Li Guangtao’s hands were now full of bags instead of just one, but his face was beaming with smiles. No wonder some people love shopping. If I could spend money like this, I’d soak in the department store every day too. Li Yan had let go of An Chutang’s hand a moment ago, and now he was rubbing his fingertips together with an itch, suddenly craving a cigarette. What is the third floor selling? An Chutang curiously asked Li Guangtao. The third floor sells appliances and jewelry. I wonder if there are any televisions left these days; how about we go up and take a look? Mentioning this, Li Guangtao was brimming with enthusiasm, especially since the young master had casually mentioned investing five million in appliances while drunk last night. Although there was an element of drunken boasting, seeing today’s scale, perhaps after seeing the demand for appliances, the guy would really be tempted to pull off something big. An Chutang genuinely wanted to see what the current appliance market looked like and whether it was worth playing around with first. The third floor was completely different from the first and second floors. As soon as they passed the stair landing, a noisy and chaotic clamor washed over them. Just as An Chutang looked over, a middle-aged man with a black briefcase tucked under his arm rushed right past him. If Li Yan hadn’t reacted quickly and pulled him aside, he almost would have been knocked over. Watch out. Because the environment was so loud, Li Yan’s lips practically brushed against An Chutang’s ear as he gave a low warning. An Chutang shivered slightly, feeling half his body tingle and go numb from that voice. Shibal! Did he just touch my ear?! I felt it! Why didn’t it give me extra time?! Qi Ba was too exhausted to argue about his nickname anymore. [No physical contact detected, time extension denied.] It clearly touched! My ear is itching! In truth, An Chutang didn’t know why he was suddenly feeling flustered, so he simply started arguing with the system in his head. [No physical contact detected, time extension denied.] Listening to the mechanical response, An Chutang held his breath in his chest. Shibal… The next instant, he turned sideways and stood on his tiptoes, intending to press his lips against Li Yan’s ear to say something, taking the opportunity to brush against him and vent his frustration. Who would have thought that, driven by a wave of defiance, he crashed forward and stamped his lips right onto Li Yan’s earlobe! He felt the other man’s sudden tension and the heavier breathing brought on by their extreme proximity. [Ding! Skin contact detected, increased life points by thirty minutes. Oh my… not bad…] An Chutang reacted quickly, retreating just a tiny bit to say, Let’s go over and take a look. Then he turned around and walked inward, chanting mentally: Don’t be mad at me, don’t be mad at me, I did it on purpose… … There are only the last two televisions left, the people in the back don’t need to line up anymore, and there are four tape recorders left. The moment the clerk finished speaking, the crowd that had been queuing up erupted, all of them beginning to push forward. I got here first! I was just pushed to the back! Don’t push! Don’t push, sell it to me! I’m right at the front, I stood in line outside the mall entrance before dawn! Give me one! I came specially from out of town! Our entire village is waiting for this television! Give it to me! Give it to me… An Chutang watched as a crowd of people acted like madmen, clutching so-called television ration tickets as they squeezed forward. In the past, he had only heard brief snippets about the current scarcity of supplies, but seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. Who could have imagined that from zero to something, in just a few short decades, the country could develop at such a rapid pace. He also realized that right now, business opportunities were everywhere. Anyone with real connections and starting assets was basically picking up money. Perhaps even someone like him, who didn’t know how to do business, could achieve something even greater than his grandfather this time around. Li Yan pulled him away from the crowd. Li Guangtao stepped up beside them, quite proudly saying, How about it, Brother Xiao Tang? As long as we can find channels to get a few appliances and bypass the need for television tickets, the profits will multiply several times over. Of course, this isn’t hot merchandise just anyone can get; whether it works out depends entirely on my Yan-ge. However, if you’re really interested in doing business, you could test the waters with cassette tapes first; that one is insanely profitable too. At this, he looked somewhat gnashing of teeth, If that batch I just got a few days ago hadn’t been ruined by Fan Jianguo, I could have made a comeback right away! Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, An Chutang really grew interested. Relying on himself alone certainly wouldn’t work; he wasn’t someone cut out for dealing with people, and right now he knew nothing about this place. He could just use this opportunity to rope Li Yan into a partnership, and that way they could stay entangled with each other afterward. He said in a rather good mood, Alright, we can chat about the details later. What else is inside? Let’s go take a look. Li Guangtao obligingly introduced, Oh, the inner section sells watches and gold jewelry. Come on, let’s go check it out. The watches took up two display counters. An Chutang glanced briefly and showed little interest, as the styles were far too old-fashioned. Sigh, Yan-ge, isn’t that Li Qing? Damn! And Zhang Cuicui! As Li Guangtao spoke, he prepared to step forward. That Zhang Cuicui had bullied Yan-ge’s younger sister last time, and luckily he had run into it. Why were those two hanging out together again this time? An Chutang looked up at Li Yan and saw that his expression had already darkened, his eyes narrowed, completely changing from how he looked just moments before. Let’s go, Yan-ge. Before the three of them even walked close, they heard the mocking voice of the woman standing with her back to them. Uncle Wang is just mindful of your grandfather’s face and embarrassed to propose breaking off the engagement. Can’t you take the initiative to leave Brother Qingishan? The fair and pretty young woman opposite her, who looked about thirty percent like Li Yan, maintained a very steady emotional state. Have Wang Qingishan come and tell me himself. What is there to say! The woman excitedly raised her right hand, flashing a very thin gold ring on her middle finger. This says it all! This is a ring Brother Qingishan bought for me, real gold! Li Qing’s expression finally changed, not out of sadness, but from a sense of humiliation. Their family and the Wang family were old family friends. Back then, Wang Qingishan’s parents insisted they liked her too much, and since the two families knew each other well inside and out, they had taken the initiative to find her parents and set up the engagement. Following the sudden disappearance of her parents, coupled with her grandfather stepping down last year, the other side stopped even pretending. She knew Zhang Cuicui liked Wang Qingishan, but she had always assumed the other girl was just engaging in wishful thinking. She never expected the other party to hand her such a massive surprise today. It looked like the Wang family wanted to dump her and cozy up to the Zhang family instead. Before Li Qing could speak, a friend standing beside her couldn’t hold back anymore. Zhang Cuicui, you’ve gone too far! Xiao Qing and him haven’t even broken off their engagement yet, and you’re casually accepting someone else’s fiance’s gift. That’s immoral! Listening to this completely toothless dialogue, An Chutang couldn’t help but sigh. This was on a completely different level from the love-rival catfights he had witnessed before. Li Qing pulled back Xue Yingmei, and the moment she turned her head, she spotted An Chutang and the others. Brother? Zhang Cuicui’s back stiffened, and she turned her head to look as well. It was obvious that facing Li Yan, there was a clear look of tension on her face. There was no helping it; anyone in their circle knew that Li Yan was not a person to be trifled with. Besides, back then her family had actually set their sights on Li Yan, and she herself had been completely infatuated with him at the time. It was just that every time he saw her, the guy had a cold look and wouldn’t even spare her a glance, which was why she settled for second best and chose Wang Qingishan… Why aren’t you at work? Li Qing aggrievedly said, Today is the weekend. Seeing that Li Yan’s complexion didn’t look too good, An Chutang quickly chimed in, I just heard you guys discussing rings? The atmosphere instantly froze, but Zhang Cuicui triumphantly raised her ring-wearing hand to tuck some stray hair behind her ear. Why should she be nervous? It was a fact that Wang Qingishan had given her a ring. Tsk… An Chutang said with disdain, If Miss here hadn’t raised her hand, I wouldn’t have noticed at all. Are you talking about this ring? You’d better wear it sparingly. Wang Cuicui looked at this unfamiliar man and haughtily lifted her chin. What do you mean? An Chutang looked completely innocent. It’s so thin, aren’t you afraid it’ll just wear away to nothing? Hahahaha… Li Guangtao couldn’t help laughing out loud. You! Zhang Cuicui’s face flushed red instantly. An Chutang didn’t even care to bother with her anymore, preparing to establish a good relationship with Li Yan’s younger sister first. Hello, little sister. My name is An Chutang, a good friend of your brother’s. Remember, we can’t just casually accept rings from members of the opposite sex. Tell your brother whatever you like; since it’s our first time meeting, big brother will buy you a gold bracelet. You can pick whatever you want. Li Qing looked at this young man, who was about her age and extremely handsome. He looked nothing like the kind of friend her brother would hang out with. Li Guangtao assumed An Chutang was just backing Li Qing up in front of Zhang Cuicui, so he chimed in, Exactly, we wouldn’t look twice at something that wears down a little more every day you wear it. Alright. Li Yan furrowed his brows slightly as he told Li Qing, Go back and have Grandpa tell the Wang family to call off the engagement. Li Qing gave a light snort. Cancel it, cancel it, hurry up and cancel it. I didn’t want this engagement in the first place. With that, she pulled her friend along and walked away, nobody bothering to look at Zhang Cuicui another time. (Life Countdown: 8 hours 50 minutes)
Chapter 10 - Don't be mad at me, I did it on purpose
Reborn In The 70s As A Spoiled Young Master: Please Let Me Touch You (Sequel)