"Can't buy it?"
Liu Chen hadn't expected such a thing. The task time was now displayed as
185min/240min
With less than an hour left and most of the bloggers already back in their hotel rooms by taxi, it was almost impossible to spend money on them outside of the hotel itself.
Ren Yun, seeing the guest's obvious disappointment, hurried to ask,
"Is it inconvenient for you to buy it tomorrow?"
Liu Chen nodded,
"I want to give my friends a gift, and preferably tonight."
Ren Yun nodded in understanding, but her mind was a jumble. She understood every word the beautiful woman said, but when strung together, she didn't grasp the meaning. What did she mean?
"Yes, ma'am, you mean you wish to give your friends a gift tonight, and this gift must be for two hundred people?"
Ren Yun tried to understand the rich lady's intention.
Liu Chen nodded, "Yes, tonight, but not necessarily hundreds of sets. The budget is around a hundred thousand yuan. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Hmm... one hundred thousand yuan. Ma'am, our hotel currently has bags and watches displayed in the hallway. They are all available for purchase, with prices on the tags. One hundred thousand yuan should meet your requirements."
Huh? The hallway display?
Liu Chen heard this and turned around, looking in the direction the receptionist indicated. Only then did she notice that on both sides of the hotel lobby, there were five glass display cases embedded in the wall, each containing a single item.
Liu Chen strolled to the display cases and looked at them one by one.
Looking at the price tags below the items, Liu Chen fell silent.
Before, she had been worried about not being able to spend the hundred thousand yuan. Now, she was a little worried that it wouldn't be enough.
Among these ten items, there was a Hermès Birkin bag priced at thirteen million yuan, a diamond-encrusted Van Cleef & Arpels watch, and an antique vase priced at over three hundred thousand yuan. The cheapest item was the Hermès Birkin bag priced at thirteen million yuan.
'System, if I buy a bag for myself, does it count as an expense for this gathering?'
Liu Chen was uncertain and asked the system in her mind, but received no reply.
As the task time ticked away, Liu Chen finally asked Ren Yun to help her open the thirteen million yuan Hermès Birkin bag and paid by card.
Late at night, the Ritz-Carlton hotel lobby had few guests. After all, guests who could afford to check into the Ritz at this hour were truly not lacking in money.
However, even these guests, who were not short of money, couldn't help but gasp when they saw Liu Chen buy the Birkin bag on display.
For example, Wang Weicong.
He had just flown back to China from New Zealand today. Since his apartment at Tomson Riviera was empty and uncleaned, he had brought his luggage to the Ritz for a few days to rest.
As soon as he entered the lobby, Wang Weicong saw a server use a key to open a display case embedded in the wall and take out a pink Birkin bag.
"Damn, who buys a bag in a hotel? Isn't that just burning money?"
As soon as Wang Weicong finished speaking, he saw the server holding the bag with both hands walk to the reception and hand it over to a beautiful girl standing by the counter. Although he could only see her back, he could tell it was a young woman.
When Liu Chen turned slightly, holding the bag's box and heading towards the elevator, Wang Weicong finally got a clear look at the face of this generous young woman.
"Hey? Isn't that my neighbor?"
...
Liu Chen, holding the bag, took the elevator upstairs. She thought for a long time. Originally, she planned to give the bag to the current president of Weibo.
It wasn't for bribery, as it was obvious to everyone that Liu Chen's Weibo account was purely for advertising her own businesses.
The main reason was the immense traffic Weibo had brought her through several Weibo incidents. Whether it was due to her frequent appearance on trending topics or other reasons, at least Weibo didn't restrict her exposure for not paying.
However, after thinking it over, Liu Chen realized that the president of Weibo hadn't attended the dinner party today. She figured that from the other party's perspective, it might be necessary to distance herself from Liu Chen to avoid external speculation about any communication of interests between them.
Holding the brand-new orange box, Liu Chen stood by the elevator door, waiting. Xia Lian, who had just returned to the hotel after getting drunk and failing to get a taxi, saw the box Liu Chen was holding in her arms at first glance.
Her eyes widened.
This... wasn't this the Birkin bag she had seen in the hotel's display case that afternoon?
The Birkin bag that cost over a hundred thousand yuan?
As Xia Lian thought, she walked closer to the bag in Liu Chen's arms, wanting to get a clearer look.
Sensing someone approaching her, Liu Chen instinctively took two steps back, catching a strong scent of alcohol.
Looking over, she saw Xia Lian with blurry eyes. Liu Chen had some impression of her, the Shanghai-based blogger who spoke in a seemingly casual manner.
"Ding."
The elevator doors opened just then. Liu Chen stepped in and swiped her card, pressing the button for the fiftieth floor.
Xia Lian, on the other hand, took out her phone and looked at Liu Chen, bewildered.
"Liu Chen, can I take two pictures?"
Liu Chen nodded, "Sure."
With that, Xia Lian started taking pictures with her phone, one eye open and one eye closed.
The scene of the two of them confused Wang Weicong, who had just squeezed into the elevator. However, after a brief moment of confusion, Wang Weicong felt inclined to talk to the girl named Liu Chen.
"Liu Chen? Do you still remember me? We're neighbors at Tomson Riviera. We were looking at the same apartment back then, but you got it first, so I had to settle for the next best option."
Liu Chen, holding the Hermès box, smiled and nodded at Wang Weicong.
"Of course, I remember you're Wang Weicong. That name is easy to remember and pleasant to hear."
As soon as Wang Weicong spoke, Xia Lian, who had been diligently taking photos, stopped moving.
"Can I add you on QQ?" Wang Weicong had been abroad for the past few months and barely used domestic apps. He didn't know that Liu Chen was already a popular figure on Weibo. He simply saw her as a beautiful and fated neighbor and proactively asked to add her on QQ.
Before Liu Chen could respond, Xia Lian suddenly stood up straight and began reciting her QQ number.
This caused a moment of awkwardness in the elevator.
Liu Chen and Wang Weicong exchanged a silent glance, and then Liu Chen recited her QQ number.
Meanwhile, Xia Lian's floor had arrived.
Worried that this strange young girl might do something peculiar, Liu Chen reminded her,
"Xia Lian, your floor has arrived."
Xia Lian, who had intended to linger and add the QQ number of the young man living in Tomson Riviera, could only exit the elevator after being told. After leaving the elevator, Xia Lian still felt a sense of regret.
What was a moment of pride worth? If she could really marry a young man who bought a house in Tomson Riviera, she could also afford to buy a Hermès bag whenever she wanted!
With this thought, Xia Lian quickly turned around, intending to get back into the elevator.
However, the elevator doors behind her had already closed, and the floor indicator was already moving upwards.
...
After Liu Chen and Wang Weicong exchanged QQ numbers, Liu Chen realized that Wang Weicong lived on the same floor as her. Wang Weicong raised an eyebrow as he saw Liu Chen walking towards the end of the corridor. He had stayed in that room before when his father was handling business and knew it was the presidential suite at the Ritz.
"Which influential figure's granddaughter or great-granddaughter is this Liu Chen? She seems to treat money like dirt!"
Wang Weicong muttered to himself as he opened his hotel room door and entered.
Meanwhile, Liu Chen, holding the Hermès box, woke up Mi Zhuzhu, who was drunk and lying on the bed.
"Zhuzhu, look what I have."
Mi Zhuzhu frowned, her closed eyes opening slightly as she looked at the bag in front of her.
"A bag? A pink bag?"
Saying that, Mi Zhuzhu started to lean back again. Liu Chen quickly stopped her.
"Don't sleep, Zhuzhu, this is your birthday gift!"
"Birthday gift?" Mi Zhuzhu mumbled, then giggled foolishly, "Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~"
Seeing Mi Zhuzhu clapping her hands and foolishly singing "Happy Birthday," Liu Chen shook her head.
"Then accept this gift."
"Okay!"
As soon as Mi Zhuzhu finished speaking, the system's task completion notification rang in Liu Chen's mind.
Liu Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed her approach was correct. Any money spent on people attending this gathering could be considered an expense for the gathering, even though this bag of hers was a bit of a borderline case.
Fortunately, the system still deemed her task successful!
A display of fireworks bloomed before Liu Chen's eyes, followed by a recipe for an all-purpose salad topping.
The recipe looked simple, a thin piece of paper with ingredients and proportions listed.
Liu Chen didn't rush to study the recipe. Instead, she gave the two women two glasses of water, then used the towels in the bathroom to remove their makeup, and finally covered them with blankets.
By the time she finished, it was past midnight. Liu Chen then got up, went back to the master bedroom, ran the bathwater, and took a shower. By the time she finished showering, the bathtub was nearly full.
Wrapped in a bath towel, she walked to the bathtub, unwrapped the towel, and stepped into the large circular tub.
Her body, tired from a day's work, seemed to relax completely. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the Shanghai lights across the high-rise buildings.
Liu Chen suddenly felt that everything in her life lacked a sense of reality.
"Bzzz..."
Her phone vibrated. Liu Chen swiped to unlock the phone by the bathtub.
'Chenchen, it's Dad. How have you been? Dad misses you very much. Your mother remarried and got pregnant. With so much money in the hands of a young person like you, it's easy to go astray. You can invest in Dad's company, and then you can wait for dividends every year.'
Liu Chen finally smiled upon seeing the message on her phone.
"Yeah, suddenly it feels real."