Reborn with Consumption System

Han Lie spoke with an air of profound wisdom, deliberately making his words vague.

But after mulling it over for a moment, Xi Luting suddenly clapped her hands. "I know how to write your press release now!"

Han Lie was taken aback. Huh? How did we jump to that?

Xi Luting's excitement flared up instantly. She pushed Han Lie aside, whipped out her phone, and began to furiously tap out the draft.

Han Lie leaned over her back to watch for a while and suddenly chuckled, filled with admiration.

Xi Luting was still that clever and decisive Queen of the Court, understanding with just a hint.

Apart from genuinely lacking talent in academics, this girl might actually be good at publicity and management.

The press release was, of course, meant to sing Han Lie's praises, but this time, she truly hit the nail on the head.

She ingeniously pulled up data from previous Tencent stock trading competitions for comparison, creating a ranking based on the "value" of the championships.

And she concluded:

The champions from the year before last and this year held the most valuable titles, with last year's champion coming in next. This was because, during the competitions in those two years, the overall market environment was the most challenging. Achievements made during a rapid downtrend were naturally more convincing. Her logic was very clear and highly credible.

Next, she compared the average weekly return rates of the champions from the years with the most valuable titles. These were generally between 5% and 10%. In fact, during the final stage the year before last, a mere 5.21% return rate was enough to clinch the championship.

Since the average returns looked too meager, she started to elaborate on the importance of a defensive strategy in a bear market. She aimed to make novices understand that a stable weekly profit of 5% was not only decent but actually very strong. There are 52 weeks in a year. A weekly profit of 5% means the principal could be multiplied 12.5 times over the year. And that's in a bear market! Shocking, isn't it?

Moreover, in her portrayal, every past champion had a certain element of luck involved in their win. They weren't always able to maintain the lead during the preliminary trading phase, mostly staying consistently within the top five each week and ultimately winning by a narrow margin. In other words, there wasn't much difference between the top five finalists; the competition was incredibly fierce.

Okay, now let's look at Han Lie's performance: average weekly returns of over 30%, a staggering, dominant lead, and champion for four consecutive weeks! Impressive, right?

At this point, the subtle digs at past champions were essentially complete. The ultimate conclusion was drawn: 1358 was, without a doubt, the strongest "Stock God" since the competition began. Those champions who participated during bull markets, despite achieving higher overall returns, weren't considered anything special. The lack of fierce bidding for them by major brokerages and funds was clear evidence of this.

To conclude, she added a final, elevating statement:

"It is reported that the great 1358, also known as God Lie, has already received sincere invitations from several institutions. He is just a hair's breadth away from becoming the manager of a certain fund—the new hope for Huaxia's fund investors may well be on the way!"

Watching her type up the outline and then the first draft, Brother Lie couldn't help but applaud her.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Well-reasoned, a unique angle, and beautifully hyped!

Clearly, Xi Luting truly understood Han Lie's worth. There's a stock trading competition champion every year, but not all champions are equal. The entire press release conveyed this message, elevating Han Lie to a completely different level.

And she subtly crafted an aura for Han Lie—that of the Chosen One. She deliberately hinted that Han Lie attended a mediocre school and was very young. Furthermore, he hadn't been involved with the stock market for long. Therefore, his current skill level wasn't learned but stemmed from a beast-like intuition and a composure far beyond his years.

What was the advantage of doing this? The stock market needs myths. By mythologizing Han Lie, he would gain much more room to maneuver. This was true on every level.

Recently, many people had been following the competition and Han Lie, but no such compelling press release had emerged. Tencent Finance was more focused on promoting its own competition and had no obligation to build the reputations of the contestants. Xi Luting had provided the content. If the College of Humanities could find a way to supply the resources, Han Lie had a strong chance of becoming famous nationwide in one fell swoop.

"Baby, you're amazing!"

Brother Lie opened his mouth wide and playfully bit her cheek.

"Get lost! You're so annoying..."

She was quite shy, swatting Han Lie away. Then, smugly swinging her long legs, she began to ponder how to polish the draft.

But Han Lie didn't let her go.

If not now, when else to encourage her and give her enthusiastic feedback? To foster a healthy relationship, one must implement both rewards and punishments. When she does well, she must be praised and materially rewarded. This lets her know you're happy and gives her a sense of accomplishment. When she makes a mistake, she must be criticized. The saying "Simps never win" isn't because these people are inherently too ugly, too poor, or too pathetic. Many simps are handsome men, beautiful women, or talented individuals—not losers in the slightest. We often see it in life: a kind man, well-off, passionate, and decent, yet he can't win over the girl of his dreams. It's because he's lacking the "punishment" aspect. Constant praise and encouragement, given too frequently, become incredibly cheap. Cheap efforts can't provide emotional value. Conversely, it's often the jerks who get upset at the slightest disagreement and don't cherish their partners at all who manage to win over the goddesses that top students can only dream of. Come on, repeat after me: Human nature is inherently masochistic! Got that? If you can't use punishment to make the other person realize their "masochistic streak," then you don't deserve a perfect love. You wouldn't even be fit to manage a department of more than ten people. Because the more you pedestalize someone, the less they'll value you—that's just human nature. A clear system of reward and punishment isn't just a management principle; it's rooted in psychology and sociology.

Han Lie expressed his admiration and encouragement for Xi Luting with great enthusiasm. Since he didn't have a suitable gift on hand, he showered her with sweet nothings. Then, he discreetly chewed a piece of gum and gave her a truly perfect and unforgettable special experience.

By the time they left the hotel, it was already 5:30 PM.

They hailed a cab. Xi Luting cheerfully dropped Han Lie off at the gym, then dragged her exhausted yet strangely invigorated body back to school.

As their taxi pulled away, it passed by the Mercedes Pan Ge was in. It was quite the coincidence. However, Xi Luting didn't recognize Pan Ge's new Mercedes. Pan Ge, on the other hand, saw Xi Luting through her car window, her face flushed red.

Miss Pan ground her teeth. What a shameless pair! she cursed silently. Then, composing herself, she walked into the gym with a perfectly calm and gentle smile.

She quietly accompanied Han Lie through his workout routine, acting as if nothing had happened.

But Han Lie knew it wasn't that simple.

Xi Luting's resistance was visibly crumbling, yet Pan Ge remained incredibly resilient. Often, it seemed she had surrendered completely, but deep down, she always had her own calculations and plans.

But that wasn't important, nor was it particularly threatening.

After Old Pan readily paid the 10 million in profit share, Han Lie had successfully completed his initial capital accumulation. He no longer had any significant weaknesses. His takeoff was imminent, and Pan Ge's leverage would diminish over time.

Just wait until my private equity fund gets going... Hmph!

Han Lie sneered, wrapped his arms around Pan Ge, who was deliberately trying to keep her distance, and firmly planted a kiss on her with the same lips that had just savored Xi Luting.

"My dear, see you at school tomorrow!"

He laughed heartily and strode away.

Han Lie returned to his dorm to grab his laptop, then hurried to the Sheraton and booked an executive suite. Afterwards, he called Xia Hongjuan and Zheng Lei, asking them to meet him.

In the entire finance class, only three people were truly worth cultivating: Xi Luting, and these two. This was a fact that time had ultimately proven.

When they met, he got straight to the point. "Are you interested in helping me out for a few days?"

Xia Hongjuan and Zheng Lei exchanged glances, their faces alight with excitement, and nodded vigorously.

"I'm willing!"

"That's great! We couldn't ask for anything better!"

Thus, Han Lie acquired two still-novice but trustworthy traders. Next, he needed to figure out how to get the private equity firm set up...