Everyday Romance After Becoming a Billionaire

Chapter 11: Chapter 10: I Will Finally Embark on the Path of No Return to Becoming a Divine Rich

Midsummer, at a bus stop.

"Su Ran~ I’m so hot~"

Ning Wenwen tugged on Su Ran’s hand and shook it, complaining about the damn sweltering weather.

Su Ran saw Ning Wenwen’s pretty face flushed red from the heat, her bangs damp and stuck to her forehead. He reached out and gently brushed them aside.

"Why don’t... you head home first? I can order some takeout and have it delivered to your place."

"No way. You said you were going to treat me to cake. Now you’re trying to send me home? I’m not falling for that."

"Then stop complaining, okay?"

"You’re being mean to me..."

"...Aiya, I’m not being mean. Look, the bus is here."

Su Ran really couldn’t stand her endless act of being cute. In reality, she wasn’t even acting; every emotion she showed just came across as adorable. That’s just how people who grew up on a diet of "cute" are.

The Route 12 bus pulled up, and the two of them got on.

"BEEP! Student card."

"BEEP! Student card."

The bus was crowded, but thankfully, the air conditioning was strong. They felt a cool breeze the moment they stepped on.

Su Ran pulled Ning Wenwen through the crowd to a spot by a window in the middle of the bus.

Ning Wenwen took a wet wipe from her bag and offered to wipe the sweat from Su Ran’s brow.

"No, no, it’s fine. It’ll air-dry."

"You’ll catch a cold. Don’t move, let me wipe it for you."

"Sigh..."

"What are you sighing about?"

"It’s nothing."

"Su Ran, I..."

"Call me Brother Su Ran. HISS—"

Ning Wenwen stomped hard on the top of his foot, and Su Ran immediately behaved.

"Su Ran, I didn’t get a nap earlier, and now I’m so sleepy. Can I borrow your shoulder for a little bit?"

"..."

"Thanks."

"???"

Ning Wenwen sweetly fell into Su Ran’s arms, wrapping her hands around his waist.

"Didn’t we agree on my shoulder?"

"It’s all the same. Stop talking, I’m going to sleep."

"..."

He held onto a handrail with one hand and wrapped the other around Ning Wenwen’s waist to keep her from falling.

The sight of a cute young girl nestled in his arms made the other passengers envious.

Su Ran was actually very fond of this "little sister," Ning Wenwen.

When they arrived at the Construction Road stop, the two got off.

Ning Wenwen stretched lazily. "I was just falling asleep."

Su Ran tugged at the two damp spots on his T-shirt. "You were already snoring, and you call that ’just falling asleep’?"

"You’re the one who snores! I never snore. Where’s that dessert shop you mentioned?"

"It’s right over there. Come on, let’s go try it."

The newly opened dessert shop was bustling with business. The dazzling array of desserts left Ning Wenwen wide-eyed.

"Su Ran, there are too many delicious things. I don’t know what to order."

She tugged and shook his big hand.

"I’ll order."

Two Matcha Oreo Snow Mochis, a slice of durian mille-crepe cake, a mango pudding, and two mango pomelo sago coconut milks.

It was only a few dozen yuan—not expensive at all.

Ning Wenwen rubbed her slightly chubby cheeks and mumbled, "So much sugar, so many calories... Su Ran, are you trying to fatten me up like a pig?"

"Less talk, more action. Go find a table over there, I’ll bring it over."

"Okay."

Ning Wenwen sat down at a table by the window. After a short wait, the pastry chef placed the finished desserts on a tray and handed them to Su Ran.

Life is full of surprises.

A gleaming golden Wealth Card had appeared above one of the Snow Mochis.

Without a second thought, Su Ran opened his system to capture it.

’DING! Wealth Card captured successfully. This is a food-type card and has been activated. Do you wish to enter the "Gourmet Grand Challenge"? Complete the challenge missions to receive generous rewards.’

Su Ran was a foodie. He not only loved to eat but also loved to cook. This kind of card was practically tailor-made for him. He tapped "Use."

’Taste the following ten authentic Imperial Cuisine dishes. The higher the completion rate, the richer the rewards.’

1. Imperial Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

2. Braised Shark Fin in Brown Sauce

3. Braised Deer Tendons in Prince Yong’s Mansion

4. Stir-fried "Phoenix Tongue"

5. Pork Tenderloin Pockets

6. Cherry Pork

7. A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix

8. Stewed Fat Duck

9. Jili Beng Chicken

10. Shark Fin with Osmanthus

"???"

Su Ran stared at the list in shock.

Admittedly, these top-tier dishes were fitting for a Divine Rich.

But the 70,000 yuan he had in his bag was definitely not enough to afford a taste of these ten Imperial Cuisine dishes.

One of the ten dishes even involved sika deer. ’That sounds highly illegal.’

Not that Su Ran didn’t want to eat them.

It’s just...

Although Su Ran was now a Divine Rich, he was still in the "noob village," cautiously developing his power. He had no idea if a top-tier tycoon could actually get to taste "Braised Deer Tendons in Prince Yong’s Mansion."

"Su Ran..."

"Coming."

He carried the desserts to the window table and sat down.

"Su Ran, this Snow Mochi is so delicious! Here, you try some."

Wenwen scooped up a spoonful and held it to Su Ran’s mouth. "Ah, open wide!"

Su Ran executed a tactical lean-back. "No thanks, I have my own spoon."

"O-pen—wide—"

"Sigh... Ah~"

’The feeling of being dominated by a young girl.’

"Is it good?"

"Not bad."

Su Ran smacked his lips, recalling that Wenwen’s father used to own a Chinese restaurant. Now, he was a salesman for a condiment factory, making sales runs every day.

"Wenwen, what’s your dad’s number? There’s something I want to ask him about."

"What do you need to ask my dad about?"

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to tattle on you. I just want to ask if anyone can still make authentic Imperial Cuisine these days."

"Huh?" Ning Wenwen was completely bewildered. "You mean Imperial Cuisine?"

"Yes, authentic Imperial Cuisine."

"I remember in fifth grade, my dad was working at a restaurant in the Imperial Capital. My mom took me there to see him during the National Day holiday. There was an old grandpa at the restaurant who really liked me, and he made me a dish called... Pork Tenderloin Pockets. It was super delicious. My dad said his ancestors were imperial chefs who cooked for the Old Buddha. After that, my dad came back here and opened his own restaurant. That old grandpa has probably retired by now."

"Do you know his name? Or where he lives?"

"I don’t know. I’ll ask my dad for you when he gets home tonight."

"Okay."

"Why are you asking about this? Are you planning to become a chef?"

Su Ran teased, "That’s right. You love to eat so much, I’m planning to become a chef. In the future, whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it for you."

"And if you make me fat, will you take responsibility?"

"...I won’t have to. You can just follow Liu Genghong and dance to his *Compendium of Materia Medica* workout."

"Hmph."

They ate their desserts in the cool air-conditioning, enjoying the slow pace of a midsummer afternoon.

At five in the afternoon, Su Ran walked Wenwen to the gate of her residential community.

"You should head in," Su Ran said with a smile, patting Wenwen’s little head.

Wenwen reluctantly let go of his arm. "I’ll ask my dad for you tonight."

"Okay."

"Bye-bye~"

Wenwen stepped into the community, looking content. The thoughts of a fifteen-year-old girl were hard to guess.

After watching Wenwen disappear into the complex, Su Ran hailed a cab to the restaurant he had arranged to meet at. Lin Che and the others were already there as promised. The group drank beer and talked about music.

Lin Che tried to persuade Su Ran to stay with the band, but Su Ran was firm in his decision, so they dropped it.

Lin Che and the others persisted because they loved music and had a musical dream.

Su Ran was different. His reason for joining the band was simple: to make money.

"Alright, since your mind is made up, we won’t say any more. The band’s door is always open for you. Cheers."

He drained his glass in one go.

"Brother Lin, how have you guys been? Still doing gigs in the countryside?"

"Sigh, not anymore."

Lin Che looked embarrassed at the mention of this. In recent years, Funeral Bands had become popular, and Lin Che would sometimes take on gigs for the deceased. They would set up a stage in front of the memorial hall, play the suona, and sing old songs like "Ninth Sister," "Old Father," "Ten Li Kneel," and so on...

Lin Che even took jobs as a professional mourner.

They also performed dances for the deceased before the funeral procession, usually upbeat and energetic numbers like "Might as Well Dance," "Beaming with Joy," or "Any Empty Bottles for Sale?" Lin Che would even coax some girls from the bars to come on stage and dance.

They were nothing if not professional.

Because they were *too* professional, they ended up taking business away from other Funeral Bands. Once, while on a job in a village near Linxi Village, they were ganged up on and beaten by another band.

Lin Che had called Su Ran at the time. The moment Su Ran heard his brothers were being beaten up, he couldn’t just stand by. He hopped on Uncle Wang’s Jialing motorcycle and sped over. He first yelled at the other group to stop and called the police. When they didn’t listen and kept fighting, Su Ran lost it and charged into the fray.

Guts! Su Ran never lacked for them!

’I won’t attack unless I am attacked.’

If he saw his good brothers being ganged up on and beaten half to death for no reason and didn’t dare to step in, that wouldn’t be Su Ran’s style.

The police arrived later. The other side had ten people with clubs, while Su Ran’s group had five. If they hadn’t fought back, they would have been beaten to death. It was ruled self-defense, and the other party was detained.

After that incident, Lin Che stopped taking funeral gigs. He felt that a man with a musical dream shouldn’t be spending all his time with the dead, even if it had made him an expert in the full suite of funeral services.

Lin Che said very seriously, "We’ve already discussed it. Next month, we’re going to participate in a new talent show this year, *Produce Camp*."

Su Ran paused, looking over Lin Che and the others’ faces. "Idols?"

"Yeah! That’s right. We’re going to be ’powerful idols’."

"Uh... okay. I’ve heard of the show. I think Reba is one of the mentors, right?"

"Right."

Su Ran knew that those talent shows were all rigged, with capital pulling the strings behind the scenes. Lin Che and his friends were average-looking and had no background; it would be very difficult for them to make a name for themselves.

’Unless... they had capital backing them?’

’And isn’t a Divine Rich the ultimate form of capital?’

’If they had enough capital, the four of them could actually make it big and earn a lot of money in the future.’

’They’re all good brothers. It would be great to enjoy success together.’

’Besides, the entertainment industry is so profitable. My Divine Rich funds could be laundered through entertainment industry investments. That’s actually not a bad idea.’

"You guys should go for it. I support you. I’ll even go to the show to cheer you on."

’Looks like I’ll have to tackle this "Gourmet Grand Challenge" head-on.’

’Hopefully, I can fleece a sizable amount of funds from it.’

After dinner, Lin Che and the others had to go play a gig at a bar to earn living expenses. Su Ran took a taxi home and received a call from Wenwen.

"Wenwen."

"Su Ran, you’re the worst! You fed me so much cake, now I have to do yoga all night to lose weight."

"A little extra meat on you isn’t a bad thing. Anyway, did you find anything out?"

"I asked. Dad said he doesn’t know the old grandpa’s full name. Back at the restaurant, everyone just called him Stephen. He went to Shanghai after retiring, and they lost contact."

"A foreigner?"

"No, he’s from China."

"Oh, so Grandpa Shi, right?"

"Haha..." Wenwen giggled. "What Grandpa Shi? That’s his professional name. His real surname is Zhou."

"Stephen Chow!"