Chapter 271: Chapter 152: A Battle Between Men, No Retreat

And so, Wang Dan and Gao Wenwen each purchased a storefront, right next to each other.

One was 52 square meters, and the other was 98.5.

Wang Dan was envious.

She had worked so hard for so long to save up, only to be able to afford a 50% down payment. It would still take a ten-year mortgage to pay off the rest.

In contrast, her colleague Gao Wenwen, who had only come along for support, had unexpectedly been gifted a storefront twice the size of hers without spending a single cent.

The comparison was enough to drive a person mad.

After leaving the sales center, the two parted ways.

The moment Wang Dan got home, she couldn’t wait to tell her husband what had happened. She immediately started bad-mouthing Gao Wenwen, insinuating that something was going on between her and her high school classmate.

She was probably his kept woman.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just given her a storefront worth over 700,000.

At the same time, her competitive streak reared its head, and she started pointedly complaining about her husband’s inability to make money—they had to take out a loan just to buy a storefront of a little over 50 square meters.

To her surprise, her husband shot right back at her.

"We’re teachers on a fixed salary. How are we supposed to compete with some rich kid?"

Her husband snapped, "If you’re so envious of your colleague, why don’t we just get a divorce? You can go find a rich guy who can buy you a storefront."

Wang Dan was speechless.

Meanwhile, Gao Wenwen didn’t go home. She drove to the Maternal and Child Health Hospital, planning to have lunch with Lin Xi.

After all, she lived alone.

She had moved out on her own after she started working and no longer lived with her parents.

She had used several years of her salary savings to buy an apartment, but she’d only been able to afford the down payment and had a thirty-year mortgage.

’She never imagined that while she still owed over 200,000 on her mortgage, she’d suddenly gain a storefront worth over 700,000.’

When she got to the hospital, she met Lin Xi at the entrance. They went to a nearby restaurant called Labake for some spicy broth.

Lin Xi asked curiously, "Where were you this morning? How come you’re free to have lunch with me?"

"Over in the Fourth Urban District."

Gao Wenwen replied, "The Hai City Commercial District. It had its grand opening today, and they were running a promotion."

"You went to look at storefronts?"

Hearing this, Lin Xi said in surprise, "Wow, look at you! You have enough money to buy a storefront!"

She was pretty familiar with Gao Wenwen’s financial situation. All her previous savings had gone into buying her apartment and renovations.

Not to mention, she still had a mortgage of several hundred thousand to pay off.

Logically speaking, she shouldn’t have the money to buy a storefront.

"No, I was free this morning, so I just went with a colleague to take a look."

"Oh."

Lin Xi asked, "So, how was it? Did your colleague buy one? Was it expensive? How much per square meter? I’ve been thinking about buying a small one to rent out."

"7,200 per square meter."

"That’s actually not expensive."

Lin Xi said, "Zhu Jingheng called me today. He said he knows the developer and that if I wanted to buy, he could get me an employee discount."

"Oh, that’s great."

"You should buy one with me."

Lin Xi said, "We could borrow some money, buy one at a low price, then wait a few years for it to appreciate. When we sell it, we could make a nice profit."

"Nah, I’ll pass. Our class monitor is getting you a discount, not me. I don’t want to bother him."

Gao Wenwen smiled. "Besides, I have classes this afternoon. I can’t get away."

She didn’t tell Lin Xi that Xu Yun had given her a storefront. She was afraid her friend would misunderstand or read too much into the situation, and even more, she was afraid of upsetting her.

"Alright then."

As they ate, Lin Xi brought up some recent county gossip.

"Wenwen, have you been on TikTok in the last couple of days?"

Lin Xi said, "I saw a video of that hundred-person molten iron firework show they had in the county. It looked incredible! I was on the night shift that day and couldn’t go. I’m so bummed."

"I went. It really was beautiful."

"I heard it wasn’t a county-funded event. Supposedly, some private citizen organized it for his mother’s birthday."

Lin Xi sighed, "I wonder who it was. They must be incredibly rich."

"I know who it was."

Gao Wenwen said meaningfully, "It was actually Xu Yun."

Lin Xi was speechless.

’To think he’d become this rich after so many years.’

"So it was him."

She smiled. "Looks like he’s done very well for himself all these years. Even our class monitor can’t keep up with him anymore."

"Lin Xi."

Gao Wenwen looked at her best friend and asked, "If you had known Xu Yun would be this successful today, would you have chosen him back then instead of the class monitor?"

"What’s the point of dwelling on the past?"

Lin Xi said with a self-deprecating laugh, "He probably wouldn’t even give me the time of day now. He’s been keeping his distance ever since we last met.

He seems pretty friendly with you, though."

"I don’t think so. We’re just acting like normal friends," Gao Wenwen argued, though she sounded a little guilty.

As they were finishing their meal, Lin Xi suddenly asked, "Wenwen, what do you think? If I suddenly started chasing after him now, would I have a chance?"

"Uh, I don’t know."

Gao Wenwen added, "But I don’t think you’d have time, even if you did."

"Why not?"

"Because I think he’s leaving tomorrow."

Gao Wenwen explained, "Xu Yun only came back this time for his mom’s birthday."

Lin Xi was silent.

...

Xu Yun got home after lunchtime and decided to rest. His mom had gone back to playing mahjong.

A little while later, he suddenly received a reward notification from the system.

[Faced with a new commercial development, the Host chose to ’Do as You Please’, splurging on an entire commercial street. Reward: 38,000,000 cash.]

[Bank Balance: 49,000,000]

’Whoa, there was a delay?’

’He’d thought it was strange when he didn’t get a system reward right after buying the storefronts at the sales center.’