Mu Yue was about to own the dream mansion she had always wanted, so it was only natural that she felt a rush of excitement.
Even she couldn’t help grabbing the four little ones and spinning around in a circle. After taking a moment to calm herself, Mu Yue began following the steps.
She had casually searched for a manor trial card earlier. Aside from properties that already had owners and were not for sale, clicking on a card would immediately display the available options. According to Kitty, the targets shown on the card were only those within A City that met the requirements. Manors priced far below six hundred million or located too far away would not appear.
If Mu Yue wasn’t satisfied with the manors in A City, she could also go elsewhere. Once she arrived at another location, the card would display the qualifying manors in that area.
Although the price listed on the card was supposedly the property’s market value, the seller would receive the full amount in actual money. In reality, Mu Yue could still negotiate the price. As for the money remaining on the card, although she had no way to use it as cash directly, she could have the seller prepare additional items of equivalent value.
After familiarizing herself with the rules, Mu Yue began looking through the manors in A City. There were five that met the requirements. Three of them were officially listed for sale, and only one was brand-new. It had been completed a year and a half ago, yet no one had bought it. The other two had not been listed publicly, which meant the card had detected that their owners were willing to sell but had not yet announced it on the market.
Since there was still time that day, Mu Yue asked Qianqian to contact the owner of the brand-new manor and arrange a viewing that afternoon.
Properties of this kind required appointments. Those officially listed for sale could be viewed directly, but for the privately owned ones, Mu Yue could only have Qianqian contact the owners first and arrange a time when both sides were available.
Qianqian replied very quickly. There was no problem with viewing the property that afternoon, though a television drama was currently being filmed there, so there might be some minor inconvenience.
Mu Yue wasn’t particularly surprised by this. Leaving such a huge manor completely empty would generate no value at all. Before being sold, properties of this size were usually used for commercial activities. Filming was only one possibility. There could also be parties, weddings, and even one event in the morning, another in the afternoon, and a third at night.
According to the information Qianqian had sent, the manor covered roughly seven mu—about 4,700 square meters—and occupied an entire hilltop. At the foot of the hill was a large artificial lake, while on the opposite side stood a low-density luxury villa development. Although it was in the suburbs, it was close to nature without being far from the city. That was one of the defining features shared by this type of manor and top-tier villas.
The villa development at the foot of the hill and the manor had been built by the same developer. Mu Yue glanced at the information. The developer’s surname seemed to be Chen.
After a simple lunch, Mu Yue set off excitedly. The drive was a little longer this time, so she had a driver take her. She had hired this driver after arriving in A City; the driver she had employed in H City had not followed her here.
While on the way, Mu Yue remembered something else. Once she had a manor, she would need a proper housekeeping and management team to go with it.
She opened the points mall and searched for one. The card for Butler Carter was prominently displayed at the very top of the first page. Thirty thousand points was not cheap, even if she paid in installments, but with the number of points she currently had saved, it should still be affordable.
The position of butler was too important for Mu Yue to entrust to an outsider. There were still plenty of ill-intentioned people around, and there was no telling whether she might run into another oddball. To avoid such troublesome situations, if conditions allowed, she would rather use character cards from the points mall for the entire team.
“Host, host! If you’re buying a manor team, Kitty recommends waiting until after you use the manor card to refresh the mall. There will be promotional offers available then!” Tycoon Kitty reminded her at just the right moment.
A top-of-the-line luxury manor represented a higher level of status. It was not in the same league as Mu Yue’s current luxury apartment. Since she was a tycoon, the system naturally had corresponding assistance prepared for this upgrade in status.
“That’s good news.” Mu Yue became interested. Since they still had a long way to go, she asked Tycoon Kitty to explain the details.
The promotional event was specifically for manors. Character cards such as the butler card would indeed be discounted, but the size of the discount was random. It might be as little as five percent, but it could also be as much as fifty-five percent.
Besides discounts, there was also the option of bundled sales. A butler, gardener, bodyguard, driver, cleaner, and other character cards could be sold together as one team. The total price would certainly be much cheaper than buying them individually, with the maximum discount reaching fifty-five percent off the combined price. This was even more cost-effective than the first option. However, under this arrangement, the characters came as a fixed team and could not be replaced at will.
There was also a third possibility: a lucky draw. The mall might offer a one-day lucky promotion, during which the entire manor-related section would be discounted. Exactly how much of a discount she received would depend entirely on her luck, with prices ranging from fifty percent to ninety-five percent of the original price. Her luck would be different each day, and the promotion would refresh at midnight.
Each of the three promotional formats lasted only one week. After that, they would be gone. Which format would appear was also completely random. Mu Yue would not know until she used the card.
Mu Yue was thoroughly tempted. Each option had its own advantages, but personally, she favored the second one most. After using the character cards from the mall, she already knew how useful they were. A bundled team at a discount was the most economical option—and the most hassle-free.
She chatted with the systems along the way and browsed all kinds of wonderful items in the mall. Before she knew it, the car had arrived.
The hill itself was not very high, and the slope was not steep at all. There was a guardhouse at the foot of the hill, along with tight security. Every tree and blade of grass on the hill fell within the manor’s grounds, and every road and stretch of scenery along the way had been carefully designed.
While waiting for Qianqian to contact the person in charge, Mu Yue rolled down the car window and admired the view. Although the manor and the villa development had been built by the same developer, the two areas were not actually connected. It did not give off the feeling that the villa development was merely the manor’s little brother. Even from a distance, the villas displayed equally exquisite landscaping and excellent privacy, while occupying an enormous amount of space.
Not long afterward, the car began moving slowly. Mu Yue kept the window open, taking in every part of the manor to see whether it matched the manor she had imagined.
The road leading up the hill was exceptionally spacious. The trees lining both sides were thick and mature, and their leafy canopies almost covered the road overhead. She could easily imagine how cool and pleasant it would be to travel along this road in summer.
The road was not very long, and the manor’s main gate soon came into view. Sitting in the back seat with Mu Yue, Qianqian’s breathing grew noticeably heavier. Her nose flared slightly, and her eyes widened as far as they could go. When the young lady had asked her that morning, she had already had some idea of what was coming, but now that they had actually arrived, she still couldn’t believe it.
Good heavens! What kind of luck did she have? At first, she had only taken a temporary assistant job, and now she was accompanying someone like Mu Yue—a top-tier heiress—to view a luxurious manor!
She had never been anywhere like this in her life. Even after preparing herself mentally before coming, her heart was still pounding. But she could only allow herself to be excited for this brief moment. Once she got out of the car, she absolutely could not look like some country bumpkin and embarrass the young lady.
Knowing that the mysterious Miss Mu was coming to view the manor, the manager in charge had been waiting early. As soon as the gates opened and security notified him, he came out to greet her at once. When the Maybach pulled to a stop, the manager bent slightly at the waist and opened the door for Mu Yue, wearing a broad smile.
“Hello, Miss Mu, hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Fang from Hengyuan.” Manager Fang, a man in his forties, introduced himself.
Mu Yue stepped out of the car and gave him a faint smile and a slight nod.
Manager Fang extended a hand to invite her inside. While observing her expression, he began his introduction. “Miss Mu, as you can see, Lanshan Manor is designed in the French garden style. The building in front of us is the main residence, with a total floor area of 3,378 square meters. The staff quarters are about a hundred meters away. In addition, there are two mu of private gardens, a golf course, a ginkgo grove…”
As soon as Mu Yue entered the main residence, Manager Fang waved someone over, and a hoverboard was brought to her. The grounds were so vast that walking around on foot would be exhausting. In addition to the hoverboards, there were also sightseeing vehicles for indoor use, while Manager Fang had already arranged for an outdoor vehicle as well.
“Who is that?” The film crew shooting a banquet scene on the first floor of the lobby quickly noticed Mu Yue and the others.
Everyone recognized the manager’s uniform. Seeing the way that old man was smiling now—and the angle at which he was bending his back—they knew that the beautiful woman at the center of the group had to be someone important.
“Driving indoors? Us ordinary mortals are really broadening our horizons…”
“No wonder the director has such connections. A mansion of this caliber—I’ve only ever seen one or two in my entire life.”
“What does this have to do with the director? The moneybags are the impressive ones, all right? Don’t tell me you still don’t know? The crown prince of this family is investing in our drama. This manor belongs to his family.”
“Wow! I really didn’t know that. Who told you?”
“The male lead. Who else? He’s always asking the director whether the investor is coming to visit the set…”
“Wait, isn’t the person you’re talking about the female lead? The crown prince is a man, isn’t he?”
“Obviously!”
“Holy crap…”
Once the scene ended, the director’s team announced a few minutes of rest, and the discussion among everyone grew even livelier. Employees and actors alike kept glancing in Mu Yue’s direction. There were several people in her group, and besides the manager, a few bodyguards had also been assigned to accompany her.
Who knew whether they might get the chance to strike up a conversation with someone like her? If they could make her acquaintance, wouldn’t that be a straight shot to the top?
As everyone let their imaginations run wild, Mu Yue had already finished most of her tour.
How should she put it? The main residence was indeed lavishly decorated, almost dripping with gold and splendor, and every detail had been carefully designed. Still, she always felt that something was missing. But if she bought the manor, she could simply spend money renovating whatever she disliked. After all, spending money earned her points, so it was hardly a problem.
Mu Yue had paid no attention to the film crew, nor did she have any interest in going over to watch them act. After seeing the interior, she said she wanted to look at the outdoor areas.
The scenery outside gave Mu Yue far more pleasant surprises than the interior. The gardens were exceptionally well maintained—romantic and picturesque. No matter where one stood, it was the perfect setting for beautiful photos. As for the ginkgo grove Manager Fang had mentioned, its leaves had already begun turning yellow. Before long, it would become a sea of shimmering gold. It would certainly be breathtaking in autumn.
Mu Yue had no interest in the golf course, however. If she bought the place, she would definitely have this entire stretch of open land renovated.
After nearly an hour of looking around, Mu Yue was beginning to feel tired. Manager Fang took the opportunity to invite her to sit down and enjoy some afternoon tea. There was still an underground section they had not seen yet.
But when they returned, Mu Yue noticed that someone else had arrived in the lobby. He was currently surrounded by a crowd of people offering their greetings, and even from a distance she could clearly hear them calling him “Young Mr. Chen.”
Mu Yue raised an eyebrow when she saw him.
Ah, Young Mr. Chen.
Wasn’t he one of the members of that group of domineering CEOs’ buddies?
Mu Yue searched her memories of the novel’s plot. Young Mr. Chen, the heir to Hengyuan Real Estate, was the male lead’s closest childhood friend. He was a notorious playboy—and bisexual.
Young Mr. Chen also spotted Mu Yue. He let out a laugh and walked over from the crowd.
“So it’s you. I heard a customer was coming to view the property and asked me to keep her company. Miss Mu, you should feel honored. I normally don’t show my face for just anyone.”
After hearing that snide, mocking tone, Mu Yue remained largely unfazed, but Manager Fang’s face turned green.
What the hell was wrong with him? He was selling a house while making sarcastic remarks at the prospective buyer. What would he do if she decided not to buy it—explode?
