Chapter 27: Sore Loser Brother Tongzi
Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Sore Loser Brother Tongzi
[Entertainment activity concluded. Cumulative expenditure: 453,996 yuan. Reimbursement multiplier: 3.7. Final reimbursement amount: 1,679,785.2 yuan.]
Because the [Bounce Back] series of missions had not yet been completed, the expenses from that endeavor hadn’t been reimbursed yet. Consequently, Zhang Yan had spent a total of nearly 300,000 yuan over the past few days.
However, simply by spending 10% of the "pocket money" Brother Tongzi had given him, he had just netted over 1.2 million yuan in profit!
After a wild spending spree over the last few days, Zhang Yan’s savings hadn’t decreased. Instead, they had actually grown by over 900,000 yuan. Once the main mission was settled, his bank balance would break the four-million mark.
The more money he spent, the more he seemed to make. But before he could even celebrate, the system sent another notification.
[Entertainment must be kept in moderation. To establish correct consumption values for the host, a cap will be placed on the reimbursement amount for entertainment activities starting from the next instance.]
[The cap is set at 1% of the host’s total wealth (rounded down to the nearest ten thousand). Current reimbursement cap: 30,000 yuan.]
"Are you a sore loser or what?" Zhang Yan thought. "I just milked the system for a little extra cash. Brother Tongzi is so stingy!"
"Zhang Yan, what’s wrong? Is my car uncomfortable?" Huo Shaoqi asked casually. He happened to be observing Zhang Yan through the rearview mirror and had caught his sour expression.
They were riding in a 7-seater Buick Century. Huo Shaoqi sat in the passenger seat, while Si Mingcheng and Zhang Yan occupied the middle row. The interior featured genuine leather seats and a highly spacious layout. If the back row was empty, the seats could be folded down completely to form a bed.
"Not at all. Brother Qi’s car is great," Zhang Yan replied. "I was just thinking about a minor, unpleasant matter."
Huo Shaoqi didn’t pry and instead changed the subject. "I heard from Mingcheng that you just graduated, Zhang Yan?"
"Yeah, I was actually job-hunting not too long ago. But the job market isn’t looking so good right now, so I had no choice but to go home, inherit the family fortune, and lie flat."
"Hahaha. Zhang Yan, what industry is your family in? Mind sharing?"
"I’m really not trying to hide anything. You might not believe it, but even I don’t know what my family does.
"It was only recently that my parents told me our family is actually quite wealthy. The two of them left me a few million yuan for pocket money, told me to carve out a path for myself, and then went off to travel the country."
Seeing that he wouldn’t be able to glean any more valuable information, Huo Shaoqi didn’t push the matter. After all, they had plenty of time to get to know each other.
The group soon arrived at a quaint, antique-style courtyard. A wooden sign stood by the entrance: Hongmei Cottage.
A hostess quickly walked over. "Eldest Young Master Huo, you’ve arrived. The private room you reserved is right this way. Please follow me."
Zhang Yan glanced around casually. The courtyard only housed four or five private rooms. It seemed to be a small, highly exclusive private kitchen. The interior of their room was elegantly decorated and had a wonderful ambiance, with enough space to seat around eight or nine people.
"Two more friends will be joining us shortly," Huo Shaoqi said. "We’re just having a casual meal, mostly so everyone can get to know each other."
"Eldest Young Master Huo has quite the influence. Even this late, you still have people at your beck and call," Si Mingcheng teased.
"The ones coming are Hua Wenbin and Ren Junfei. If they hadn’t heard that you were here, Eldest Young Master Si, I might not have been able to get them to come out."
Adhering to the principle that speaking less meant making fewer mistakes, Zhang Yan quietly watched the two exchange mutual flattery. Suddenly, a charming older woman—looking to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine—walked through the door carrying a tray of food.
She wore a white cheongsam adorned with elegant sprigs of red plum blossoms. The tight tailoring flawlessly accentuated her exquisite curves. The high collar of the dress outlined her slender neck, making her look elegant and dignified, while the slanted slit at the hem added a touch of alluring charm.
Her hairstyle had a unique classical appeal; her hair was half-pinned in a bun, with a few loose strands framing her face. She had a perfect oval face with cherry-red lips and lightly drawn willow eyebrows that carried a hint of languor.
"Sister Mei, why did you come serve us yourself?"
Huo Shaoqi immediately stood up to greet her. Zhang Yan glanced at Si Mingcheng and noted that he hadn’t moved a muscle. Seeing this, Zhang Yan understood—this woman wasn’t a major VIP, but she was likely very important to Huo Shaoqi.
"Thanks to your help last time, I personally cooked a couple of dishes for you as a small token of my appreciation." Her voice had a slight, raspy quality to it that tickled the listeners’ hearts.
"Hey, it was just a small favor, not worth mentioning. If any other blind fools come here to cause trouble again, just give me a call."
"I couldn’t possibly keep bothering you. I’ve already hired a few extra security guards, so I believe that sort of thing won’t happen again."
After setting down the exquisite dishes and exchanging a few more simple pleasantries, she left the room, leaving only a lingering trace of her perfume in the air.
"Brother Cheng, is she the boss here?" Zhang Yan asked.
"That’s right. We usually call her Sister Mei. Don’t let her youthful looks fool you; she’s actually in her thirties. But Shaoqi is into that type, and he’s currently pursuing her."
Zhang Yan recalled Sister Mei’s face. He completely failed to see how she could already be in her thirties.
"Mingcheng, are you spilling my secrets again?" Huo Shaoqi asked as he returned to his seat.
"What, am I not allowed to say it?"
"There’s nothing to hide! You guys like younger girls, and I like older women. We all have bright futures ahead of us! Hahaha."
While they were laughing, two more young men pushed the door open and walked in.
"What are you talking about? It sounds hilarious," one of them asked.
"We were just talking about how Shaoqi is pursuing Sister Mei."
"Oh, that. If Sister Mei were a few years younger, even I would want to go after her. It’s a shame she’s already thirty-four this year."
Zhang Yan listened in silence. At thirty-four, Sister Mei was exactly twelve years older than him.
"And who might this be? Aren’t you going to introduce us?"
The two newcomers didn’t stand on ceremony and casually took their seats. At that moment, the young man with a pompadour looked at the unfamiliar Zhang Yan and asked with a smile.
"Let me introduce him," Si Mingcheng said. "This is Zhang Yan, my junior from Provincial University.
"Zhang Yan, the guy with the pompadour is Ren Junfei. His family has quite a few businesses, including a local film and entertainment company."
Ren Junfei and Zhang Yan nodded to each other. "Let’s not talk about my company," Ren Junfei said. "The market hasn’t been great lately, and we’re actually looking to sell it."
Si Mingcheng let the two get acquainted for a moment before continuing his introductions. "This other guy, who looks a bit mature—like he’s pushing thirty—is Hua Wenbin. In reality, he’s only twenty-five or twenty-six this year."
Hua Wenbin also nodded in greeting to Zhang Yan, then hastily protested, "How many times have I told you? I’m exactly twenty-five! Stop arbitrarily adding years to my age!"
Zhang Yan remembered that this was the same guy who had just claimed he would pursue Sister Mei if she were a few years younger. He couldn’t help but roast him in his head, "Put you and Sister Mei together, and ten out of ten people would say you’re the older one."
"Wenbin’s family owns a few auction houses, so he has a lot of connections in that field," Si Mingcheng added. "Oh, right, he doesn’t like it when people call him Brother Bin. He says it makes him sound old, so Zhang Yan, you can just call him Wenbin or Young Master Hua."
Seeing that Si Mingcheng didn’t say anything else after the brief introduction, Zhang Yan grew thoughtful.
When Si Mingcheng introduced the other two to him, he had included their family backgrounds. However, he hadn’t mentioned Zhang Yan’s background to them at all. He hadn’t even brought it up. And the other two didn’t interrupt to ask, either.
"It seems Brother Gan’s status among this group is quite high," he thought.