Chapter 32

At dusk, he drove the car to the seaside and parked (30 yuan parking fee), blew the sea breeze on the beach, and watched the sun gradually sink into the sea.

He chose a local seafood shop recommended by netizens, costing two or three hundred per person. He ordered stir-fried clams with scallion oil, steamed scallops, and a cold seaweed salad, plus a pitcher of draft beer, totaling over 400 yuan—more expensive than back home, but not outrageous.

The taste was fresh and delicious. He ate slowly and leisurely, listening to the locals at the next table bragging, which felt very down-to-earth.

He drove a circle around the coastal road to see the lighthouse and the reef clusters (20 yuan parking fee), and bought a handmade ice cream for 30 yuan; it was very much a lifestyle experience.

This was the life Li Yan yearned for, not having to worry about money.

He was too lazy to go out for dinner at night, so he ordered a steak and red wine set at the hotel's western restaurant, about 800 yuan per serving, plus service charges, totaling over 900 yuan.

After eating his fill, he returned to his room, took a shower, and watched TV to relax; tomorrow would be the official shopping day.

Thinking about tomorrow's big shopping spree: spending all 900,000 yuan wouldn't be difficult.

The first stop was the well-known international luxury center in Green Island, "Coast International Luxury Plaza."

He left at 9:30 and drove the 911 over. Parking spaces were tight, and the VIP parking area was 50 yuan/hour. He expected to park for eight hours, costing about 400 yuan, which he paid without hesitation.

First, he went to look at watches.

He wanted a Patek Philippe Nautilus, but he knew it was hard to buy.

He found a high-end watch shop, but there was no Nautilus in the display window.

He asked the female clerk: "Do you have a Nautilus?"

The other party smiled awkwardly: "Sir, this model is super popular. Our store hasn't sold one at the original price for half a year. We have a second-hand one in near-new condition, but the price is much higher than the official price."

Li Yan knew what to expect: "Can you source one? I'm sincere about buying."

The clerk brought over the manager, who said: "We have a second-hand Nautilus 5711/1A, 99% new, with the box, receipt, and warranty card complete. The price is 780,000 yuan."

A watch with an official price of over 200,000 yuan selling for 780,000 yuan was a heavy markup, but Li Yan didn't hesitate: "I'll take it."

The manager was a bit surprised by his straightforwardness but maintained a professional smile: "Please wait a moment, I'll go get the watch."

Li Yan swiped his card to pay over 780,000 yuan, plus the subsequent maintenance agreement, totaling just over 790,000 yuan.

Spending most of his funds on one watch, he felt relieved.

A big step toward completing the task.

There was no help for it; Li Yan certainly wanted to buy a new one, but unfortunately, there weren't any.

For such a popular watch model, just pre-ordering would take two years, not to mention issues like bundling sales.

Fortunately, this watch looked no different from a brand-new one, so it could be considered a stroke of luck that he came at the right time.

Carrying the black watch bag, he left the watch shop with a relaxed brow.

There was still over 100,000 yuan left to spend on clothes, bags, luggage, and shoes.

He went to the LV store to take a look: a seasonal trendy T-shirt was 5,500 yuan, a printed short-sleeved shirt was 8,000 yuan, loose jeans were 9,000 yuan, plus a sports jacket for 20,000 yuan, a soft luggage bag for 28,000 yuan, and a pair of white sneakers for 12,000 yuan, totaling over 70,000 yuan.

He talked to the sales assistant:

"Is this printed shirt too flashy?"

The assistant smiled: "It's just right for young people; loose prints are popular this year."

Li Yan nodded, tried it on, and saw that the effect in the mirror was good: "I'll take it."

He paid about 72,000 yuan.

While the assistant was packing, he saw that the balance in his card was only over 20,000 yuan left.

He went to Dior to take a look, choosing a black short jacket for 18,000 yuan, a T-shirt for 6,000 yuan, and casual trousers for 8,000 yuan, totaling about 30,000 yuan, but he might not have enough in his card?

The card he had just used at the watch shop still had a balance, so he switched to another card to pay the 30,000 yuan in full.

After buying Dior, he calculated that he had spent a total of 790,000 + 72,000 + 30,000 = 892,000 yuan, so he added a few small items.

He bought a high-end Rimowa suitcase for about 12,000 yuan. After payment, the total was around 904,000 yuan, which was a little over, but it didn't matter.

He was hungry at noon, so he ate a sushi set and Wagyu sukiyaki at a Japanese restaurant on the third floor of the mall, costing about 1,500 yuan per meal.

If the money wasn't enough, he swiped his credit card; he had brought several cards, so he wasn't afraid of credit limits.

In the afternoon, he carried big and small bags back to the hotel and had the hotel mail them home for him.

The suitcases, clothes, and watch boxes were all settled.

Dinner didn't need to be too expensive; he found a small tavern nearby, drank draft beer, ate stir-fried clams and barbecue, and spent 200 yuan to experience the local flavor.

Blowing the sea breeze, eating seafood, and drinking draft beer, Li Yan felt that this was the life he wanted.

At around eight in the evening, Li Yan returned to the hotel carrying a bag of local specialties he had just bought on the street.

As soon as he entered the room, he casually placed the bag on the sofa, took off his coat and hung it up, and then unscrewed the glass door of the balcony.

The night sea breeze with a salty, damp scent rushed toward him. He rested his hands on the railing and looked down at the twinkling neon lights along the coastline, his mood surprisingly calm.

Today's consumption plan was basically completed, and the balance in his card had almost returned to zero.

He shook his head with a smile, returned to the living room, poured a glass of the complimentary mineral water provided by the hotel, sat on the sofa, and sent a message to his mother: "I'm taking the high-speed train back tomorrow morning. I bought some seafood specialties for you and Dad. They're kept fresh with ice packs and you'll receive them the day after tomorrow."

His mother quickly replied: "Don't spend money recklessly, stay safe."

Li Yan replied casually: "Got it, don't worry."

Just as he put down his phone, a familiar notification sound rang in his mind:

"Ding! Task completed, consumption cashback has been settled."

He was slightly startled and sat up straight.

Immediately, the system provided a detailed settlement:

"Total consumption: 904,000 yuan, cashback coefficient: 3 times, returned: 2,712,000 yuan."

"It's actually a triple cashback?" Li Yan couldn't help but smile.

Of course, he was still happy.

He opened his mobile banking app and sure enough, saw that the account balance had increased by 2,712,000 yuan.

The string of numbers in the card made him freeze for a moment, then he restrained his smile and turned off the phone screen.

Li Yan was still quite calm; he was someone who had seen big money anyway, so this was nothing.

"The money is in hand, but university life has just begun, so I have to plan carefully where to use it."

He silently warned himself not to get carried away just because he suddenly had money.

Afterward, he opened his suitcase and organized the clothes and specialties he bought today.

Most of the clothes had already been mailed home by the hotel, leaving behind a seasonal new Chanel set and a pair of shoes as backups, which he placed in the corner of the suitcase.

On the other side, he divided the specialties into two portions: one was the dried scallops and seaweed his parents liked, and the other was some small snacks that young people liked, to take back for Gangan.

He only felt at ease after every item was stuffed into an ice pack to keep fresh and packed into a shopping bag.

After showering, Li Yan sat on the edge of the bed browsing his phone, flipping through food recommendations near the hotel, but he had lost his appetite.

He simply took out a can of cold beer and paired it with some leftover snacks from today as a midnight snack, eating while listening to the sound of the waves outside the window, feeling much more relaxed.

Before eleven o'clock, he turned off the lights and lay on the bed, thinking about the experiences of the past few days, and fell asleep before long.

The preparations for moving forward were complete, and the funds were in place; Li Yan was already looking forward to a wonderful university life.

In his dream, he seemed to see a Sichuan girl with fair skin and a beautiful figure waving at him.

It's just that Li Yan didn't seem to understand what she was saying.

"Lao Zi Shudaoshan!"