Everyday Romance After Becoming a Billionaire

Chapter 13: Chapter 12

"Honey, who is it?"

"It’s ’Shu Ran’..."

"Who?"

"’Shu Ran.’"

"..."

His aunt, Zhou Hui, couldn’t understand the Ninghai dialect at all. All she heard from the doorway was a jumble of gibberish. ’What in the world is he saying?’

"I’ve told you before, I can’t understand your Ninghai dialect."

Zhou Hui spoke in a coquettish Shanghai accent, swaying her ripe, wasp-waisted hips as she walked toward the door.

"Hello, Aunt."

Su Ran greeted her politely, sizing up the beautiful, mature woman.

"You are..."

"I’m ’Shu Ran’—no, Su Ran."

"Su Ran? Oh..." Zhou Hui immediately recalled her late sister-in-law’s son. "It’s Su Ran! You’ve gotten so big. Come in, quick! It’s only been a few years and you’ve already grown into such a handsome young man." She shot a glare at Zhang Guohua. "Honey, what are you doing blocking the door? Hurry up and let Su Ran in."

Zhou Hui had only been to Linxi Village a few times. To be honest, having been pampered in an international metropolis like Shanghai, she really disliked the grimy environment of the countryside. But she had a good impression of Su Ran’s parents, especially his mother. Mrs. Su, thinking about how her younger brother had married into his wife’s family in Shanghai—’It’s never been easy for a man who marries into his wife’s family’—always treated Zhou Hui exceptionally well whenever she visited the village.

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Hui looked at Su Ran with admiration and sighed, "My, last time I saw you, you were just a little kid, and now you’re so tall! You’re even taller than our Zhou Boyu."

Zhou Boyu was his aunt and uncle’s son. Since his uncle had married into the family, the son had taken his mother’s surname.

Back then, Mrs. Su had been so angry she almost ended up in the hospital.

"Is my cousin not home?"

"He went out with friends; he won’t be back until tonight. By the way, how come you came to Shanghai without saying a word? You should have let us know so we could have picked you up."

"That’s exactly why I came on my own—I didn’t want you to have to go out in this heat. I came to see you and Uncle, and also to do some sightseeing in Shanghai."

Zhang Guohua finished mopping the floor and walked over, hesitating before he spoke, "Wife, ’Shu Ran’ finally made it all the way to Shanghai. Could you give me some money? I’ll go to the market and buy some nice things to cook for him for lunch."

The aunt’s absolute authority in the family was clear.

Zhou Hui said, "It’s already so late. By the time you’re done cooking, who knows what time it’ll be. Su Ran rarely gets to visit Shanghai, so let’s eat out."

"That works. Should we invite Dad to come along?"

"No, don’t. The old man is cranky and always finds something to complain about with the chef whenever we eat out. Let’s not invite him. Just the three of us will go."

Su Ran had never met his aunt’s father, but he’d heard that he had also married into his wife’s family. Er... his life was pretty similar to Zhang Guohua’s; they were both henpecked husbands. This was mainly because his aunt took after her mother—both were strong-willed women, the type who always had the final say. His wife had passed away from a heart attack two years ago, and the old man now lived alone in the old house.

Half an hour later, his aunt emerged, having changed into a Louis Vuitton dress and carrying a Gucci bag. She was a born-and-bred Shanghainese who loved luxury goods. She had to be exquisitely dressed every time she left the house. Even if she were just staying home, she would still dress up elegantly to sit on the sofa and sip her coffee. Very Shanghai.

They had lunch at a seafood restaurant.

After lunch, as they walked out of the restaurant, Zhang Guohua said, "’Shu Ran,’ where do you want to go? Your old uncle will take you."

"It’s okay. There’s not much to see in this heat anyway. I have a classmate who’s from Shanghai, and I’ve already made plans to meet up with him. Uh... I’m not planning on staying at your place tonight, either. I’ll be staying with my classmate."

Su Ran casually made an excuse.

"For real?"

"Of course it’s real. I wouldn’t lie to you. Just seeing you and Aunt has already made me very happy."

"Alright then. If you need anything, just give me a call, you hear?"

"Okay."

"Oh, stop being so long-winded," his aunt chided her husband. "Su Ran is a grown man. It’s not like he’s going to get kidnapped. What’s a young man like him going to talk about with us old folks? Go have fun with your friend." His aunt pulled 500 yuan from her Gucci bag. "Here, take this."

"No, it’s okay, I have money. Thank you. Uh... you two should head back and rest. I’m going to go find my friend now."

Su Ran pushed the money back into his aunt’s hand and quickly slipped away.

Watching Su Ran’s retreating figure, his aunt sighed, "That child has had a bitter life, it’s true. But looking at how tall and handsome he is, he’ll definitely have a bright future."

When you’re handsome, you never lack opportunities.

"I’m meeting my girlfriends for some shopping this afternoon. You can go home."

Zhou Hui put on her sunglasses, swayed her ample hips, and hailed a taxi before leaving.

Zhang Guohua, on the other hand, strolled home to watch his anti-Japanese war dramas.

The dazzling, decadent city of Shanghai, with luxury cars constantly coming and going. Su Ran walked along the tree-shaded sidewalk, surrounded by a dizzying array of luxury brand stores.

Su Ran was in no mood to browse. He was thinking, ’Where is Steve Zhou?’ Finding this person was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

’Oh well,’ he thought. ’I’ll find him if I can, and if not, so be it.’

Su Ran took out his phone and called Liu Jinyu. It rang several times with no answer. ’She must be at dance practice,’ he figured, so he didn’t call again.

Suddenly, a Wealth Card appeared in front of him. Su Ran opened the system to capture it.

’Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Taste System Card. As long as you enjoy the ultimate lifestyle in food, clothing, housing, and travel, every expense will come with generous rewards.’

Use the best.

Play with the most expensive.

Name: Su Ran

Age: 18

Wealth: 63,391 yuan

Skills: Finger Technique Fragrance, Goddess Authority

’Life really is full of surprises,’ Su Ran thought happily.

All he had to do was enjoy an ultimate lifestyle to get rewards.

The afternoon sun was warm and pleasant, making Su Ran quite sleepy. He decided to stop thinking about where ’Stephen Chow’ might be and find a place to rest first.

[Eat, Wear, Live, Travel]

Su Ran clicked on ’Live’ to make a purchase.

The system interface immediately displayed the top ten five-star hotels’ presidential suites, ranked by system score, along with their locations for him to choose from. The reward for each hotel was different, depending on the Host’s taste.

Since he was staying in a grand hotel, it wasn’t just about having the ultimate interior decor; the view from the window was crucial too.

Without hesitation, Su Ran chose the presidential suite at the Maoyue Grand Hotel, which boasted a 360-degree, unobstructed view of the Bund, for 48,800 yuan.

’Er... and I only have a little over 60,000 on my card. Even if it’s about ultimate enjoyment, I have to be realistic. Can’t get carried away.’

Su Ran made the reservation through his phone. Soon, the hotel’s front desk called to confirm his information. Su Ran understood this was to prevent prank calls. After confirming he was a real customer, the front desk staff asked for his current location and told him to wait a moment, as they would immediately dispatch a private car to pick him up. This was a standard service for the presidential suite.

’Money really is a wonderful thing,’ Su Ran thought. ’The more you spend, the more attentive the service.’ After waiting on the roadside for ten minutes, a gold-badged Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up in front of him.

The driver got out and, with a warm and welcoming smile, politely asked, "Hello, I am Xiaowang, the chauffeur for VIP guests of the Maoyue Grand Hotel. Might I ask if you are Mr. Su Ran?"

"I am."

"Please."

"Thank you."

The driver was gentlemanly and polite, and Su Ran responded with a smile.

He got in the car. The driver closed the door, returned to the driver’s seat, and smoothly started the Phantom, merging into traffic and driving off into the distance.

Lu Xun also said: Be skilled at discovering the beauty of this world from different angles.

Su Ran felt that his perspective had been too narrow in the past, preventing him from grasping the true meaning of this sentence.

Now, sitting in the back of the Phantom, the view of Shanghai from this angle and position felt very accommodating.

He felt like Shanghai was bright and sunny, and even the clouds were smiling.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the entrance to the hotel lobby. The driver got out, and as he walked toward the rear door, he spoke into his earpiece, "Mr. Su, the guest for presidential suite 1702, has arrived."

Upon receiving the notification, a high-level suite butler ran to stand by the rear car door.

The driver opened the door to welcome Su Ran out of the car.

"Mr. Su, please."

He stepped out, stood up straight—tall and handsome.

"Hello, Mr. Su. Welcome to the Maoyue Grand Hotel. I am Yasuo, your private butler for the presidential suite during your stay. I hope to provide you with a satisfying and distinguished experience."

"Yasuo?"

"Mm."

"Alright..."

Su Ran couldn’t understand why they all had to take foreign names, especially one like Yasuo.

"This way, please."

"Okay."

They walked into the hotel and completed the check-in procedures. Crossing the lobby, they entered a dedicated glass elevator. As the elevator ascended, he watched the travelers in the lobby below grow smaller and smaller through the glass.

Yasuo stood beside him, explaining the privileges included with the presidential suite experience. He was on call 24/7. Money was a wonderful, omnipotent thing; as long as the request wasn’t too, too outrageous, Yasuo could arrange any person, event, item, or even animal the client wished to experience, doing everything possible to let the client experience the ultimate lifestyle.

Anyway, he puts in the effort, you put up the money, and he still charges a hefty service fee. A win-win.

...

Presidential Suite.

A 300-square-meter, French-style luxury flat with extravagant decorations, overlooking the scenery of the Bund. No one could dislike such an experience. Right now, Su Ran was thoroughly enjoying it, thoroughly enjoying this top-tier life in the great city of Shanghai.

’DING! Ultimate experience [Live] has been consumed. Congratulations on receiving a tenfold reward: 488,000 yuan.’

’Almost half a million. Not bad at all.’

BEEP BEEP BEEP... Liu Jinyu was calling.

He answered.

"Su Ran, I just finished dance practice. My phone was in my dorm, and I was about to take a shower when I saw your call."

"I’m in Shanghai."

"Really? Where are you? I’ll come find you right now."

"I just checked into the Maoyue Hotel."

"Okay, wait for me. I’ll come find you after I shower. Bye-bye."

"..."

’Coming over after a shower?’

Su Ran couldn’t help but raise his ’Finger Technique Fragrance’...

He decided not to overthink it. He was too tired. He’d sleep for a while first. He flopped onto the huge bed, enjoying the central air conditioning, and fell soundly asleep for his afternoon nap.

The busy, bustling, noisy city of Shanghai was shut out by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside, inside.

Two worlds.

Two lives.

Reality, enjoyment.

He slept very soundly this time, without any daydreams, because the dream had already come true...