30: Chapter 30: A Fierce Counterattack is Necessary!

Zhang Qi carried the exquisite packaging box containing the million-dollar peace pendant and glanced at the wall clock in the lobby; it was already nearly one in the afternoon.

He turned his head to look at Sun Yiyao beside him.

"Let's go get some food first and continue shopping in the afternoon. I'm a bit tired."

Sun Yiyao, who was tightly clutching Zhang Qi's arm, stiffened visibly upon hearing this.

Her watery peach-blossom eyes blinked, and she couldn't help but curse silently.

Damn it.

Is spending money exhausting?

She used to stand in a red wine specialty store all day, serving tea and water to clients to boost performance, with her heels rubbing blisters on her heels—that was what you called exhausting.

Zhang Qi hadn't done any manual labor all morning; he just moved his lips and scanned a code with his phone.

And he called that exhausting?

But upon second thought, Sun Yiyao realized she was actually quite tired too.

It was just that her exhaustion was mental—or to be precise, she was tired from being scared.

What kind of normal person goes to a mall and casually spends over a million in one morning?

Especially that one-million-dollar pure gold peace pendant earlier; Zhang Qi didn't even have the interest to take a second look and just swiped his card.

This roller-coaster-like financial impact kept Sun Yiyao's nerves in a state of high tension.

Now hearing Zhang Qi say they would continue shopping in the afternoon, she felt her heart was slightly overloaded.

If they spent this much again in the afternoon, she was afraid she might actually faint in the mall from overstimulation.

Zhang Qi didn't know what this beautiful stunner beside him was ranting about, but he wasn't showing off either.

The exhaustion he spoke of was indeed not physical.

The system had just rewarded him with two points of Physique, and he now felt he had an endless supply of energy.

He was referring to mental fatigue.

It turns out that when any hobby becomes a KPI that must be completed, it loses its original passion.

Spending money sounds like a very enjoyable thing, but if it truly becomes a job that must be completed, it loses its appeal.

Furthermore, he couldn't just head back home and rest.

The phone in his pocket hadn't been quiet for the past two days.

That woman, Su Ran, had been actively looking for topics to talk about ever since adding him on WeChat last night.

Even when he was busy honing his skills with Sun Yiyao at the hotel and often took several hours to reply to a message, Su Ran didn't care at all and maintained high enthusiasm.

Occasionally, she would send a few selfies; although she didn't reveal anything, the way she looked in her professional attire with her slender figure was extremely alluring, and she gauged the level of intimacy with extreme precision.

Just while they were browsing the jewelry store, Su Ran sent another message, extremely proactively inviting him to visit the Porsche Center tomorrow to look at cars.

The exact words were: "Brother Qi, do you have time to come look at cars tomorrow? It's okay if you don't buy anything; I just want to see you and chat with you."

The level of this tea-like behavior was far higher than Sun Qianwen's.

Zhang Qi was crystal clear that this woman just wanted to hook up with him.

But everyone was an adult, and it was just a matter of mutual need.

He did indeed need a car that matched his current status.

So, he went with the flow and agreed to go to the Porsche Center tomorrow.

The problem lay here.

Porsche's optional configurations were notoriously rip-offs; a Panamera on the road could easily hit two million.

Although he had just over two million in his card now, if he really wanted to pay in full, it might still be a bit short.

With the System, he couldn't afford the shame of taking out a mortgage.

So, he had to continue sweeping goods at The MixC in the afternoon to get more rebates and bolster the balance in his card.

The two wandered around the mall for a while and arrived at the high-end dining area on the sixth floor.

Zhang Qi took a fancy to a high-end Sichuan restaurant with a very classical Chinese-style decor.

The storefront was low-key, and there was only a wooden plaque at the entrance with the words "Shu Banquet" written on it.

There were no waiters shouting to welcome guests; there was only a greeter wearing a fitting cheongsam standing quietly at the door.

Zhang Qi took Sun Yiyao inside.

They were led by a waiter to a semi-private booth by the window and seated.

"Good afternoon, sir and madam. Here is our menu."

The waiter handed over a heavy, gold-stamped menu and poured warm lemon water for both of them.

Zhang Qi opened the menu without even the interest to look at the prices and directly ordered the signature dishes.

"One portion of Sliced Noodles with Golden Threads."

"One portion of Caviar Mapo Tofu."

"One portion of Boiled Cabbage in Broth."

"And a signature Weird-Flavor Premium Wagyu."

He closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter.

"That's all. We'll add more if it's not enough."

The waiter quickly entered the order into the ordering machine and checked with a smile.

"Sir, these four dishes you ordered total 3,900 yuan. Shall I place the order now?"

"Place it, and settle the bill while you are at it."

Zhang Qi took out his newly bought Huawei tri-fold screen phone and pulled up the payment code.

The waiter beeped it with a scanner.

Payment successful.

A crisp notification sound rang in his mind as expected.

[Ding! Detected that the host has spent 3,900 yuan on himself, meeting the conditions for cash back.]

[Double cash back triggered. 7,800 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527. The source of funds is absolutely safe, please feel free to use it.]

[Current accumulated consumption amount: 2,023,165 yuan.]

Zhang Qi's phone quickly received a bank text message.

"Your savings card account ending in 9527 received 7,800.00 RMB at 13:15, with a current balance of 2,024,758.50 yuan."

Watching the balance rise steadily, Zhang Qi picked up his water glass and took a sip, feeling very comfortable.

Sun Yiyao, sitting opposite, watched this scene with complex feelings.

A meal for 3,900 yuan.

If this were in the past, she would only dare to think about it in her dreams.

But today, following Zhang Qi for the whole morning, watching him spend over a hundred thousand on clothes, two hundred thousand on jewelry, and a million on gold bars, she now looked at this bill of 3,900 and felt it was incredibly normal.

She even subconsciously felt that for Zhang Qi, this was actually a bit too cheap.

This feeling of having her consumer worldview completely overturned made Sun Yiyao feel both ridiculous and stimulated.

Before long, the dishes were served one after another.

In the exquisite white porcelain plate, the premium Wagyu was sliced into even, thin pieces, with a ruddy color and clear texture, emitting an alluring meaty aroma.

The soup of the Boiled Cabbage in Broth was as clear as water, yet it exuded the rich, mellow fragrance of high-end broth.

The Sliced Noodles with Golden Threads were as thin as hair, testing the chef's knife skills to the extreme.

Sun Yiyao looked at these high-end delicacies that she usually only saw in short videos, and her appetite was whetted.

But as a qualified modern woman, "the phone eats first" before a meal was an instinct carved into her bones.

Moreover, what she was holding in her hand now was the top-tier Apple phone from the full set that Zhang Qi had just bought for her.

She had to take a few pictures and show them off on her WeChat Moments.

She picked up her phone, adjusted the angle, and was just about to press the shutter.

Just then, continuous WeChat message notifications popped up at the top of the screen.

Not private chats, but group chat messages.

Sun Yiyao glanced at the group name, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

"Loving Family".

This was her father's extended family group, containing her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and her aunt's family.

Sun Qianwen was the daughter of her aunt.

Usually, apart from the elders sending health articles and Pinduoduo share links, no one really talked in the group.

But now, the number in the upper right corner of the group message was soaring at a terrifying speed.

An ominous premonition suddenly rose in Sun Yiyao's heart.

She swallowed a mouthful of saliva and clicked on the group chat with trembling fingers.

The screen jumped.

The first message that caught her eye was a long post sent by Sun Qianwen, accompanied by screenshots of the WeChat Moments posts Sun Yiyao had just made.

Sun Qianwen: "Uncle, Second Aunt, everyone come and look! This is the Sun Yiyao you usually praise for being obedient and sensible!"

Sun Qianwen: "I just broke up with my boyfriend less than two days ago, and she already hooked up with him!"

Sun Qianwen: "She even wants to snatch the man I've dated; does she still have any shame!"

Immediately following this was a voice message sent by Sun Qianwen's mother, which was Sun Yiyao's eldest aunt.

Sun Yiyao didn't dare to click on the voice message, but just by looking at the text replies from other relatives in the group, she could already feel the overwhelming accusations.

Eldest Aunt: "Yiyao, you did this very improperly. How could you be with your cousin's ex-boyfriend?"

Third Aunt: "Young people these days are really open; they don't even care about ethics and morality. If this gets out, what will the neighbors think of our family?"

Dad: "Yaoyao, what exactly is going on?"

Sun Qianwen was still going crazy in the group.

Sun Qianwen: "Sun Yiyao, come out and talk! You dare to do it but don't dare to admit it, right!"

Sun Yiyao looked at those eye-piercing words on the screen, and the expression on her face was very ugly.

She didn't expect that Sun Qianwen would really dare to post this in the family group.

She had completely lost face this time...

But...

Sun Yiyao looked up at Zhang Qi, and her heart suddenly calmed down.

With Brother Qi here, she didn't seem to have anything to fear!

Since Sun Qianwen didn't care about feelings, she didn't need to show mercy either!

Counterattack!

She must strike back hard!