Chapter 173: The Transfer of Anxiety

Sun Tao and Shen Qian both suggested that Li Dong invest in Pingchuan, but Li Dong did not give them a definite answer. He was waiting—waiting for Baidu's IPO!

With five hundred thousand shares and an investment of over seventy million, even though Li Dong knew that Baidu had created a miracle in the previous timeline, he was still feeling a bit anxious.

Sometimes, even a small change can lead to a butterfly effect, resulting in earth-shattering changes.

This time, Baidu's IPO was slightly altered because of Li Dong's presence. 

The change involved Xu Yong. In the previous timeline, Xu Yong had to liquidate some of his stocks due to a lack of funds when Baidu went public. But in this timeline, thanks to Li Dong's seventy million solving Xu Yong's financial problems, Xu Yong was not among the shareholders selling off stocks.

Although it seemed that Xu Yong's absence would not have a significant impact, Li Dong did not dare to be complacent.

He had invested too much hope in Baidu. If Baidu's stock did not rise as Li Dong expected, it would affect a series of subsequent plans and could even jeopardize them.

In the past few days, anyone close to Li Dong could clearly sense his distraction and frequent bouts of absent-mindedness.

---

August 4.

On the last day before Baidu's IPO, Li Dong became increasingly anxious.

While having dinner with Qin Yuhan, Li Dong spaced out several times.

Qin Yuhan initially tried to hold back her questions but eventually couldn't resist, asking, "Li Dong, what's wrong?"

Li Dong snapped back to reality, sighed, and said, "Nothing. Just a bit nervous."

"Nervous about what? About the company's matters?" Qin Yuhan asked.

Li Dong shook his head. Seeing the worried look on Qin Yuhan's face, he smiled and said, "Don't worry. It's a good thing."

Qin Yuhan was clearly skeptical. Can something good make you this nervous?

Suddenly, thinking of something, Qin Yuhan's face turned red, and she scolded, "What are you daydreaming about? My relatives haven't left yet."

"What relatives?" Li Dong asked, confused.

Seeing Qin Yuhan blushing and then looking angry, Li Dong realized he had misunderstood.

Li Dong no longer spaced out and joked quietly, "I'm not in a hurry; I can wait. But if you're anxious…"

"You're the only one who's anxious!"

Before Li Dong could finish, Qin Yuhan hit him, blushing and angry, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll move back!"

Recently, due to the surveillance issue, Li Dong had been hesitant to let Qin Yuhan move in with him. 

These past few days, since Zhang Qing and Niu Meng seemed to have calmed down, Li Dong had hurriedly sent Qin Hai and his wife away. Qin Yuhan moved to Wanyuan yesterday.

However, last night Li Dong was still alone, and Qin Yuhan's relatives had come, adamant about not sharing a room with Li Dong.

After some playful arguing, Qin Yuhan asked again, "You still haven't told me what you're nervous about?"

Li Dong, wanting to vent a bit, took a sip of his drink and sighed before saying, "Do you know about Baidu?"

Qin Yuhan gave him a blank stare. Was he really asking such a dumb question?

Li Dong, unfazed, continued with a smile, "Baidu is going public on NASDAQ tomorrow, so I'm really anxious."

Hearing this reason, Qin Yuhan was both amused and exasperated. She scolded, "If you don't want to talk about it, just say so. Don't make excuses! What does Baidu's IPO have to do with you? Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not lying. It's true!"

Li Dong spoke seriously, seeing that Qin Yuhan was about to get angry again. He hurriedly added, "Just listen to me!"

Qin Yuhan withdrew her hand that was about to pinch him, curious. "Are you really nervous about Baidu's IPO?"

Li Dong nodded and sighed, "I spent over seventy million buying five hundred thousand shares of Baidu stock. Do you think I should be nervous?"

"Seventy million!"

Qin Yuhan gasped and quickly covered her mouth.

Once she confirmed that no one else in the restaurant had noticed, Qin Yuhan anxiously asked, "You're not lying to me?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Li Dong pretended to be unhappy.

Qin Yuhan ignored Li Dong's feigned unhappiness and took a big gulp of red wine. Once she felt less dry-mouthed, her face flushed as she asked, "So you really spent seventy million on Baidu's stock?"

Li Dong nodded again.

Once she confirmed that Li Dong was telling the truth, Qin Yuhan was shocked, "Are you crazy!"

Li Dong felt speechless and complained, "Do you not have confidence in Baidu?"

"It's not about confidence, but seventy million is too much. Where did you get that kind of money?"

Qin Yuhan knew Yuanfang was wealthy, but seventy million wasn't something you could just pull out. With Yuanfang's current assets, taking out seventy million might drain all their reserves.

Without needing an answer from Li Dong, Qin Yuhan mumbled, "What should we do if there's a loss…"

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Li Dong cleared his throat and interrupted, "Stop with the childish worries. If I do lose money, then we'll be living on air."

Qin Yuhan gave him an irritated look and remained fixated on the seventy million.

After that, Qin Yuhan lost her appetite for dinner and wasn't even in the mood to watch a movie. She pulled Li Dong back home in a daze.

Seeing that Qin Yuhan was more anxious than he was, Li Dong actually felt less nervous.

At this point, whether it ended well or badly was already decided.

With everything in the US going smoothly and no significant differences from the previous timeline, Li Dong felt there was no need to worry excessively.

Though he was feeling less anxious, Qin Yuhan was deeply troubled.

Throughout the journey, her mind was consumed by thoughts of the stock—seventy million! What if Li Dong lost money? 

Despite Baidu being a promising company and many people having high hopes for it, what if things went wrong? 

Li Dong had only been in business for a year. What if a major loss had a severe impact?

By the time they got home, Qin Yuhan was still lost in thought.

That night, they slept separately. In the middle of the night, unable to sleep, Qin Yuhan called Qi Fangfang.

Sleepy and confused, Qi Fangfang answered the phone and heard Qin Yuhan anxiously ask, "Fangfang, do you think Baidu's stock will go up tomorrow?"

"Qin Yuhan, are you doing this on purpose?"

Qi Fangfang was annoyed. It was the middle of the night, and Qin Yuhan was calling to ask if Baidu's stock would rise—Qin Yuhan must be joking!

But Qin Yuhan asked seriously, "Fangfang, I'm serious. I don't know much about stocks. You've traded stocks before. Do you think it will rise?"

"Why are you asking this? Are you planning to trade stocks? But Baidu is listed in the US, so you can't even buy it…"

"It's not me. It's Li Dong," Qin Yuhan quickly explained.

"Li Dong is planning to trade stocks?"

"No, he has already bought them. He bought Baidu's stock."

"How much did he buy?" Qi Fangfang asked, curious.

"Seventy million!"

Qi Fangfang was speechless.

Qin Yuhan continued, "You still haven't said if it will go up?"

"It should go up…" Qi Fangfang answered, sounding dazed.

Qin Yuhan sighed with relief, feeling much better. She thanked Qi Fangfang, "Fangfang, thank you. I'm going to bed now."

---

That night, both Li Dong and Qin Yuhan slept soundly, having transferred their anxiety.

Meanwhile, poor Qi Fangfang was tossing and turning in her hotel room, unable to sleep, with Qin Yuhan's "seventy million" echoing in her mind.