Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 94: The Eldest Sister of the 90s Quits Sacrificing Herself (6)
The high school Zhao Fuyao attended was very close to the residential complex where she had bought her apartment.
The neighborhood was called Jinxiu Garden.
Quite a few of her classmates lived there too, and the two she became closest with were Yang Jiale and Liu Kai.
Yang Jiale wore her hair in a high ponytail, had a tall figure, and an outgoing personality. She was the class sports representative.
Her parents worked at a bank, so her family was fairly well-off, and they lived in the building next door.
As for Liu Kai, he lived in the same building as Zhao Fuyao. His family was on the second floor, while Zhao Fuyao lived on the fourth.
Liu Kai’s father was a doctor and his mother was a teacher. He himself was tall and thin, quiet and reserved, always wearing black-framed glasses. He had originally been the top student in class.
But after Zhao Fuyao took first place, he dropped to second.
Sometimes he would seek her out to discuss difficult questions, and because they lived so close to each other, he gradually started appearing around Zhao Fuyao more and more often.
Yang Jiale loved dragging people out in groups, so on weekends, the three of them would often hang out together.
They watched movies, went roller skating, played arcade games, basically trying out every trendy activity around.
And after spending so much time together, the three naturally became good friends.
On the weekend, Zhao Fuyao asked Yang Jiale to go shopping with her. The weather was getting colder, and it was time to swap out the clothes in her wardrobe.
After getting ready and heading downstairs, she ran into Liu Kai and his mother just as they were leaving on the second floor.
The moment Liu Kai saw her, his eyes visibly lit up. He lifted a hand in greeting. “What a coincidence.”
Zhao Fuyao smiled and nodded, then politely greeted the elder. “Hello, Auntie Liu.”
“Aiyo, Xiao Zhao, heading out?”
Liu Kai’s mother had not interacted with Zhao Fuyao much before, though they had bumped into each other a few times around the apartment complex.
She had heard from her son that Zhao Fuyao was the top student in class and sometimes even helped explain problems to him, so she already had quite a good impression of the girl.
Zhao Fuyao nodded casually. “Yeah, I’m meeting up with a classmate.”
Before his mother could say anything, Liu Kai had already guessed. “Going out with Yang Jiale?”
Zhao Fuyao checked the time. “Yep. It’s almost time, so I should get going.”
Liu Kai actually wanted to tag along and hang out with them, but remembering he still had errands to run with his mother, he could only wave helplessly. “Alright then, bye.”
As he watched her leave, the smile on Liu Kai’s face disappeared, and he looked noticeably deflated.
Seeing that, Liu Kai’s mother frowned and smacked him lightly on the back. “Liu Kai, let me tell you this first. Senior year is a critical period. Don’t even think about getting into some secret crush or dating nonsense.”
Liu Kai’s face instantly turned red. He hurriedly denied it, “Mom, what are you even talking about? We’re just classmates and friends, can you stop making things up?”
Being a teenager in the middle of puberty, he was so embarrassed his ears were red too. Feeling both awkward and annoyed, he immediately rushed downstairs ahead of her.
Mother Liu quickly followed after him, still nagging behind him. “It better be nothing. Hey, stop running…”
……
Meanwhile, Zhao Fuyao and Yang Jiale successfully met up.
Yang Jiale’s parents were coming along too. The couple already knew about the friend their daughter was close with, so they smiled and chatted with Zhao Fuyao for a bit before reminding the two girls to stay safe.
The husband and wife were on their way to work, still talking as they walked off.
“That subscription certificate costs thirty yuan each. Everyone who bought one already regrets it. Just buy ten to test the waters at most. If you buy too many and lose money…”
The moment Zhao Fuyao heard the words “subscription certificate,” her attention sharpened.
While the two of them were out shopping together, she casually asked, “Jiale, do you know anything about those subscription certificates?”
Yang Jiale immediately laughed. “Of course. My parents have been talking about them nonstop these past few days. I’m seriously getting tired of hearing it. Apparently Shanghai issued some kind of stock subscription certificate, and each one costs thirty yuan. My dad thinks it’ll take off, but my mom thinks it’s unreliable. They argue about it every day.”
Zhao Fuyao didn’t ask any further.
After buying their daily necessities, she found an excuse about having something to do, dropped her things back home, then immediately bought a train ticket to Shanghai.
In the 90s, playing the financial market could either make someone rich overnight or ruin them completely.
But if Zhao Fuyao remembered correctly, these subscription certificates were a massive opportunity. At their peak, the value had skyrocketed nearly sixty times over, making countless people wealthy overnight.
Haishi and Shanghai were both in the south, and the train ride only took about six hours.
But since it was already late by the time she arrived, Zhao Fuyao found a hotel and stayed the night.
Early the next morning, she withdrew fifty thousand yuan from the bank just in case, then headed straight for the securities exchange.
She had expected long lines of people rushing to buy subscription certificates, but when she got there, barely anyone was queueing at the counters. Instead, groups of people were gathered nearby gossiping among themselves.
“This thing isn’t even like stocks. The certificate literally says it’s for charity. What if the money’s gone for good once you throw it in?”
“Exactly. I already regret buying those twenty certificates…”
Zhao Fuyao walked over and listened for a moment. After casually asking around, she learned that the initial craze for subscription certificates had already passed. Interest had cooled down recently, and most people now thought the whole thing was unreliable.
Apparently, almost nobody had been buying them these past two days.
Without hesitation, Zhao Fuyao took out her ID and went straight to the counter.
There had originally been a purchase limit, but because the hype had died down and hardly anyone was buying anymore, even the securities company was getting anxious.
The moment the staff member heard Zhao Fuyao wanted to buy subscription certificates, their attitude instantly turned warm and enthusiastic.
“Of course, miss. How many would you like to purchase?”
Before leaving the hotel that morning, Zhao Fuyao had deliberately dressed herself up to look older. With makeup on, she looked around twenty four or twenty five, so nobody there treated her like a teenager.
She tested the waters with a casual question.
“What’s the maximum I can buy?”
The employee handling the transaction froze for a second before quickly explaining, “There are still one thousand certificates left in today’s quota. You can buy as many as you want, but whether they win or not, there are absolutely no refunds or exchanges.”
“Alright then. I’ll take all of them.”
The employee was completely stunned. “A-all of them? Are you serious?”
Nobody had been buying these things for the past two days, and they’d been stressing over it nonstop. Yet the moment business finally came in, it was suddenly this huge.
“Very serious.”
Zhao Fuyao calmly pulled out the thirty thousand yuan in cash from her bag and handed it over stack by stack.
The moment the employee saw the money, their face lit up instantly.
“Ah, alright! I’ll process it for you right away.”
……
After leaving the securities company, Zhao Fuyao walked out with one thousand subscription certificates in her bag.
She also found out that the overseas Chinese shop and the bank were both selling the same certificates.
Because hardly anyone was buying them, there were no strict limits right now. They were basically blank certificates that could be gifted or held for appreciation and resold later.
Zhao Fuyao went around and bought them from each of those places as well.
In the end, she gathered a total of four thousand certificates. With one hundred making up a full sheet, she had forty sheets stored in her space. Altogether, she spent about one hundred twenty thousand yuan, nearly draining all her savings.
By her estimate, it would take around two months before the value started to rise.
That afternoon, Zhao Fuyao headed back, since she still had school the next day.
After returning to school, she continued attending classes while also reading newspapers on the side, constantly keeping an eye on news about the subscription certificates.
More than half a month later, Yang Jiale suddenly showed up wearing the latest Nike sneakers, showing them off around the entire class, and spending her days happily munching on snacks.
Curious, Zhao Fuyao casually asked about it. Yang Jiale didn’t hide anything and said her parents had made money in the stock market.
“It was that subscription certificate thing we talked about last time. At first, my mom only allowed ten, but my dad secretly borrowed money from relatives and bought a hundred in one go.”
“My dad said it’s been rising for a whole week already, multiplied several times over. He’s so happy he even bought me the sneakers I’ve been wanting for ages, and gave me extra pocket money too.”
After finishing, Yang Jiale clasped her hands together. “Please let my dad make even more money so he can buy me two more pairs of shoes.”
Zhao Fuyao smiled lightly and said casually, “Don’t worry, your wish will come true.”
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