In the first few months of 2007, the coal industry was actually seeing a profit of 500% per tonne.

Under these circ.u.mstances, Xu Tingsheng had consecutively sold three of Huang Yaming’s main mines at high prices. The fourth was soon to come.

Everyone could not understand it.

Bingzhou’s Huang Twenty-four who had substantial strength and limitless glory was turned virtually into a joke in the Bingzhou mine district by Xu Tingsheng, a ‘mega mine owner’ who was getting close to having no mines left.

“Well, we’re bros, so,” Facing concern and inquiries, Huang Yaming could only answer like this, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

At the same time, the financial situations of Hucheng, Zhicheng and Xingchen also became incomparably tense.

Faced with his virtually unreasonable, crazed outgoing investments, some people were fuelled by adulation and superst.i.tion in he who had never made a mistake before. Some people were propped up by friends.h.i.+p and feelings. Some people simply felt that they owed him…

“If Tingsheng is not crazy, he’s judged that something is going to go wrong with the economic situation in the entire country.”

It was already impossible to determine who it was that first speculated this as soon, this view was shared by many.

“So, he’s actually...s.h.i.+fting his a.s.sets?”

“Or maybe he’s simply evading an economic crisis in the first place?”

If even these people were already beginning to get this, Zhou Yuandai could definitely see things more clearly. From the banks of Wall Street and the changes in price of CDO and CDS, Xu Tingsheng could judge just how mighty she was.

Still, that was not enough…

“If he’s really s.h.i.+fting his a.s.sets to evade a crisis, what should we do? Follow or not?” Friends, acquaintances, those of the Black Horse Club, strangers...many people were discussing this.

On one end was a Xu Tingsheng who was crazed like blazing flames. The other end was as calm as a windless sea’s surface.

Just like for most interns.h.i.+p teachers still yet to graduate, the teacher in charge of guiding Xu Tingsheng at Yanzhou’s first-tier senior high was careful for a period of time before discovering that this young, wealthy fellow really seemed to be here for an interns.h.i.+p. Also, he was very agreeable. So she would ask from time to time, “Mr Xu, for evening self-study today, is it convenient for you to supervise my cla.s.s for me?”

“It’s convenient. Alright,” Xu Tingsheng would answer very straightforwardly every time.

He marked essays in the first period of evening self-study. Xiang Ning’s essay standard...really caused one to feel worried for her.

During the second period, having nothing to do, he began to write his graduation thesis.

Perhaps because the pressure from Zhou Yuandai had already persisted for too long, Xu Tingsheng had instead gotten used to it. While knowing that the fateful moment was drawing steadily near, he was calm to a point that was even a little unimaginable for himself.

If this had occurred before the chain reaction sparked off by the Fang family’s fall, Xu Tingsheng would have no chance of scheming against Zhou Yuandai at all. That chain reaction had caused his overall strength to rise at least threefold.

That was why he at least had the ability to strive to overthrow her now.

……

Xiang Ning’s state of mind was different. She too had slowly gotten used to it. Still, she felt very angry from time to time. Still, while concentrating on her homework, she would suddenly glance up and think from time to time, “He’s actually really not sneakily looking at me…”

“Hey, what exactly is this?”

“Does he really want to be an interns.h.i.+p teacher? Or is he doing this to spite me on purpose?”

During the third period of evening self-study, the students who had finished their homework started to relax as there were some unnecessary movements.

Two girls took out snacks to eat.

Xu Tingsheng came over…

“Teacher,” They were rather nervous.

Xu Tingsheng smiled and took a salty dried plum from the packet, popping it in his mouth.

“Cough,” The cohort head stood at the entrance of the cla.s.sroom.

“He, h.e.l.lo, sir...I’m confiscating snacks,” After his initial panic, he pointed at his mouth, saying, “Confiscating it for good.”

The cohort head exasperatedly shot him a look.

After he had left, the entire cla.s.sroom erupted in laughter.

With the atmosphere already having grown lively, a student asked if they could chat with Mr Xu.

Xu Tingsheng thought about it, then closed the cla.s.sroom door and agreed.

“Will you really be a teacher in the future, Mr Xu?” Someone asked.

“Possibly,” Xu Tingsheng answered.

“Can you stay behind to teach us then?”

“Even if I stay at this school, I shouldn’t be able to teach you,” Xu Tingsheng answered earnestly, “The year after I graduate, you guys will be in twelfth grade. Since when do new teachers lead twelfth grade cla.s.ses in their first year?”

There were disappointed sighs all around.

Hearing the words ‘graduate’ and ‘twelfth grade’, Xiang Ning’s heart skipped a beat as she thought, “Right, if it still were like before, how soon that would be.”

“Then, teacher, can you tell us about your entrepreneurial stories?”

“How much money do you have, teacher?”

“Can I go to your company to work after graduating from university in the future, teacher?”

A whole series of questions.

Xu Tingsheng hesitated for a bit and said, “Firstly, my entrepreneurial story is definitely not as colourful as is written on the internet. So, I won’t repeat it. As for the other two questions...how about this. After you’ve gone to university and begun working, if there’s anything you need, you can come look for me then. I’ll definitely do my best to help.”

“Then, teacher, do you have a girlfriend?” A relatively braver girl suddenly asked.

So many meaningful smiles, chattering voices, looks of antic.i.p.ation. This was a humanities cla.s.s! At eleventh grade, girls loved to fantasise the most.

Meanwhile, Xu Tingsheng might be a little more alluring than Prince Charming of fantasies.

Before he answered.

Xiang Ning’s chest began to feel a bit bitter. It was an indescribable feeling, not exactly terrible, but not at all specific too. The only thing she could be sure of was that her mind was in a lot of chaos.

“I did,” Xu Tingsheng said only two words.

“Is it Apple?” A gossipy girl shouted.

Xiang Ning felt terrible at once.

“No, it’s another girl. My relations.h.i.+p with Apple has already been clarified on the internet. You should believe this.”

“Teacher, you said ‘did’ just now. Have you and that girl already broken up?”

“...Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I did something wrong.”

“Do you still like her then?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Xu Tingsheng’s ‘yes’, Xiang Ning’s nose began to feel a bit tingly.

“Go and chase her back then!” A boy called.“I don’t dare to. I made too big a mistake, and she says she’s afraid.”

“Do it slowly then! Are you still friends now?”

Xu Tingsheng was silent for a while, “Probably not. She’s already ignoring me completely.”

Xiang Ning’s tablemate patted her, “What’s with you, Xiang Ning?”

“Huh? ...I’m, I’m tired. I want to rest for a while.”

“Alright. Anyway, it’s so strange. It’s only you who most likes ignoring Mr Xu in the cla.s.s. You seem to really hate him. Yet, he’s clearly so good! Good at teaching, good-looking…while he may be very rich, he isn’t full of himself like those rich people.”

“I don’t do that. It’s just...I’m not familiar with him. Forget it, my eyes are so tired. I’ll rest for a while first.”

As the two conversed quietly, a boy was in the midst of proposing to Xu Tingsheng, “Mr Xu, I saw a proposal video online. The guy found many people on the street, getting them to use various dialects to ask this girl to marry him. How about we help you to record an apology video? All of us will speak once on your behalf, asking her to forgive you.”

Xiang Ning buried her head, so wanting to pinch him to death… “Everybody? What about me then? Must I also say: That someone, please forgive our Mr Xu and give him another chance...”

“It’s okay,” Xu Tingsheng said from the front of the room.

Miss Xiang grew very angry all at once, “What do you mean it’s okay? His tone is like it doesn’t really matter at all. How I want to strangle him to death!”

“It seems that Mr Xu really likes that girlfriend of his...wow, what kind of person would be so stupid, able to part with even a boyfriend like Mr Xu? If he made a mistake, let him change! At football compet.i.tions, it’s only two yellow cards that becomes a red card and get a player kicked out. If it were me…” Xiang Ning’s man-crazy tablemate murmured into her ear, “What would you do if it were you, Xiang Ning?”

“...” How Miss Xiang wanted to strangle her tablemate to death too!

At the end of evening self-study, the students left the cla.s.sroom in droves. Afraid that her eyes had turned red, Xiang Ning decided to lie across her table for a while longer.

A student from the row in front of her asked, “Aren’t you returning to your dormitory, Xiang Ning?”

“I’ll go back in a while,” Xiang Ning said without raising her head.

“Well great, help me to bring the homework to Mr Xu’s office in a while. I’ve got a date.”

Her cla.s.smate placed a bunch of books on Xiang Ning’s table before skipping out of the cla.s.sroom. Xiang Ning had forgotten. She...was the representative for Language!

Seeing that there was already no one nearby, Xiang Ning fumed at herself for a while before hatefully moving the workbooks to the office. There were two teachers inside, one being that guy, the other a teacher in charge of another cla.s.s.

“It’s fine then. Hmph. Let’s see what you dare to say in front of other teachers…” Xiang Ning walked in, her head raised high.

That teacher came out, saying, “Mr Xu, I’m going to see if my students have all left. I’ll come lock the door in a while.”

Xu Tingsheng looked up and said, “Okay.”

Xiang Ning felt that she was so tragically unlucky!

She hugged a bunch of workbooks, standing there…

Bang.

“Homework.”

As the workbooks fell on the table with a bang, Xiang Ning said her first sentence to Xu Tingsheng since that day.

“It’s not that I wanted to bring it to you. The Language rep is off on a date. I didn’t have time to say I wouldn’t bring it,” Xiang Ning felt a necessity to explain things.

Xu Tingsheng lowered his head and said, “Thank you.”

What att.i.tude was this? Miss Xiang’s stifled despondence from the entire night erupted at once.

In the end, really unable to bear it and also finding no other way to vent her emotions, she quietly kicked that baddy’s leg...just like that year, in the taekwondo cla.s.sroom of the training inst.i.tute.

“He doesn’t hurt anyway.”

Having been kicked, Xu Tingsheng showed no reaction at all.

Miss Xiang grit her teeth and raised her leg for the second time...ready to kick him to ‘death’.

“Mr Xu,” A few female cla.s.smates stood at the entrance of the office.

Xiang Ning woodenly put down her leg…

“Mr Xu, you said there’s no need for a video. These are apology cards that we’ve helped you to write. Our two dorms have both written here, written a lot!” Her female cla.s.smate placed two cards on Xu Tingsheng’s table.

Had this bunch of childish man-crazy girls watched too many dramas, read too many novels?

Xiang Ning felt so despondent.

“Xiang Ning, why are you here?” A cla.s.smate asked.

“Oh, I helped bring the homework,” Xiang Ning said.

“Let’s go back together then! It’s nearly time for roll call.”

“Oh, okay.”

“You must remember to give her the card, Mr Xu!” The girl reminded at the entrance of the office.

“Thank you, girls,” Xu Tingsheng said.

Xiang Ning, “...”