After his shower, Lin Jiang lay down on the sofa. There was a message from Jiang Xiaoqi on his phone.

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Brother Jiang, what are you up to? Have you eaten?"

Lin Jiang: "Just got back. Wait for news from me. As long as the right opportunity comes up, it’s yours."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Thank you, Brother Jiang. To show my gratitude, I want to show you something a little different."

Lin Jiang: "Let’s see it."

A moment later, Jiang Xiaoqi sent over a photo.

She was wearing black nylons and a short skirt, with a sleeveless lace top. It was stretched taut over her full chest as she bent over to move something.

Judging by her pose and the setting, it looked like a candid shot someone had taken in a classroom.

Jiang Xiaoqi: "I was off today but went to school to get some work done. My colleague snapped this picture of me and said my butt looks big. Hmph."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "I thought you might like it, so I wanted to show you."

Lin Jiang: "It’s definitely not small."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "So, do you like it, Brother Jiang? Hehe."

Lin Jiang: "I didn’t realize you had this side to you. But it does look especially big today."

’An innocent maiden at first sight, a seasoned veteran on the second look.’

’I hereby declare that the world would be a lesser place without girls full of contradictions like this.’

Jiang Xiaoqi: "I secretly padded it a bit. I don’t usually dare to do this."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Now you know my secret. You can’t tell anyone, okay?"

Jiang Xiaoqi: "But Brother Jiang, don’t get the wrong idea. This isn’t just because you’re helping me. Even if you hadn’t had dinner with Principal Zhou, I would’ve said yes if you’d asked to see."

Lin Jiang: "You’re a real saint."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Oh, it’s not that. It’s because I feel like you know how to appreciate things. You understand me. Some men are just so dumb, acting all prim and proper. When they see this kind of thing, they pretend to be saints and belittle it, maybe even give you a lecture. It’s completely disgusting."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Then there are the simps who do all these self-congratulatory things, thinking that if they do enough, the woman is supposed to be touched and get with them. It’s absolutely ridiculous. That’s not what we want at all, okay?"

After getting to know her over the past few days, Lin Jiang had a pretty good idea of what Jiang Xiaoqi was like. She seemed to have a bit of an M attribute.

Lin Jiang: "What’s your type?"

Jiang Xiaoqi: "I like a man who can conquer me. *sly smile.jpg*"

Lin Jiang took a photo of his own hand and sent it to Jiang Xiaoqi.

But before Lin Jiang could type a message, one came through from Jiang Xiaoqi.

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Wow! I never noticed before, Brother Jiang, your hands are so nice. Especially your middle and index fingers—they look so long."

Lin Jiang: "Think they can conquer you?"

Jiang Xiaoqi: "They can. *blushing.jpg*"

Lin Jiang searched online for a picture of a riding crop and sent it to Jiang Xiaoqi.

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Brother Jiang, you’re so naughty. So you’re into this kind of thing too."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "But I’ve never tried anything like this."

Lin Jiang: "We’ll have to find an opportunity for you to try it out."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "I can’t take it anymore, Brother Jiang, I’m blushing. You’re awful."

Lin Jiang: "*smirk.jpg*"

Jiang Xiaoqi: "I just got out of the shower... now I’m going to have to change again."

[You have gained favor with NPC Jiang Xiaoqi. Affinity +10.]

[Affinity: 30]

[Reward: 1,000,000 in NPC Cultivation Funds. Deposited to your account.]

’I can even get Affinity from this? I guess I’m playing to her tastes.’

’So this is the right way to develop Jiang Xiaoqi. Just like with Chen Jingxian, just throwing money at her won’t necessarily work. You have to cater to her specific tastes.’

Lin Jiang: "When you have some free time, I’ll buy you some more. That way, it’ll be more convenient for you to change."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "In that case, I won’t be shy."

Lin Jiang: "But you should know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Oh, I know."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "If you’re buying me all this, you’re my boss. And it’s only natural for the boss to want to see a ’buyer’s review,’ right?"

Lin Jiang: "With an attitude like that, I’ll have to buy you even more."

Lin Jiang: "What styles do you like? I’ll go take a look."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "Anything is fine. I’m a very curious person, so I want to try a bit of everything."

Lin Jiang: "OK."

Jiang Xiaoqi: "You devil. I can’t chat with you anymore, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight."

Lin Jiang replied with a smirking emoji, then closed the chat window.

’I still haven’t replied to Li Zhiyi’s and Liang Shuhuo’s messages yet.’

’Li Zhiyi keeps calling me ’brother,’ while Liang Shuhuo calls me ’cutie.’ It really gets a guy’s hands itching.’

’Xu Lin is busy tonight, so she can’t provide any ’after-sales service’ either. Guess I should give the little guy a night off.’

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ—

His phone vibrated.

Xu Lin: "Open the door."

Lin Jiang: ???

’She’s still coming for ’after-sales service’?’

Lin Jiang got up to open the door and saw Xu Lin standing outside. She was wearing her usual clothes, except for her shoes, which had been replaced with a pair of simple slippers.

"Why did you come dressed like that? Are you going out again later?"

"It’s nothing. He’s the one who told me to come."

"He told you to come?"

’What a familiar plotline.’

Xu Lin sat on the sofa, putting her legs up on it as well. Propping her head on one hand, she told Lin Jiang everything that had just happened, from beginning to end.

"This..."

Lin Jiang was a little speechless.

’That guy will really do anything for money.’

"I just didn’t want to be in the same house as him, so I came over. Don’t get involved in his business with Zhou Hejuan. You don’t need to help him, and don’t pay him any mind."

Lin Jiang shrugged. "I honestly didn’t expect him to send you to me, but I really have no intention of helping him anyway."

As he spoke, Lin Jiang went to the kitchen and got a drink for Xu Lin. "Have something to drink and cool off."

"I don’t want one." Xu Lin stood up. "If I’d known it was this kind of bullshit, I wouldn’t have even come back."

"Where are you going? You’re not staying for a bit?"

"I’m going to find a hotel. You come with me," Xu Lin said. "I’m not living in that apartment anymore."

Lin Jiang looked at Xu Lin. "You’re not even going to keep up appearances anymore?"

"It makes me sick just thinking about it. I can’t pretend anymore."

"Alright then."

Lin Jiang quickly packed a few things and left with Xu Lin.

Down in the underground garage, the two of them got in the car and drove off, booking a presidential suite.

The incident didn’t seem to affect Xu Lin’s mood, however.

Since they couldn’t run the red light, she just provided some "after-sales service" at the front door. The next morning, they both woke up feeling refreshed.

Since it was the weekend, Xu Lin didn’t have to go pick up her child, so she didn’t need to get up early.

The two of them slept in until past eight in the morning. After getting up, Lin Jiang called Li Yuanyuan and told her to handle the Meiwei MSG matter.

"So, what’s your plan?"

Lin Jiang asked while they were eating breakfast.

"I already have an apartment picked out. I’m going to see it again today and prepare to finalize it."

"You sure work fast. What are you planning to tell your parents?"

"I’ve already talked to them about it. They’re not getting involved. The child is mine, and from now on, I want him to stay far away from me."

Lin Jiang nodded. "When are you going to see the apartment? Right now?"

Xu Lin glanced at her watch. "Sure."

"I’ll go with you. I’m free anyway," Lin Jiang said.

"Alright."

They finished their breakfast quickly and went to see the apartment together.

The apartment Xu Lin was looking at was in Jinjiang Imperial Mansion, and it was about the same size as her current place.

The floor area was over 140 square meters, with a total price of over seven million and a down payment of over one million. It came fully furnished, so the value was quite good.

"This particular layout is one of our best-sellers. It’s perfect for a family of three, and even if you decide to have two children later on, there’s still plenty of space," the saleswoman said enthusiastically.

"We’re..."

Xu Lin was about to explain but was cut off by Lin Jiang.

"I’ll take that as a good omen. We’ll be sure to work hard on that,"

Xu Lin was a little embarrassed by his comment, but also a little pleased. It meant their age gap wasn’t so obvious when they stood together.

’Come to think of it,’ she thought, ’I’m not really that much older than Lin Jiang. I just got married young.’

Still, hearing someone else say it like that was a little thrilling.

Lin Jiang looked at Xu Lin. "You’ve seen the apartment before, so you should be pretty satisfied with it, right?"

Xu Lin nodded. "For this price and in this location, it’s quite good."

"This is the one, then."

Lin Jiang looked at the saleswoman, and she asked, "Sir, will you be paying in full or financing?"

"In full."

Xu Lin’s eyes widened, and she pulled Lin Jiang aside.

"I have a little money, but not enough to buy an apartment in cash."

"You don’t, but I do," Lin Jiang leaned in and whispered in Xu Lin’s ear.

"Consider it a gift from me."

"I can’t let you do that. This is too expensive. Don’t be ridiculous. A loan is fine, I can afford the payments."

’You might be able to afford the payments, but if I don’t spend this money, how am I supposed to make the gold coins drop!’

’Once the apartment is paid for, I’ll get another 700,000-plus. My pockets will be even deeper.’

"It’s just an apartment for a few million. I can afford it."

With that, Lin Jiang turned to the saleswoman. "Go prepare the contract."

"Yes, sir."

After the saleswoman left, Xu Lin looked at Lin Jiang. "You’re still living in a small place yourself, but you’re buying such a big apartment for me. How can I accept this with peace of mind?"

"Who said I live in a small place? I bought a new one. I’ll take you to see it later."

"For real?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?"

Lin Jiang patted Xu Lin’s butt. "The contract should be ready in a moment. You go handle the paperwork, I’ll wait here for you."

Xu Lin was deeply touched. For a moment, she didn’t know how to express herself, so she simply did as Lin Jiang said and went to take care of the paperwork.

Lin Jiang sat to one side, bored. He ended up buying a number of "little toys" for Jiang Xiaoqi.

’Partly to satisfy her curiosity, and partly to satisfy his own.’

Then, the property management from Central Plaza sent a message asking when Lin Jiang would be coming to look at the office space.

After a brief exchange, they scheduled the viewing for two hours later.

’By then, Xu Lin should be about done with the paperwork,’ he figured.

Before long, the contract was signed, and Lin Jiang went to make the payment.

Watching Lin Jiang casually swipe his card for over seven million, Xu Lin’s heart pounded. She suddenly felt like she was being kept.

She glanced down at her chest, then at her legs.

’I never enjoyed this kind of treatment when I was young, so why is it happening now that I’m older?’

’Are mature women really this desirable?’