The legendary year of 2008 had begun, though at the time, everyone assumed it was just another ordinary new year.
Ding Zhitong and Gan Yang exchanged gifts for the first time but failed to achieve their supposed psychic connection. She had spent $125 on the running shoes. As for the apartment’s rent, she had tried to inquire about it from Gan Yang.
“Why are you asking?” Gan Yang deflected.
Ding Zhitong vaguely replied, “I’m just curious.”
“What for?” he pressed.
“I want to calculate something,” she answered.
“Don’t bother with calculations…” Gan Yang dismissed them, not taking her seriously.
Later, Ding Zhitong researched prices in the same area herself. Adding application fees and security deposits, the figures made her head spin.
Gan Yang wouldn’t graduate until May and hadn’t secured a job yet. This meant she’d be living alone in the apartment for nearly half a year, taking advantage of a great deal. Although they had agreed she’d contribute based on her original rental budget, her previous landlady in Queens had charged only $600-700 for an upstairs single room, or $450 for a basement unit with utilities included. Considering the Upper West Side environment, the 35th-floor view of the city skyline, and Central Park at the doorstep, Ding Zhitong felt uncomfortable paying so little. She tentatively calculated her share at $1,500 for a shared apartment, planning to pay three months upfront. This would leave enough in her bank account to last until her first paycheck. Having settled on this plan, she felt more at ease and prepared to give Gan Yang a check once they officially moved in.
As the New Year’s holiday ended, job training began.
The first day was HR Orientation at the company.
Most new hires through campus recruitment were American undergraduates who wouldn’t start training until September. The current group of new employees was smaller, mostly consisting of master’s and doctoral graduates. They sat around a conference table, listening to HR explain corporate culture and training plans.
Ding Zhitong nodded along, feeling positive. She knew that analysts in the same year would be ranked, with the bottom third at risk of losing out on good bonuses. Starting work and completing training half a year early would surely be advantageous.
After orientation, she was introduced to her new boss.
The investment banking department at BB Bank in New York was typically divided into industry groups and product groups.
Industry groups were self-explanatory, covering sectors like healthcare and pharmaceuticals, natural resources, technology, media and telecommunications, financial institutions, and consumer goods manufacturing. They primarily faced clients, made pitches, secured business, and oversaw entire transaction processes.
Product groups were divided by business types, such as mergers and acquisitions, securities capital markets, debt capital markets, and asset restructuring. They handled specific executions related to particular businesses within transactions.
These two groups operated under a matrix management system. Each transaction was led by an industry group, with relevant personnel from product groups forming a project team for collaboration. For instance, if an internet company wanted to go public, the TMT team from the industry group would work with the EMC team from the product group. If a pharmaceutical company planned to acquire a competitor, the Healthcare team from the industry group would partner with the M&A team from the product group.
Ding Zhitong’s new boss was an MD in the product group. This assignment met her expectations; given her qualifications, client acquisition wasn’t her strong suit. She seemed better suited for number crunching and modeling.
However, she was somewhat surprised, remembering that Qin Chang was in the industry group.
When she first received her offer, she had worried about working under Qin Chang. Now, she felt conflicted, wondering why Qin Chang hadn’t chosen her. Why not?!
The MD was one of the interviewers she had met during her one-on-one Superday interview. He had seemed rather cold then, asking broad questions, clearly busy and unimpressed with her. She couldn’t pinpoint what had eventually caught his eye to offer her the position. Perhaps Ding Mingmei’s guess was right – she was a last-minute choice, selected after their first pick declined. Still, she had her advantages: an international student, female, and a minority. From a diversity standpoint, hiring her was a triple win.
Today was similar. The MD barely spoke to her, merely introducing M Bank’s mentorship system as per protocol. He explained that training wasn’t everything; she would be assigned a senior colleague as her mentor to guide her through projects. He assured her that he would also monitor her integration and growth. “Work hard, young one!” he concluded.
Ding Zhitong maintained a professional smile and nodded attentively.
Through a glass wall, she could see the open office area, half-empty due to business trips or meetings. Those at their desks were hidden behind at least two LCD screens. She couldn’t see them, let alone guess who might become her mentor.
Coincidentally, as she left the MD’s office and followed HR through the corridor, she spotted a familiar face in a nearby meeting room – none other than Qin Chang.
Ding Zhitong smiled at him, giving a slight bow in greeting. Qin Chang remembered her, returning the smile with a nod. His expression was knowing yet somewhat dejected, as if to say, “Ah so you’ve boarded this ship too.”
His reaction comforted her, suddenly making the place feel less foreign.
At the end of the day, Ding Zhitong received her computer and access card, had her photo taken, and was handed a paper by HR directing her to a specific clinic in Manhattan for a check-up.
Upon closer inspection, she realized the final hurdle to officially joining M Bank was a drug test.
Presumably due to the short metabolic timeframe of certain substances and the need for surprise testing, the notice was given at the last minute. Morphine, methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine… a total of more than ten test strips. After five minutes, the results were read – she was clean.
Ding Zhitong had always been a law-abiding citizen. Her worst transgression was probably climbing through windows after her dormitory’s 11 PM curfew. Now, she felt as if she’d seen a glimpse of the wider world, unsure if this drug testing was a long-standing Wall Street tradition or a recent development following several scandals.
Leaving the clinic, she messaged Song Mingmei, asking if G Bank had similar procedures.
Song Mingmei replied immediately: “You’re only finding out now? Don’t think these things are far from you. Be careful!”
Ding Zhitong took note, feeling as if she’d stepped into “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
After orientation, large group classes began at a training facility on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
The Upper West Side apartment still had only basic furniture. Gan Yang was using the last few days of winter break to furnish it further. M Bank’s serviced apartment in Lower Manhattan was close to the training location.
So, Ding Zhitong left most of her luggage in the Upper West Side apartment, bringing only some clothes and daily necessities to stay downtown. Gan Yang naturally followed, sleeping at her place at night.
The serviced apartment was typical for working professionals—a place to sleep, shower, and freshen up. Ding Zhitong found it satisfactory: move-in ready, private kitchen and bathroom, with a treadmill and shared laundry downstairs.
But to Gan Yang, it felt cramped. There was no balcony, the kitchen was just a sink and induction cooktop, the bathroom barely allowed room to turn, and the single small window overlooked trash cans in an alley or the ventilation system of the adjacent building. It was best kept closed to avoid odors.
Ding Zhitong was fully aware of their differing perspectives and understood why. She was reminded of some unrelated famous quotes, like from “A Tale of Two Cities”: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” And from “A Native of Beijing in New York”: “If you love someone, send them to New York. If you hate someone, also send them to New York.”
This city of money was just like that—good or bad, heaven or hell, all could be found here. Which one awaited you depending on your bank account balance?
During the day, Ding Zhitong attended classes while Gan Yang went shopping, nest-building in the Upper West Side apartment—dishes for two, pillows for two, blankets for two.
At night, after her classes, Gan Yang joined her in the small room.
Ding Zhitong, with her finance background, certifications, and internship experience at major banks, was already familiar with the relationships between financial statements, database preparation, valuation models, and various documents like pitches, teasers, due diligence reports, and management presentations. The content wasn’t too challenging for her, but she remained focused. New hires from New York, London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong all trained here, over a hundred top university graduates in one large class. With exams for each course, she knew her strongest asset was her test-taking ability, so she couldn’t afford to relax.
After dinner, she sat at the desk with her computer. After getting ready for bed, she was still at the computer.
When Gan Yang spoke to her, she only responded with vague “mm-hmms.” When he playfully tugged at her camisole strap, she kept her eyes on the screen, saying, “Just a moment…”
Gan Yang had no choice but to lie nearby, flipping through TV channels, going downstairs to run on the treadmill, showering, and channel surfing again before she finally finished and shut down her computer.
Ding Zhitong, aware that she had neglected him, felt a bit guilty. As she went to brush her teeth, she said, “I’ll be right there.”
But he played coy, lying on his side with his head propped up, asking, “What’s the rush?”
Seeing his attitude, she deliberately said, “I need to get up early tomorrow, so I just want to sleep soon.”
Gan Yang sulked, turning his back to her. “Mm, I ate too much today. I’m not in the mood. Let’s sleep early.”
Ding Zhitong suppressed a laugh. “YeAh why did you eat so much?”
He replied, “Athletes have big appetites.”
She scoffed, “What kind of athlete are you?”
“I was on the track and field team in middle school,” he protested.
Ding Zhitong refrained from mentioning how he might fare against American athletes, not wanting to hurt his pride. Instead, she said, “I heard athletes often gain weight after retiring because they keep eating the same amount without training.”
Gan Yang quickly responded, “That’s why I run every day.”
Ding Zhitong dropped the argument. After rinsing her mouth and putting away her toothbrush, she returned to the bedroom, climbed into bed, and turned him to face her. Looking at him seriously, she said, “Gan Yang, there’s something you need to promise me.”
“What is it?” Gan Yang asked, unsure of her intentions.
She ran her hand over his chest and abs through his T-shirt, saying, “You must, absolutely must, keep running.”
“Why?” he asked, holding her hand and looking at her intently.
Ding Zhitong finally smiled, saying, “Because I like your beautiful body. If you get fat, I’ll be very disappointed.”
Gan Yang was speechless for a moment before pinning her to the bed, asking with a mix of charm and mischief, “Didn’t you say you liked me for my money? Now you like my body?”
Ding Zhitong laughed and squirmed, saying, “Well, you’ve been working so hard…”
As she tried to burrow under the covers, Gan Yang pulled her back out, seemingly having held back for a long time. He took off his cotton T-shirt and removed her camisole. The bedside reading lamp cast a soft glow, and they saw each other and their reflections in each other’s eyes. They both stopped smiling. She instinctively wrapped herself around him, and he leaned in, one hand caressing her body, the other placing her hand on his chest. She particularly loved this gesture because as he kissed her and moved within her, she could feel his heart pounding. All her senses seemed focused on this single purpose. She almost wanted to cry and felt the urge to blurt out that she liked him as a person, not for his money or body. But what exactly is a “person”? A person includes all their material possessions, money, and physical form. So, perhaps what she had said wasn’t wrong after all.