No wonder his classmate Liu Dachun had sounded so surprised when they talked about this place last night.
Puzzled, he stepped into the glittering, opulent lobby.
The young waitress in a plunging V-neck at the entrance bowed ninety degrees.
"Welcome!"
Xu Fan clicked his tongue in wonder. High-end establishments really were different.
He looked around and finally found the customer lounge.
Xu Fan walked straight over.
There was no one else in the entire lounge.
It looked like his date was late.
Sitting on the imported Italian leather sofa felt somewhat awkward.
More than half an hour passed in an agonizing wait.
Xu Fan was already annoyed.
If his mother hadn't given him instructions, he would have made his escape long ago.
Really now.
He was still a college senior. What was the rush to go on blind dates?
Unable to stand it any longer, Xu Fan picked up his phone and called.
"Hello, this is Xu Fan. Have you arrived yet?"
"I got here ten minutes ago. I'm browsing at the Hermès counter and bought a few things. You can come help me carry them."
"The Hermès counter, right? Okay!"
He hung up.
Xu Fan headed toward the Hermès counter.
He saw a young woman with carefully applied makeup changing angles as she photographed seven or eight packed shopping bags.
"Hello, miss. Are you here for the blind date?"
Hearing Xu Fan speak to her, the young woman looked up, her gaze shifting slightly.
There was a faint hint of disdain in her expression, but she hid it well.
"Yes. Hello, I'm Liu Li!"
Liu Li gave him a token, fake smile.
Then she said, half jokingly,
"You'd better impress me. If you do well, I'll be your girlfriend."
Xu Fan smiled without saying anything.
At this point, he felt as though something wasn't quite right.
Seeing that Xu Fan said nothing, Liu Li lightly brushed back her hair.
She said to the young male sales assistant beside her,
"I want all three of those Christmas collection bags over there. Please wrap them up!"
After speaking, she looked at Xu Fan and gave him another awkward, fake smile.
"Can I buy them?"
"Sure. Buy them if you like them."
Xu Fan spoke casually.
What's with this woman? Why ask me when she's buying things for herself?
Baffling!
Hearing Xu Fan say that, Liu Li's lips curved into an inscrutable smile.
She looked toward the counter beside her again.
"Wow! This coffee-colored bag is so pretty!"
She picked up the coffee-colored bag, held it against herself a couple of times, and asked Xu Fan,
"Is it pretty?"
"I think all of these suit me so well."
"I'm really buying them, then!"
It looked as if she was asking Xu Fan's opinion.
In reality, she immediately told the young sales assistant,
"Please wrap all of these up for me."
Even the young sales assistant was a little puzzled. "Miss, are you sure you want to buy this many at once?"
"What? Do you think I can't afford them? Wrap them up." Liu Li was slightly angry.
The young man hurriedly smiled apologetically and apologized.
He patiently packed up half a counter's worth of bags.
Once everything was packed,
the two of them carried bags large and small to the register to check out.
The cashier was an average-looking young woman with a sweet smile.
"Sir, I've checked for you. These items total 115,000. Will that be cash or card?"
"Miss, ask whoever bought them, not me."
Xu Fan shrugged, somewhat speechless.
He wasn't a sucker.
How could he possibly casually pay such a huge sum for a crab woman?
He wasn't short of that money now, but he wasn't stupid either.
The young cashier froze.
Her smile stiffened on her face.
She really had never seen a situation like this.
Hearing that, Liu Li reacted as though someone had stepped on her tail.
She immediately started squawking,
"Aren't you here on a blind date with me?"
"I told you I'd see how you performed."
"If you buy me all of these, I'll give you a chance to pursue me!"
Xu Fan nearly laughed out a goose honk.
"Heh. Miss, are you here for a blind date, or are you looking for a massive sucker?"
He shook his head, all interest gone.
He turned to leave.
This woman is seriously sick. Better not catch it!
Seeing Xu Fan about to leave, Liu Li immediately grew agitated.
She simply grabbed the hem of Xu Fan's shirt, refusing to let go as she shouted and screamed,
"I don't care! You're not leaving!"
"What the hell???"
Xu Fan's brows knitted tightly as he turned to look at Liu Li, who was behaving like a shrew.
He was just about to speak when a voice interrupted him.
"What's going on? What's all the shouting?"
A middle-aged man hurried over.
A badge reading "Zone A, Manager Tan" hung on his chest.
After asking the cashier a few questions, he immediately turned to Xu Fan.
"Buddy, since you brought a girl out, don't be so stingy!"
"Look at the scene you've made. Isn't this embarrassing?"
"If you ask me, both of you should take a step back. You pay, and she apologizes to you. Then we can call it settled. What do you think?"
After speaking, he cast an unobtrusive glance at Liu Li.
Xu Fan raised his eyelids slightly and gave a faint smile. "Not much!"
Manager Tan's brow twitched, and his expression darkened.
Meanwhile,
at Zhonghai National University of Defense Technology,
a beautiful figure walked out through the campus gates.
The girl wore a white camisole and denim hot pants.
Her soft, long hair fell over her shoulders.
Her beautiful legs were long and straight, as though she had stepped out of an anime illustration.
Passing students turned to look, whispering among themselves.
Standing at the university entrance,
Wang Yixue's eyes glinted with mischief.
"I've already gotten your whereabouts and photo from your classmate Liu Dachun."
"Champs-Élysées, huh? I think that's one of my dad's properties, too. Let's see where you can run!"
"Hmph!"
Wang Yixue drove her newly purchased 2023 Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
She floored the accelerator and shot off.
Ever since piloting a mecha, every car felt too slow.
Elsewhere,
Tong Yao's eyes lit up as she looked at the information that suddenly popped up on her computer.
She immediately sent Elder Wang and Elder Hua a message.
"Xu Fan is currently at Champs-Élysées No. 2. According to the Trojan program, Yixue is on her way there."
Elder Wang and Elder Hua looked delighted when they received the message.
The two elders exchanged a glance.
"Should we go? Meeting him right now-isn't that a little too..."
"Elder Hua, at a time like this, you're still playing coy! Get the cars ready!"
"All right!"
Three military jeeps with white license plates sped out of the research base at full throttle.
At the base's main entrance,
the guard on duty stood tall, chest out, looking smart and imposing.
Watching the cars recede into the distance, he suddenly rolled his eyes and pulled a phone from inside his clothes.
"Hello, Division Commander. The two elders have set off. Please give your next instructions..."
One told ten, and ten told a hundred.
As urgent phone calls were made one after another,
in less than ten minutes,
rumors were flying through Zhonghai City's major departments.
The division commander was making an unannounced visit; officials were conducting an inspection.
Nationally decorated elders were making an appearance, and the military was mobilizing on a large scale.
All kinds of news stirred up a tremendous buzz.
Every important government department sprang into action.
They strictly reined in their subordinates, making sure no one caused trouble at this critical juncture.
Meanwhile, some quick-witted officials had already verified the news and quietly set off.
Their destination was none other than Champs-Élysées No. 2.
For a time, winds rose and clouds surged over all of Zhonghai, with undercurrents churning beneath the surface.
Xu Fan, the instigator of it all,
had absolutely no idea how much of a stir he had caused.
Nor would he have imagined
that merely chatting a little longer with Liu Dachun last night would have such a major impact.
At that moment,
at Champs-Élysées No. 2,
Xu Fan sat leaning back on a sofa not far from the register, his arms folded.
With a faint smile on his face, he watched Manager Tan's nonstop performance.