Chapter Thirteen: The Furious Shareholders—The True Face of the Great A-Share Market

A strong masculine scent flooded Shen Siqing’s nose and mouth, instantly rousing her from her slight intoxication. Her innocent instinct of shyness made her suddenly push Yan Fei away with force.

Taking a few steps back, Yan Fei steadied himself, also sobering up. Seeing Shen Siqing’s flushed face, he couldn’t understand why he had been so impulsive just moments ago—not only did he hold her, he had kissed her once.

After a brief silence, Yan Fei spoke, “I’m sorry, I was too rash. You should stay here for the night. I’ll book another room, and tomorrow we’ll take a taxi to Dianping.”

Shen Siqing said nothing, leaning against the wall, still dazed. Only after Yan Fei left the room with some items and closed the door did she calm down from her haze.

Sitting on the bed, Shen Siqing recalled Yan Fei’s nervous departure and couldn’t help but smile, chuckling softly before murmuring to herself, “Shen Siqing, what’s wrong with you? Could it be that you’re really hungry, flirting with a younger man?”

As Shen Siqing lingered in her delightful and bashful confusion, Yan Fei had booked the adjacent room. Recovering from his impulsiveness, he took a shower and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Yan Fei woke feeling refreshed. He called the hotel to arrange breakfast delivery to both his and Shen Siqing’s rooms. Then he opened his laptop to check the Shanghai-Shenzhen 300 Index.

Looking at yesterday’s closing at 3556.38 points, up 0.33%, but having broken below the MA1, MA2, and MA3 levels, with 250 points still above the MA4 level at 3293.26 and already entering a downward channel, Yan Fei believed MA4 would likely not hold either.

Pulling up the M3, M5, and M10 technical lines, he saw volume expanding: M3 at 95.32 billion, M5 at 148.59 billion, and M10 at 174.3 billion, indicating yesterday’s slight rise was merely an illusion, not a true stabilization. The steep drops of the previous four days had yet to inspire confidence in a market rebound.

The MACD line showed -74.65, the DIFF line +80.80, and the EDA line +118.12—three lines that had shifted from entanglement into a dispersing trend channel, which was now open.

The RSI6, RSI12, and RSI24 lines had just dropped from near 80 over the past six trading days, now aligned in a descending channel. The highest value was only 58.10, below 60, signaling the end of the bull market.

To confirm his thoughts, Yan Fei also dragged out the simple moving averages, typically used by beginners, and saw that the 5-day, 10-day, and 20-day lines had all been breached, with only 18 points left above the 30-day line. More importantly, the previous four-line ascending channel had reversed; on August 7’s sharp drop, the 5-day line plunged below the 10-day line, making it likely the trend would continue to break below the 20- and 30-day lines.

He proceeded to check the CCI and WR lines, which also suggested a looming sharp decline. After studying various technical indicators, Yan Fei finally put down his pen.

Looking at the dozens of indicators on paper, over 70% pointed to a significant upcoming drop. Yan Fei decided to bet his entire fortune on it. Even if he lost, it wouldn’t be a big deal—he trusted his own ability to recover.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Yan Fei opened it to find the hotel waiter delivering breakfast. After quickly eating, he checked the Shanghai Composite Index, which also gave a strong impression of an impending big fall.

By 9:15 a.m., the A-share market began pre-market trading. Yan Fei quickly scanned the bids of over a dozen blue-chip stocks, all opening lower. A few bank stocks opened higher, but most were down.

This reinforced Yan Fei’s conviction. At 9:30 a.m., the Shanghai-Shenzhen 300 Index opened at 3546.5 points, 10 points lower than yesterday’s close.

Without hesitation, Yan Fei sold his entire position at market price, shorting the index. The market fell instantly with little resistance, the bulls weak and scarce.

Yan Fei was glad he chose immediate market execution to quickly match the opposing orders. The index plunged from 3546.5 to 3516.2 in mere seconds—a 30-point drop.

Having only completed 45 lots of shorts, Yan Fei had no choice but to wait patiently. Suddenly, a large buy order of 300 lots appeared, wiping out all his short orders above and pushing the index back up to 3535.6 points.

Startled by this, Yan Fei clenched his fist and shouted in his heart, deeply grateful to that large buy order and the retail bulls it rallied—it had absorbed all his shorts.

After a few moments of joy, he checked his account: average short price 3530.24, total 176 lots executed, using 27.9595 million yuan.

Once all orders were filled, Yan Fei leaned back in his chair, watching the ongoing battle. Two seconds after the large bullish order, a massive short order of 500 lots slammed down, instantly breaking the low and pushing the index to 3508.26.

The market quieted for half a minute, with only minor buy and sell orders tussling. The bears maintained firm control as the index slid further to 3501.28.

Expecting the bulls to rally and defend the 3500 level, Yan Fei was surprised as another large short order of over 500 lots overwhelmed the bulls, smashing through 3500 and dragging the index down to 3484.68.

Yan Fei anticipated a swift bull counterattack. Indeed, two seconds later, a 500-lot buy order surged, lifting the price to 3498.68—nearly reclaiming 3500 and exciting many retail bulls.

Yet the bears showed no mercy, hammering down a massive 1000-lot short order that crushed the bulls’ resistance, breaking the psychological 3500 barrier and pushing the index to 3480.

Just as Yan Fei was reveling in this exhilarating market action, a knock came at the door. He rose to open it, finding Shen Siqing smiling sweetly on the threshold.

Embarrassed, Yan Fei smiled and said, “About yesterday, I was too forward. I hope you won’t take it to heart, Lawyer Shen.”

Seeing the slight guilt on Yan Fei’s face, Shen Siqing’s cheeks flushed. She coquettishly said, “It’s okay, I’ve already forgotten. You can call me Qingqing or Sister Qing. Can I call you Xiaofei?”

Hearing this, Yan Fei’s heart brightened. He laughed, “Alright, Sister Qing. I scheduled a meeting with Mr. Zhang at 11, but it’s not even 10 yet. Should we go early?”

Shen Siqing approached the computer and smiled, “No need to arrive early; that’s not good. Are you trading stocks?”

Standing beside her, Yan Fei opened his futures account and smiled, “I bought some index futures. If you’re interested, you can buy some too. I predict the market will fall sharply.”

Shen Siqing shook her head, smiling, “I don’t trade stocks. Is that 27.95 million yuan the capital you used? And is the 2.64 million yuan in red your profit?”

Yan Fei glanced at the screen, smiling, “Yes, I felt there was a chance, so I bought a bit to try.”

Hearing this, Shen Siqing’s eyes widened with astonishment. Her estimation of Yan Fei’s wealth soared, never having imagined that was his entire fortune.

Suddenly recalling something, Shen Siqing’s mood dimmed. Seeing this, Yan Fei asked with concern, “Sister Qing, are you feeling unwell?”

Shen Siqing shook her head, smiling, “I’m fine. Xiaofei, after investing in Dianping, will you leave Shanghai?”

“Yeah,” Yan Fei nodded solemnly, “I need to return to Shen’an City to handle some matters.”

Hearing this, a trace of melancholy deepened on Shen Siqing’s face. In a low voice, she asked, “Do you have a girlfriend, Xiaofei?”

Yan Fei barely heard her, but seeing her slightly lowered head, he smiled and replied, “No girlfriend. I’m focused on my career and have no plans for a relationship. I’ll just let it happen naturally.”

These words were like sweet nectar to Shen Siqing, filling her with sunshine that dispelled all gloom and brought a happy smile to her face.

After chatting and getting to know each other better, time passed to just after 10 a.m. They gathered their things, went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and soon arrived at Dianping’s office.

At the entrance, they saw Zhang Tao and a group of company executives waiting, holding a welcome banner and having decorated the office specially.

Seeing Yan Fei, Zhang Tao hurried over, shaking his hand warmly, “Welcome, Mr. Yan!”

Yan Fei smiled, grasping Zhang Tao’s hand, “Likewise. Today’s a good day. Zhang, let me introduce you to Lawyer Shen. She’s from Dehong Law Firm and will handle the signing of our investment agreement.”

Zhang Tao looked at Shen Siqing, momentarily stunned by her stunning beauty and perfect figure, but quickly composed himself and warmly shook her fingertips, “Welcome, Lawyer Shen.”

In a friendly atmosphere, they proceeded to the meeting room to discuss the investment agreement. They quickly agreed on the funding schedule: $40 million USD valued at 272 million RMB, with 72 million RMB to arrive by the end of this month, 100 million by the end of October, and the final 100 million by the end of January next year.

After signing, Zhang Tao happily suggested, “Mr. Yan, Ms. Shen, it’s noon. Let’s have lunch together.”

Yan Fei couldn’t refuse and agreed. They rode in Zhang Tao’s car to a nearby hotel, accompanied by Dianping’s senior executives.

They spent nearly two hours dining on exquisite dishes from a five-star restaurant on Dianping. The hotel owner, upon hearing of Zhang Tao’s arrival, came over to toast. Seeing the group focused on Yan Fei, he respectfully greeted him, exchanged introductions, and left his contact.

After the meal, Yan Fei, slightly intoxicated, was supported by Shen Siqing into a taxi. Zhang Tao watched them go with envy, believing Yan Fei must be a scion of a prominent family seeking experience. Seeing Shen Siqing confirmed Zhang Tao’s suspicions even more.

Around 4 p.m., Yan Fei woke alone in his room. Approaching the desk, he found a note written by Shen Siqing: “I’ve gone to work. I’ll see you after work.”

A smile spread across Yan Fei’s face. The feeling of being cared for was wonderful; in his past nearly forty years and these twenty-plus years of this life, no one had ever cared for him like this.

He chuckled foolishly for a while, then opened his computer to check the Shanghai-Shenzhen 300 Index. A massive green candlestick brightened his mood further. The closing was 3397.40, down 4.47%, showing a paper profit of 7.013952 million RMB.

After watching the market for another ten minutes, Yan Fei thought there might be a rebound tomorrow similar to yesterday’s, at most a 1% rise. He pondered whether to close his short position then go long.

A few minutes later, Yan Fei closed the index chart, deciding not to close his position tomorrow because the trend still showed strong bearish momentum and a continuing downtrend.

Turning to crude oil futures, he saw a slight drop to $34.92 per barrel, with the market showing retail trading activity but lacking vigor.

Just as Yan Fei was about to close the screen and check U.S. news, a large bearish order suddenly appeared, smashing the price down to $34.85.

Seeing the bears attack fiercely, Yan Fei guessed the negotiation results must have been released, though he didn’t know what they were. He refrained from opening new positions and quickly looked up U.S. news.

Minutes later, he read a statement from the U.S. Energy Department: “A friendly agreement has been reached with Saudi Aramco. There will be no supply shortages, and economic recovery is underway.”

After studying the news, Yan Fei returned to watch crude oil futures. The bearish orders kept coming, pushing prices rapidly down to $34.50 in just minutes.

At this price, Yan Fei stopped hesitating and went all-in short, using 20x leverage on his $580,000 account. He sold 344 large short contracts, instantly eating up all the long orders below, executing at an average price of $34.45 and driving the price down further to $34.40.