Where there are people, there is conflict. And where there are women, there are bound to be men.
Whether among common folk or in wealthy circles, women are always the main attraction—especially a group of sexy women in yoga pants.
When this group of women emerged from the yoga studio, they naturally caught the eye of the men working out in the gym. One by one, they paused their exercises to stare.
However, the yoga studio had its own dedicated exit, so they didn't have to pass through the main gym area. By the time a panting Gao Yuan looked over, the ladies—young and old—who had just finished their yoga were already gone.
Seeing the look of regret on Gao Yuan's face, Wang Lin stifled a laugh. "I'll give you a heads-up next time!"
Heh.
'She really thinks I'm an old pervert.'
"I... I was just... appreciating beauty..."
Gao Yuan said, still breathing heavily, not forgetting to defend himself.
"Of course you were. Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't miss your chance to appreciate beauty next time."
Gao Yuan nodded, too lazy to argue with Wang Lin.
After spending some time with her, he'd found that the young woman actually had a pretty good personality—lively with a mischievous streak.
Having a personal trainer like her certainly added some amusement to his otherwise mundane life.
...
Today, Gao Yuan didn't complete his run all at once as usual. Instead, he broke it into three sets under Wang Lin's guidance.
During the second set, Gao Yuan's long-silent phone rang.
The call was from Meiting.
He answered, and a sweet, coquettish voice came through the phone. Wang Lin tactfully went to get Gao Yuan some water.
The gist of the call was this: a day apart felt like three years. It had been so long since she'd seen him that she was about to lose her appetite for food and drink.
Though Gao Yuan knew Meiting was exaggerating, it was highly likely she hadn't met her sales quota for the month and wanted him to come support her business.
He didn't really mind.
In the past, he'd gone to help with her sales numbers—sometimes as business entertainment on the company's dime, other times for his own amusement. He usually spent tens of thousands a month at her establishment.
Once, around the middle of the year, he'd spent over a hundred thousand in a single month there. Even though the company paid for it, to Meiting, it didn't matter who was footing the bill.
When it came to Gao Yuan personally, Meiting wasn't as money-grubbing as other salespeople. Their relationship was half business, half pleasure.
Meiting's call reminded him that it had indeed been over a week since he'd been to her place. So this time, he didn't turn her down.
After finishing his run and enjoying an assisted cooldown from Wang Lin, Gao Yuan went straight back to his apartment to freshen up.
Lying comfortably in a bathtub filled with perfectly warm water, Gao Yuan once again reported his successful evening workout in the Utopia group chat.
Lin Wanyu keenly observed that he wasn't running outdoors.
Gao Yuan hadn't planned on hiding it from her anyway and told her directly that he had moved to a new place: Hang City No.1 Courtyard.
The appearance of those four words in the chat was enough to draw out Li Mengqing.
"You're living in No.1 Courtyard now???"
The three consecutive question marks showed just how surprised Li Mengqing was.
"Renting."
"Whoa, President Gao really isn't short on cash!"
Gao Yuan chose to ignore Li Mengqing's sarcasm.
'This woman probably has a screw loose.'
She had asked him weird questions when Lin Wanyu took him to get a haircut, and last night, the two of them had gotten drunk and sent him pictures of their gorgeous legs, tagging him.
Then this morning, she added him on WeChat and, for her opening line, demanded he say whose leg picture from yesterday was better.
On one hand, she was shamelessly flirting with her best friend's boyfriend; on the other, she was constantly mocking him with disdain.
In response, Gao Yuan had created a custom sticker exclusively for Li Mengqing. Whenever she started acting up, he would just send it.
It featured a doctor's profile picture with a caption from Hang City Seventh Hospital: "Immediate treatment is advised!"
Every time he sent that picture, it would drive Li Mengqing into a frenzy and make Lin Wanyu giggle mischievously.
After joking around with the two of them in the group chat for a while and promising to cook them a big meal at his place tomorrow to celebrate his housewarming, Gao Yuan got ready to go out.
When Gao Yuan went out to have fun with Meiting, he naturally didn't go alone.
In his ten-plus years in Hang City, he had made a few friends, including his university classmates and partners from the e-commerce world.
These were people he had tested by asking to borrow money from them—people who were worth befriending deeply.
He had far more fair-weather friends, but then again, who didn't?
In a lifetime, having even a few close confidants is something to be grateful for. One shouldn't ask for more.
Drinking buddies bring you joy, while true friends bring you a sense of happiness. Isn't that a good thing?
Tonight, Gao Yuan contacted his university classmate Qin Yichuan and the "QQ Prince," Zheng Zhi.
Both of them were extremely low-key individuals. Qin Yichuan had been born financially independent; perhaps he had done too many good deeds in his past life, so heaven had specially chosen a wealthy family for him.
His family was in the used car business, and their chosen niche was salvaged vehicles.
Most car buyers can accept a second- or third-hand vehicle, but very few can accept one that's been in an accident.
It was like a joke that made the rounds online for a while: "I can accept a girl's 'house' has had previous tenants, but I can't accept that someone has died in it."
Although a salvaged car isn't the same as a girl who's "been in an accident," neither is widely accepted by the public.
But as times change, salvaged cars have gradually entered the public consciousness, much like how there's now a market for remarried women with children.
Gao Yuan had even written a business plan for Qin Yichuan's family business.
The principle was simple: complete transparency!
They would make the cause of each car's accident, the extent of the damage, and the parts used for repairs completely transparent, presenting the unvarnished truth to the consumer.
At the same time, they focused solely on the mid-to-high-end car market. For one, low-end cars are already cheap, leaving very limited profit margins for salvaged models; there wouldn't be much of a price difference compared to a new car.
For another, it was a way to gain a disruptive advantage. By lowering the prices of salvaged mid-to-high-end cars, buyers could save a significant amount of money without affecting the car's normal usability.
It could even provide consumers with hidden value.
With the explosion of short-form video in recent years, Qin Yichuan himself began appearing on camera to build his personal brand. His TikTok account now has seven or eight hundred thousand followers, making him a minor celebrity in the automotive world.
As for why they called Zheng Zhi the "QQ Prince," it had nothing to do with QQ Messenger or QQ-brand candy. It was because his chosen business niche was "QQ Skins" (lingerie)!
Zheng Zhi had somehow managed to turn this slightly risqué business into a charitable enterprise that would benefit all of humanity, a service to the present generation.
Moreover, as Zheng Zhi's good friends, Gao Yuan and Qin Yichuan were often on the receiving end of his sales pitches. Basically, every time a new design came out, the two of them were the first batch of quality testers.
To be honest, the quality of Zheng Zhi's "QQ Skins" was pretty terrible. The slightest bit of force could create a certain "destructive aesthetic." Meiting had complained to Gao Yuan about it several times.
However, Gao Yuan had a very high opinion of Zheng Zhi's product development abilities. The man was as clever as his name suggested.
After all, when you're using "QQ Skins," what normal person would want them to be high quality?
Among the three of them, Gao Yuan was the only one not from Hang City, and Qin Yichuan and Zheng Zhi looked out for him quite a bit.
They had given Gao Yuan a detailed introduction to all of Hang City's KTVs and bathhouses.
In fact, Gao Yuan had met Meiting through Qin Yichuan.
He took a taxi to the parking lot outside IN11. Under the dim blue lights, the lot was already full of cars.
Just as Gao Yuan got out of the car, a woman came jogging towards him from the entrance of IN11.