56: Chapter 56 Taking My Sister to Buy a Villa

Jianghai City First People's Hospital, inpatient department lobby.

The smell of disinfectant was finally swept away by the wind from outside the door. Lin Fan walked briskly, carrying large and small bags. Lin Xiaoya, however, walked extremely slowly behind him. Her washed-out canvas shoes dragged across the polished floor tiles, as if afraid of damaging the surface.

"Brother..."

Lin Xiaoya tugged at the hem of Lin Fan's clothes, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum. "The medical fees... the head nurse just said we don't need to pay them anymore. Is that a mistake? What if they ask us to pay late fees later?"

Her small face was pale, the weakness from her recent recovery not yet fully faded. Her eyes were filled with a fear of unknown monetary figures.

In her understanding, even a hundred dollars was a huge sum, something she and her brother would have to scrimp and save for a long time.

Lin Fan stopped walking.

He turned around and looked at this sister who had depended on him for survival.

She had lost weight.

Her face, which never had much flesh to begin with, was now no bigger than a palm.

"It's not a mistake."

Lin Fan switched the luggage to his other hand, freeing his right hand to ruffle her hair. "The director personally approved it. Your brother is a bit of a celebrity now, I have that much face..."

Lin Fan told the lie without blushing or his heart skipping a beat.

Lin Xiaoya bit her lip, clearly not believing him. She looked at the gazes from passersby, always feeling those eyes carried unusual commentary.

"Where to?"

Hailing a taxi, Lin Fan opened the door.

"Home."

Lin Fan gently pushed his sister into the back seat and sat in the passenger seat himself. "Driver, to Longhu No. 1."

"Tch."

The driver, a middle-aged man, was drinking tea and almost choked upon hearing the destination. He glanced at the two students in their school uniforms through the rearview mirror.

Longhu No. 1.

Jianghai City's most exclusive residential area for the wealthy. Any house there started at tens of millions. Those living there were either rich or powerful. These two kids were going there? Even delivery drivers would find their clothes too shabby.

"Young friends, taxis aren't allowed in there,"

the driver kindly reminded them. "Should I drop you off near a subway station instead?"

"It's fine, just drive there,"

Lin Fan leaned back in his seat, his tone flat.

The driver shook his head and didn't press further. Kids these days were all so vain. They were probably going there to shoot short videos pretending to be socialites.

The car started moving.

The radio was broadcasting Jianghai news.

"...Mr. Lin Fan, a prominent local entrepreneur, has founded the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. This new business model has sparked heated discussion across the Jianghai. It is reported that the Jianghai Lord's Mansion has granted him the title of Special Advisor..."

The driver was stunned.

Lin Fan?

He instinctively turned his head to look at the teenager in the passenger seat.

The sharp lines of his profile, his calm eyes. They slowly overlapped with the image of that arrogant teenager on the award podium in the news photo.

"Holy shit."

The steering wheel jerked slightly.

"You... you're Pavilion Master Lin!"

The driver's voice instantly shot up an octave, trembling. "Lin Fan, the one who defeated Wang Teng with a single punch?!"

Lin Xiaoya in the back seat was startled, shrinking into a ball like a frightened rabbit.

Lin Fan turned his head, placing a finger to his lips.

"Shh."

"Don't scare my sister."

The driver nodded vigorously, his stubbled face blossoming into a chrysanthemum-like smile. He fumbled to turn off the meter, even seeming like he wanted to spit out the tea he'd just drunk as a sign of respect.

"On the house, it's on the house!"

The driver was so excited he was incoherent. "Pavilion Master Lin riding in my car is an honor. I'll have bragging material in my circles from now on. Um... could I ask a favor?"

"Speak."

"My son is also a martial apprentice. He's been stuck at a bottleneck recently. Could you... bestow a few words of wisdom? Bless him to get something good in his next blind box?"

In this Jianghai, Lin Fan's words now held more sway than the bodhisattvas in the temples.

"Alright."

Lin Fan replied casually. "Tell him to go to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, mention my name, and he'll get a massive discount."

"Thank you, Pavilion Master Lin! Thank you!"

The car stopped before the grand gates of Longhu No. 1.

Lin Fan got out with his sister. The driver hit the gas and sped off, afraid Lin Fan would force money on him.

"Brother..."

Lin Xiaoya looked at the towering ten-meter-tall gilded gates before her and the two imposing white jade lion statues at the entrance. Her legs felt weak. "Did we... come to the wrong place? The security guards here seem to have guns."

"We're in the right place."

Lin Fan took her cold little hand and strode towards the sales office. "What we had before was survival. Starting today, this is what we call living."

Sales office lobby.

It was resplendent and luxurious like a palace. A massive crystal chandelier hung down, refracting dizzying light.

Several wealthy ladies draped in mink coats and dripping with jewels were gathered around a model, pointing at several villas.

"This one won't do. The garden is too small for my Tibetan Mastiff."

"That one's no good either. Too close to the artificial lake, the humidity is bad."

Their voices were shrill, oozing a sense of lofty superiority.

Lin Fan walked in, holding Lin Xiaoya's hand.

Their school uniforms clashed jarringly with the surroundings. Especially Lin Xiaoya, who was still carrying a plastic bag printed with the hospital logo, making it all the more glaring.

Although Lin Fan was now worth a fortune, he was indeed still a high school student. Aside from formal occasions, he was used to wearing his school uniform. Having lived a life of poverty himself, he didn't care for so-called luxury adornments.

The air went quiet for a moment.

The wealthy ladies stopped talking. Their eyes swept over the siblings like scanners, then revealed undisguised disdain.

"What's wrong with security these days?"

A woman with big, permed waves frowned, fanning her nose with a folding fan in her hand. "They let just anyone in. This is Longhu No. 1, not a shelter."

"Exactly. Just came from the hospital, right? Don't bring any germs in here."

Another woman chimed in, pulling her companion back a few steps as if Lin Fan and his sister were mobile sources of contagion.

Lin Xiaoya hung her head even lower. She wanted to pull her hand from her brother's grip, to flee this suffocating place.

But Lin Fan's hand held hers tightly.

Warm, strong, dry.

It was absolute security.

"Sir, Miss."

A real estate consultant walked over. Although he wore a professional smile, there wasn't much warmth in his eyes. He even subconsciously maintained some distance. "We operate on an appointment-only basis for viewings. If you don't have an appointment..."

"Buying."

Lin Fan cut him off.

He didn't look at the wealthy ladies or the consultant. His gaze went directly to the massive model in the center of the lobby.

He was searching.

Searching for the location marked by the system as the 'spiritual energy convergence point'.

The consultant was taken aback, then a flicker of impatience flashed in his eyes. Another clueless kid who thought this was a vegetable market.

"Sir, our villas start at thirty million. A down payment requires proof of funds..."

"This one."

Lin Fan raised his hand, pointing to a standalone villa deep within the model, situated halfway up the hillside.

It was the crown jewel of the entire Longhu No. 1 development.

Backed by the mountain, facing the water, standing alone at the pinnacle.

"Pfft."

The 'big waves' lady nearby couldn't hold back a laugh. "Young man, you have good taste. That's the 'Imperial Dragon Residence'. Price: one hundred and twenty million. What, planning to sell your school to buy it?"

A wave of mocking laughter rippled around them.

The consultant's face also darkened. "Sir, please don't joke. That's reserved by our boss, it's not for sale..."

*Thud.*

A black card was tossed onto the marble countertop.

The sound was crisp.

The card was pitch black overall, its edges inlaid with a thin gold line. In the very center was engraved a complex emblem: two crossed swords guarding a Jianghai.

The laughter in the lobby died instantly.

The consultant's eyes nearly popped out of his head. As a top sales agent for Longhu No. 1, having undergone rigorous pre-job training, how could he not recognize this card?

The highest-level privilege card issued by the Jianghai City Lord's Mansion.

To see the card was to see the Jianghai Lord himself.

In the entire Jianghai City, fewer than five people held such a card.

"Ma... Manager!"

The consultant's voice cracked, sounding like a rooster with its neck wrung. "Manager! Come quickly!"