Going to Buy a House

Bestie WeChat Group.

"Xue'er, you went off the grid last night, and your phone was off too. Something's up."

"Yeah, did something indescribable happen, and you were afraid we'd interrupt?"

"Giggle... I can offer one piece of intel: she didn't come home last night."

"Alright, alright, it's so obvious, stop being so catty. Xue'er... spill it to your sisters, how'd you land that Mercedes-Benz man?"

Land him?

Pfft, land my ass!

I was drugged out cold, and I came out unscathed—who'd believe that?

Too embarrassing, and I almost made a huge fool of myself...

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

No way, I can't let these little vixens know.

Staring at the messages in the group, Cao Xue quickly made up her mind. Even if it didn't happen, she'd pretend it did, to save herself from her sisters' mockery.

It's not that my charm fell short—it's that fat guy who couldn't deliver.

"You want to know? Well, I'm not telling you." Cao Xue sent the message, smirked smugly, picked up a pastry from the plate beside her, popped it into her mouth, and started tapping on the screen again.

"Want to know where I am now?"

"Oh, look at her, all puffed up..."

"Xue'er, one day gone and you're already this cocky."

"→_→..."

"From that photo you just sent, you're at Xinghai Bay, right."

"Bingo, but no prize, giggle..." Cao Xue immediately dropped a location pin in the group. She'd wanted to send it yesterday, but ended up falling asleep in the bathtub.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel location sent the group into a frenzy.

"Oh my god, you're at the Grand Hyatt! Send the room number quick."

"Jealous and envious... I heard the sea view there is gorgeous. I've always wanted to go, but it's way too expensive..."

"Rich girl! Xue'er, you hit the jackpot. Show us what you got."

"You need a handmaid over there? I'll come right now..."

Hmph~ Let you little vixens stew in envy. Cao Xue curled her lips and started typing again. "You want to come? Too bad—I'm on the 39th floor. Even if I told you the room number, you couldn't get up here!"

"That high! Is it the presidential suite?"

"No way, a presidential suite costs ten to twenty thousand. That loaded?"

"So annoying, Xue'er, you've turned bad..."

"Sisters, come out and gawk at this inflated woman... Huh, weird, why isn't Ningning piping up..."

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

Maybe only Cao Xue knew why she was silent. Obviously, your bestie hooking up with your ex-boyfriend—that's too humiliating to come out and invite trouble.

Mentioning Zhang Ning reminded Cao Xue.

She immediately exited the group chat and sent a video call straight to Zhang Ning.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The video rang for over ten seconds before it connected, and Zhang Ning's expressionless face appeared on screen.

"Cao Xue, what do you want!"

"Hehe... I'm at the Grand Hyatt, Room 3908, the Chairman Suite. Li Xian booked it."

"You!!!"

"Don't get worked up. I'm not trying to stir anything. It's just—Li Xian asked me to check with you: is Lu Yang's medical bill covered? Hahaha..."

Kaide Heping Plaza, first-floor Apple Store.

"Achoo... Who's thinking of me now?" Li Xian rubbed his nose and kept browsing phones.

He'd originally planned to stick with Xiaomi, but after checking out the models at the store, none of them seemed to scream "nouveau riche" like he wanted, so he turned around and walked into the Apple Store.

Right now, the three best-selling phones on the market were Xiaomi, Samsung, and Apple, and the iPhone 5S Gold was the most popular model among users.

There were plenty of rumors online—some people even sold a kidney for this phone. Li Xian didn't know if it was true, but he could understand it, because this phone was just too flashy.

Of course, even if Li Xian liked something before, he wouldn't go selling a kidney. But now that he had money, buying a few kidney phones to show off was fair game.

"Give me three of these gold ones, all 64GB."

"Huh?"

"Don't have them?"

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

Li Xian didn't waste any words and bought three units on the spot—one to use, two to smash... Well, that wasn't happening. 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 her a gift. Picking up a phone today was the perfect chance to get her one. Since he was giving a gift to the younger one, he couldn't play favorites with the older one, Li Yan, so he decided to get one for each of them.

Li Xian had grown up in his uncle's home. His uncle and aunt treated him like their own son, and his two cousins were like real sisters to him. Now that he had money, his first thought was naturally his family. However, he couldn't explain where the money came from just yet and would have to reveal it slowly. He planned to buy a house first, then start some kind of business, and only then tell his uncle he'd struck it rich. These two phones were a kind of buffer and a test.

The female sales assistant, holding three unopened phones, jogged over to Li Xian. Her smile was noticeably warmer than before. "Sir, the three units you requested come to a total of 20,664 yuan. Will that be card or cash?"

One unit cost 6,888 yuan. Li Xian couldn't be bothered to calculate the total for three. He just handed her his card and said, "Card, please. And give me a bag to put them in."

He paid, swiped the card, and left without any fuss. Buying a cheap phone wasn't worth putting on airs. Unfortunately, even though he thought he was keeping a low profile, he still stirred things up for others in the store. Two young couples had a falling out on the spot.

"Look how straightforward he is, and look at you—taking forever just to buy a phone." "Exactly, it's not like we're asking you to sell a kidney. It's just one or two months' salary."

The two women chimed in together, while the two men wished they could strangle Li Xian. Sigh, I'm not in the game, but the game still has my legend.

The car drove along Zhongshan Road back to the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Xinghai Square. Li Xian handed the keys to the valet and strolled over to the sales office for Star Bay No. 1 Phase II. Star Bay No. 1, centered around the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel, was a large-scale landmark urban complex project combining sea-view villas, penthouses, high-rise sea-view apartments, and commercial spaces. It was currently the best-located and most scenic key development project in Bin City. Phase I was completed in 2010 and became an iconic architectural cluster in Bin City.

Phase II of Star Bay No. 1 had launched at the beginning of last month, featuring three super-high-rise apartment towers. Its release had drawn attention from all sides. The sales office was bustling now, with buyers practically wearing down the doorstep. But this liveliness was only surface-deep; actual sales volume wasn't high. Housing prices across the country had been falling all year, and Bin City was hit hardest. From January to now, within half a year, prices had already dropped by 5%. This decline wasn't enough to panic buyers, but it did serve as a wake-up call for those with overheated heads. Right now, many people were sitting on the sidelines, especially for top-tier projects like Star Bay. With the market unclear, no one was rushing to make a move.

Buying a house with an average price of 40,000 yuan per square meter, everyone was cautious and penny-pinching.

Li Xian couldn't care less whether prices went up or down. He was mainly here for the mission.

"Where's the service? Isn't the buyer supposed to be king around here?"