“Do you two have a reservation?”
“I called this afternoon. My surname is Chen.”
The young waiter thought to himself, so this is the big spender from this afternoon.
The restaurant had originally been fully booked for the evening, but Chen Qi had forced his way in by adding an extra 5,000 yuan.
How could the restaurant miss out on such a lucrative customer? They immediately found an excuse to cancel another guest’s reservation and freed up a spot.
The waiter led the two into a tatami private room.
A few hours earlier, Chen Qi had already pre-ordered the menu, so now they only needed to sit and wait for the dishes to be served.
Looking at the setting, he suddenly recalled that he had also eaten Japanese cuisine the night before.
Back then, a 600-yuan meal had led to his breakup with his ex-girlfriend Li Ting.
“Hello, these are the five appetizer dishes: hairy crab, Hokkaido sea urchin, perilla blossoms, black truffle mashed potatoes, and sturgeon caviar.”
These appetizers were meant as starters, typically paired with drinks.
“What would you like to drink?” the waiter asked.
“Linlin, what would you like?”
“When eating Japanese cuisine, you’re supposed to drink sake, right? I don’t really understand it. Why don’t you recommend something?”
The waiter was the type who judged customers by appearance. Seeing Chen Qi and Han Linlin—handsome and beautiful, both dressed in luxury brands—he immediately assumed they were wealthy second-generation elites.
So he first recommended the most expensive sake in the restaurant. If they declined, he would then introduce other options.
“We have a premium imported sake called Hokusetsu YK35. The bottle is made of pure titanium.”
“Hokusetsu YK35 is the finest in the Hokusetsu series. ‘Y’ stands for Yamada Nishiki rice, ‘K’ refers to Kyokai yeast, and ‘35’ indicates the rice polishing ratio.”
“Among high-end sake, its polishing level is extremely refined. It’s ranked among the top ten most expensive sake in Japan.”
Chen Qi thought about the Château Pétrus from Bordeaux he had drunk last night, which cost 22,000 yuan per bottle. How expensive could this Hokusetsu YK35 be?
“What’s the price?”
“13,000 yuan.”
[Seems not even as expensive as Ace of Spades Champagne]
After last night’s extravagant drinking, Han Linlin wasn’t as shocked hearing a price over 10,000 yuan anymore.
“Alright, bring a bottle to try.”
The dishes were served quickly.
Mullet roe, golden-eye snapper, botan shrimp, bluefin tuna otoro, Arctic surf clam.
Fried oysters, red and white mochi cakes, young soybeans, vinegar-marinated sea cucumber with seaweed, ark shell with cucumber and barley miso, cheese prawns with smoked radish, simmered yellowtail.
Cheese-baked abalone, avocado, maitake mushrooms, asparagus, baby corn, salmon roe, Ise lobster, spring bamboo shoots, small olives…
Small plates filled the table. As soon as one round was finished, another followed. Han Linlin held up her phone, snapping photos nonstop.
“Linlin, let me take photos for you.”
“Then, Brother Chen, make sure I look pretty.”
“Of course. You’re already so beautiful—you’ll look good no matter how I shoot.”
The portions were ridiculously small, some barely a mouthful. However, with so many dishes, after tasting dozens of them, they were about 80–90% full.
“Brother Chen, what kind of business are you in?”
While tasting the dishes, Han Linlin casually began probing into Chen Qi’s background.
“Finance-related.”
Chen Qi thought about it. The system probably counted as something in the financial field.
[Finance circle… no wonder he’s so rich. I heard in the Shanghai finance circle, even an annual salary of 1 million yuan is considered low]
“Stocks and funds?” Han Linlin asked curiously.
“More like investments.”
I spend money for you, you spend a little for me, and I get a 10,000x return… that should count as venture investment, right?
“Investments? Like investment banking? I heard that field has top-tier income.”
“Just got lucky. Met someone influential who guided me.”
“Are you talking about me?” the system suddenly asked in his mind.
“System, you startled me.”
[Investment banking sounds so prestigious. That’s way more impressive than being a civil servant]
“Brother Chen is amazing. Let me toast to you.”
This Japanese meal cost 30,000 yuan. After scanning to pay, Han Linlin’s favorability didn’t increase at all.
“Damn, maybe I should’ve taken her to eat first before buying clothes.”
He had already spent over 300,000 yuan on Chanel, so this 30,000-yuan meal now seemed insignificant.
Yesterday, Xu Lu had a Michelin meal costing over 90,000 yuan and gained 5 favorability points.
“Brother Chen, let’s walk around and digest the food.”
Chen Qi checked the time. It was only 7 PM—still early.
“Sure, let’s walk.”
The two slowly descended from the fourth floor, taking the escalator level by level. When they passed Chow Tai Fook on the first floor, Han Linlin tugged on Chen Qi’s arm.
“Brother Chen, let’s go take a look.”
Gold prices had surged recently, with some stores selling at over 700 yuan per gram.
The store was crowded, many people coming to speculate on gold.
Han Linlin was completely absorbed. What girl doesn’t love sparkling gold?
[This one is so beautiful… gold with diamonds. I really want it, but I’ve already spent too much of his money today]
[If I ask for more, will I seem too greedy and make him dislike me?]
Hearing her inner thoughts, Chen Qi looked at the gold-and-diamond necklace. It really was beautiful, priced at 88,000 yuan.
This was just a standard design. If it were created by a renowned designer, the price would easily be three to four times higher.
“Hello, I’d like to see this necklace.”
Chen Qi asked the staff to bring it out.
“Linlin, do you like it?”
Han Linlin was delighted, trying her best to suppress the upward curve of her lips.
“I do like it, but it’s too expensive—88,000 yuan.”
“As long as you like it, I’ll pay.”
“You’ve already spent so much on me today. I know you have money, but earning money isn’t easy. Let’s do it next time.”
Having finally met such a top-tier man, Han Linlin wouldn’t rush to take everything at once. That would look too ugly.
She preferred a slow approach, like simmering a frog in warm water.
“If we have the ability, why wait for next time? Miss, please wrap this necklace.”
[Han Linlin favorability +10, current 40]
“Brother Chen is the best~”
Caught off guard, Han Linlin lightly kissed Chen Qi on the right cheek like a dragonfly touching water. He didn’t even have time to react.
“That was too fast. I wasn’t ready. Do it again.”
“You’re so annoying, there are so many people here.”
Han Linlin feigned resistance, giving just a little sweetness. After all, nearly 400,000 yuan had already been spent on clothes and gold.
With 400,000 yuan, Chen Qi could easily call ten girls and go through eighteen rounds.
“Spending this much money for just one kiss… might as well have bought me a cup of milk tea,” Chen Qi thought.
Speaking of reciprocity, Xu Lu was much more thoughtful. After buying her a 100,000-yuan bag, she had returned the gesture with a tie clip worth over 2,000 yuan.
He planned to go find Xu Lu later and strike while the iron was hot. Meeting her three days in a row might raise her favorability further.
At this moment, Xu Lu was absentmindedly staring outside in the store.
“Lu Lu, stop looking. You’re turning into a statue waiting for your husband.”
“He said he’d come again tonight. It’s already past 7 PM. Why hasn’t he arrived yet?” Xu Lu complained.
Sister Zhang said, “Don’t rush. If anything, just send him a message.”
“I won’t. That would make me look like I’m chasing him.”
Xu Lu had a charm point of 93. With her excellent conditions, countless rich second-generation men and wealthy older men pursued her.
Even though she was indeed a little moved by Chen Qi, she still couldn’t lose her sense of restraint.