009 “Painfully Happy”

Fang Qingye changed into slippers after entering and heard Xia He call out, “Xiao Fang, I’m going to fry one more dish. Make yourself comfortable and watch some television. If you get bored, go to my study—there’s Internet access in there.”

Fang Qingye answered and looked around. The apartment was not very large—two bedrooms and two sitting rooms—but it was furnished with a warm, homely touch.

After glancing around the living room, he noticed that the study door stood open and walked inside. A laptop sat on the desk, though he had no intention of turning it on.

Against the wall stood an electronic keyboard. Unlike an ordinary keyboard, it resembled the professional kind used by bands, and it immediately aroused Fang Qingye’s curiosity.

So Xia He had this sort of hobby?

No wonder her fingers were so long and slender. He wondered how well she played.

As he thought this, his gaze shifted to the bookcase.

It was a large bookcase, packed with volumes. Most concerned finance and economics. Fang Qingye pulled one out at random.

*Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives.*

He flipped through it. The book was already old, and its pages were filled with Xia He’s graceful handwritten notes. Judging by them, she had studied it carefully and seriously.

The author was a professor at the University of Toronto in Canada and director of the Bonharm Financial Center, an internationally recognized authority on derivatives.

The book primarily discussed the workings of futures markets, hedging strategies using futures, the determination of forward and futures prices, the operation of options markets, the nature of stock options, options-trading strategies, credit derivatives, the Black–Scholes model, the Greeks and their applications, as well as climate, energy, and insurance derivatives.

Fang Qingye had also studied the book carefully, though only after entering investment banking. Back then, he had found it profoundly abstruse and held its theories in the highest regard, practically treating them as immutable truths. Only after years in the industry had he realized that, in reality, they were nothing extraordinary.

At that moment, Xia He came out carrying a plate of food. Seeing Fang Qingye standing by the bookcase with the volume in hand, she smiled.

“Xiao Fang, are you interested in this book too?”

“Heh, I’m just flipping through it,” Fang Qingye replied.

“It was one of my textbooks in graduate school. I liked it very much. I found many of its ideas novel and distinctive, and very inspiring.”

“You mean the Black–Scholes model?” Fang Qingye said with a smile. “By assuming a random-walk model for stock prices, it derives the theoretical prices of call and put options. It is indeed very convenient. But the theory was developed by Western financial scholars, and it is better suited to mature Western markets. Applied to our domestic market, it will produce deviations. Our trading mechanisms, market liquidity, and volatility differ greatly from those of mature international markets. It’s like oranges grown in the south becoming bitter trifoliate oranges when planted in the north.”

Fang Qingye was not speaking idly. He had learned that lesson the hard way. When he had worked in investment banking, his excessive faith in this imported Western theory had cost him dearly.

Xia He listened in astonishment.

“Xiao Fang, I never realized you knew so much. They don’t teach this in undergraduate programs, do they?”

“Heh, I studied it in my spare time.”

“Xiao Fang, it seems you were diligent and studious at university—a model student, in fact. But when you applied for the position, I saw your GPA. Why was it so low?”

Fang Qingye’s face grew hot. He fended her off with an excuse. “President Xia, I wasn’t very interested in what the professors taught.”

Xia He nodded.

“That makes sense. What you learn at university, especially during the undergraduate years, is often disconnected from reality. I only learned some useful things in graduate school and after graduation... Come and eat.”

Fang Qingye agreed, returned the book to the shelf, then went to wash his hands. He sat down at the dining table in the small sitting room, where several dishes had already been laid out. Xia He had also opened a bottle of Great Wall Cabernet.

Salted duck, Beauty’s Liver, duck blood vermicelli soup... These were all traditional dishes from Jinling.

“President Xia...” Fang Qingye began, but Xia He interrupted him.

“All right, stop calling me President Xia every other sentence. It isn’t office hours. Just call me Senior, or use my name.”

Fang Qingye could only ask, “Senior, are you from Jinling?”

“Yes, born and raised there,” Xia He replied. “I haven’t been in Nanxin for very long, and I don’t know how to cook your local dishes, so I could only make these... You’ll have to put up with them.”

Fang Qingye picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of chicken breast, and tasted it.

“Mm, it’s delicious.”

“Heh, my mother was a full-time housewife. She often told me that if you want to win a man’s heart, you must first win his stomach.”

Xia He suddenly stopped, apparently realizing that the remark was somewhat inappropriate under the circumstances. She immediately poured wine into both stemmed glasses and raised hers.

“Xiao Fang, I’ve wanted to thank you in person for the Tenglong deposit-theft case for a long time. But the bank has been extremely busy lately, so I kept putting it off until now. I’m sorry.”

“Senior, you’re too kind. I should be congratulating you on your promotion to branch president.” Fang Qingye raised his glass as well and took a sip.

“Yes... I finally became one, but the pressure is enormous.” Xia He sighed, then suddenly smiled brightly. “Forget it. Let’s not exchange official pleasantries, or you’ll think I’m being affected. With so much pressure, why did I fight so hard for the position?”

“Pain and pleasure at the same time,” Fang Qingye replied with a smile.

“Xiao Fang, you really know how to put things. Pain and pleasure at the same time.” Xia He gave a coquettish laugh. “All right, eat.”

The two ate and chatted. Then Xia He suddenly asked, “Xiao Fang, some time ago Zhao Wenjun invited you out to dinner, and he resigned the next day. Can you tell me what he said to you?”

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes fixed themselves on Fang Qingye.

Fang Qingye did not conceal anything. He briefly recounted what had happened that day in the small restaurant, including Zhao Wenjun’s bet about memorizing a dictionary. Naturally, he left out what had been wagered.

After listening, Xia He sighed. “I never imagined Zhao Wenjun would tell you all that... To be honest, he really was capable, and ruthless enough in his methods. It was a pity that luck was never on his side.”

“And I had just a little more luck—and that was luck you brought me.” Xia He smiled brightly at Fang Qingye. “Xiao Fang, how do you think I should thank you?”

“Senior, didn’t inviting me to dinner already count as thanks?”

“How could that be enough? That’s far too simple.” Xia He said, “Don’t you want to make any requests concerning your work? For instance, after your probationary placement ends, which department would you like to join? The Credit Department or the Finance and Accounting Department—you may choose either.”

These were the two most powerful and promising departments in the branch. Many branch executives had risen through their ranks.

Moreover, they carried far lighter deposit-gathering quotas. At a large, well-funded bank like Dongfang Bank, such departments were hardly required to solicit deposits at all.

But Fang Qingye shook his head. “Let me go to the General Affairs Office.”