She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way about anyone before.
However, plans often change. The XP Energy project quickly entered the investor visit phase. The following week, Ding Zhitong was set to begin her business trip.
Before departing, the project team had to meet with analysts from the research department. XP was a long-listed company, involving more practical operational knowledge.
Since her breakfast with Qin Chang, Ding Zhitong had grown bolder. When faced with perplexing issues, she’d send him internal messages seeking advice.
During those days, Qin Chang’s status in the system showed “On Business Trip.” Ding Zhitong knew he primarily handled TMT projects in the industry group, frequently traveling to the West Coast, with its time difference from New York. She didn’t expect a quick reply, but one came nonetheless. From confidential submissions to greenshoe options and over-allotments, his explanation was concise yet detailed, almost like a teacher’s blackboard notes. He ended with: “If anything’s still unclear, feel free to message me. I’ll respond when I can.”
Ding Zhitong sent a flurry of thank-you messages.
Surprisingly, he was online and added: “One more crucial point.”
“What is it?” Ding Zhitong asked.
Qin Chang replied: “I’m not sure if your colleague mentioned this, but capital market projects can impact stock prices. Before transaction information is posted on Edgar (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System, the U.S. stock information disclosure and inquiry system), everyone on the project team is an insider. Research department reports are public market information. Although both are M Bank employees, there’s a ‘Chinese Wall’ between you. All materials given to them must be reviewed by the compliance department.”
Ding Zhitong froze. Deborah had once emailed JV to explain this process to her, but he never did. If she made a mistake, it could be a compliance breach. Compliance issues are never minor; she could potentially lose her job. The consequences were unthinkable.
She quickly reviewed their conversation, realizing Qin Chang had always limited their discussions to general knowledge points, never touching on specific transaction details. He was very cautious about these matters and had anticipated potential pitfalls for her.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Ding Zhitong was at a loss for words.
Seeming to anticipate her reaction, he added: “I got you into this mess; I can’t leave you hanging.”
Ding Zhitong laughed, recalling the saying – “Bai bosses, Indian cliques, Chinese infighting.” Whether in East Coast finance or West Coast tech, North American office politics seemed to follow this pattern. But Qin Chang was different. He freely shared his experience without appearing to form alliances. At her current level, Ding Zhitong couldn’t discern his motives, but she felt incredibly fortunate to have such a mentor.
As for JV, she couldn’t be sure if she was being paranoid, but before the meeting with the research department, he tasked her with organizing and sending materials to them.
Ding Zhitong agreed, then immediately contacted the compliance department in front of him, inquiring about the proper procedure for “wall-crossing” insider information. When she hung up, she noticed JV watching her, his thoughts unclear. She could have felt smug but realized she no longer cared much. She simply followed the compliance department’s requirements and completed the necessary steps. As Qin Chang had said, and she had internalized, there were plenty of times when she’d need to give her all; energy shouldn’t be wasted on unnecessary things.
Then, her first business trip began.
The legendary business class flights and five-star hotels were indeed a reality. Upon meeting XP’s management in Oklahoma City, they boarded a private jet.
Ding Zhitong’s last flight was from Shanghai to New York, a grueling economy-class journey of over a dozen hours. Stepping onto the Bombardier jet now, she felt her horizons expand. Energy industry bigwigs truly lived luxuriously!
After a couple of flights, she began to understand the rationale. Executives used private jets primarily for time efficiency, and time is money. Many of the investment institutions they were visiting were located in small cities or even towns, with limited commercial flights or no direct routes. Perhaps fund managers chose these locations for quiet contemplation and focus on making money. Regardless of how remote the location was, it was up to the sell-side and intermediaries like them to make the journey.
While private jets represented convenience and luxury for the executives, for junior staff like her, they were less comfortable than commercial flights.
Traveling from city to city, they spent their days in meetings with investors, repeating the same story and answering various questions. Evenings were filled with project team meetings, revising materials, calculating sales figures, and making predictions. At first, she had the energy to browse through hotel room magazines, checking local attractions and specialties (though only looking, of course). Later, she barely had the strength to iron and hang her clothes for the next day.
With this intense work schedule, a commercial flight would have allowed her to doze off in her seat for an hour or two, hidden from view. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with clients and superiors on the private jet, forced to continue working on her laptop.
Although Qin Chang had advised her to rest whenever possible, she judged that sleeping in front of clients didn’t qualify.
Their final stop was Denver, in mid-March. The following Saturday was Gan Yang’s birthday.
Ding Zhitong recalled Qin Chang’s words about reserving one day each week for herself, to rest and spend time with friends. Otherwise, she might not survive the year, both physically and socially.
She and Gan Yang hadn’t seen each other for weeks.
During a phone call on Thursday night, Gan Yang asked when she’d return to New York. She had anticipated his question but pretended not to remember, saying, “I’m still in Denver and probably won’t be back until next week. Let’s not meet this weekend.”
Gan Yang paused, then replied with a disappointed “Oh,” clearly unhappy but unwilling to say so directly. Ding Zhitong almost laughed, nearly telling him the truth, but held back. She said she had work to do and needed to go. He responded with another dejected “Oh,” and they exchanged goodnights before hanging up.
In reality, Ding Zhitong had already made plans.
Initially, she considered changing her flight to go directly to Ithaca. However, after researching online, she discovered that the airport there was too small for direct flights. Even flying to nearby Syracuse from Denver required one or two stops, taking longer and costing more than flying to New York.
Finally, she abandoned the idea of flying to Ithaca altogether. She decided to finish work on Friday evening, fly back to New York with her colleagues, then rent a car to drive to Cornell. Although this meant a late-night journey, it would surely surprise the birthday boy.
Friday arrived, filled with meetings as usual. Since the private placement information wasn’t public yet, these investor meetings were conducted one-on-one, with materials only available for on-site review. JV was responsible for collecting and sealing the documents after each meeting.
By coincidence, Ding Zhitong was the last to leave the meeting room that day. As she bent down to unplug her laptop, she noticed a document that should have been collected on a seat across the table. JV had missed it.
Ding Zhitong picked it up, knowing she couldn’t leave it there but considering giving it directly to Deborah. She believed that if she had made such a mistake, JV wouldn’t miss the opportunity to expose her. However, she caught up with the others and waited until they were in the company car. Sitting next to JV, she handed him the document.
The entire project team was present, with Miss Dai and Mr. Mai sitting in front of them. She said nothing, and neither did JV. He quickly tucked the document away and turned to look out the window.
Ding Zhitong began admiring the scenery outside, though there wasn’t much to see in a city known for coal mining and animal husbandry. Her mood was excellent, her thoughts already in Ithaca.
At the airport, the group boarded their flight to New York.
The flight took three and a half hours, with a two-hour time difference. It was past eleven when they landed. Ding Zhitong called Gan Yang again, saying she was exhausted after a long day and didn’t feel like talking. He sounded even more upset, saying, “Then let’s not chat. Get some sleep.”
Hearing his voice, Ding Zhitong’s heart raced, and she almost blurted out the truth. Almost, but not quite.
After hanging up, she left the airport and took an expensive car directly to Ithaca.
She had considered renting a car and driving herself. She’d gotten her license after coming to the U.S., as Yan Aihua had emphasized how difficult it was to get around without a car here. However, she hadn’t driven since passing her road test. Valuing her life, she decided against it. She also planned to nap in the car to avoid looking tired upon arrival. But once in the car, she found herself wide awake, constantly watching the endless highway stretching out before her in the night, mentally counting down the distance: 300 kilometers, 200 kilometers, 100 kilometers… until she could see him. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way about anyone before.
Standing at Gan Yang’s door just past 4 AM, she held her suitcase in one hand, his gift hanging from the handle, while ringing the doorbell and shivering in the below-freezing wind. Then, a previously unconsidered possibility struck her – what if he was such a deep sleeper that she’d be standing there until dawn?
Fortunately, the lights came on inside. The door opened, and a sleepy-eyed Gan Yang stood before her, his hair a mess, wearing just a wrinkled white T-shirt and what looked like inside-out sports shorts. The sight made her heart skip a beat, even more so than when she’d seen him waving to her from her dorm window.
“Happy birthday…” she said softly, looking at him. She had planned many cute gestures – jumping into his arms, spreading her arms wide for a hug, or lifting one foot behind her during a kiss – but at the moment, she realized she wasn’t that kind of person and felt too self-conscious to attempt any of them.
Instead, Gan Yang hugged her first, holding her tightly against him.
Pressed against him, feeling his arms around her, his cheek against hers, his radiating warmth, and strong heartbeat, Ding Zhitong felt that every penny spent was worth it. Sorry, even at a moment like this, she still thought about money.
“How did you get here?” Feeling her shivering, Gan Yang finally released her, quickly pulling her suitcase inside and closing the door.
“I took a car directly from the airport…” Ding Zhitong explained, trying to sound casual. She was still uncomfortable doing such things as if he were very important to her.
“You’ve been in a car all night?” Gan Yang didn’t press further, helping her remove her scarf and coat before leading her upstairs.
“There’s a two-hour time difference between Denver and here, so it’s not that late. Besides, I slept in the car…” she continued explaining as if she’d done something wrong.
“How long were you standing outside? You’re freezing! Take a hot shower first, or you’ll catch a cold.” Gan Yang turned to enter the bathroom, bending down to run hot water in the tub. His tone suggested she had made a mistake, but no matter what he did, one hand always held onto hers.