Chapter 25: Bewitchment

After boasting, the next morning he deposited 1.2 million into his account, and in truth, he didn’t have much cash on hand anymore. Throughout March, lacking any specialized equipment, Tao Zhiming could only follow the market changes on TV and make some low-risk trades. The gains wouldn’t be huge, of course.

When he came back looking troubled, Yosuke Ueno, who had just woken up, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Tao Zhiming put some slices of bread on the table. “Just eat whatever. The capital is still too little. Yosuke, have you made up your mind? Lend me the money first. Give me one month, I guarantee you a 20% return. How about that?”

Yosuke said nothing.

Tao Zhiming switched the TV to the finance channel and took a bite of bread. “You still don’t trust my skills? Hey, don’t you want me to teach you? Isn’t it worth paying a bit of tuition?”

“That’s not what I want to learn! I’m not looking for advice on how to deal with women!” Yosuke protested indignantly.

Last night, Tao Zhiming had gone on about how Yosuke had a crush on every girl he met, regardless of looks, age, or personality. He even used the phrase “starved for affection.” It drove Yosuke crazy—what right did Tao Zhiming have to say that? But now…

Yosuke felt a bit stifled.

“Oh, lessons about women are very valuable,” Tao Zhiming said, his eyes glued to the TV, but still responding.

“Don’t you have anything else to do today?” Yosuke asked.

Tao Zhiming nodded. “I’m waiting for a call from Sumitomo, need to do some proper trading. Need to get ready, and then go on a date. I wonder if Kyoko’s friend is pretty—Kyoko herself isn’t much.”

Yosuke sat beside him, bread at his lips, staring at the side of Tao Zhiming’s face. “You... you really have turned into a demon. But what do you really feel about Runa?”

Tao Zhiming looked at him in surprise. “You’re not seriously thinking I want to date Runa and have already imagined marrying her in your head, are you? I can see that look—honestly, you’re not really interested in Runa, you’re just lecherous. Right now, you act that way with every woman. Yosuke, maybe sometime we should just go to a hostess club together.”

He went on and on, leaving Yosuke red-faced and speechless.

A demon... that’s what he was… but Yosuke had to admit, he really was as Tao Zhiming described.

Tao Zhiming kept watching the program, paying attention to the stock and foreign exchange markets and other financial news, saying absentmindedly, “I don’t have that much power yet. All I can do is spend time and care so Runa will be more willing to work for me.”

“But…” Yosuke watched the news with him—something he never did before. “Miko said, ‘Mama has been zoning out a lot more lately.’”

Tao Zhiming chuckled. “Runa’s different—she’s a grown woman. She has her own thoughts and decisions. Are you hinting she’s interested in me? Well, who could blame her? After all, I am an exceptional man.”

“You bastard…” Yosuke gnawed at his bread, gritting his teeth.

“Ah! Nomura should be at work by now.” Tao Zhiming moved to the phone and started calling Kudo Joraku.

Yosuke pricked up his ears.

“Kudo? Yes, this is Tao Taro.” Tao Zhiming had clearly caught him just as he started work, before any clients had called in. “How’s my account? I just noticed the yen appreciated a bit again.”

Kudo Joraku sighed on the line, “It’s up a little over 1% since you opened your position. But, Tao, yesterday’s volatility nearly wiped you out. Seriously, you should drop the leverage. I don’t want you starting out with such high-risk trades.”

“It’s fine,” Tao Zhiming replied cheerfully. “I’ve done my calculations. Kudo, I’ve got another 1.2 million yen to invest. I’m calling to ask you to execute the next trade.”

“1.2 million?” Kudo was shocked. “What exactly are you planning?”

“Just sticking with the strategy we discussed. But with more margin now, I can increase the leverage.”

“You want to increase it again?” Kudo sounded exasperated. “Think carefully, Tao. At this rate, even a tiny fluctuation could spell disaster.”

“It’s fine. I can add more margin every couple days.” Tao Zhiming felt confident—he wasn’t a novice, after all. And with the yen’s appreciation, at least over March and April through two rate-cut cycles, the general direction was like a runaway horse.

In fact, to avoid losing all his money, Tao Zhiming was only using 10x leverage—not like those big funds or professional teams who use 100x or more and trade constantly.

So, all told, his profits weren’t that high—a modest gain, far from the 1 million in a week he had bragged to Yosuke about. But now, with his capital tripled, he could afford to take on more leverage.

Besides, he just saw the news about the central bank holding a meeting. If memory served, the upcoming rate cut was on the 10th—very soon. There must be plenty of well-informed traders and teams getting ready to cash in.

He quickly discussed his idea with Kudo Joraku. Without his own tools or a dedicated trader, he could only use the time points he knew to make some forward and futures trades.

Yosuke, listening by the side, could only stare in astonishment. Hearing all those technical terms from Tao Taro’s mouth, it felt surreal.

When did this guy learn all this stuff?

When Tao Zhiming finally hung up, Yosuke couldn’t help but ask, “Taro, have you studied this stuff?”

Tao Zhiming paused, then said, “I read about it before and remembered. I’m actually very smart, but I was just focused on that Kawashima Shiko before.”

“…Never mind that. Tell me, what do you think of Kawashima now?”

Tao Zhiming frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know why I liked her before.”

Taro’s taste was a bit off. She didn’t even look as good as Runa Onodera.

“Tell me, why did Kana Ueda bring her up to you?”

“How should I know?” Tao Zhiming waved it off. “Forget her. Anyway, after yesterday, my investments have already made over ten thousand yen in just one trading day!”

Yosuke’s mouth dropped open—he hadn’t heard that part. “Ten thousand? In one day?”

He did the math. Wow, if he could make that every day, it’d be hundreds of thousands a month. But surely one couldn’t win every day? He’d heard most people lost more than they earned.

And why did Tao Zhiming look even happier than when he got that huge windfall before?

“That was with less than four hundred thousand in principal. Now, my capital is over 1.5 million!” Tao Zhiming winced at the fees. “Tomorrow, maybe I’ll see six-figure profits!”

“Huh? Even if it’s the same percentage, shouldn’t it be about forty thousand?”

“You don’t understand leverage,” Tao Zhiming tempted him again. “Want to give it a try?”

“…But if you’re making so much, why am I only getting 20% of the profits?”

Tao Zhiming cocked his head at him. “The current deposit rate is only 4.5%! Per year! I’m offering you 20% per month and you still think it’s not enough? Greedy guy. Without me, would you get this much? This is what the wise deserve!”

“Can you really make that much?”

Tao Zhiming stretched out his hand. “Three days ago: five hundred thousand. Yesterday: 1.26 million. Don’t hesitate, man! Can’t you trust a miracle like me?”

Yosuke gritted his teeth. “Fine! It’s a deal. I’m going to bet on you—here’s another 1.5 million!”

“Beautiful!” Tao Zhiming was overjoyed. “Hurry, transfer the money to my account! Time is money, Yosuke! Go, go!”