottomed out at 1,664 points.

On November 9, 2008, the government announced a 4 trillion yuan investment plan to stimulate the country's economic recovery. The period just before this was the optimal time to enter the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets.

The economy didn't improve immediately after the 4 trillion yuan rescue plan was announced on November 9. In fact, property prices and many A-share stock prices fell even further. However, trading volume still increased significantly. The second-hand housing market was a notable example. Transaction volumes surged, but despite the increase, prices actually fell.

After assembling his traders, Yi Anguo began establishing positions at low prices. He bought into real estate, infrastructure, pharmaceutical, and liquor stocks. He had no intention of selling many of these, as he planned to hold them for the long term.

These stocks all had great potential for future growth, such as National Liquor Shares, Changcun High-Tech, and Wanke Real Estate. Changcun High-Tech, in particular, was trading at less than 6 yuan but was set to increase by more than a hundredfold in the future.

Bank stocks, on the other hand, were a short-term hold. The announcement of the 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan was expected to trigger a wave of limit-up surges for bank stocks. By holding them for a short period and then selling, one could easily make a profit of around 10%, which was far more rewarding than keeping money in the bank.

「As December arrived」

The effects of the economic crisis deepened. The price of international crude oil futures fell below 50 US dollars a barrel, closing at 47.97 US dollars on December 1, a sharp decline of 5.52 US dollars from the previous day's close.

Taobao's stock price on the Hong Kong market hit a new all-time low, closing at 3.70 yuan.

On that day, however, trading volume exploded. Some were selling in a panic, while others were frantically bottom-fishing and buying up shares.

Taobao's securities department was working to stabilize the stock, but they soon realized something was wrong. Before they could even act, massive buy orders were already coming in.

"Can we track who is aggressively bottom-fishing and buying our stock?" Jack Ma asked.

Taobao had been trying to support its stock price all along by buying back its own shares at low prices. They would then sell them back into the market once the price stabilized to profit from the spread. However, the market was too bearish, and the buybacks couldn't stop the stock's continuous decline. After struggling for half a year, they had not only failed to prevent further price drops but had also lost a considerable amount of money instead of profiting. Their plan to buy low and sell high had backfired; as the price relentlessly fell without any chance of recovery, they ended up buying high and selling low. The stock had plunged from its issue price all the way down to just 3.70 yuan.

"It's difficult to trace the specific accounts, but according to the IP address, the buyer is from Shenzhen," said the manager of Taobao's Securities Investment Department.

"Moreover, it appears they've been building a position for some time. They're likely trying to corner the market. First, they suppress the price to accumulate cheap shares, then they suddenly spike it to unload their position. They're probably preparing to dump their stock soon.

"Once they pump the price, it could surge by dozens of percentage points, attracting a flood of retail investors to buy in. Then they'll dump all their shares and exit with a profit."

"He wants to pump the price and dump his shares? In his dreams," Jack Ma said with displeasure. "If he tries to raise the price, we'll smash it back down. I'll make sure his efforts come to nothing."

"If we do that, our losses will be significant," the securities manager advised. "Actually, the best approach is to ride their coattails and seize the opportunity to sell off our own shares.

"Once they pump the price up, we'll sell off before they can. By the time they're ready to dump their shares, we'll have already pushed the price back down."

"But what if they don't fall for it and just keep buying our Taobao shares?" Jack Ma countered.

"If the majority of the circulating shares on the market fall into their hands, they'll control the price, and we'll be powerless. What if they drive the price down to less than one yuan, or even a few cents per share? We'll be completely on the defensive."

"That seems unlikely. The point of manipulating the market is to make money, right? What benefit would they get from crushing the price to less than a yuan?" the manager said.

"What if they aren't just an ordinary market manipulator? What about our competitors?" Jack Ma asked. "Suppose it's Penguin Company or Quiet Online Supermarket deliberately pushing our stock to its lowest point. They could be attacking us, or even trying to acquire us. Even if they can't take over, they can still become major shareholders. Remember, 25% of our stock is floating on the Hong Kong market!

"What would we do then? If we wanted to buy back the shares from them, it would cost a fortune. If we don't, and they manage to acquire all or even most of the floating stock, they could easily become major shareholders and demand a seat on our board as independent directors.

"Although they couldn't seize control, having them pop up to oppose us from time to time would be nauseatingly annoying."

"Then we absolutely cannot sell our own shares to drive the price down," the manager stated. "Every share we sell is a share they'll buy! That would just help them accumulate a large stake even faster.

"If we don't want them to gain too much control, our only option is to wait until they pump the price and start their mass sell-off. We'll have to buy their shares then. We'll just have to stand by and watch them walk away with their profits."

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