Jiang Cheng said indifferently, "Let's not talk about whether these parts are worth that much money. This car's positioning is as a luxury good, not just a vehicle. Just like those big-brand clothes and bags, we know they aren't worth that much, but they are simply expensive."
As he spoke, Jiang Cheng's gaze never left his phone screen, his fingers sliding continuously as he remembered to send messages to Lin Qingxue.
Once he finished replying to the messages, he finally looked up slightly.
He continued, "So, the pricing method for luxury goods is different from ordinary commodities. It's neither the cost-plus pricing method, which determines the selling price based on cost plus profit, nor the competitive pricing method based on competitors' prices. Instead, it's a demand-based pricing method that determines the price according to the consumers' level of demand for the product."
Jiang Cheng was long accustomed to such phenomena, and his tone was very calm.
"Demand-based pricing??" Si Qing's beautiful eyes showed a hint of doubt as she asked softly. Her silky long hair brushed gently against her fair cheeks, looking like a stunning painting.
Jiang Cheng nodded, thinking about how to explain it to Si Qing.
After hesitating for two seconds, Jiang Cheng continued, "For example, the limited edition Handi Moutai wine—do you know what its starting auction price was?"
Hearing this, Si Qing shook her head gently, her tone a bit uncertain: "moutai?? I think my family has a bottle of that. I heard my dad say someone gave it to him as a gift. It's ten thousand yuan a bottle, and he's even reluctant to drink it. But for something put up for auction, it definitely wouldn't be that price, right?"
Jiang Cheng nodded; "Handi Moutai was produced in '92, and there were only 10 bottles. Except for one kept in storage, the other nine have been auctioned. In 2014, one bottle of 'Handi Moutai' with a starting price of 2.6 million yuan eventually sold for 8.9 million yuan."
"8.9 million! Heavens, this... let me calculate..."
Si Qing's eyes rolled as she processed it in her mind, then she said, "A 26-year-old bottle of moutai can be worth that much? The world of the rich is truly unexpected."
Jiang Cheng smiled: "It's not that the item is worth that much, it's that the rich can afford that much. As long as your item is scarce enough to showcase my status, and the price is high enough to screen out the presidents of small and micro enterprises, then the rich are willing to pay for it. Therefore, the function of luxury goods' pricing is differentiation and isolation."
Seeing Jiang Cheng so frankly sharing the true thoughts of the wealthy with her without reservation, Si Qing couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
In that instant, the way Si Qing looked at Jiang Cheng underwent a subtle shift.
This change wasn't just on the surface; it went deep into her heart, though she hadn't even noticed it herself.
Although she didn't have big shots like Jiang Cheng around her, she and Si Nian had no shortage of suitors since they were young.
Especially after starting high school, and now even more so while attending university in the prosperity of Shanghai.
Particularly in this big city full of temptation, Second-generation rich were everywhere.
However, despite having contact with many Second-generation rich, there was a world of difference between them and Jiang Cheng.
Like Jiang Cheng's roommate Wang Jian, whom she met last time.
Despite also being Second-generation rich, Si Qing only saw desire for her, even frivolity, in the eyes of people like them.
That feeling of being scrutinized like prey made her feel disgusted.
But Jiang Cheng was completely different. The temperament, grace, and conduct he displayed gave Si Qing a completely new feeling, as if breaking her inherent perception of the Second-generation rich.
Si Qing asked, "You haven't told me about the milk tea shop incident yet. I'm very interested in your cafeteria."
Speaking of this, Jiang Cheng straightened his expression: "I don't actually know her that well, but the few times I've seen her, she was working part-time..."
After Jiang Cheng finished talking about Ye Wan, Si Qing looked at him.
In an instant, another strange emotional wave surged deep in her heart. This feeling was completely different from when she was usually shocked by Jiang Cheng's financial power.
At this moment, she felt that Jiang Cheng was truly a person with very sound values and good upbringing.
He held deep sympathy for Ye Wan, yet could quietly protect her fragile and sensitive self-esteem.
This delicate and understanding quality made Si Qing feel that a man like him was really quite good.
Si Qing gazed at Jiang Cheng, her eyes revealing sincere admiration and appreciation.
She said from the heart: "Big shot, you really are a good person."
Having received a 'good person card' out of nowhere, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but give a bitter smile, then shook his head helplessly.
Fortunately, Jiang Cheng understood that Si Qing's words didn't have the sarcastic meaning of rejecting him.
Otherwise, between a man and a woman, saying 'you're a good person'—if that isn't a polite rejection, what is?
"Luckily I didn't confess, otherwise if you said I'm a good person, I'd have to ask you to get out of the car. Anyway, it's a red light right now."
Hearing Jiang Cheng's humorous response, Si Qing could no longer hold back and burst into loud laughter.
At that very moment, Jiang Cheng inadvertently glanced out, and his gaze happened to fall on the sidewalk not far from the traffic light.
Wasn't that guy standing there his roommate, Lu Chuan?
The girl standing opposite him also looked familiar.
Looking closely, this girl seemed to be the girlfriend Lu Chuan brought along during their last group dinner; her name was Zheng Z Yi.
Seeing that there were only a few seconds left on the red light, Jiang Cheng quickly waved to Wang Sheng and said, "Stop for a moment."
He had intended to roll down the window and invite the two of them into the car to give them a ride back to school since it was on the way.
However, when the window was halfway down, he discovered that the two of them seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument.
Seeing that there seemed to be a good show to watch outside the window, Si Qing curiously leaned over to Jiang Cheng's side, also stretching her neck to look out.
She saw Lu Chuan, who was usually gentle and very refined, looking extremely agitated at the moment, even somewhat losing his composure.
He pointed his finger at Zheng Ziyi and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What on earth did I do wrong for you to treat me like this? If you don't like me anymore, can't you just say so?!"
"Lu Chuan, listen to my explanation, it's not like that..." Zheng Ziyi looked anxious as she pulled at Lu Chuan's sleeve, tears welling in her eyes.
However, Lu Chuan angrily shook off her hand, his eyes wide with fury as he questioned, "Zheng Ziyi, why is it that you're the one who brings up breaking up every time? Why did you go to that kind of place with him right after breaking up?"
Hearing this, Zheng Ziyi's body trembled slightly, and her voice became choked with sobs: "Lu Chuan... we didn't... I didn't have a physical relationship with him, believe me, I just..."
Before she could finish, Lu Chuan rudely interrupted, "It doesn't matter. You went to a hotel with him, and you still say it's nothing? Don't tell me you just went there to chat?!"
"No... Lu Chuan, I was just drunk..."
"Zheng Ziyi, you're my first love, and you were the one who pursued me back then! You just have to disgust me like this? Get the hell out of here, fuck..."
After saying that, Lu Chuan kicked a nearby trash can hard, venting the anger and pain in his heart.
Listening to this dialogue, Jiang Cheng subconsciously opened the Character Scanning System on Zheng Ziyi.
[Name: Zheng Ziyi]
[Age: 19]
[Height: 162 cm]
[Beauty: 80]
[Figure: 90]
[Privacy: 1]
[favorability value: 88]
Seeing the horn honking behind them, Jiang Cheng quickly rolled up the window.
After all, it would probably be very awkward to be caught by a roommate at a time like this.
Jiang Cheng waved his hand somewhat uncomfortably and said softly to Wang Sheng beside him, "Let's go."
Seeing that the excitement was over, Si Qing asked, "Do you know him?"
Jiang Cheng nodded slightly and replied, "That's my roommate and his girlfriend."
Si Qing nodded thoughtfully, then said, "Oh, they seem to be fighting..."
Jiang Cheng nodded: "They've probably broken up."
Si Qing shook her head; "Not necessarily. I have a roommate who has broken up and gotten back together with her boyfriend over a dozen times this semester. Every time she comes back to the dorm crying, the next day the two of them are holding hands again..."
At this point, Si Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud, as if remembering her roommate's absurd experiences.
Si Qing's hearing wasn't as good as Jiang Cheng's.
Although they were somewhat far away, Lu Chuan's voice was very loud; he was almost roaring as he questioned Zheng Ziyi.
According to Jiang Cheng's understanding, Zheng Ziyi had likely cheated on his roommate.
After sending Si Qing back to school, Jiang Cheng took the rolls-royce back to his own campus the same way he came.
Seeing that Lin Qingxue was still busy, Jiang Cheng didn't want to join the crowd at the gala scene.
So he took the time to return to his dorm.
Before he even pushed open the dorm door, a burst of piercing and extremely discordant singing drifted out from the room.
"The good and bad of the first person I loved, but it's like a tattoo on my chest, a permanent mark..." Jiang Cheng's brow furrowed as he peeked through the crack in the door.
He saw that the dorm was pitch black; the lights weren't even on.
Wang Jian and Wu Kun were holding their phones, the flashlight beams swaying unsteadily like two ghost fires.
They stood by Lu Chuan's bed, their bodies swaying to the rhythm, loudly singing breakup anthems.
However, the singing of the two was both out of tune and ear-piercing.
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lu Chuan's upper bunk.
He saw the person on the bed curled up under the covers, leaving only his back to them, staring intently at his phone.
On that phone screen, it was clearly a WeChat chat history.
No matter how piercing and unpleasant Wang Jian and Wu Kun's singing was, Lu Chuan remained silent on the bed.
He lay there like a statue, his back to them, scrolling through his previous chat history with Zheng Ziyi over and over again.
Every message seemed to carry endless memories and emotions, leaving Lu Chuan deeply trapped and unable to extricate himself.
If he hadn't just witnessed the scene of him breaking up with Zheng Ziyi, Jiang Cheng would definitely be complaining right now.
Everyone is singing; what's wrong with the guy on the bed? Why is he being such a loner?
Jiang Cheng made a "tsk tsk tsk" sound and then swaggered into the room.
Seeing the dorm door suddenly and violently pushed open from the outside without warning,
Wang Jian and Wu Kun, who were in the middle of switching songs, heard the noise and their bodies instantly froze, their movements coming to an abrupt halt.
The two of them looked up in unison, their faces full of surprise, staring straight at the figure appearing at the door.
"Brother Cheng!" the two shouted in unison, their tones filled with surprise and delight.
Especially Wang Jian, who reacted very quickly; he reached out and forcefully pulled the chair from his own seat.
He pulled it in front of Jiang Cheng and enthusiastically greeted him: "Come, come, come, Brother Cheng, please, have a seat here!"
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but reach out and gently push Wang Jian.
He teased with a smile: "Alright, someone who didn't know better would think this wasn't my dorm and I had to sit in your chair."
Standing nearby, Wu Kun heard this and hurriedly chimed in.
"That's right, Brother Cheng! You said it perfectly! People who don't know might really think Wang Jian is the only one in our dorm with a chair. Come, come, come, Brother Cheng, ignore that guy, you should sit in my chair instead!"
Before he finished speaking, Wu Kun also hurriedly dragged his own chair over.
Looking at these two roommates being so diligent and flattering, looking like total lackeys,
Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused, and he cursed with a laugh: "Scram, scram, scram~ don't give me that crap."
Although Lu Chuan was deep in pain at the moment, seeing that Jiang Cheng had rarely returned to the dorm, he still did his best to prop up half his body.
He forced a greeting to Jiang Cheng: "Brother Cheng."
Looking at Lu Chuan's listless and dejected appearance,
Jiang Cheng feigned ignorance and asked curiously: "What's going on? This is..."
As soon as Jiang Cheng finished speaking, Wang Jian hurriedly covered his mouth and leaned in, lowering his voice: "His girlfriend cheated on him."
Seeing this, Wu Kun also quickly leaned in and whispered: "And Lu Chuan caught them; they're in the middle of a breakup right now."
Observing their behavior, Lu Chuan let out a long, helpless sigh.
His eyes were slightly red, and he said in a low voice: "It's not 'in the middle of'; we've truly broken up."
Jiang Cheng had personally witnessed Lu Chuan's nearly frantic and hysterical state earlier at the scene.
To make such a gentle and refined person shout those hysterical words in the street,
one could imagine that the pain Zheng Ziyi brought him must be profound and real.
The matter of first love was not unfamiliar to Jiang Cheng.
Because in his previous life, he had also personally experienced that green yet beautiful feeling.
Speaking of Zheng Ziyi, Jiang Cheng's first impression of her was actually quite good.
Even though they had only met once.
But compared to the other girl Wang Jian had brought along at the time, Lu Chuan's girlfriend could still be considered a relatively normal presence.
But who could have thought... looking at Lu Chuan's appearance as he endured the pain and tried his best to suppress his emotions,
Jiang Cheng couldn't help but speak up to comfort him: "Since you've broken up, let's have a big drinking session tonight. I'll arrange it. After drinking, let's forget her?"
Hearing Jiang Cheng's words, Lu Chuan didn't show any stubbornness; he just silently gave a slight nod and responded in a low voice: "Thanks, Brother Cheng."