16: My cousin from afar

"Xin Yao, you must not be deceived by his outward appearance. Perhaps everything he did in front of you was just a facade. Flirting everywhere and leaving a trail of broken hearts—that is his true nature."

"Fortunately, you didn't suffer any loss. Just stay away from that kind of person from now on."

Wu Gao spoke persuasively, slandering Shen Qian as much as possible to bridge the distance between himself and Liu Xinyao. In his mind, Liu Xinyao had merely been temporarily duped; once she realized her mistake, she would know who the right choice was.

"Aren't you supposed to go register? Go ahead, I want to be alone for a bit."

"Xin Yao, don't be unhappy. If you're really upset, just call me, or wait until I'm done registering and I'll come find you."

The girl neither agreed nor disagreed, merely nodding in silent acquiescence. Wu Gao felt the world become beautiful once more, and his motivation to strive returned.

That night, in the hotel, Shen Qian opened the system panel. His scumbag behavior points had reached 53, allowing him to draw cards five times. His achievement points had increased by two, both contributed by Liu Xinyao.

He still had three golden cards unused. Although he currently had over 8 million in hand, two reimbursement cards for under 1 million, and three cashback cards for under 1 million...

But where was this? Shanghai. Forget 8 million, what would even 100 million matter?

Many villas here were measured in units of hundreds of millions. It could only be said that the road of a scumbag was long and arduous.

Of those two golden cards, one was an information card and the other was a connection card. Shen Qian looked at the information card; it would provide the most authentic business information. The connection card, on the other hand, provided useful connections. The descriptions were vague, but Shen Qian knew that since the system defined these two cards as golden, their value must be considerable.

He decided to wait. He would save these two cards along with the cashback card he bought with achievement points and use them at a critical moment. Especially the connection card; in this society, having money alone wasn't enough. Without backing, having money was just doing the hard work for someone else's benefit.

Shen Qian looked at his phone. Since focusing on being a scumbag, his phone was flooded with messages every day. It couldn't be helped; he was either flirting or on his way to flirt. In this past month, he had added more girls than he had spoken to in the previous dozen years.

Additionally, driving a bmw one-handed, staying at high-end hotels, and having beautiful friends easily led people to associate him with being a wealthy young master.

No one would dislike a wealthy young master, especially girls.

Even if some claimed to dislike them, it was because they couldn't meet the wealthy young master's selection criteria. In short, it was a case of sour grapes.

Chatting with these girls who sent messages was also very simple. He just needed to reply briefly and then ignore them. They wouldn't get angry anyway, and even if they did, Shen Qian wouldn't care. They were just people who happened to meet and exchange contact info; it was far too early for them to start acting like a Girlfriend.

The next day, Shen Qian was going to take his parents to have dinner with his Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle. On the way, Shen Qian said very little. If it weren't for his father, he wouldn't want to see these two families for the rest of his life.

True, when his family suffered a disaster, helping would have been a kindness, and not helping was their right. But his father was their own younger brother. If they wouldn't even show a shred of familial affection, then what was the point of staying in touch?

The appointment was for eleven o'clock. At eleven-thirty, Shen Qian frowned as he looked at the time. It was already eleven-thirty.

"Your Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle are just like that. They always like to be late. Sometimes they haven't even left the house, yet they'll say they're just one traffic light away."

Father Shen saw his son's displeasure and spoke to soothe him.

Shen Qian gave a cold laugh and walked out of the private room.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going out to take a look and welcome my two uncles."

Of course, he wasn't going to welcome any uncles; instead, he went straight to the hotel's front desk.

"Hello, I'd like to ask, is the Peony Private Room booked for a set menu?"

"Yes, it's the 688 yuan set."

"How many price tiers do we have for this set menu?"

"There are 188, 388, 688, 988, and 1288. However, the 188 and 388 ones are recommended for gatherings of fewer than six people."

"Is there nothing more expensive than 1288?"

"There can be."

The receptionist was very sharp.

"You can give me a price point, and I'll arrange the dishes for you."

"Arrange it according to 5,000 yuan. Also, once everyone has arrived, bring me two bottles of a type of moutai liquor."

"This... do I need to confirm with the person who booked the set menu?"

"Our people are already sitting here, is there still a need to confirm?"

Shen Qian had a wicked smirk on his face.

"These two uncles of mine haven't seen my dad in years. If they only host a 688 yuan set menu, it would be far too disrespectful to them."

As he spoke, he also showed off his balance of over a hundred thousand.

"Don't worry about not being able to pay. Just serve the food. Even if they're unwilling to pay later, I'll cover it."

"Alright, sir."

"By the way, miss, you're very beautiful. Can I have your contact information? We can come out and play together when there's a chance."

[You have flirted with a 5-point girl. Behavior matches scumbag standards. Reward being issued...]

Before even spending five thousand, he had earned twenty thousand. The displeasure in Shen Qian's heart completely vanished. What better way to relieve worries than with rewards?

Close to 12 o'clock, the Eldest Uncle's family and the Second Uncle's family arrived together. Besides them, there was another family whose image and temperament far surpassed the other two.

After the introductions, Shen Qian learned that this was a distant relative, a cousin-uncle who used to have a good relationship with his father. He had been in Beijing all this time and was now in Shanghai to drop off his daughter, who was starting university here.

Shen Qian finally understood why these two families, who usually never reached out, had suddenly changed their tune and proactively invited them to dinner.

However, their vision was still too small. Wanting to curry favor with someone but only booking a 688 yuan set menu—they probably intended to add dishes halfway through to show how much they valued them.

When the two bottles of moutai were brought in, Shen Qian saw his two uncles' expressions visibly change, and he felt immensely gratified.

He immediately stood up.

"Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Uncle, I specifically asked the front desk for these two bottles of wine. My father isn't in Shanghai and has always wanted to get together with you both. I've worked some part-time jobs and saved some money, so today, these two bottles are on me!"

"What are you saying? What is this talk? We adults are drinking, how can we let you, a child, pay!"

The Distant Cousin-Uncle immediately spoke up.

"I've finally managed to see your father today. This wine is on me!"

If the wine was on him, then the two uncles would truly be failing at being hosts. They hurriedly stopped him.

"We are the hosts, how could we let you pay? We'll do it! We'll do it!"

Shen Qian felt refreshed.

"I wanted you to pay. For many people, 'face' is more important than life itself. I'm going to make you swallow your broken teeth!"