By the time Su Chen got to the station, it was already past eleven. It was the peak of the delivery rush, so the station was nearly empty.
As he walked in, he saw the manager, Yang Wei, busy at his computer.
"Brother Wei~ I'm here!"
Su Chen plopped down right beside Yang Wei, bumping him so hard he staggered.
"Good heavens, what are you playing at today! Do you have any idea what time it is!" Yang Wei shot Su Chen an irritated glance.
But when he got a clear look at Su Chen's athletic wear, a flicker of astonishment crossed his face. After all, Su Chen was known at the station as "Desperate Dan," a guy who almost never took a day off... all for the sake of the three-hundred-yuan perfect attendance bonus.
'What in the world... Did the sun rise in the west today?'
Yang Wei didn't dwell on it, though. He looked at Su Chen, still annoyed. "What's with the getup? You're not planning on working today?"
At his words, Su Chen's playful expression vanished. He looked at Yang Wei seriously and said, "Brother Wei, I'm here to quit."
Su Chen was genuinely grateful to Yang Wei from the bottom of his heart. If not for him, Su Chen had no idea which factory he'd be stuck in, tightening screws on an assembly line.
When he was first looking for a job, he'd run into Yang Wei, who was hiring at the time. After chatting for a bit, they discovered they were both from the Sichuan-Chongqing region, which created an instant bond between them.
And just like that, Su Chen started working as a delivery driver under Yang Wei.
Yang Wei took great care of Su Chen. Knowing that Su Chen had just left home to work and lacked real-world experience, Yang Wei, acting as a big brother, naturally lent a helping hand.
He helped Su Chen find a cheap place to live and personally guided him at work, teaching him all the tricks and tips of the delivery trade.
Thanks to Yang Wei's personal mentorship, Su Chen quickly found his footing at the station.
Hearing Su Chen say he wanted to quit, Yang Wei thought he was joking. He reached out to feel Su Chen's forehead and teased, "You're not running a fever. What's all this nonsense?"
"Brother Wei, I'm serious. I'm not kidding!"
"For real?" Yang Wei looked at Su Chen, confused. Just yesterday, the two of them had been chatting, and Su Chen had been cockily declaring his intention to be the top driver of the month. What could have possibly changed overnight?
"For real." Su Chen nodded firmly.
Yang Wei didn't say anything. He simply pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to Su Chen, and then lit one up for himself.
The two of them smoked in silence, neither saying a word.
After a long while, Yang Wei finally broke the silence. "Found a better job?"
Su Chen paused for a second, realizing Brother Wei thought he was jumping ship to another company. He quickly explained, "No, it's not that. I'm just homesick. My mom called me last night, and it made me realize I've been away for over four years. It's about time I went home for a visit."
"You don't have to quit just to go home for a..." Yang Wei trailed off, seeming to understand something, and didn't press the issue.
"Fine, then. Looks like you're planning to process your resignation today, huh?" As he spoke, Yang Wei glanced at the cloth bag on the floor, which held Su Chen's yellow "battle uniform."
"Yeah. Sorry to trouble you, Brother Wei."
Yang Wei nodded, pulled a resignation form from his desk drawer, and handed it to Su Chen.
"Just fill in whatever. It's just a formality, anyway."
Su Chen understood. He took a pen, quickly filled out the form, and handed it back to Yang Wei.
Yang Wei took the form and tossed it into a drawer without a second glance.
"I already spoke to Sister Zhang. She'll calculate your final pay. It should be in your account by this afternoon at the latest."
At his words, Su Chen silently stood up and gave Yang Wei a deep bow.
"Brother Wei, thank you for taking care of me all these years."
Yang Wei patted his shoulder. "You're not getting any younger, kid. Remember to find a nice girl when you get back home. And don't forget to call me when you get married!"
"Don't worry, Brother Wei. I'll never forget. I'll be waiting for that big red envelope from you!" Su Chen said with a playful wink.
"Get outta here! In your dreams, kid!"
Laughing and joking, the two of them walked toward the door.
Just as he stepped out of the station, a system notification sounded in Su Chen's mind.
[Congratulations, Host, you have completed the Novice Quest! You have received a Newbie Starter Pack. Would you like to open it?]
Suppressing his excitement, he silently answered in his mind, 'No!'
Reaching the doorway, Su Chen stopped. "Brother Wei, let's get Haozi and the guys together for a farewell dinner tonight. My treat!"
Yang Wei didn't stand on ceremony and readily agreed. After working together for years, the guys were all very close.
"Alright. Just book a place and send me the address. I'll bring Haozi and the rest of the guys straight there."
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Su Chen, under Yang Wei's watchful gaze, mounted his little electric scooter and slowly merged into the traffic.
-----------------
The moment he got back to his rented room, Su Chen locked the door, bolted the windows, and didn't even forget to draw the curtains.
He was worried he might get too excited and start shouting.
"System, open the Newbie Starter Pack!"
[Newbie Starter Pack opened! Congratulations, Host! You have received: one 720-square-meter duplex river-view apartment at Seaview One and one Aston Martin DBX707!]
Su Chen was completely floored.
'Wait a minute... System, you're going this big right out of the gate?!'
A luxury mansion! A luxury car!
That was Seaview One, a luxury residence in the heart of the Lujiazui CBD, where places sold for hundreds of thousands per square meter! Could a grunt like him ever afford to live in a place like that?
'The market value of this place has to be at least two hundred million,' Su Chen silently estimated.
That was two hundred million! Even if he starved himself his entire life, he couldn't earn a fraction of that amount.
'O, Great System... please forgive my previous shallowness. I, Su Chen, was far too shortsighted.'
According to the system's instructions, he needed to go to the property management office to complete the handover. As for the Aston Martin, it was already parked quietly in the spot belonging to his new home.
The thought of the mansion and the car made Su Chen's heart pound in his chest.
The slum district where Su Chen lived wasn't too far from Seaview One. It only took about twenty minutes on his little electric scooter to reach the main gate.
Just as he was about to enter the complex, a voice called out to him.
"Hello, sir. If you have a delivery, you can leave it with us," a young security guard in a white shirt said, stopping Su Chen.
Su Chen stared at the smiling guard, stunned for a moment before it dawned on him.
'Ah, the guard thinks I'm a delivery guy.'
Still, the security at Seaview One seemed pretty decent. They weren't like the guards in novels who look down their noses at everyone.
"Hello. I'm here to see my apartment. You can call your supervisor to confirm. My name is Su Chen."
Hearing Su Chen's words, the guard's eyes narrowed as he looked him up and down several times.
'Holy crap, is this for real? Did I just run into some young master trying to experience the simple life? No way... it can't be!'
The guard was conflicted. After all, the clothes on Su Chen's back were worth less than two hundred yuan put together, and he was riding a beat-up old electric scooter. And this guy was claiming to be a homeowner here?
Anyone would find it hard to believe.
"Mr. Su, please wait a moment. I need to check with my supervisor."
"Sure, go ahead." Su Chen understood the guard's position and didn't give him a hard time.
'We're all just grunts trying to make a living, after all. Why should one grunt make things hard for another?'
Meanwhile, the guard returned to his post and immediately called his supervisor to explain the situation.
"Yes... his name is Su Chen..."
"He's very young..."
"He's really an owner? The owner of the premier duplex unit? Okay... yes, sir. I understand!"
The guard returned quickly, jogging back to where Su Chen was waiting.
The guard bowed respectfully to Su Chen. "Welcome home, Mr. Su!"
Su Chen nodded, parked his little electric scooter, and strode into the complex behind the guard.
He hadn't gone more than a few steps when he saw a stunningly beautiful woman running toward them. She wore a professional business suit, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and had an enchanting figure. The sight of her... assets, bouncing as she ran, was enough to make Su Chen's head spin.
As a delivery driver, Su Chen had seen his fair share of beautiful women. He'd even had doors opened to him by women who were barely dressed.
But the woman in front of him, in terms of both looks and figure, was absolutely top-tier.
"Mr. Su, hello! I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Chen Mengyan, your personal concierge. It's a pleasure to be of service to you!"
Chen Mengyan was also inwardly surprised as she looked at the simply dressed Su Chen. If she hadn't been mentally prepared beforehand, she would never have believed this plainly dressed young man was the owner of a mansion worth over two hundred million.
Watching Chen Mengyan, who was still slightly out of breath as she spoke, a particular phrase popped into Su Chen's mind.
'Slender branches weighed down with heavy fruit.'
It was a perfect description for Chen Mengyan. She was curvy in all the right places.
"Hello," Su Chen said, stealing a few hard glances as Chen Mengyan bowed, before straightening up and greeting her with a serious expression.
"Mr. Su, please follow me. Let's go to the property management center first to take care of the relevant paperwork."
The property management center wasn't far from the main gate, only about two hundred meters away.
The two chatted as they walked.
Su Chen learned from Chen Mengyan that his apartment was indeed the "king unit" of the entire Seaview One complex, and she was the concierge assigned exclusively to this residence.
She was also pleasantly surprised by Su Chen's arrival. After all, serving such a wealthy individual was a form of potential capital in itself.
The process was quick. After a simple identity verification, a few signatures, and inputting his facial recognition data and fingerprints, Su Chen received his property ownership certificate.
The property management center even gifted him two years of property management fees.
Su Chen did a quick calculation in his head. Two years of management fees amounted to nearly three hundred thousand yuan.
'Holy cow... the lives of the rich in this country are beyond the imagination of us grunts! The management fees alone are what a normal person struggles half their life to earn!'
After leaving the property management center, Chen Mengyan led Su Chen straight to his new mansion.
Su Chen's duplex was on the thirty-ninth floor. It was a one-unit-per-floor layout, and the elevator required a keycard for access.
The first thing he saw upon exiting the elevator was an enormous door.
His first impression was of its sheer heft and solidity.
"Mr. Su, the fingerprint you just registered at the property center can be used to open the main door directly."
Su Chen was taken aback. 'Holy crap, it's that high-tech?'
Though he was still a bit shocked, his hand moved obediently.
He pressed his thumb to the scanner.
CLICK!
As the door unlocked, the ever-observant Chen Mengyan pulled it open for him.
The moment the door opened, Su Chen was completely dazzled.
An overwhelming sense of luxury and grandeur washed over him. The first thing that caught his eye was a massive living room, in the center of which hung a giant crystal chandelier that made the entire space seem bright and airy.
But what truly captivated Su Chen was the 270-degree panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, which offered a sweeping view of the entire Huangpu River and the Bund.
With Chen Mengyan guiding him, it took Su Chen a good twenty minutes to tour both floors.
The total area was 720 square meters, spread across two floors. The layout consisted of five bedrooms, three living rooms, and six bathrooms. The decor was incredibly luxurious, filled with brands Su Chen had never even heard of.
After the tour, Su Chen's initial shock gradually gave way to a sense of calm.
He was already beginning to adapt to his new identity.
"Young Master Su, if you wish to work out or swim, you can go to the community clubhouse. It's right downstairs in this building, accessible directly by the elevator."
"Alright, I understand. You can go and rest for now. I'll call you if I need anything."
During the tour, Chen Mengyan had already proactively added Su Chen's phone number and WeChat, all under the pretext of providing him with better service.
"Of course, Young Master Su! Please call me anytime you have any needs. I'm at your service 24 hours a day!"
Whether intentionally or not, Chen Mengyan seemed to put special emphasis on the two words "any needs."
A faint smile touched Su Chen's lips. He gave a slight nod. As a man of the world, how could he not understand the implication behind her words?