Buying a House

The besties' VX group.

"Xue'er, you vanished last night, and your phone was off. Something going on?"

"Yeah, did something unspeakable happen? Were you afraid we'd interrupt?"

"Hehehe... I can give you a little insider info. She didn't go home last night."

"Okay, okay, don't be so catty about something that obvious. Xue'er... tell your sisters how you landed that Mercedes-Benz man."

Landed him?

Bullshit!

I was drugged and completely out of it, yet somehow came away without a scratch. Who'd believe that?

How embarrassing. I'd almost made a complete fool of myself, too...

If they found out, they'd laugh themselves to death.

No way. I couldn't let those little bitches find out.

Looking at the messages in the group, Cao Xue quickly made up her mind. She'd let them assume it had happened, even though it hadn't. Better that than have her friends laugh at her.

It wasn't that I wasn't attractive enough. That fatso just wasn't up to it.

"You wanna know? Too bad, I'm not telling." Cao Xue sent the message and grinned smugly. She picked up a pastry from the plate beside her and popped it into her mouth, then started tapping away on the screen again.

"Wanna know where I am now?"

"Oh, look at her gloating..."

"Xue'er, you've been gone one day and you're already getting carried away."

"→_→..."

"From the photo you just sent, you're at Xinghai Bay, right?"

"Correct, but there's no prize. Hehehe..." Cao Xue immediately sent her location to the group. She'd wanted to send it yesterday, but had promptly fallen asleep in the bathtub.

As soon as she shared her location at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the group went wild.

"Oh my god, you're actually at the Grand Hyatt! Quick, send the room number."

"So jealous... I heard the sea view there is gorgeous. I've wanted to go for ages, but it's too expensive..."

"You're loaded, Xue'er! You've found yourself a keeper. Show us what he looks like!"

"Do you need a maid over there? I'll be right over..."

Heh heh~~~~ You're all jealous now, aren't you, you little bitches? Cao Xue's lips curled up, and she sent another message. "Wanna come over? Too bad, I'm on the thirty-ninth floor. Even if I gave you my room number, you couldn't get up here!"

"Thirty-ninth floor! Is it the presidential suite?"

"No way, those suites cost ten or twenty thousand a night. You're that rich...?"

"I'm so mad. Xue'er, you've changed..."

"Everyone, come see this conceited woman... Huh, that's weird. Why hasn't Ningning said anything?"

Zhang Ning was in the group too, but she hadn't said a word.

Maybe only Cao Xue knew why she was quiet. Obviously, her best friend had gotten involved with her ex-boyfriend. It was so humiliating—why would she show up just to make herself feel worse?

But the women bringing up Zhang Ning reminded Cao Xue of something.

She immediately left the group chat and sent Zhang Ning a video call.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The video call rang for more than ten seconds before the other end finally picked up. Zhang Ning appeared on the screen, her face expressionless.

"Cao Xue, what do you want?"

"Hehe... I'm in the presidential suite, Room 3908, at the Grand Hyatt. Li Xian booked it."

"You!!!"

"Don't get worked up. I don't mean anything by it. It's just that Li Xian asked me to find out whether Lu Yang has enough money for his medical bills. Hahaha..."

The Apple Store on the first floor of Kaide Heping Plaza.

"Ah-choo... Who's thinking about me now?" Li Xian rubbed his nose and went back to picking out a phone.

He'd originally planned to stick with Xiaomi, but after checking out the models at the store, he found that none of them had the nouveau-riche vibe he wanted. So he headed to the Apple Store instead.

The three best-selling phone brands on the market were Xiaomi, Samsung, and Apple. Among them, the gold iPhone 5S was the model users liked best.

There were all kinds of rumors online. Some people had even sold a kidney to buy one. Li Xian didn't know if that was true, but he could understand the appeal. The phone really was incredibly flashy.

Of course, even back when he couldn't afford things he liked, Li Xian wouldn't have sold a kidney for them. But now that he had money, he could buy one of those "kidney phones" and show off a little.

"Give me three of the gold ones. They should all have 64GB..."

"Huh?"

"Don't you have any?"

"No, no. I'll get them for you right away."

Li Xian didn't waste time. He bought three phones in one go—one to use and two to smash... Of course, he wasn't actually going to do that.

He planned to give the other two to his uncle's daughters. His younger cousin Li Tian was taking the college entrance exam this year, and Li Xian had promised to get her a gift. Since he was buying phones today, he might as well get her one.

Once he'd bought a gift for his younger cousin, it wouldn't be right to play favorites and leave his older cousin Li Yan out. So he decided to get one for each of them.

Li Xian had grown up in his uncle's home. His uncle and aunt had treated him like their own son, and his two cousins were practically his sisters. Now that he had money, his family naturally came first.

However, it was hard to explain where the money had come from just yet. He'd have to tell them gradually. He planned to buy a house and start a business first, then tell his uncle that he'd struck it rich. The two phones would serve as a way to ease into it and see how they reacted.

The saleswoman hurried over with the three unopened phones, her smile clearly warmer than before. "Sir, the three phones you asked for come to 20,664 yuan. Will you be paying by card or in cash?"

Each phone cost 6,888 yuan. Li Xian couldn't be bothered to calculate the total, so he handed her his card. "Use the card, and put them in a bag for me."

He paid, picked up the bag, and left without a moment's hesitation. They were just phones. There was no need to show off.

Unfortunately, he thought he'd been low-key, but he'd still made an impression on everyone else in the store.

Two couples immediately got into arguments.

"Look how decisive he is. And then there's you, taking forever to buy a phone."

"Exactly. Nobody's making you sell a kidney. It's only one or two months' salary."

The two women piled on, while the other two men wanted nothing more than to strangle Li Xian.

Sigh. I may be out of the game, but the game still remembers me.

The car followed Zhongshan Road back to the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Xinghai Square. Li Xian handed the keys to the valet, then strolled over to the sales office for Phase Two of Star Bay No. 1.

Star Bay No. 1 was a large landmark urban complex centered around the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel. It combined seaside villas, single-level luxury residences, high-rise sea-view apartments, and commercial space. It was currently Bin City's best-located project, with the finest views. Phase One was completed in 2010 and became one of Bin City's landmark architectural complexes.

Phase Two of Star Bay No. 1 had gone on sale early last month. It featured three super-high-rise apartment buildings, and its launch had drawn attention from all sides.

The sales office was bustling, with prospective buyers nearly knocking down the door. But the excitement was only on the surface; actual sales were low.

Housing prices across the country had been falling that year, and Bin City was hit particularly hard. From January to now, they'd already dropped five percent in six months.

That drop wasn't enough to panic buyers, but it had served as a wake-up call for those who'd gotten too carried away. Many people were holding off on buying, especially at a top-tier development like Xinghai Bay, where the market outlook was unclear.

They were spending four thousand yuan per square meter, yet everyone was still so cautious and stingy.

Li Xian didn't care whether housing prices were rising or falling. He was here mainly to complete his mission.

"Where the hell is everyone? Aren't homebuyers supposed to be treated like royalty?"