16: Chapter 16 How about... I introduce you to my best friend?

The two left the Japanese restaurant and took the escalator directly downstairs.

The commercial podium at the base of the Shenzhen Financial Building was filled entirely with international luxury brands from the first to the third floor.

On weekdays, the financial women in this building, stepping in high heels and wearing professional attire, would at most hold a cup of Starbucks during their lunch break and take a peek inside through the bright display windows.

Few had the confidence to actually go inside and make a purchase.

A simple, casual little item could cost a regular worker's monthly salary.

Qian Mengsheng was the same.

Although she understood fashion and knew the seasonal new arrivals of major brands by heart, she was only at the stage of "armchair theory."

But today was different.

She was following a "financially independent" big shot. Even though it wasn't her money, the sense of participation in directing the scene left her in a state of inexplicable excitement.

"Brother Qi, with your height and build, wearing those flashy streetwear brands is too beneath you. You need to go for that low-key, luxurious 'Old Money' style."

Qian Mengsheng skillfully led Zhang Qi into an Ermenegildo Zegna boutique.

Zegna—a brand that men in finance couldn't avoid having in their wardrobes.

The sales assistant was very sharp; seeing that although Zhang Qi was dressed ordinarily, he was accompanied by a young girl with an outstanding aura, she immediately greeted them warmly.

Under Qian Mengsheng's direction, Zhang Qi changed into a dark blue casual suit, paired with a high-quality solid-colored cashmere half-sleeve shirt underneath.

The moment he walked out of the fitting room, Qian Mengsheng's eyes lit up.

Zhang Qi was naturally handsome and stood a little over 1.8 meters tall.

Before, he had been reluctant to spend money on himself, wearing discounted clothes bought online, which made him look a bit dejected.

Now, with this top-tier tailored suit on, the advantages of his broad shoulders and narrow waist were instantly highlighted, giving him an air of steady, reserved elite style.

"Clothes make the man," the ancients truly didn't lie to me.

"I'll take this set, plus the two shirts I tried on earlier. Wrap them all up."

Zhang Qi took a look at himself in the mirror, very satisfied, and pulled out his phone to walk to the cash register.

The smile on the sales assistant's face bloomed like a flower, and she typed on the keyboard with nimble hands.

"Sir, the total is exactly 60,000. How would you like to pay?"

"QR code."

Beep. Payment successful.

The crisp mechanical sound in his mind arrived as expected.

[Ding! Detected that the host spent 60,000 yuan on himself. Conditions for cashback met.]

[Double cashback triggered. 120,000 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527.]

[Current cumulative consumption: 192,386 yuan.]

The phone in Zhang Qi's pocket vibrated.

He took it out and glanced at it.

"Your savings account ending in 9527 has received 120,000.00 RMB. Current balance: 279,793.50 RMB."

Awesome.

Zhang Qi curled his lips upward and picked up the beautifully packaged shopping bag.

Qian Mengsheng, standing nearby, swallowed hard, her heart rate accelerating slightly.

Sixty thousand yuan.

He spent it just like that, without even blinking.

She usually kept a 600-yuan dress in her shopping cart for half a month, waiting for a discount event.

This visual impact of spending money like water was truly too shocking for an ordinary worker.

"Let's go. We have the clothes, now we need to match them with a good pair of shoes."

Qian Mengsheng had completely entered the zone and pulled Zhang Qi straight to the next store.

Berluti.

This brand, known as the Rolls-Royce of men's shoes, was famous for its unique leather patina technique.

Qian Mengsheng picked out a pair of dark red gradient Oxford shoes for Zhang Qi, plus a belt in the same color scheme.

Checkout: 32,000 yuan.

Zhang Qi maintained that same calm, breezy expression as he scanned to pay.

[Ding! Detected that the host spent 32,000 yuan on himself. Conditions for cashback met.]

[Double cashback triggered. 64,000 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527.]

[Current cumulative consumption: 224,386 yuan.]

The text message notification sounded.

The current balance became 311,793.50 yuan.

Watching Zhang Qi's payment movements, Qian Mengsheng felt her legs going a bit weak.

But the excitement kept surging up like a tide.

"Brother Qi, you have the suit, now we need to arrange some casual clothes for daily wear."

The two then moved on to the Loro Piana store.

This brand was known as the Patek Philippe of the cashmere world, focusing on being incredibly expensive while being subtle about the branding.

A few unassuming cashmere sweaters, a pair of casual trousers, and a thin trench coat.

Total price: 95,000 yuan.

Beep. Payment successful.

[Ding! Detected that the host spent 95,000 yuan on himself. Conditions for cashback met.]

[Double cashback triggered. 190,000 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527.]

[Current cumulative consumption: 319,386 yuan.]

The balance jumped to 406,793.50 yuan.

After buying the clothes, Qian Mengsheng dragged Zhang Qi to a high-end styling salon hidden on the top floor of the mall.

They found the most expensive director in the shop for a wash, cut, blow-dry, and perm.

Two hours later, Zhang Qi looked at himself in the mirror, feeling a bit dazed.

His hair was styled with layers, revealing his full forehead and sharp, defined brows and eyes.

Paired with that high-end outfit, if he walked out now, people would believe he was the young master of some listed company.

Checkout: 2,900 yuan.

[Ding! Detected that the host spent 2,900 yuan on himself. Conditions for cashback met.]

[Double cashback triggered. 5,800 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527.]

[Current cumulative consumption: 322,286 yuan.]

Balance updated: 409,693.50 yuan.

After leaving the barbershop, Qian Mengsheng quietly calculated Zhang Qi's expenses for the afternoon in her mind.

Sixty thousand, thirty-two thousand, ninety-five thousand, two thousand nine hundred.

Nearly 190,000.

Her monthly salary was just over 10,000; even if she didn't eat or drink for a year and a half, it would only be enough for Zhang Qi's shopping trip this afternoon.

Comparing people really can make you mad.

Qian Mengsheng was numb; the look she gave Zhang Qi now, besides shock, held an indescribable sense of awe.

"That's about enough, right, Brother Qi? It's almost dark."

Qian Mengsheng rubbed her slightly sore calves.

"One more thing is missing."

Zhang Qi lifted his wrist to look at his bare wrist, feeling like something was missing.

A man, how could he not have a decent watch?

He brought Qian Mengsheng straight into the Vacheron Constantin boutique on the first floor of the mall.

Under the enthusiastic, almost sycophantic service of the sales assistant, Zhang Qi took a liking to a blue-dial watch from the Overseas collection.

The design was rugged and highly recognizable.

Priced at 220,000.

Zhang Qi tried it on and was very satisfied. He skipped the bargaining phase and handed over his payment code directly.

[Ding! Detected that the host spent 220,000 yuan on himself. Conditions for cashback met.]

[Double cashback triggered. 440,000 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527.]

[Current cumulative consumption: 542,286 yuan.]

The phone vibrated.

Zhang Qi looked down at the text message.

Current balance: 629,693.50 yuan.

In just one afternoon, the balance in his card hadn't decreased; instead, it kept skyrocketing.

This experience of having more money the more you spend was simply addictive.

Coming out of the watch store, it had already turned dark outside.

The lights were just coming on, and the neon signs were flashing.

Zhang Qi let out a long breath, feeling that he had spent enough for today—too much of a good thing can be bad.

The two walked to the lobby on the first floor of the mall and just happened to pass by an LV store.

Zhang Qi stopped and turned to look at Qian Mengsheng beside him.

This girl had run around with him all day, not only acting as a free fashion consultant but also greatly satisfying his thrill of spending money.

He was now a big shot with a system; he couldn't let her work for nothing.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Zhang Qi took the lead and walked into the store without saying anything else.

Qian Mengsheng followed blankly, thinking Zhang Qi wanted to buy more accessories.

But Zhang Qi walked straight to the women's bag section, pointed at a classic Daphne shoulder bag on the shelf, and said to the sales assistant.

"Take this one down and let me see it."

The sales assistant took the bag down and handed it over.

Zhang Qi turned and stuffed the bag into Qian Mengsheng's arms.

"Put it on and try it."

Qian Mengsheng was stunned. She looked down at the bag in her arms, which exuded the scent of leather, and then at the price tag.

25,800.

She quickly pushed the bag back toward Zhang Qi as if it were a hot potato.

"Brother Qi, what are you doing? I don't need to try it."

"If I tell you to try it, then try it." Zhang Qi's tone was unquestionable.

Qian Mengsheng couldn't win against him and could only awkwardly put the bag on her shoulder.

Actually, this bag matched her beige knit sweater and black wide-leg pants quite well, making her look quite elegant.

"I'll take this one. Swipe the card."

Zhang Qi snapped his fingers at the sales assistant.

Qian Mengsheng panicked completely and reached out to tug at Zhang Qi's sleeve.

"Brother Qi, are you crazy? This bag is over 20,000. Why are you buying it for me?"

"Thanks for your hard work accompanying me all afternoon. Consider it your shopping guide fee."

Zhang Qi took out his phone and paid directly by scanning the code.

Beep. 25,800 deducted successfully.

Zhang Qi specifically paid attention to the reaction in his mind.

Quiet. No mechanical sound rang out.

As expected.

The system's judgment was very strict; only spending on himself triggered the double cashback.

Buying things for others meant paying out of his own pocket for real.

However, Zhang Qi didn't feel bad. He looked at his balance.

Current deposit: 603,893.50.

There was still 600,000 in the account; a mere 20,000+ yuan was nothing.

Besides, Qian Mengsheng was a likable girl, a hundred times better than a vampire like Sun Qianwen.

When Qian Mengsheng walked out of the LV store carrying the huge paper bag containing the bag, she was still dizzy.

A bag worth over 20,000, just given to her like that.

Before, in the office, she only thought Zhang Qi was an honest, simple "simp" who was completely controlled by his ex-girlfriend.

Now it seemed that he just hadn't met anyone worth spending money on.

Once a big shot makes a move, the lethality is simply terrifying.

"Brother Qi, this is too expensive, I..." Qian Mengsheng bit her red lips, her heart full of emotion and confusion.

"Alright, don't be coy." Zhang Qi interrupted her and glanced at the Vacheron Constantin on his wrist.

"It's time to eat. What do you want for dinner? My treat."

"No!"

Qian Mengsheng suddenly raised her head, her tone exceptionally firm.

"You treated me to that Japanese food at noon, and just now you gave me such an expensive bag."

"Dinner tonight, I must be the one to pay."

She gripped the handles of the paper bag with both hands, looking at Zhang Qi with stubborn eyes.

Zhang Qi actually wanted to spend some money on dinner too.

But seeing Qian Mengsheng's stance that she would flip out if he didn't agree, he could only nod helplessly.

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

Only then did Qian Mengsheng smile again.

She took out her phone, searched for a while, and selected a restaurant.

Twenty minutes later, the two took a taxi to a fusion restaurant hidden in a creative park.

The environment was very quiet, the decor was dark industrial style, and the privacy was very good.

After sitting down, Qian Mengsheng handed the menu to Zhang Qi, looking a bit unnatural.

"Brother Qi, I'm not as rich as you. The average cost here is only a little over 1,000. Please don't look down on it for being low-grade."

This meal was definitely a major expense for her.

But compared to the money Zhang Qi spent on her today, she felt it wasn't presentable and was afraid Zhang Qi wouldn't be used to it.

Zhang Qi took the menu, flipped through it casually, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

"I've been eating Longjiang pork knuckle rice at roadside stalls for years. How could I look down on this place?"

He said it casually, but his heart surged with strong emotion.

When he was with Sun Qianwen before, he handed over his salary every month and saved on food and clothing to buy her thousands of yuan worth of skincare products.

And what did he get in return?

It was her disdain because he didn't buy the most high-end products, and her disdain because the restaurants he took her to weren't "Instagrammable" enough.

Always that high-and-mighty, entitled cold face.

And now?

He spent all his money on himself, buying designer clothes, wearing luxury watches, and fully enjoying the thrill of being a tycoon.

He just bought a bag for Qian Mengsheng in passing.

This girl didn't take it for granted; instead, she was flattered, and now she insisted on spending her own money to treat him to such an expensive restaurant.

Sure enough, only when a man learns to love himself first will others love him.

Just after the two finished ordering, the phone Qian Mengsheng placed on the table suddenly vibrated.

She glanced at the screen; it was a WeChat voice message from her bestie, Su Ran.

Qian Mengsheng tapped to convert the text to read it, and a look of helplessness appeared on her face.

She raised her head and looked at Zhang Qi, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Brother Qi, my bestie just got off work. She knows I'm eating out and insists on coming over to find me."

She actually knew why Su Ran was coming.

Su Ran had been asking about the man who appeared in the photo she posted on Moments earlier, asking if he was a rich boyfriend she had found.

She must be unable to resist her curiosity and wanted to come over to gossip in person.

"Can... can she join us?" Qian Mengsheng asked tentatively.

Zhang Qi leaned back on the sofa chair, picked up his lemon water to take a sip, and smiled indifferently.

"It's not my treat; you're paying, so of course you can add whoever you want."

Qian Mengsheng breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent the location to Su Ran.

After sending the message, she put down her phone and rested her elbows on the dining table.

Her large eyes, wearing light makeup, stared at Zhang Qi, with some unclear meaning flashing in her gaze.

"Then I'll let her come. My bestie is a great beauty."

Qian Mengsheng's fingers were quietly intertwined under the table, her voice carrying a bit of unnatural probing.

"Since you just broke up and are single anyway."

"How about, in a little while, I introduce you two?"