Sociable

"I'm getting out now," said Jinglan.

"Uh-huh, good night."

"Good night. Thank you for spending the afternoon with me. Bye," Jinglan took her purse and opened the car door. She then waved at Chen Chuan outside the car.

Chen Chuan continued to drive slowly. He saw Jinglan lingering outside for a short while before she turned around and entered the neighbourhood.

After driving some distance, he parked his car at the roadside. He got out of his car and lighted a cigarette.

He felt calmer after smoking a cigarette. When he got back into the car, he increased the music volume. On his way back to Jade Apartment, he recalled what had happened on this day and felt that it was enjoyable.

The large apartment covering 400 square feet was located on Main Street of the CBD. The 39th floor overlooked the whole Chongqing City and the Yangtze River. With neon lights illuminating the city, the night view was magnificent. 

For an apartment worth 13,000,000 yuan, he spent 4,000,000-plus yuan on renovation alone where the purchase of electrical appliances was not included yet. The renovation cost was quite reasonable.

The apartment had gold-embossed wallpaper and rosewood flooring. With one square foot costing 2,000-plus yuan, Chen Chuan had spent as much as 600,000 yuan on the flooring for the whole apartment. As for other household goods, he had chosen luxury brands for the couch, tea table, television cabinet, kitchenware, and sanitary ware.

The apartment did not come with electrical appliances as it was a model apartment. There was a large picture hung near the television. 

Chen Chuan lay on the couch in the living room. He opened the window and enjoyed the river breeze before going into an online store to shop for electrical appliances.

Hisense 100-Inch 4K Laser Television was sold at 89,999 yuan.

Chen Chuan was clueless about laser television. He could not make sense of the explanation provided on the website.

The price of Dynaudio, a high-fidelity loudspeaker, was 277,800 yuan.

Although Chen Chuan was not knowledgeable about loudspeakers, he knew that he would not go wrong with an expensive one.

After spending some time browsing the website, he started to feel sleepy and yawned. He tossed his phone aside, then he lay on the couch and soon fell asleep.

Unsurprisingly, he got lost in the apartment while searching for the toilet in the middle of the night.

When he had finally found the toilet in the 400-square-foot apartment, he got lost again, trying to walk back to the couch that he had slept on. 

…

The next morning, Chen Chuan drove his A6L to Jiaotong University after setting the location in the navigation system. He felt secure about driving this car since he had familiarized himself with it the previous day. As for the LC500, he was not confident enough to drive the sports car to the city.

He was going to meet his cousin, Ziyue, before he headed home.

As soon as he arrived at the campus gate, he saw someone familiar and honked at her.

Yaoyao stopped and turned around. Shading her eyes with one hand, she saw a black Sedan and found it strange.

It was not until the car window was wound down that the driver became clearly visible to her. She walked toward the car in astonishment. "It's you, Brother Chen. Is this a rental car?"

Chen Chuan asked, "Is Ziyue at her dorm? I tried calling her, but I couldn't reach her."

Yaoyao shook her head and said, "No. She has gone to work. Her store manager is quite strict, and she doesn't allow her staff to use cell phones during work hours. Today is supposed to be Ziyue's day off, but the store manager asked her to take over someone's shift at the last minute."

"Let's talk in the car." Chen Chuan waved her on.

Yaoyao got into the car and explained to Chen Chuan that Ziyue had actually gotten a part-time job in a shoe store of a shopping mall. She was called to work on her day off as the store manager had taken two days off to attend to her matters.

As they were chatting, they arrived at Paradise Walk Shopping Mall.

Both of them got out of the car after Chen Chuan had turned off the engine at the parking lot.

Yaoyao was a sociable type. She patted Chen Chuan on the shoulder and blew away the dandruff from his hair. She then asked, "Brother, it's time for you to return to Haiqin, right? Come again during your break."

"Alright."

Yaoyao bought two cups of Dairy Queen ice cream at the roadside. She gave Chen Chuan one cup and said, "Is Ziyue's family struggling financially? She's only a freshman, and she has started to take a job."

"Uh, it's just in her character to work hard."

"Actually, my family is hard up, but I'm just thinking about enjoying my life. I never thought of getting a job or whatever…" Yaoyao giggled.

Chen Chuan glanced at the busty girl and laughingly said, "Your appearance indicates that you're blessed with a good life. You're apparently not in misery."

"Tsk, you're making fun of me. You mean I'm fat, huh?"

"Nah, I'm just stating a fact. Seriously, you have a nice figure. Do you know the big shot, Hong Jin-young, who's a little plump? You bear a passing resemblance to her," replied Chen Chuan.

"Oh really? You think so? My friend told me that as well." Yaoyao added, "It's not because I'm blessed with a good life or whatever. I'm just lazy. I need to learn from Ziyue."

Chen Chuan and Yaoyao walked together into the shopping mall. They saw Ziyue in a Nike T-shirt in the Nike store, which was located on the third floor of the mall. 

From afar, they caught sight of Ziyue being told off by a senior female employee. Ziyue lowered her head as if she was showing total obedience to the employee.

At the sight of the situation, Yaoyao rolled up her sleeves, intending to get involved. However, Chen Chuan held her back.

"Tsk, look at that old lady. She's thinking too highly of herself. She's humiliating Ziyue," Yaoyao said with gritted teeth.

"Let this be her early experience of the harsh reality in society…"

Chen Chuan and Yaoyao did not approach Ziyue instantly.

They took a seat at a nearby taro store. Gazing at Yaoyao, Chen Chuan said, "You learned some kind of martial arts, didn't you? From the way you rolled up your sleeves, you seem to be a martial art learner."

"Have you heard of the style called 64 Hands?" asked Yaoyao.

"I've heard of 48 Hands (TN: 48 Hands refers to 48 styles of sexual positions known as the Shijūhatte)."

"Goodness. What a shameless guy you are, Brother Chen. I realized that you're mild on the outside yet wild on the inside. Where did you learn this kind of stuff?" Yaoyao rolled her eyes.

Chen Chuan innocently replied, "Well, you know what I'm referring to. Where did you learn this?"

"Hmph. Would you believe it if I tell you that it's your cousin who taught me?" Yaoyao laughed.

"No," said Chen Chuan.

"Alright. Let's stop the dirty talk and get back to the original topic. My grandpa has mastered Eight Trigrams 64 Hands. He's one of those martial artists from the final batch in Nanchuan. I used to practice the style when I was young. Can you see the calluses on my palm?" Yaoyao showed her fair palm to Chen Chuan.

"No. It looks smooth."

"It's because the calluses have healed, and I've become so lazy now. My hand condition resulted from the practice of Eight Trigrams 64 Hands when I was young. I'm not bragging, but those big men can't bully me now." Yaoyao finished one bowl of taro balls in two gulps. "Do you still want the rest?"

Chen Chuan shook his head in disbelief.

Yaoyao ordered one more bowl of taro balls and returned to her seat afterward. Knocking on the wooden table, she asked, "Do you believe that I can break this table with my palm?"

Chen Chuan immediately nodded. "I do."

After taking a few gulps, she headed to the restroom outside the store.

At that moment, a woman beside Chen Chuan was talking on the phone. She appeared to be in her early thirties and was fashionably dressed. She said, "I'm desperate for money lately. The shoe store has to change hands immediately... Help me to sell it now. Right, Nike distributor. I've spent at least 500,000 yuan on franchise and training fees as well as renovation early on, and there are goods worth 300,000 yuan in the store right now. The fixed price is 750,000 yuan. I can sign the contract and transfer the ownership immediately. I wouldn't have decided to sell it if I didn't need money. Paradise Walk Shopping Mall has a large volume of visitors, and furthermore, the store on the third floor has a strategic location… Alright, quickly now, help me to sell it."

After hanging up the phone, the woman turned and stared at Chen Chuan, then she asked, "Hey, boy. Why are you looking at me? Is it because I'm pretty?"

"That Nike store belongs to you?" Chen Chuan pointed at the opposite store where Ziyue worked.

"Yeah. I'm selling it now. Are you interested? Are you interested in the store or in me?" the woman asked. 

Chen Chuan contemplated while rubbing his chin.

The woman said, "You heard my phone conversation, right. 750,000 yuan is worth it. Do you want to think about it? I can sign the contract and transfer the ownership to you today. There are currently six employees in the store. Four of them are university students who are working part-time. They do a great job. They work hard and are given low pay, so it's cost-effective." 

"Okay. I'm buying it. Let's settle the ownership transfer elsewhere." Chen Chuan had made up his mind.

…

The female owner was straightforward. She immediately signed the contract and completed the ownership transfer with Chen Chuan. 

The two of them went outside the mall and found an agent to witness the process. Chen Chuan was rather efficient in handling the process. Upon signing the contract, he transferred 750,000 yuan to the woman. 

[You have spent 750,000 yuan. You have earned double cashback totaling 1,500,000 yuan. The amount has been transferred to your account.]

After receiving the cashback message, Chen Chuan looked at the contract he was holding. It basically said that Nike's specialty store located on the third floor of Paradise Walk Shopping Mall in Yuzhong District, Chongqing City, now belonged to him. Given that he had acquired five stores near the gate of Haiqin University, this would be his sixth store. 

The business would be managed through a WeChat group.

The female owner added Chen Chuan into the group with his nickname. In the group, she then explained that the store had changed hands and that the staff's contracts would remain in effect. The owner also informed the staff that Ziyue would be promoted as store manager where she would be responsible for the management of that Nike store. 

By the time Yaoyao came out of the restroom and found Chen Chuan, he had already owned a shoe store.

However, he did not inform Yaoyao about this matter.

Yaoyao noticed that Chen Chuan was fixing his gaze on her outside the mall. She then said, "Brother Chen, I can read what your eyes are speaking."

"What?"

"You're a glutton."

"No, no… I was just thinking whether you're useful to me," Chen Chuan said in a forthright manner.

Yaoyao bent down and picked up a red brick at the roadside upon hearing his words. She split the brick in half and asked, "Am I?"

"Yeah. Well, I think Chongqing City is a wonderful place. I'll come here in the future to advance my career. Are you interested in joining me?" asked Chen Chuan.

Yaoyao excitedly replied, "Of course. Let's go. I know where we should go now."

"I'm serious… First of all, my cousin is alone here, and my family is worried about her. I need you to help me take care of her and make sure she doesn't get bullied. Can you do it?" asked Chen Chuan.

Again, Yaoyao bent down and picked up another red brick. She broke it with one hand. "Do you think I can do it?"