Getting Skewers

The city lights had just come on.

Li Xian sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling bedroom window, a bottle of liquor in his left hand and a cigarette between the fingers of his right. He gazed out at the unbeatable sea view, his chest rising and falling as a thousand emotions welled up inside him.

"No wonder everyone wants to climb the ladder. The view really is something else up here. It's damn beautiful." He'd wanted to compose a poem to express his feelings, but with no literary talent to speak of, that was all he could come up with.

Fine, if he couldn't be a man of letters, he might as well post on Moments and show off a little.

He checked in with his location, took two shots of the night view from different angles, then snapped a picture of the liquor bottle. He uploaded all three and added a caption: I've got the booze. Who's got a story?

Once he'd finished editing, he posted it.

He'd always looked down on people who checked in everywhere. They were always flaunting themselves, as if to say, "Look at me, I've got money to travel."

Back then, he'd silently sworn to himself that once he had money, he'd show off so hard he'd make their scalps tingle.

Envy made him ugly. That wasn't good. He'd rather make them envy him instead.

Li Xian was feeling incredibly smug when a ding suddenly rang in his head.

[Random Mission: Come and Beat Me Up!]

Damn, another mission? System, you've got a serious grudge against me. This isn't right.

What? It had something to do with my passive skill?

Don't you dare pin this on me!

Li Xian protested indignantly, refusing to take the blame.

He accepted the mission.

[Come and Beat Me Up: If you don't beat me up, I'll show off so hard I'll make your scalps tingle! Host, get out there and show them what a real check-in looks like. Time limit: 60 days. Check in at the country's four top-tier tourist cities. Countdown begins: 59 days, 23:59. (0/4)]

What the hell!

System, you're definitely targeting me!

Can't you take a joke?

And you want me to show off? You're the one putting on a damn spectacular show.

Li Xian really wanted to curse the system out, but the piece of junk kept pretending it had crashed.

No matter how much he yelled at it, it never said a word. That was seriously annoying.

If he kept arguing with the system, he'd end up with a brain hemorrhage. Forget it. He was magnanimous.

This stupid mission was genuinely giving Li Xian a hard time. He was a total shut-in, the kind who wouldn't budge if you tugged him, but would retreat if you pushed him.

If they wanted him to stay home for two months, he'd complete the mission with flying colors. But making him travel all over the country for two months would be the death of him.

With all that weight on him, there was no way he could run around. That was why he'd taken a phone-based job and spent every day sitting in an office.

Life was hard. He couldn't even enjoy spending money in peace.

His new Moments post had already gotten a few likes and comments, but the response was below his expectations. There weren't many.

Then again, it made sense. He didn't have many people on VX, and he'd blocked quite a few of them. It'd be a miracle if he got a lot of likes and comments.

Tomorrow, he'd unblock the people he'd hidden the post from. They were the ones he most wanted to show off to.

Li Xian glanced at the comments. The first one was from his buddy, Wang Meng.

"Brother Xian, weren't we supposed to talk on the phone? Do you know what time it is?"

Look at me, forgetting things like that...

Li Xian slapped his forehead. He'd completely forgotten he had plans with Wang Meng.

After getting the system that morning, he'd told Wang Meng they'd talk on the phone, then gone off to complete a mission. The day had been such a rush that he'd completely forgotten about it.

He checked the time. It was around seven or eight, and he didn't have anything to do. After a moment's thought, he sent a message: "Wait downstairs in 20 minutes. Let's go get skewers."

Li Xian had planned to take his own G-Wagon out for a spin, but since he'd had a bit to drink, he decided to use the hotel's courtesy car instead.

He'd had a little too much to drink, so he'd better not test the laws of the country. Putting himself at risk was one thing; putting other people in danger crossed the most basic line.

The hotel had arranged a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter President for him. At a glance, the vehicle looked "ordinary": a rounded, oversized front and a bulky, wide rear. From the outside, it looked like an extra-long, extra-wide minibus.

Driving around with an exterior like that, most people would probably overlook it. Even if they happened to spot the Mercedes logo, they'd probably just think, Oh, it's a Mercedes minibus. I didn't know Mercedes made those.

But if that was what everyone thought, they'd be dead wrong. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was the ultimate indulgence for the wealthy, a genuine million-yuan luxury car. It was the real definition of understated luxury.

From the outside, it looked like it might cost two hundred thousand yuan, tops. But the moment the door opened, the two-million-yuan luxury inside hit you all at once.

The leather-wrapped aviation seats could recline into beds. The decorative fittings were hand-carved from Burmese yellow rosewood. There was a 40-inch retractable LCD television, a BOES sound system, and a voice-activated central control system, along with a liquor cabinet, storage compartments, a mini-fridge, and a power-operated dining table. The vehicle was practically a mobile palace.

Li Xian was very pleased with the courtesy car. The interior was spacious and comfortable, much better than his G-Wagon. The G65 was certainly a great way to show off, but as for comfort, it was better not to compare. The G-Wagon had practically sacrificed all its space to the trunk.

The car left Xinghai Square, headed for Lingbei Residential Area on Huichun Street.

Wang Meng lived in Lingbei Residential Area, very close to the south gate of their alma mater, Dongruan Institute of Information Technology. Whenever he had time, the guy would wander around the campus. Li Xian, by contrast, had graduated two years ago and could count on one hand the number of times he'd gone back. He was just too lazy.

Ten minutes later, the car came to a smooth stop at the side entrance of Lingbei Residential Area.

Li Xian pulled back the curtain and looked outside. He spotted Wang Meng without even needing to search. The guy was just as his name suggested: tall and imposing, nearly 1.9 meters tall and weighing over 100 kilograms. Standing there, he towered over everyone around him.

"Mengzi, get in!" Li Xian lowered the window and waved.

Wang Meng's eyesight wasn't great. He heard Li Xian's voice but couldn't see him. He looked around in every direction, never once glancing toward the car. Li Xian couldn't help laughing and called out, "You blind or something? How can you not see a car this big?"

"Huh? Holy crap, I thought it was somebody's truck." He genuinely hadn't expected Li Xian to show up in such a huge vehicle. When it had pulled over, he'd even stepped several meters to the side, afraid it would block his view.

"This minibus is way too..." Wang Meng stepped into the car and was about to complain about its size, but when he saw the luxurious interior, his eyes went wide. "Way too... awesome!"

"Holy crap, what kind of car is this?" Li Xian pulled Wang Meng inside. The moment he sat down, he didn't know where to put his hands and started touching everything. "Damn, this is real leather! Whoa, that TV is huge! Oh, look at this little fridge..."

He was like a curious kid, touching things and muttering to himself. Li Xian's mouth twitched. He thought, This is my first time in a car like this too. Can't you follow my example and keep your cool?

Do I not have any dignity?

Li Xian had been stunned by the luxurious interior when he first got in too, but he was better at hiding it than Wang Meng. After all, he'd already been initiated into the ways of the G-Wagon and the Presidential Suite.

More than anything, he just had a good attitude. If it had been anyone else, a day this intense would've given them a heart attack.

It was good to be broad-minded and well-padded.

"Brother Xian, what kind of car is this? Where'd you get it?" Wang Meng suddenly asked.

"Sprinter President. It's the Grand Hyatt's courtesy car."

"What? You really went to the Grand Hyatt? I thought you'd stolen those pictures."

"Stolen, my ass. Do I look like the kind of person who'd care about showing off?" Li Xian rolled his eyes. Quite a few people on Moments had accused him of stealing the pictures, and now Wang Meng thought so too. How was he supposed to prove it? Take a picture of his room key?

That was the kind of thing Li Xian really would do. He pulled out the key card and tossed it to Wang Meng. "See for yourself. Room 3908 at the Grand Hyatt, Presidential Suite. Only someone at my level gets to ride in a courtesy car like this."

"Brother Xian... that's some serious showing off... Uh, I didn't mean it like that." Wang Meng picked up the key card, took a quick look, then handed it back. Then he remembered that Li Xian had uncharacteristically transferred ten thousand yuan to him that morning. Putting that together with the Presidential Suite and the courtesy car, he felt like he had the answer.

Could he have... won the lottery?