All right, it was finally time to lay everything on the table.
Before he could reply, Xiong Yaqian sent another string of question marks.
Even through the screen, he could sense her embarrassed fury.
"Actually... maybe we should just be friends for now? What do you think?" Zhang Yang had been rejected by plenty of women, but this was the first time he'd turned one down himself.
"Why?" She sounded incredulous, as if it hadn't even occurred to her that he might politely reject her.
"I'm a slow starter, and right now I don't really want to put my energy into this, so..." Zhang Yang replied.
"Then why did you agree to a blind date? I actually had a good impression of you. Let's delete each other!" She completely lost it.
After the other side went quiet for a while, Zhang Yang casually sent an emoji. Sure enough, a red exclamation mark appeared.
Deleted?
Good riddance!
"She deleted you?" Xiang Youde had sharp eyes and spotted the red exclamation mark at once. "Don't get discouraged, bro. You'll definitely meet someone better. It's no big deal to get rejected. Just keep trying—if you fall, get back up."
He started talking about his own romantic history, saying that back in college, he'd been quite the dashing young man.
"Alas, I'm past my prime. My youth is long gone. All I have left in this life is making money—making a whole lot of money!" Xiang Youde took off his glasses, a few wisps of hair fluttering on his head.
Zhang Yang glanced at his chat with Xiong Yaqian and deleted it.
This time, that really was the end of it.
As for his parents, he could explain later. They'd only met once, and she'd inadvertently helped him get the task done. Besides, he'd treated her to a lavish meal. There was no question of either of them having wasted the other's time.
They ate until well past nine. Both were full and satisfied, and Xiang Youde was quite ready to call it a night.
Downstairs by the apartment building, Zhang Yang called him a taxi.
"Bro, I won't stand on ceremony about the stuff." Before getting into the cab, Xiang Youde said, his face gleaming with grease.
"No need. Make sure you get some nutrition when you get home. And hey, don't keep rewarding yourself all the time." Zhang Yang opened the car door and looked at Xiang Youde's prematurely balding head. Hair loss like that was generally a sign of excessive male hormones.
Xiang Youde's face immediately flushed. He ducked into the car and urged the driver to hurry up.
Zhang Yang shook his head with a smile, watching the car disappear into the distance.
Early the next morning, Zhang Yang sold off all the old things in the apartment.
They only fetched scrap prices—not much money, but better than nothing. At least he could tell himself he hadn't wasted them.
In the blink of an eye, the apartment was completely empty.
With the money he'd barely had time to hold on to, Zhang Yang stopped for breakfast, then packed his personal belongings, got into his Cayenne, and drove to his new home—the Ruijie Executive Apartment.
The new apartment was quiet and elegant.
A spacious parking garage, a hotel-style lobby, and a front desk staffed around the clock—everything spoke to its high-end positioning and professionalism.
The complex had three buildings, each twenty-five stories tall. Zhang Yang lived on the twentieth floor of the front building, with an exceptionally broad view.
"What a difference—night and day." Zhang Yang wandered around his new home.
At ninety-three square meters, it wasn't huge, but it had just one bedroom. Since it only needed to accommodate him, its comfort and livability already felt leagues beyond his old place.
After putting away his personal belongings, Zhang Yang sprawled on the soft bed, enjoying the plushness enveloping him.
Six months' rent had left his wallet empty, but that morning, another twenty thousand had come in.
That was security.
The new apartment already had most of the appliances, furniture, and kitchenware he needed, but there were still plenty of things to buy. The fridge was empty, too, so he needed to stock up. Zhang Yang didn't stay long before heading out to shop.
It turned into another major shopping trip.
From bedding and daily necessities to food and clothes, he spent nearly all of the twenty thousand he'd just earned in cashback.
In return, Zhang Yang came home with his arms full.
The big fridge was packed, the bed had fresh sheets, and all his toiletries and household supplies had been replaced. As he busied himself setting everything up, he couldn't help feeling as if he were furnishing a new home.
"Right, time to post something new."
After all, going from twenty thousand a day in cashback to fifty thousand was a huge leap. Twenty thousand a day was already a lot, but Zhang Yang had to admit that people were never satisfied. The more he got, the more he wanted.
Thinking about it wasn't enough. He had to act.
After all, he was still a full twenty-four experience points short of reaching level four.
While waiting for dinner, he spent quite a while trying on the outfits Bei Wei had helped him pick out earlier. He took photos and posted them on the Little Blue Book.
Each photo had its own appeal.
Zhang Yang wasn't quite six feet tall, but at five foot ten, with a range of carefully put-together outfits, he looked surprisingly good in the pictures.
"I picked out a few outfits. Let me know what you think."
One benefit of growing more popular was that people responded faster and faster whenever he posted something new.
"Retro, minimalist, Hong Kong style... Blogger, you've got an expert helping you out!"
"Not bad, not bad... I can actually feel the trendiness!"
"Nothing to nitpick about with these outfits. Want to try some more styles? (side-eye grin)"
"They all look good, but if I had to choose, P1 is definitely the one!"
"Smart casual for the win!"
"Blogger, I'm a guy, and I want to learn from you. I'm going to start changing today."
Ding!
The system had adopted a new suggestion.
Task: Fashion Expert
Task Description: The host must change his everyday clothing style and maintain it for at least one working day.
Reward One: 3 experience points
Reward Two: Improved fashion sense
Zhang Yang glanced over the new task with practiced ease.
It was simple. In short, he just had to change his outfit. His usual work clothes wouldn't cut it anymore. As for the rewards, the experience points went without saying. Without those little increments, how could he build up to a qualitative change?
And fashion sense—or, more simply, a good eye for clothes—was one of the basic qualities any outstanding man needed.
The rewards weren't dazzling, but they were both essential.
Following the commenters' suggestions, Zhang Yang picked out an everyday work outfit. It was neat and sharp, and the commenters agreed that it made him look capable and sunny.
"All done. Time to eat."
For the first dinner in his new home, Zhang Yang made a proper occasion of it.
There was glossy, slightly sweet Wuchang rice; tender tomato-braised beef short ribs that fell off the bone; and a pot of slow-simmered old hen soup.
Zhang Yang from a month ago hadn't been without his good points. For instance, he'd been quite good at whipping up delicious food.
Before bed, Zhang Yang tried out the bathtub in his new home.
"This thing's big enough for two, at least," Zhang Yang thought, looking at the tub as steam bubbled up around it.
Soaking in a large bathtub was wonderful, and having a glass of warm milk before bed was even better. Though the apartment wasn't really his, Zhang Yang could genuinely feel the small changes in his life.
Thanks to Zhao Kuangsheng, Hello 2019, and Young Master Dragon for the tips.
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