Chapter 389 Lecture Hall, High-Profile Confession
This time, Robert didn't stop them or say anything, but his handsome face was tight with anger.
Juniper led Ophelia towards the first lecture hall, handing her a tissue, "Do you want to go somewhere quiet for a while? Robert didn't follow us, he won't know."
Ophelia sniffed and smiled indifferently, "No need, I have to film Mr. Blackwood's lecture. It's a hot news topic, I'd be a fool to miss it!"
Juniper looked worried, "Are you sure you are okay?"
Ophelia shook her head, holding onto a sliver of hope. "Just a little longer and we can get divorced. He can't keep playing me every time, can he?"
Juniper hoped this time it was true.
She had never seen Robert and Ophelia argue so closely and directly before.
She hadn't expected Robert to be so nasty.
When they reached the first lecture hall, it was already packed with students.
The lecture was halfway through.
Juniper and Ophelia sneaked in from the back and found an inconspicuous spot in the last row.
Magnus stood gracefully on the podium.
Behind him, on the large whiteboard, were topics written in black marker: Behavioral Finance, Quantitative Investing, Quantitative Research on Bonds.
Holding a microphone, his voice was calm and composed, "I was asked by your principal to give this lecture on short notice, so I didn't prepare a specific topic. Quantitative investing and trading are my areas of expertise and were the focus of my doctoral research."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
A female student raised her hand, "Magnus, the quantitative trading you're talking about is too complex for us! Can you tell us how you set your goals? When did you start working towards them? What motivated you to keep going? How did you persevere?"
Her questions were direct and to the point.
A bold male student chimed in, "Yeah, that's what we want to know! How did you become a business mogul?"
Magnus picked up a pen and wrote another phrase on the whiteboard—Setting Goals.
Then, he turned to face the students and lightly teased:
"When I first started college, I was just like you—confused and even ignorant, with no direction in life. I grew up in a very ordinary, even lower-class family, probably in harsher conditions than most of you here. Back then, I only knew one thing: studying hard, mastering my studies, and excelling academically was my only way out."
"Before I turned 23, I was, to put it nicely, an excellent student, and to put it bluntly, just a bookworm. I had no entrepreneurial ambitions at that time. My goal was simple and clear: to use my high academic qualifications and intelligence to get into a top-tier company and become a top-tier employee. That was the life I envisioned for myself."
A student below asked curiously, "What changed your mindset suddenly?"
Magnus's gaze swept over the crowd and finally settled on the last row of the lecture hall.
He smiled and said, "When I was 23, I started dating a girl I really liked and wanted to give her a home. But I was truly poor at that time, and I couldn't afford a decent house in Imperial Capital."
His words caused the students to burst into laughter, instantly livening up the atmosphere.
The students were clearly more interested in gossip.
Another female student raised her hand and asked, "So you were forced to start a business because you couldn't afford a house?"
Someone questioned, "It was normal for young people to rent a place to get married. How did dating someone turn you into a business mogul?"
"Magnus, you were so poor back then, how did you dare to start a business? Weren't you afraid of failing and not even being able to afford rent?"
Magnus smiled faintly, "I seriously calculated it at the time. If I followed my original plan and goal to become a high-level employee, with a three-year promotion timeline, even if I earned a million dollars a year and didn't spend a penny, I would only have three million dollars after three years. Three million dollars wouldn't buy a good house in Imperial Capital, let alone a big and nice one."
"I'm quite traditional in my thinking. In my view, to get married, you need a decent house, at least one that makes the other person feel secure. Before I turned 23, I never thought about marriage, so I didn't care how I lived alone."
"When I was 23, in my poorest and most powerless year, I fell madly in love with someone. For her, I changed all my plans and goals overnight."
He paused, with a hint of self-mockery in his voice, "If I hadn't changed my plans, two years later, when she reached the legal age for marriage, I wouldn't have been able to marry her or help her escape her original family."
A student below asked, "Magnus, with a face as handsome as yours, she wouldn't be willing to endure some hardship with you?"
"Magnus, date me! I don't need a big house!"
Magnus, half-joking and half-serious, reminded into the microphone, "Watch what you say, my fiancée is sitting in the audience."
The large lecture hall erupted again.
Everyone looked around, trying to find her.
Juniper instinctively buried her head on the desk, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
Magnus spoke again, drawing the students' attention back, his tone affectionate, "Stop looking, or you'll scare my fiancée away."
The students below squealed with excitement.
Magnus continued, "To clarify, it wasn't that she wasn't willing to endure hardship with me; it was that I didn't want her to endure hardship with me. When she was with me, she was just 18, hadn't seen much of the world, and in her eyes, I was already the best boyfriend in the world. The best boyfriend in the world shouldn't make her live in a rented apartment; that would mean I wasn't good enough."
"If she had followed her family's arrangements and married someone of equal status, even without love, she would have lived a materially comfortable life. She is beautiful, smart, and kind; no man wouldn't like her."
"But she chose me at that time, which meant she willingly chose a more challenging and difficult life."
"I wanted her to feel that her choice was right, so I changed my easily achievable life plan to walk a more challenging and difficult path with her."
"SY, this company, was registered on June 6th, her birthday. Without her, there would be no SY, and there would be no Magnus as you know him today."
In the audience, Ophelia was almost moved to tears.
She leaned over to Juniper and whispered, "Men like Magnus are almost extinct! How is he so good? I even cursed him before; I must have been crazy!"
Ophelia felt like slapping herself.
It turned out she had poor judgment in men.
She dated someone who broke up with her abruptly, disappeared for five years, and never sent a single message.
And her husband was even worse; his behavior was repulsive to anyone who saw it!
Her friend was the real relationship guru, choosing a rare gem on the first try!
Juniper's judgment was spot on!
Juniper whispered to Ophelia, "How did he make me sound so lovestruck? I didn't date him because he was poor; I dated him because he was handsome! How could he mix up the priorities and spread such rumors?"
Ophelia covered her mouth, almost bursting into laughter, "This news is too juicy! This school celebration was worth attending!"
Juniper was a bit speechless.
A student below asked, "Magnus, is your fiancée also a graduate of our school? Is she our senior?"
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