Chapter 497: Crushing Defeat in the Short-Term Decisive Battle (5)

Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Crushing Defeat in the Short-Term Decisive Battle (5)

"You..." Shelby Fenton desperately wanted to say this was all Seraphina Sterling’s design, her grand scheme. But she had no proof, and for a moment, she could only stand there with her mouth open, unable to utter a single word.

At that moment, Seraphina Sterling broke her usual silence and spoke up. "I do know Joel Xavier. And not only do we know each other, we’re actually quite close!"

"Did you all hear that? She admitted it! She admitted it with her own mouth! This was all her scheme, her conspiracy! She’s unscrupulous and will do anything to win!" Shelby Fenton’s voice shot up several decibels, sounding rather piercing.

"But what does that prove? Even if I did everything you said, so what? The business world is all about outwitting each other. Stock trading, in particular, is fraught with risk. The ’tactics’ you just described are nothing but child’s play! In a real stock market war, they wouldn’t even be considered presentable! If you can’t even handle something this trivial, then I suggest you quit trading stocks. You can’t afford the game."

Seraphina Sterling’s voice was gentle, but her attitude was unyielding. The crowd stared at her, stunned. She wasn’t wrong. They, too, had once been naive, thinking it was enough to analyze market patterns, sharpen their intuition, and trade by the book. But over time, they had learned that the stock market was an inscrutable battlefield. You never knew what would happen in the next moment, or who was using what tactics to influence—or even manipulate—the entire market.

To succeed in the stock market, you needed more than just capital. You needed to be bold, meticulous, and willing to take risks. Most importantly, you needed tactics! Even if you couldn’t manipulate the market yourself, you had to avoid being influenced by others and becoming someone else’s pawn. Everyone understood this in theory, but very few could put it into practice. And yet, the girl standing before them had managed it. At the very least, she knew how to leverage everything at her disposal to secure a win.

Even if Seraphina Sterling hadn’t done the things Shelby Fenton described with her own hands, she was definitely involved. She had simply gained too much from it all.

"Don’t think you can lecture me just because you beat Patterson. We’re both new members, our standing in this club is equal. If you want to teach me a lesson, wait until you’re an officer!" Shelby Fenton had been shaken by Seraphina’s words and could only resort to this to try and save face, though it had no effect whatsoever.

Seraphina Sterling shrugged. "I couldn’t possibly lecture a spoiled princess like you. Besides, with Miss Fenton’s level of aptitude, I can’t be bothered. Even if I tried to teach you, you’d never grasp the real essence of it."

"You—" Shelby Fenton’s face flushed with anger, but she bit back her words after catching a warning glance from Preston Patterson.

"I admit it, I lost to you. According to our bet, I’ll leave the stock trading club. However, there’s a question I’d like to ask, if I may." Preston Patterson might have been feeling indignant earlier, but after hearing Seraphina’s speech, that feeling vanished. Her words were born from experience—it was obvious she had far more of it than he did.

"What is it?" Seraphina Sterling asked, raising an eyebrow. A sudden, ominous feeling washed over her. ’Preston Patterson isn’t just for show; he has real ability. He’s always been arrogant, yet he just used such a deferential tone with me. For someone like him, that should be impossible, but it just happened. This is strange. Far too strange!’

"Everything you just said—your stock picks, the strategy you used to beat me—did you come up with it all by yourself, or did Nadia Chapman tell you?" As Preston Patterson posed his question, his eyes were locked on her, scrutinizing her for any subtle change in expression.