"That's good. I was worried it'd be awkward if we all gave different amounts. So, it's settled then."
Wu Peng breathed a sigh of relief. It was good they could reach an agreement.
Their dorm mates had always been close, and their friendship had continued on.
For Lü Tong's wedding, every single person from their dorm showed up.
"Huh?"
Wu Peng was walking out of the standard room with Qi Sheng when he suddenly froze.
"Holy shit, Brother Sheng, you look like you're six feet tall now!"
"Yeah, I grew a little."
"I think your definition of 'a little' is a bit off."
Qi Sheng smiled, feeling secretly pleased.
'The air you breathe when you're over six feet tall just hits different.'
"Damn it, why didn't I have a growth spurt!"
Wu Peng looked envious. They say you can have a growth spurt at twenty-three, but he hadn't been so lucky.
They were both men; who wouldn't want to be tall and handsome?
The two of them chatted and laughed as they took the elevator down to the first-floor lobby.
Their other roommates were already waiting there.
"Holy crap, Great Saint, what's up with you? You look like a whole new person."
"Your features haven't changed, but your whole vibe seems different."
A few of the roommates gathered around, clicking their tongues in amazement as they commented on Qi Sheng.
"Alright, what's there to look at? It's Brother Tong's wedding, why are you all focused on me?"
Qi Sheng laughingly chided, trying to divert the guys' attention.
'Having money naturally changes your mindset.'
'It gives you a confidence that radiates from the inside out.'
"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's head out. I'm your driver for the day. Are we going to the riverside, or somewhere else?"
Lü Tong was also quite surprised to see the change in Qi Sheng.
But he was in high spirits from his own happy occasion, so he didn't pay it too much mind.
"There are six of us. We can't all fit in one car!"
Wu Peng, who had arrived first, looked at his roommates with a worried expression.
"What's the big deal? Two people can just take a taxi."
A rather skinny guy said nonchalantly.
"Then two of us will take a taxi, and the other three can go in Brother Tong's car."
Qi Sheng singled out Wu Peng. "You and I will grab a cab in a bit. You guys go on ahead, I need to buy something."
"Sounds good. I'll send the location to the group chat then."
Lü Tong felt a little awkward, so he was grateful to Qi Sheng for getting him out of a jam.
Otherwise, no matter how he arranged things, he was afraid of offending someone.
Outside the hotel, the group put all their luggage in Lü Tong's car.
It was a domestically produced E300, costing nearly 500,000 yuan out the door.
This showed that Lü Tong's family was quite well-off.
At least in Jia City, they were definitely considered middle class.
Qi Sheng took Wu Peng with him, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Wanda Plaza.
When they arrived, Wu Peng was still a bit confused.
'Weren't we supposed to take a taxi to meet up with the others?'
'How did we end up at Wanda?'
But soon, he became even more dumbfounded.
"Hello, welcome to the Huawei Authorized Experience Store."
As soon as they entered, an enthusiastic saleswoman came up to greet them.
"Hello, do you have the Huawei Mate RS in stock?"
Qi Sheng was direct and got straight to the point.
"Yes, we do. This model comes in two colors: Black and Red."
"The Red version is a special edition commemorating the 70th anniversary of Porsche sports cars. It only comes in the 6GB+512GB configuration and is priced at 12,999 yuan."
"The Black version comes in 6GB+256GB and 6GB+512GB configurations, priced at 9,999 yuan and 12,999 yuan, respectively."
The saleswoman explained enthusiastically, a hint of expectation in her eyes.
In Jia City, plenty of people could afford a Huawei phone.
But the Huawei Mate RS version, with a starting price of 9,999 yuan, was truly a luxury item that ordinary people couldn't afford.
"The Black one. Let me see one first."
Qi Sheng nodded lightly, satisfied.
'When this phone launched in April, it was incredibly hard to get one.'
'Scalpers were even reselling it for over 23,000 yuan.'
'Without the system, even if I were reborn, all I could do right now is look on with envy.'
'The 200,000 yuan monthly income from the Infinite Modification System was the source of my confidence.'
Soon, the saleswoman brought out a demo model.
Qi Sheng took it and tried it out, experiencing the charm of Huawei's top-tier flagship phone.
The custom Porsche design, the 3D glass body with its eight curved edges, the triple Leica lens, the Kirin 970 AI processor, the 512GB of storage...
At this point in time, it was definitely the pride of domestic manufacturing.
'No question about it. I'm getting it.'
"I'll take two of the top-spec Black version and one of the Red version."
Qi Sheng glanced at the price tag. 12,999 yuan each, so 38,997 yuan for three.
'One black one for me, one for Dad, and the red one for Mom.'
'Pressure?'
'Didn't exist!'
Qi Sheng saw a sign by the door mentioning something about rare "lucky numbers" for phone numbers, so he asked the salesperson about it.
"We have a partnership with China Telecom. Please wait just a moment, sir."
The saleswoman hurried to the back to ask the store manager.
Soon, the manager came over and shook Qi Sheng's hand warmly.
Then, the manager gave Qi Sheng a small surprise.
"Mr. Qi, our store does indeed have a promotion for lucky number plans. You can get a rare lucky number starting with '1991999'."
"I'll make an executive decision and upgrade one of the phones for you for free. Please go ahead and pick a number."
'Tsk, having money really makes a difference!'
The manager provided enthusiastic service, setting him up with a lucky number plan for free.
For the wealthy, spending a few hundred extra yuan on their phone bill each month was no problem at all.
What they wanted was the sense of distinguished status that set them apart.
Rare lucky numbers were made for people like them.
Qi Sheng wasn't one to refuse such a perk. He picked a lucky number that incorporated his birthday.
19919991219.
He left the store with a deferential send-off from the manager.
Qi Sheng looked down at his new phone, unable to put it down.
'In two lifetimes, I've never had the chance to even touch such a high-end phone.'
"Brother Sheng, where are we going now?"
Wu Peng followed along like an eager sidekick, without a single complaint.
'Seeing Qi Sheng casually drop thirty or forty thousand yuan, it was obvious he was about to show his hand!'
"Let me think... Let's go look at some cars first."
Qi Sheng suddenly remembered that Lü Tong's wedding ceremony was being held in Fujin, a smaller city under Jia City's jurisdiction.
Because the bride's side of the family had so many relatives, they had missed the bus the groom's family had arranged to take guests back to Jia City.
Lü Tong had been incredibly busy and hadn't been able to look after them at all.
Taxis were also scarce in the small town, and the restaurant was in a ridiculously remote location.
They had to walk all the way to Fujin Passenger Station.
Then, because all the bus tickets were sold out, they ended up taking an unlicensed taxi back to the city.
'Thinking about it now, it was absolutely miserable.'
'Nope. I have to buy a car.'
'I'm rich now. There's no reason to shortchange myself.'
'Besides, the system even allowed me to withdraw a full year's income in advance as a sign-up bonus.'
After the 200,000 he had already withdrawn, he still had 2.2 million he could spend.
Qi Sheng had gotten his driver's license long ago.
The only reason he hadn't bought a car before was a lack of money.
And now, money was the one thing he didn't lack.
'So, time to get one!'
"Look at cars?"
"Yeah. Now that I've bought a phone, I've got to get a car to go with it, right?"
Wu Peng was stunned, finding it hard to keep up with Qi Sheng's wild train of thought.
'Buying a phone means you have to buy a car?'
'What the hell kind of logic is that?!'
'Oh well, whatever makes you happy.'
The two of them hailed a taxi and went straight to an Audi 4S dealership.
Dealerships for more high-end car brands couldn't be found in a small place like Jia City.
You'd have to go to the provincial capital, Harbin, to find flagship stores for luxury brands like Porsche.
When they arrived, the two got out of the car.
Looking at the crowded Audi showroom,
Qi Sheng also felt a bit emotional.
For ordinary people, BBA (BMW, Benz, Audi) was already the ceiling.
At least among his dorm mates, Lü Tong's family was the wealthiest.
For his wedding, his family had bought him an E300 in cash, plus a large 120-square-meter three-bedroom apartment near Wanda Plaza.
Including renovations, the bride price, the wedding ceremony, and so on,
it all added up to nearly two million yuan.
This had truly made the old Qi Sheng intensely envious.
But now, it was nothing special.
But even these "entry-level" luxury brands had their own flagship models.
Like the one in the very center of the showroom.
A Florett Silver Audi A8 sat there quietly.
Its 5.3-meter-long body looked down on all the other "little brother" models in the showroom like a king.
'Tsk. Just one word for it: slick!'