360: The largest expenditure

"All done. Everything that needs to be done is done, and the rest will have to be left to the professionals."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Su returned to the dorm and started playing games with his three roommates.

The lunch for the four of them was naturally the responsibility of Ye Su, their resident God of Wealth.

The Level 7 intelligence from early this morning mentioned that as long as someone lived in it for a year, the house's value would rise back to ninety percent of the same neighborhood's market price, which would probably net him a few hundred thousand.

Ye Su was thinking that once the house was transferred to his name, he would tell the three of them the truth.

If they were willing, they could live in the house for free, saving him the trouble of having to act as a landlord.

In any case, judging by the looks of those three, they didn't seem to have any taboos about this kind of thing.

Given the size and location of that house, renting it out would cost at least four thousand yuan a month. This could save them a significant amount of rent during their internships.

With this in mind, Ye Su figured he should treat his three "adopted sons" a bit better.

...

After staying in the dorm until three in the afternoon, Ye Su finally drove back to his neighborhood.

And the first thing Ye Su did upon entering the door was to ride today's [Strong Gymnastic Bicycle].

"Get a good workout in. Who knows, I might even get to play some Dou Dizhu tonight!"

Thinking of the "good thing" that might happen tonight, Ye Su felt an endless surge of energy throughout his body, and he pedaled the exercise bike even harder.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the Host for successfully triggering the [Beneficial to the Body] skill, obtaining a 1-point [Physique] attribute reward!]

[The Host's current [Physique] attribute is 87 points, and the rating is — Fierce as a Tiger.]

"87 points, that's enough."

After feeling the refreshing sensation brought by the increase in his [Physique] attribute, Ye Su didn't even have time to take a shower before heading out again on his electric scooter to buy groceries at the nearby market.

By the time Ye Su returned home and checked the time, it was already 4:31 PM.

"They probably won't be back so early. There's still enough time."

Placing the groceries in the sink, Ye Su first opened the judicial auction website. Seeing that the bid had been raised to 2.59 million, he immediately raised it to 2.6 million.

This price was already close to the system's initial valuation.

The deposit to participate in the auction was 220,000. If one won the bid but failed to pay, the deposit would be forfeited.

Ye Su believed that no one would be so bored as to maliciously drive up the price behind his back, risking getting stuck with the house themselves.

After placing his bid, Ye Su set his phone aside and began preparing the first meal for his two girlfriends since establishing their three-way relationship.

The meal Ye Su prepared naturally couldn't be as grand as the one at Yan Ran's home.

It was nothing more than home-cooked dishes like braised fish and beef with Chinese broccoli.

Even so, preparing four dishes and a soup was enough to keep Ye Su busy.

Beep beep beep—

At 4:57 PM, while Ye Su was still washing the vegetables, the alarm he had set early this morning went off.

Wiping his hands dry, he turned off the two alarms and opened the judicial auction website once more.

This time, everything went smoothly. No one contested Ye Su's bid, and the price remained locked at 2.6 million.

He didn't pop the champagne prematurely.

Ye Su washed the vegetables while refreshing the page once every minute.

Sure enough, at 4:59 PM, someone actually placed another bid, raising the price to 2.61 million.

"Holy crap, someone is actually trying to snatch it. It's just a haunted house, is it really necessary?"

Indeed, as long as the price was cheap enough, any talk of a house being haunted was just feudal superstition.

Since someone placed a last-minute bid, the auction time was extended by another five minutes. Ye Su also made another move, setting the price at 2.62 million.

"Bro, stop messing around and go buy another house."

Whether Ye Su's muttering had worked or the other party decided to give up after their unsuccessful final bid,

when the auction countdown ended, the other party didn't place another bid, allowing Ye Su to successfully win the house.

"2.62 million... This is the first time in my life I've bought something so expensive!"

Since his hands were still busy, Ye Su didn't have time to transfer the money to the court, so he slipped his phone back into his pocket and focused on preparing dinner.

Knock, knock, knock—

Around 5:40 PM, just as Ye Su finished mincing the meat, beating it into a paste, and placing it in the steamer, a knock came from the door.

"Coming."

Wearing an apron, Ye Su wiped his hands and went to open the door. Unsurprisingly, the person at the door was Yan Ran.

"Why are you here so early? I thought you wouldn't be here until after six."

Having not seen each other for a day, they missed each other dearly.

Seeing Ye Su wearing an apron, looking like a house husband, Yan Ran's eyes curved into crescents with laughter.

"There wasn't much going on at the Joyful Gathering, so I came over first."

Seeing her carrying several bags—some Gucci, some Hermès—she must have been preparing to come over since the afternoon.

However, no matter how he looked at it, Ye Su felt like none of the things Yan Ran brought were for him.

"Why did you bring so much stuff to your own home?" Ye Su shrugged. "My hands are covered in oil, so I won't help you carry them."

"I didn't buy much, just picked out a few random gifts for Chen Xinyi. I don't know if she'll like them."

"Don't worry, as long as it's expensive, she'll love it."

Yan Ran gave Ye Su an annoyed kick. "Don't talk bad about Chen Xinyi behind her back before she even gets home."

"Ouch—"

Yan Ran hadn't used any force, but Ye Su still let out a token cry.

Seeing his playful antics, Yan Ran pretended to ignore him, but her eyes were filled with laughter.

This kind of peaceful and beautiful life, with someone to laugh and play with at home, was something she was experiencing for the first time in her life.

"Are you still cooking? You didn't set the kitchen on fire, did you?"

As Yan Ran walked in with her things, she peered into the kitchen with concern.

Fortunately, she didn't see the scene she had imagined of a pot bursting into flames.

"Who are you looking down on? I used to cook at home too, okay?"

Yan Ran's tone was like coaxing a child. "Fine, fine, fine. I underestimated Chef Ye. Happy now?"

"If apologies worked, what would we need the police for?" Ye Su pouted. "Give me a kiss, and we'll call it even."

"I'm helpless against you."

Since there were only the two of them at home, Yan Ran didn't feel any shyness. She quickly pecked Ye Su on the lips.

"There, happy? I'm going to put my things away. You get back to your kitchen, and don't actually burn it down in a minute."

"Hehe."

Ye Su shook his head playfully and returned to the kitchen, thoroughly satisfied.

Looking at Ye Su's behavior, Yan Ran felt helpless yet filled with indulgence.

After putting her things away and briefly looking around the apartment, Yan Ran walked into the kitchen. "So, Chef Ye, do you need any help?"

"How would I dare ask CEO Yan to help?" Ye Su waved his hand. "Just go wait outside for dinner."

"Oh."

Yan Ran didn't insist on helping, but she didn't go back to sit in the living room either. She just leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching Ye Su busy himself inside.

Yan Ran remembered very clearly that the last time she had watched a family member cook like this was nearly twenty years ago, when her grandmother was still in good health.

Looking at the man skillfully frying fish in the kitchen, Yan Ran's eyes filled with tenderness before she even realized it.