Chapter 59 Exclusive Release Chapter 59—Elijas, ...
The marina of the Southampton Yacht Club gleamed with a dazzling golden light on a September afternoon.
Twelve white yachts of varying sizes were neatly moored on the deep blue water, their masts swaying gently in the breeze.
The air was filled with the salty sea breeze and a faint scent of champagne; this was the Hamptons' last summer revelry.
When Yuan Ning stepped onto the gangway of the "Odyssey", there were already thirty or forty guests gathered on the deck.
She wore Dior sunglasses that covered half of her face and flat shoes.
“Miss Wynne! I never expected to see you here.” A middle-aged woman in a pink Lilly Pulitzer dress greeted her warmly. “I am Melissa Vanderbilt. We met in Aspen, remember? You were with Mr. Van der Berg.”
“Of course I remember, Mrs. Vanderbilt.” Yuan Ning removed her sunglasses, revealing a perfect social smile. “Your horses performed exceptionally well in Saratoga this year.”
“Oh, don’t even mention it, my horse twisted its ankle during the final sprint,” Melissa sighed dramatically.
“I happen to know an animal medicine expert. If you need, I can introduce you to him.”
“You’re so thoughtful.” Melissa smiled even more broadly, lowering her voice, “Seriously, darling, what’s going on between you and Mr. Van der Berg? I’ve heard he’s been in quite a bit of trouble lately.”
"What do you mean?"
“You know, that cryptocurrency investment,” Melissa said, her tone laced with obvious superiority. “My husband said the Van der Berg family has never made such a rash decision in hundreds of years. The old Viscount must be furious.”
Yuan Ning gently swirled the champagne glass in her hand: "To be honest, I don't really understand electronic currency either."
Her tone carried just the right amount of confusion, like that of any upper-class woman who is "tech-savvy": "It sounds like a new game for boys, doesn't it?"
Melissa's eyes lit up immediately.
“It’s just a game! What have our families invested in for hundreds of years? Land, ports, railways, tangible things. You walk on them, use them to transport goods, and watch them generate value.” She made a dismissive gesture.
Yuan Ning maintained her smile, sipping her champagne and playing the role of a perfect listener.
“The most ridiculous thing is,” Melissa said, getting more and more excited, “that such a smart man as Mr. Van der Berg actually jumped in. I heard from my husband that Percival’s fund has already lost almost half of its value. Half! Just think, if that money had been invested in a farm in Tennessee, at least there would still be corn to harvest.”
She shook her head, her tone shifting to a pity tinged with superiority: "The old Viscount must be losing sleep. The reputation of the Van der Berg family, three centuries of prudent upbringing, all because of a young man's momentary impulse... Alas."
On the other side of the deck, Elias was surrounded by several men.
Today he wore a beige linen shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined forearms and a simple platinum diving watch. He wasn't wearing a tie, and the top two buttons of his collar were undone, his blond hair slightly disheveled in the sea breeze.
"So you really invested a hundred million?" The question came from a red-faced man named Rockefeller. "Elijas, I thought you were smarter than those Silicon Valley kids."
Elias took a sip of his gin and tonic: "The actual amount is ninety-seven million. Besides, I think intelligence has nothing to do with the direction of investment, only with the rate of return."
"Return rate?" another man scoffed. "I heard your fund has lost more than 30%."
"It's just short-term fluctuations," Elias said calmly. "If you only look at the daily chart, you would indeed come to that conclusion."
"So what are you watching? Weekly charts? Monthly charts?" Rockefeller pressed. "Stop hanging out with those hoodie kids."
The people surrounding them chuckled softly.
The yacht sounded its horn and slowly sailed away from the dock.
The party officially began.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the yacht entered international waters. The sun was still blazing, but the sea breeze brought a cool breeze.
Most of the guests moved to the air-conditioned area of the lower salon to continue drinking and chatting. Only a handful of people remained on the deck.
As dusk deepened, the horizon where the sea met the sky turned a purplish-red.
Yuan Ning leaned against the railing at the stern, watching the white spray from the propeller leave long trails on the azure sea.
Elias's investment in cryptocurrency, to some extent, deviates from the order she represents. This gives her a complex kind of pleasure.
Even that perpetually calm and in control gentleman has moments when he is questioned and ridiculed.
At the same time, she was very vigilant, which meant that he had entered a new battlefield where she had not yet mastered the rules.
He always walked so fast and saw so far; no matter how hard she tried to catch up, she always fell behind him.
Yuan Ning would not stop at superficial rejection. She was a born adventurer, an adventurer even bolder than Elias.
Perhaps this is the only chance for her to stand above him.
—My dear gentleman, I am fascinated by your lofty and disdainful attitude, but I also want to stand above you.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, cool breeze, completely dispelled the evening heat and the glitz and clamor of the salon.
Yuan Ning didn't move, still leaning against the railing, watching the sea surface that was illuminated by the ship's stern lights, casting a small, blurry halo before being quickly swallowed by endless darkness.
She heard steady footsteps behind her, the leather shoes landing softly on the teak deck, but she recognized them.
Elias stopped half a step away from her, took out a silver cigarette case from his pocket, took out a cigar, did not light it, but held it between his fingers, occasionally bringing it to his nose to smell the rich, unlit tobacco aroma.
Silence spread between the two.
“Wynne, they’re all laughing at me.”
“Your investment has failed, Mr. van der Berg.” She turned around and looked at him with a half-smile.
“Laughter and skepticism are part of the order, Wynne. They are the noise that tests whether your beliefs are strong enough. If you are disturbed by them, it means you are not confident enough in your judgment.”
Yuan Ning raised an eyebrow: "I've learned something, Mr. van der Berg. It seems you always have something to teach me."
"So what did I teach you this time? Don't invest in cryptocurrency?"
Yuan Ning did not speak.
Elias raised the hand holding the cigar, but instead of lighting it, he used the dark brown end of the cigar to touch Yuan Ning's collarbone with the lightest touch, almost like a feather. There, he had once worn the diamond brooch he had given her, but now it was empty, with only her skin glowing with a porcelain-white luster in the night.
"There are always some things in the world that, when they first appear, are like ghosts, like illusions, like... a girl's reckless kiss."
“They challenge all the established rules, make decent people uneasy, and make intelligent people laugh.” He rubbed his thumb very lightly. “But you know, Wynne, you’re a lot like them. In the beginning, nobody thought highly of you, including me. You seemed…too unconventional, too ‘wrong’.”
"So, you're now comparing me to your Bitcoin?" Yuan Ning raised her chin. "So, you can tell your investment preferences from me? We're both things you favor—high risk, high return?"
“No, Wynne. Bitcoin is an investment, you are not.”
The night breeze seemed to have gotten colder, and Yuan Ning subconsciously hugged her arms.
"A little."
He took off the gray shawl that he always draped over his arm and, just as he had done countless times to open car doors for her and take her coats, draped the shawl over her body.
This simple action easily broke down the last bit of defense between the two.
"Elijas, aren't you afraid that you're really wrong this time?"
"It's only a hundred million US dollars, so what if we lose it all?"
He looked down at her, speaking so casually; he was always so arrogant.
Yuan Ning returned from the deck to the cabin, where a warm and boisterous cocktail party was taking place.
She ran into Prince Esposito, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
The other person was very surprised to see her: "Wynne, it's been so long! Oh my god, it really is you."
"Esposito, I heard you've been in Italy for the past two years?"
Yuan Ning turned around and met a pair of eyes filled with a surprised smile.
The prince took her hand and gracefully kissed it.
“Ah, some family matters. My mother asked me to go back and repair a few old houses and keep an eye on the vineyard harvest.” Prince Esposito said casually, taking a sip of champagne. “It’s incredibly boring. Unlike you, I heard your Flying Capital has become completely independent, and the launch of Casanova caused a sensation in Milan.”
“But… I didn’t expect that you still haven’t married into the Van der Berg family. I thought you would really want that surname.”
Yuan Ning raised an eyebrow: "Oh, of course. It would be an honor for me to have the surname Van der Berg."
Esposito hadn't finished speaking when he continued, "After all... if it weren't for Mr. Van der Berg, I would still be pursuing you."
Yuan Ning blinked: "You gave up on your own."
"So, since you're not married yet, do I still have a chance?"
Yuan Ning didn't answer immediately. She tilted her head slightly, as if she was seriously considering this "opportunity".
The warm salon lights flowed over her porcelain-white skin, making her eyes appear even deeper.
She also had another man's shawl draped over her shoulders.
“Prince, see you at the New York Stock Exchange. Being with me requires a bit of adrenaline.”
New York, Percival Capital, penthouse trading room.
The air was filled with the smell of leftover coffee.
On the huge circular screen, red and green numbers flowed like a waterfall, reflecting faces that were slightly pale from lack of sleep, yet burning with excitement. Only the central area, surrounded by several independent screens, had a different atmosphere.
Elias van der Berg sat in a black leather chair, not looking at the global stock indices and foreign exchange data flashing on the surrounding screens. His gaze was fixed on a relatively small screen directly in front of him.
"-53.7%." A calm female voice announced the figure. It was Emilia, the head of the digital asset team. She stood to Elias's side and slightly behind, her expression equally grim.
The keyboard clicks in other areas of the trading room subconsciously softened, and countless eyes—curious, sympathetic, gloating, or waiting for instructions—secretly turned toward the center.
This may be the biggest failure in Elias van der Berg's investment career.
Because of this failure, Percival Capital's reputation in high society has declined, and many investors have chosen to withdraw their funds. Elias has probably lost more than just the numbers in his fund account.
"Boss?" Richard was still waiting for the next instructions.
“Market sentiment has diverged drastically from fundamentals.” His voice was calm and low. “Panic selling has overwhelmed all rational pricing models. Now is not a risk, but an opportunity.”
“Execute Plan B. Use the reserve funds, target price…” He quoted a figure far below the current market price, almost absurd, “Buy in batches. The proportion will be based on our previously calculated highest-risk contingency plan.”
Emilia gasped, and even Richard's eyes widened. Plan B was the theoretically extreme operation, meaning that while everyone else was fleeing, they chose to rush into the fire in the opposite direction.
“Boss, at this price level… if it continues to fall, our losses will increase dramatically, and may even…” Emilia didn’t finish her sentence.
“It might even face liquidation,” Elias finished for her, his tone still calm. “I know. Execute the order.”
The trading room was filled with the sounds of keyboards being pounded and traders gasping for breath.
Elias's instructions were carried out.
He sat upright, no longer looking at the screen, with a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea on his right; it was afternoon tea time.
In the top-floor office of Feitian Capital's New York headquarters, Yuan Ning had just finished a video conference with Paris Workshop.
On the screen, the first batch of top-quality cashmere fabric dyed in "Sighing Blue" shimmered with a mysterious luster under the sunlight, breathtakingly beautiful.
On her personal workbench, besides fashion sketches and the latest quarterly financial report, there were also several very different reports on cryptocurrency.
Fiona knocked and came in, bringing a cup of black coffee and several documents to be signed.
“Flying Capital’s weekly briefing.” Fiona placed a document on top.
Yuan Ning nodded, gesturing for her to put it down. Instead of immediately looking at the briefing, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
The call was quickly answered, and a slightly tired but articulate male voice answered: "Wynne?"
“It’s me. How is it?” Yuan Ning walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at Central Park.
"Just as we predicted, many small funds and retail investors have already given up. As for I... Perseus, based on our monitoring of on-chain addresses and large exchange orders, they've shown unusually active buying activity in the past hour, at very low prices, like... actively catching a falling knife." The other person spoke quickly. "It's risky, but if they bet on the bottom correctly..."
“What if they bet wrong?” Yuan Ning interrupted him, her voice calm.
"Then they will be one of the biggest casualties in this collapse, and the losses will be very severe."
Yuan Ning remained silent for a few seconds, gazing out the window at the bustling crowds of pedestrians and vehicles in the park. On this side of the world, the sun shone warmly, and order prevailed; but deep within the digital world, a silent and brutal massacre of assets was underway.
She remembered Elias's words on the deck, as he touched her collarbone with his cigar: "...You're a lot like them. In the beginning, nobody thought highly of you..."
I also recall his almost cruel arrogance when he said, "It's only a hundred million US dollars, so what if I lose it all?"
He was right. One hundred million US dollars, for the Van der Berg family, for Percival Capital, and for him personally, may really just be a risky figure that can be taken into account.
But for her, every decision was about survival, about everything she had worked so hard to build.
She couldn't gamble with the same arrogance as him. She had to be smarter and more careful in getting involved.
“Listen,” she said decisively into the phone, “we’re not going to follow the trend and buy Bitcoin.”
Her original idea was to double down on whatever Elias bought. On the one hand, she had unwavering faith in his judgment; on the other hand, only in this way could she surpass him.
But now... she has to admit that although she is an adventurer, she is no longer penniless, and she can't afford to gamble with everything she has worked so hard to achieve.
“I need you to do two things immediately.” Yuan Ning’s gaze sharpened. “Use the account we registered offshore to find and contact early-stage startups that are on the verge of collapse during the crash, but have excellent core technology teams, especially those focused on blockchain infrastructure, cross-chain protocols, or privacy computing. Acquire their core intellectual property and team stock options at the lowest possible price.”
After hanging up the phone, Yuan Ning sat back in her chair, picked up her slightly cooled black coffee, and took a sip.
It's a bit bitter, but incredibly refreshing.
She looked at the still-descending curve on the screen, imagining the tense atmosphere in the Percival Capital trading room, and Elias's eternally calm face, and suddenly felt a gambler's excitement.
—Elijas, this might be the first time I've ever beaten you.
The phone rang again, and Yuan Ning answered it.
"Wynne, next week is your birthday, how do you want to celebrate?"
Elias's voice was gentle and steady, with a hint of doting, as simple as that of a considerate lover who was concerned about his girlfriend's birthday arrangements.
Judging from what he said, it seemed that he had already set aside time to spend with her in advance.
Yuan Ning held her phone, momentarily dazed. The glaring downward curve on the screen contrasted sharply with his gentle voice discussing birthday plans.
The gambler's excitement had not yet completely subsided from her chest.
"Birthday?" Yuan Ning made her voice sound equally relaxed, with a hint of lazy contemplation. "Hmm... let me think. No parties... that's too old-fashioned."
“Of course,” Elias readily agreed. “We can leave New York. Go somewhere quiet. A private island in the Caribbean? Or… Tuscany?”
"They all sound pretty good." She found a sofa and lay down, "but something just feels off."
Only his steady breathing could be heard on the other end of the phone; he was quietly waiting for her thoughts.
"Oh! To Disneyland, Elias, I want to go to Disneyland!"
Yuan Ning's voice became cheerful, and she was very excited about the idea.
“…Disney?” Elias’s voice rang out again.
He seemed to have a hint of hesitation that he was trying hard to suppress.
The very act of uttering this word from the mouth of a gentleman who habitually discusses Renaissance art and cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the cigar rooms of private clubs is itself absurd.
“Yes, Disney.” Yuan Ning lay on the sofa, legs crossed and raised, toes dangling playfully, as if she could already see that fairytale castle. “The place with Mickey Mouse and fireworks. California? Orlando?”
Another silence followed.
“Wynne,” he spoke again, his voice now tinged with inquiry, “I’m assuming you’re not joking?”
“Of course not!” Yuan Ning said firmly, even with a hint of coquetry. “I want to ride a roller coaster, eat those sweet and cloying Mickey Mouse-shaped cotton candies, watch the parade, and see the most beautiful fireworks at night. Elias, you’ve never taken me to an amusement park.”
Her last sentence carried a slight, just-right accusation, as if it were a major dereliction of duty on his part as a boyfriend.
He had certainly taken her to amusement parks, even more upscale ones.
“I understand.” Elias’s voice finally regained its usual composure as he accepted the challenge and prepared to deploy a solution. “I will make the arrangements. So, let’s go to Orlando.”
“Elijas,” Yuan Ning reminded him, “Don’t book the entire park. I don’t like that.”
"……good."
"It's a deal then!" Yuan Ning said contentedly. "On my birthday, I'm going to dress up like a princess and go to Disneyland!"
“You were always a princess, my princess.” Elias’s voice softened as he decided to coax her.
“I’m looking forward to it, Elias,” she added.
"I hope this brings you joy, Wynne."
After hanging up the phone, Yuan Ning remained lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, a smile lingering on her lips.
With the Disney trip drawing ever closer, Percival Capital's operations have not ceased.
Even after news broke that he was buying cryptocurrency in batches again, the price of cryptocurrency still did not rise.
Everyone was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
"Boss, two of the teams and labs you were previously interested in have recently received acquisition offers from an offshore fund called 'Explorers.' The other party has strong intentions, and our team is currently at a disadvantage."
Elias frowned slightly: "Explorer? Whose name is that? I've never heard of it before."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com