"I didn't mean that!" The boy who had just been slapped was scrambling to explain, while the other girl who had been hit was still stuck in the shock of "She actually dared to hit me?"
"Not that meaning, then what is it? Do you take me for deaf that I didn't hear it?"
"Ouch, ouch, which prince and princess are parading around here? So sorry, us folks who can only afford cheap stuff have been breathing the same air as you two — did that not choke you to death?"
"Tell us what your parents' companies are called, let's have a listen. I'd love to see which firm is so snobbish that it looks down on ordinary people like us, yet still shamelessly makes money off of us!"
"Since you're so high and mighty, have the guts to stop eating the rice we farmers grow, stop wearing the clothes our workers sew! What a bunch of brainless brats — did all your book learning go straight down the drain?"
"I-I-I..." The group of brats who only acted tough at school had never faced a scene like this before. They were so flustered and embarrassed from being scolded that their faces flushed then paled in turns. Even with their limited wits, they knew full well that public rage was the fiercest thing there was. If their families ever found out they'd said such things out in public and caused trouble for the family business, they'd be in huge trouble.
Lin Xiaoxiao was spooked too. She had been frozen ever since Mu Yue landed those two slaps, and now she pressed herself tight to Mu Yue, clutching the hem of her clothes for dear life.
The few people across from them only shot them a quick glare before scrambling to run away, and Leng Ming was among that fleeing crowd.
It was the first time Lin Xiaoxiao had ever seen Leng Ming look so disheveled. By the time she snapped back to her senses, Mu Yue was already calmly thanking the onlookers. "Thank you all so much for speaking up for us. They've been acting like this for ages, calling us idiots and pigs nonstop. We just went out for a stroll, and they started yelling at us for shamelessly following them. I just couldn't hold it in anymore."
"It's not your fault, girl!"
"Exactly! They're the ones with rocks in their heads, rude and ill-mannered — they had that coming!"
"Could this bunch be bullying people at school too? Don't you two ever hold back if they pick on you, make sure to tell your teachers and parents!"
Listening to those words and looking at the disgusted expressions on the people around her, Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a surge of shame. For the first time, she thought that her crush on Leng Ming felt kind of pathetic.
To all these strangers, Leng Ming wasn't the cool top student everyone fawned over at school — he was just a rude, ill-mannered kid.
That feeling only got stronger later that afternoon when Mu Yue took her to look at a rental apartment.
"Hey there, ladies! I'm Luo Feiyang, the owner of this place." The guy who showed up was barely a few years older than Mu Yue and her friend, dressed in trendy, stylish clothes with a tiny diamond stud in his left ear. He was good-looking, and his bright smile was downright dazzling.
Lin Xiaoxiao stuttered out a quiet "hello" to him, her cheeks flushing pink. It wasn't like she'd fallen for him at first sight — it was just a natural, shy reaction to being around someone so handsome and sunny, the kind of awkwardness anyone, guy or girl, would feel.
Mu Yue smiled back. "Hi, let's get started then."
She could appreciate a good-looking face as much as the next person, but she was here for business. She wasn't going to let his looks distract her from checking if the place was worth the price, or going over every detail of the rental contract — none of that was going to slide just because he was cute.
Luo Feiyang raised an eyebrow and gestured for them to follow. "Absolutely. Let the pros start their inspection."
For a rental at this price point, the agency always does a full on-site inspection, with the whole process documented for the protection of both the landlord and the tenants. While the technicians got to work, Luo Feiyang showed Mu Yue and Lin Xiaoxiao around, explaining as they went. "I only set up two bedrooms in this place, one master and one guest. The rest are all multi-purpose rooms, but they're mostly empty right now. If you want to turn a couple more spaces into bedrooms, that's totally doable..."
The whole apartment had six rooms total: two bedrooms, a study, a home gym, a private theater, and two completely empty unfurnished rooms that could be turned into a billiards room, an e-sports and chess lounge, a pet play area, or even a small meeting room. There were two separate kitchens, one Western style and one Chinese, both incredibly spacious. Besides the big wraparound balcony off the living room, there was another private balcony attached to the master bedroom.
The master suite was the clear centerpiece of the whole place. It was huge, connected to a massive walk-in closet and a deluxe bathroom, and opened out onto that private balcony. The balcony wasn't fully enclosed or decorated yet, but you could already picture the perfect scene of waking up early, holding a warm drink, and sitting there enjoying the soft morning breeze.
The bathtub in the bathroom was a top-tier luxury brand that cost 880,000 yuan, with unbeatable quality and comfort. Every other piece of furniture and home appliance already in the apartment was no ordinary item either — all of them were well-known high-end brands you could look up any day.
"Mr. Luo, it's obvious this is a brand new apartment, and you put a lot of thought into the design. It clearly was laid out to fit your own tastes. Why on earth would you want to rent it out?" Mu Yue asked. After walking through every room, she completely understood why the rent was set at that fixed price — the place was absolutely worth every penny.
"Ah, well," Luo Feiyang scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I want to start my own business, but my family won't give me the funding. They told me to earn it myself, so what can I do? I'm only a sophomore, I can't get a proper full-time job, and besides..."
How many college students could pull down an 180,000 yuan monthly salary right off the bat?
Mu Yue nodded like she got it. She totally understood the predicament of this Young Master Luo who couldn't get his family to hand over cash. The worst thing you had to worry about with rich second-gen brats wasn't them partying all the time, it was when they suddenly got a wild hair to chase a "career."
"Right? I'm pretty attached to the place too, I haven't even spent a single night here myself. But getting 180k a month from the rent? Just imagine how jealous everyone's gonna be when I tell them that!" Luo Feiyang laughed heartily.
Mu Yue just blinked, speechless. C'mon, everyone here was practically green with envy.
She wasn't wrong. Qianqian, the agent who'd come along, and the technicians doing the inspection were all so jealous their mouths were practically watering.
And Mu Yue, the one willing to pay that huge sum for a short-term rental, was the object of everyone's envy too.
Luo Feiyang noticed that, of course. "The agent told me earlier you two are only looking to rent for three months, right? Up until the college entrance exam?"
Lin Xiaoxiao quickly waved her hands. "Oh no, not me! It's just Yueyue who's staying here. There's no way I could afford a place this fancy..." She'd snuck a quick search on her phone earlier, and found out this whole apartment was priced at 500 million yuan — several times more expensive than her family's old villa back home.
She thought Luo Feiyang would just give her a polite smile and drop the subject, but instead he shook his index finger playfully. "Nope nope nope! My dad always told me, never rush to sell yourself short. How do you know you can't do it? Even if you can't afford it now, who's to say you won't be able to later?"
Mu Yue glanced at Luo Feiyang for a few extra seconds, then nodded and patted the stunned Lin Xiaoxiao on the shoulder. "He's right, that makes total sense."
Once the technicians finished the inspection, Mu Yue and Luo Feiyang signed the contract in no time. Before they left, Luo Feiyang waved at them. "Good luck on the gaokao! A University is a great school, you know. Maybe you two will end up being my underclasswomen! Bye!"
"Bye!"
The apartment was all rented, and a whole slew of tasks lay ahead to wrap up — none of which Mu Yue would be busy with, though. It was Qianqian who had to get to work. From large items like home appliances and furniture down to tiny essentials like toothbrushes and towels, every single thing was her responsibility to purchase. On top of that, she also needed to hire a chef and a cleaning lady. Mu Yue only had to handle the payments.
Mu Yue had also drafted a new contract. She and Qianqian had gotten along wonderfully these past few days, so she planned to extend her employment for a longer period. If she kept doing such a great job, Mu Yue would be happy to keep her on permanently.
Qianqian fought hard to hold back the corners of her mouth from curling up into a wide grin, and assured Mu Yue that she would only do better.
Mu Yue paid three months of rent all at once, plus one month's security deposit, which added up to 720,000. The god-tier rich system finally leveled up from Level 0 to Level 1. It was like a firework had gone off in her mind, and even the system's announcement voice sounded clearly overjoyed.
Now that the system had upgraded, there was a level-up gift pack to claim. Mu Yue decided she would check it out later when she went to bed at night.
Right now, she and Lin Xiaoxiao had walked through the new apartment one more time, and were getting ready to head back to the hotel. Nothing in the new place was set up yet, so Mu Yue would have to extend her hotel stay for one more night. The next afternoon, right after school let out, they would be able to head straight over to the new apartment.
On the way back, Mu Yue asked Lin Xiaoxiao a question: "What did you think of that Luo Feiyang we met today?"
Worried that her friend, who was prone to getting infatuated with the wrong people, would misinterpret the question, Mu Yue added a clarification: "I mean, what kind of vibe did he give off as a person?"
Lin Xiaoxiao thought back on their encounter, counting points off on her fingers. "He's really handsome, super funny, and he knows exactly what to say to make people feel good."
Mu Yue hummed in acknowledgement. "His family is extremely wealthy, even richer than the Leng family."
Lin Xiaoxiao had noticed that much herself, that much was obvious.
"But even with that kind of family background, and a spot at such a top-tier university, he never acts like he's better than everyone else or looks down on people. He treats everyone politely, and talks to them like a regular person. That's what real class and refinement look like, don't you think, Xiaoxiao?" Mu Yue was gently guiding her to make the comparison herself.
When you've never been exposed to anything good, you'll take even the worst, most worthless trash for a precious treasure.
Lin Xiaoxiao fell silent, and started making the comparison in her head. Luo Feiyang didn't have a single trait that was worse than Leng Ming's. Even to someone he had just met for the first time, he had been nice enough to say things like "It might not be possible now, but that doesn't mean it won't be in the future." But Leng Ming, on the other hand, had never done anything but call her stupid and say she couldn't do anything right. After more than two years of dating, he had barely ever called her by her actual name, he only ever called her "hey".
Lin Xiaoxiao lifted her head, looked Mu Yue straight in the eye, and said earnestly, "Yueyue, I don't want to like Leng Ming anymore. I want to focus on my studies, get into a good university, and land a proper job."
Mu Yue was very pleased to hear that. "That's my girl. We'll start tutoring tonight!" They'd had the whole day to rest, so there was no reason to waste the free time they had that evening — it was time to hit the books hard.
But before their tutoring session could start, and before night even fell, the moment they stepped into the hotel lobby, they spotted Second Brother Mu and Mu Jun waiting there, clearly already fed up with how long they'd had to wait.
The father and son had indeed been waiting for ages, from midday all the way until the afternoon. They'd waited so long they started to suspect Mu Yue wasn't even staying at this hotel, that the whole thing had just been an act she was putting on — and that was exactly when Mu Yue walked in.
The second Mu Yue appeared, a whole group of people stepped forward to greet her, asking if she was doing alright, looking after her every need, the level of service so attentive it was almost over the top. That grand, impressive display immediately snuffed out all the anger the father and son had been building up during their long wait.
Mu Yue glanced over at the two of them casually, and spoke. "Did you two scrape together the money that fast? Or did you just come here to see if I was bluffing you?"
