Chapter 26: Fierce Analysis Like a Tiger
Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Fierce Analysis Like a Tiger
Huo Shaoqi’s mind raced as he analyzed the situation.
"He isn’t a protagonist from one of those ultra-rich online novels," he thought. "No normal person spends money like this. There must be a deeper meaning behind his actions!"
He suddenly realized that Yiyi’s contract was for four years. Subtracting her three-month training period, the remaining time was exactly forty-five months!
It all clicked. The other party had intentionally booked her for that exact duration!
Was this a disguised form of being a sugar daddy?
No, it wasn’t.
Although Yiyi was undeniably excellent—more than qualified to be the departmental beauty at a smaller university—it didn’t necessarily mean this guy was truly enamored with her. His judgment was based on time. If Zhang Yan were genuinely infatuated, he wouldn’t have booked her for just one extra hour.
Besides, a wealthy heir who could casually drop four or five hundred thousand wouldn’t have such a narrow scope. If he really just wanted to have a good time, throwing a few tens of thousands at a high-end hostess club or calling an escort would easily get him someone leagues above Yiyi.
So, what was his real intention?
Si Mingcheng brought him personally... a new face... yielding Yiyi...
The guy was flaunting his financial power!
It seemed Si Mingcheng was planning to introduce this "junior" into Meng City’s circle of second-generation heirs, using Huo Shaoqi’s venue as a stage for Zhang Yan’s debut.
After this intense flurry of mental gymnastics, Huo Shaoqi believed he had figured out the underlying reasons. He felt much more at ease pocketing that four hundred and fifty thousand. This Zhang Yan seemed to have some real backing; it wouldn’t hurt to help build his momentum in the future.
Having worked all this out, Huo Shaoqi smiled and posed his question to Si Mingcheng.
Faced with Huo Shaoqi’s inquiry, Si Mingcheng merely smiled without answering, pretending to be profound and mysterious. On one hand, Si Mingcheng actually had no idea what Zhang Yan’s family did for a living. On the other hand, he was also harboring a bit of shock himself. His current cool and nonchalant demeanor was nothing but a front.
Tonight’s arrangement was supposed to be a small test for Zhang Yan, but he hadn’t anticipated this outcome. It wasn’t that Zhang Yan’s splurging of four hundred and fifty thousand was particularly shocking. Truthfully, a mere few hundred thousand was nothing astonishing in the eyes of second-generation heirs of their caliber.
The key was what that money was spent on.
No one would bat an eye at spending four hundred and fifty thousand on a car. Spend that on a watch, and people would offer some admiration. Spend it on jewelry to casually gift a woman, and people would praise your generosity.
But dropping four hundred and fifty thousand to book a masseuse for forty-five consecutive months...
Most people would say, "Are you out of your mind?" because it was virtually no different from throwing the money down the drain. After all, no matter how many tricks she had, getting bored of her was only a matter of time. Yet, this money wouldn’t be refunded, nor could he swap her out for someone else.
Si Mingcheng certainly didn’t think Zhang Yan had genuinely been so bewitched by Yiyi that he’d resort to such ultimate simp behavior. Whether it was the goddess Zhang Yan was about to pursue, Xia Xiqing, or the junior he was already flirting with, Chi Xinyue, both were vastly superior to Yiyi. Even factoring in Yiyi’s exquisite skills post-training, it wasn’t enough to bridge such a massive gap.
Taking a massive step back, even if he had really taken a liking to Yiyi, this was the absolute worst way to go about it. After all, Yiyi was just an employee, and the amount that would actually end up in her pocket from this massive sum would be heavily discounted. Zhang Yan was a top student at the renowned Provincial University; he definitely had at least that much logical common sense.
Therefore, Si Mingcheng concluded that Zhang Yan had understood his subtle intention of testing him tonight, and this was Zhang Yan’s answer sheet.
Si Mingcheng interpreted the message loud and clear: "You want to see my financial power? Then I’ll show you!"
With his actions, Zhang Yan had provided the best annotation to his earlier statement: "No matter what kind of circle it is, I am qualified to enter."
Huo Shaoqi and Si Mingcheng exchanged a smile, both believing they had figured out the real answer.
"Mingcheng, if you’re free later, how about we grab some late-night supper?" Huo Shaoqi offered. "Call Zhang Yan to join us. It’s my treat."
"Sure, I’ll ask him in a bit."
Meanwhile, Zhang Yan was sitting on a sofa in the lobby, waiting. According to the girl at the front desk, Huo Shaoqi and Si Mingcheng would be down shortly. On the surface, he was idly scrolling through his phone, but in reality, his mind was entirely focused on the system interface.
"Why hasn’t the bill been settled yet?" he wondered. "Brother Tongzi couldn’t possibly be planning to default on the payment, right?"
He figured it probably wouldn’t go that far and quickly tucked away his "disrespectful" thoughts.
Suddenly, he noticed a post on his Friends Circle:
Cheng Lu: "I’m getting married! I welcome all my friends and family to attend our engagement banquet this Sunday!"
"You sure were quick to find someone to take over," Zhang Yan muttered. "But it’s no wonder you’re in such a rush. Give it a little longer, and the baby bump will be obvious."
Even though she was his ex-girlfriend whom he had just broken up with a few days ago, and she was now getting engaged to someone else in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yan felt no emotional ripples. If anything, he felt a bit of schadenfreude. After all, just thinking about her current condition was enough to know that this poor sap was unwittingly taking over as the father of another man’s child.
However, he had no interest in crashing the event to cause a scene. He would rather spend that time going on a few more dates with his junior and winning her over sooner.
Thinking of his junior naturally brought her best friend, Xiaoyan, to mind.
"Xiaoyan seems to study classical Chinese dance," he thought. "If she could put on a traditional outfit and perform a routine like that..."
Although Xiaoyan always seemed to put on airs and definitely wouldn’t be as uninhibited as Yiyi, her figure and looks more than made up for any potential shortcomings. Especially with those massive "assets" of hers—whether she was dancing to vigorous modern beats or performing elegant classical routines, they would undoubtedly be a lethal weapon.
Many people online instinctively assumed that having overly endowed body parts would hinder dance movements or make them look clumsy. In reality, this was a complete misconception. Professional dancewear was more than capable of securing the figure without restricting any movements.
Besides, who would really be looking at the dance anyway!
Not only were there few negative impacts, but people who studied dance also trained their core muscles far more intensely than the average person. As a result, she wouldn’t suffer from the shoulder and neck fatigue that typically plagued well-endowed girls, and their shape would be preserved even better.
Replacing Yiyi’s face in his memory with Xiaoyan’s, Zhang Yan felt that *that* would truly count as an emperor-level experience.
However, Brother Gan’s words still echoed in his ears. Xiaoyan had a stubbornly complicated personality; unless it was absolutely necessary, he really couldn’t be bothered to provoke her.
"Zhang Yan, Eldest Young Master Huo is organizing a late-night supper gathering. Are you coming?"
"I have to go! How could I miss a chance to mooch a free meal?"
Huo Shaoqi, who had walked over alongside Si Mingcheng, chuckled upon hearing this. "If Eldest Young Master Zhang wants to mooch a meal, I’ll gladly treat you as many times as you want! Do you need to bring Yiyi along? I can give her the night off."
"This late-night supper of ours... is it a proper one?" Zhang Yan asked.
"Hahaha, relax, relax. It’s definitely proper."
Huo Shaoqi fully understood Zhang Yan’s underlying meaning. The guy had no intention of letting Yiyi into his normal, everyday life, which indirectly confirmed Huo’s earlier judgment.
Huo Shaoqi led the two men out the door, and they all piled into a black Buick Century commercial van.
Just as they completely departed from Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization, Zhang Yan’s long-awaited system notification finally arrived!