In the capital city, at a Black Swan afternoon tea shop, Annie and her friends sat by the window, enjoying a moment of tranquility.
The air conditioning in the shop was set to a perfect temperature, neither too cold nor too hot.
Although late August in the capital still had its heat, it was no longer stifling. In another half a month to a month, autumn would arrive in full force.
As a brand under Holiland, the group aimed to establish Black Swan as the top cake brand in the country.
Whether they had succeeded in building their reputation was debatable, but in terms of price, their cakes were indeed top-tier in the industry.
A single cake, which could be finished in two bites, cost over two hundred yuan, an amount that was unaffordable for the average household.
However, the ingredients were top-quality imports, and the baker's craftsmanship was impeccable, making the taste quite acceptable.
Such a cake shop was naturally decorated gorgeously. Since it was located outside the downtown area, the surroundings were lush with trees, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
The reason Annie and her friends came here was because there was an equestrian club nearby.
They had nothing to do, so they gathered a few people to go horseback riding. When they were tired, they came to this nearby cake shop to rest, enjoy some cake, and chat.
The shop was spacious, with tables spaced far apart, providing a sense of privacy. Occasionally, someone would sneak a peek inside.
Annie knew that those men glancing in were mostly looking at her, especially at her long, slender legs clad in light gray silk stockings under her skirt.
It wasn't that Annie was narcissistic; it was just a fact. None of her friends who came with her were as good-looking as her.
Most of her friends also came from wealthy families, with assets ranging from hundreds of millions to even billions, but they paled in comparison to Annie's family.
Normally, these wealthy young women wouldn't associate closely with someone as beautiful as Annie.
After all, when they walked out, everyone would look at Annie, which was very annoying for these proud and wealthy ladies.
But the reality was that social circles overlapped.
In one circle, you might be the center of attention, with everyone following your lead.
But in another circle, you might be a peripheral figure, serving as a foil to others.
That was the case with the young ladies who came out with Annie.
They all had their small circles, with a group of other girls following them around.
However, since Annie's family background was better, and some of her family's businesses had cooperation with Garcia's corporate group, they were willing to act as supporting characters for Annie.
Annie had a fiery figure and dressed boldly and fashionably. For instance, this kind of light gray silk stocking was something that few women dared to wear, but she did.
The silk stockings were lightweight and obviously high-quality, fitting perfectly on her well-maintained legs. With her toes hooked into a pair of high heels, she was incredibly seductive, naturally drawing men's gazes.
Annie was very perceptive to these gazes. Instead of feeling shy, she glared back fiercely, as if saying, "What are you looking at? Keep looking, and I'll pop your eyes out!"
Immediately, those men felt guilty and dared not look again, fearing that this "tigress" would come over and slap them.
Although this was considered a relatively luxurious cake shop in the country, there weren't many genuine wealthy ladies like Annie and her friends.
Most of the customers were couples coming to take photos, and although a cake was expensive, it wasn't completely unaffordable.
If they were caught staring at a beautiful woman and she confronted them, it would be socially devastating. They might even face the risk of breaking up with their girlfriends sitting opposite them.
Seeing those men avert their gazes, Annie felt much more at ease.
Not far away, a group of fake wealthy ladies, who were internet celebrities, took a few photos and quickly scurried away with their fake Chanel bags.
Their faces had obvious signs of plastic surgery, likely done by the same doctor, making them look like they were carved from the same mold.
They had planned to take some photos to show off on their social media platforms like WeChat Moments, Little Red Book (a social app), and Weibo. Who would have thought they would encounter real wealthy ladies here?
Although these fake wealthy ladies had good looks and were even prettier than some of Annie's friends, they lacked the aura of confidence and elegance. Sitting close to each other, the contrast was even more apparent.
The fake wealthy ladies couldn't bear this and felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, so they quickly left.
"Sister Annie has such a strong aura. Just one glance scared everyone away. She truly deserves the title of our Queen Annie!"
One of the girls at the table noticed Annie's behavior and whispered, giggling.
"Don't call me Sister Annie. You're older than me. You're making me feel old!"
Annie gave her friend a look.
A girl sitting on the other side sang, "...I'm the queen, shining with confidence!"
" Queenie Leda, what are you singing? Isn't that tacky?"
Annie patted Queenie's shoulder and laughed like a silver bell.
"Ouch! Is that how strong Queen's handshake is?"
Queenie pretended to grimace and complained.
"You're making me sound like a muscular Barbie!"
The girls at the table laughed, and Annie also chuckled, shaking with laughter.
"Hey, do you know about that Master Zack who's been trending on Weibo recently?"
Queenie said mysteriously at this point.
"I know, I know! Are you talking about Master Zack who wrote "Notes of Tomb Raiding"? I really like that book. Do you like it too, Queenie?"
"...Hey, we should talk about it. He's been updating slower lately. Before, he wrote 30,000 words a day, but now it's only 10,000."
When Annie heard her friends bringing up Master Zack, she instinctively sat up straight, took a sip of her fruit tea, and listened intently.
Actually, she wanted to say she liked it too, especially since she agreed with the ship between the two main characters. She even had a fanfiction written by the author herself as a treasure.
However, as the leader of the group, she felt she needed to be more composed, even though she was really eager to join the conversation.
Queenie hesitated for a moment and then said uncertainly, "...It seems like that Master Zack, I remember he wrote some novel, but I haven't read it."
"...I'm talking about Master Zack's exploits in the capital market."
The girl who previously mentioned "Notes of Tomb Raiding" was disappointed.
Okay, so we're not talking about the same thing.
"Queenie, what did Master Zack do in the capital market?"
One of the girls asked at this point.
She knew Queenie's father was the manager of a private equity fund.
Seeing someone asking, Queenie didn't tease them. Like a storyteller, she excitedly recounted Master Zack's less than a month-long journey in the capital market.
The girls listened in astonishment.
Although they might not fully understand the capital market, stocks, funds, and the like, being born into such families, they couldn't be completely unaware of finance.
Hearing Queenie's description of the three-week journey where he turned 2.6 million into over 300 million using leverage, they felt like they were listening to a fairy tale.
"Is it real, Queenie?"
Someone asked in disbelief, shocked.
It was such an exaggerated story.
Turning 2 million into 300 million in less than a month.
What was 300 million?
Despite these girls coming from wealthy families, some with hundreds of millions and some with billions in assets, except for Annie's family, the richest among them had over 3 billion in assets.
This was definitely the wealthy class.
But even so, none of their families could take out 300 million in cash.
These wealthy people's assets increased annually, at most by about 10%, unless they were extremely lucky with a good investment, which could lead to a surge in assets.
But most investments ended in failure. After all, a wealthy person's bankruptcy was never due to indulgence but rather investment failures.
Master Zack's incredible operation was, to be honest, not as impressive in terms of total assets compared to these families, but in terms of brilliance, even the fathers of these young ladies would have to admit defeat.
Of course, this didn't apply to Annie, whose family was extremely wealthy.
The fact that her family's group company ranked among the top five private enterprises in the country spoke volumes about their wealth.
"To be honest, I didn't believe it when I heard it. My family is in private equity, and I know too much about it. It's not something a human could do."
"...My dad didn't believe it at first, thinking those income screenshots were Photoshopped. But after asking around in his circle, he found out it was real."
"That Master Zack isn't Photoshopping; he's really that amazing!"
At this point, Queenie couldn't care less about being reserved and after holding it in for so long, used a relatively vulgar expression, his eyes full of admiration.
"So, who is this Master Zack, Queenie? Have you met him?"
The girl who had previously shouted out the title of "Notes of Tomb Raiding" asked excitedly.
Annie, who had been silent the whole time, quickly turned her gaze towards Queenie as well.
"Selina Turner, why are you so excited?"
Instead of answering, Queenie looked at the inquisitive girl and teased her.
Selina didn't mind Queenie's teasing but rather spoke confidently, "...I'm a fan of Master Zack. I love his books."
"...If you know him, just help me get a signature."
Saying this, Selina once again mentioned the impressive achievements of the book written by Master Zack.
Upon hearing that this big shot not only stirred up the capital market but also earned millions a month by writing novels, the young ladies fell silent for a moment.
They each took a sip of their fruit tea, their faces filled with astonishment.
This must be a really big shot.
Although they were born into good families, seemingly having nothing to worry about since childhood and living lives that were envied by others, they understood that they were just ordinary people. Perhaps due to their elite education from a young age, they seemed stronger than children from ordinary families.
But if they weren't born into such families, they would be unremarkable in the crowd.
However, there are always true geniuses, truly outstanding individuals, and true chosen ones in this world. For example, Master Zack was obviously one of these rare geniuses.
"Of course, I don't know him. Master Zack is quite mysterious and low-key. No one in our circle has ever seen him."
"...My dad really wants to meet him. In fact, too many people in his circle want to meet him."
"My dad wonders where this Master Zack popped out from. No one in our circle could pull off such a daring move. He suspects that Master Zack might be an older man, over forty."
"...Because he suddenly understood the true meaning of the stock market, that's why he pulled off such an incredible move."
Queenie's words were more teasing than serious, as this person's emergence was too strange. No one had heard of him before, so they could only guess blindly.
The girls all burst into laughter.
At this moment, Annie, who had been silent the whole time, blurted out, "...He's not over forty. He's just in his early twenties."
The girls looked at Annie in surprise.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。