Everyday Romance After Becoming a Billionaire

So, Su Ran decided to buy a watch. He could pick up some new clothes tomorrow if he had time.

Now that he had money, it was only natural to dress a little better. There was nothing wrong with that.

"I looked it up online. The Patek Philippe Mansion is at 33 East Mountain Road. That should be the place, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It’s right at number 33." Xiao Wanqing was so excited she pinched Liu Jinyu’s thigh under the table.

’This damn woman is way too lucky! She goes home for a visit and meets some kid who stays in a presidential suite and buys Patek Philippe.’

Liu Jinyu struggled to remain calm, but inside, her heart was in turmoil. It was just one shock after another.

Su Ran stood up. "It doesn’t look too far. It’s so hot outside, why don’t you two wait here? I’ll just go buy a watch and be right back."

On the surface, there was nothing wrong with what he said, but on another level, there was something very wrong with it.

’A Patek Philippe! He talked about it like he was just stepping out to buy a bottle of water. Be right back?’

Xiao Wanqing was now certain that Su Ran was loaded, though she had no idea just how rich he was.

Liu Jinyu was too embarrassed to ask to tag along, but Xiao Wanqing spoke up. "It looks close, but it’s still a bit of a walk. I drove, so I can give you a ride. Besides, it’d be an eye-opening experience for me."

"Alright then, let’s all go have an eye-opening experience together."

The moment he said that, the two girls scoffed at him.

Su Ran: ...

Walking out of the hotel, Xiao Wanqing unlocked her GLA and said to Su Ran, "I hope you don’t mind my little Mercedes, Su Ran."

"What are you talking about? This is a great car. I’ve never even been in a Mercedes before," Su Ran said honestly.

"Right. You’re used to luxury cars that cost millions. Of course you’ve never been in a little Mercedes like this."

Su Ran: ...

’Why don’t they believe me when I’m telling the truth?’

As they drove away from the hotel toward the Patek Philippe Mansion, Xiao Wanqing could hardly believe that’s where she was actually going.

She had been to boutiques for Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, and others, but she had never set foot in the Mansion.

There was a simple reason for that. At the Mansion, the saying "the customer is always right" didn’t apply. The sales associates there were more arrogant than the clients. You could walk in with millions, even tens of millions, ready to buy a watch, only to have a sales associate tell you, "I’m sorry, but you don’t qualify to make a purchase."

That’s how arrogant they were!

But what could you do? It was Patek Philippe, after all.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Mansion, parked, and got out of the car.

The Mansion occupied a total of 1,200 square meters. After a sweeping glance around the front garden, their eyes settled on the small, historic-looking villa that housed the Mansion itself.

It was formerly the British Consulate General in Shanghai. The "Mansion" in its name signifies this continuity, an idea that transcends geography and history, extending to the brand’s origin—a residence of prestige.

Liu Jinyu walked up to Su Ran. "Which Patek Philippe model are you getting?"

Xiao Wanqing also looked at Su Ran, equally curious.

’How good of a Patek Philippe can I even buy with 500,000 on my card?’ Su Ran wondered.

Besides, even if you had enough money to buy a watch worth several million, they’d still put you through the wringer. You’d have to fill out an application, submit it to their headquarters in Switzerland for a months-long review, and only then would they pronounce whether you were worthy of purchasing their watch.

"I just graduated, so I probably don’t qualify for the high-end stuff. I’m just here to buy an older model that I’ve always liked."

’I promised myself I’d make all my old dreams come true,’ he thought. ’I have to follow through, every single one.’

Back when he was sleeping in a small courtyard in the countryside, he had been bold enough to click on the Patek Philippe website to browse the watches.

Now, that dream was about to come true. It was a funny feeling.

’So yeah... if you have a dream, you have to make it a reality.’

Xiao Wanqing said, "You have a point, Su Ran. Patek Philippe is incredibly pretentious. It’s true that money alone can’t buy their watches."

Su Ran: "Let’s go..."

The three of them entered the Mansion, one after another.

The interior spanned two floors. In addition to the main showroom, there were two VIP rooms and a small, multi-functional bar, all designed to make guests feel right at home.

A quick glance revealed a staff composed entirely of beautiful women in office-lady-style uniforms (he chose to ignore the male employees).

Feeling a bit intimidated, Liu Jinyu and Xiao Wanqing instinctively slowed down and shifted behind Su Ran, ceding the "center position" to him.

It was early afternoon, and the boutique wasn’t crowded—it rarely was. The Mansion didn’t need a high volume of customers anyway. It operated largely on a membership basis. The watches worth millions, or even tens of millions, were usually sold out to qualified members during the design and production phase. The physical pieces you could actually see in the store were almost all basic models.

A sign in the boutique read: [You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.]

A sales associate saw a handsome man walk in, flanked by two young women. She approached with a smile and asked in a soft, gentle voice, "Welcome to the Patek Philippe Mansion. Do you have an appointment or a specific watch reserved?"

"No reservation. We happen to be staying at a hotel nearby, so I thought I’d drop in and see if you still have a model 5146p-001 in stock."

Su Ran got straight to the point.

"We do. It’s right this way." The associate led the three of them to a display case and took out the watch. "This is it."

500,000?

Liu Jinyu’s reaction was a little too obvious. Xiao Wanqing held her back. ’Don’t make a scene,’ she thought, shooting her a look. ’If you went upstairs and saw the watches worth millions, you’d probably have a heart attack.’

Su Ran tried it on. He was quite satisfied with it, but the price...

"What do you think, sir?"

"If I remember correctly, the last time I checked online, the price was 478,800. It hasn’t been that long. How did it jump to 500,000?"

Liu Jinyu and Xiao Wanqing exchanged a stunned look. They both had the same unspoken thought: ’Is Su Ran actually going to try and haggle at the Patek Philippe Mansion?’

’Staying in a presidential suite that costs tens of thousands a night, only to turn around and haggle over the price at the Mansion?’

’What kind of play was this?’

Su Ran might be rich, but he wasn’t going to act like some tasteless nouveau riche. If he had a question about the price, he was going to ask it.

"Sir, it’s because of the pandemic. Patek Philippe’s factory output has decreased, so the prices have naturally gone up a little."

Su Ran had read about this online, but that wasn’t the whole story.

It was more like...

’Who do you take me for? A sucker?’

Still, the higher the price, the better they seemed to sell.

"These are the regulations from headquarters, sir."

The associate said with a smile. ’What can we do? Headquarters decided to raise the prices in the mainland.’

"Sir, this is the very last piece of this model. The series has been discontinued, which makes this watch a worthy collector’s item. Furthermore, when it comes to holding or even increasing in value, Patek Philippe timepieces are the best in the world. You definitely won’t be losing money on this purchase."

To be honest, she was right. Take this watch, for instance. Even though the price had risen to 500,000, if you bought it and sold it a few years later, it wouldn’t depreciate much. In contrast, other watches in the same price range would lose half their value instantly.

As for appreciation, that depended on the specific model; not all of them went up in value.

All things considered, it really did hold its value.

Plus, this was the last piece in its series. Patek Philippe watches are all globally limited editions; every single one is a collector’s item.

Su Ran gazed at the watch, his old dream, and hesitated for a few seconds.

"Alright, I’ll take this one."

"Very good, sir. Will you be paying by card or with cash?"

"Card."

"This way, please."

The associate was perfectly composed. After all, a 500,000-yuan watch was child’s play to them.

’He bought it just like that?’

Xiao Wanqing clicked her tongue. "He was serious back at the Maoyue. ’Just going to buy a watch and be back in a few minutes,’ he said."

The two of them were just students. They had never witnessed such audacious spending.

’And is it really okay to spend money like that? There’s no sense of occasion at all.’

"Incredible. 500,000, gone in three minutes." Liu Jinyu had mixed feelings. "I really had no idea that kid was so rich. You really couldn’t tell just by looking at him."

Xiao Wanqing nudged her with her shoulder and gave her a wicked smile. "So... if he wants to, you know, tonight... are you going to say yes or no?"

"No way! What kind of person do you take me for? Of course I wouldn’t."

"I’m taking a picture to send to Yiren and the others. I guarantee they’ll regret not coming, hehehe."

The two women bantered in the lounge area.

Su Ran was thrilled to have spent 500,000 and fulfilled another one of his old dreams.

DING! [Clothing] expenditure complete. By enjoying the ultimate lifestyle, you have earned an 8x critical reward.

Name: Su Ran

Wealth: 4,003,200

’Four million already?’

He never would have dreamed he’d one day be a millionaire. And while four million yuan wasn’t even enough to buy an apartment in Shanghai, Su Ran was already ecstatic.

Sure enough, the life of a Divine Rich was all about reaping rewards without sowing. His only job was to enjoy the ultimate lifestyle.

This feeling was better than sex.

...

Resting her chin in her hand, Xiao Wanqing watched Su Ran swiping his card, a playful look in her eyes. "The more I look at him, the more handsome Su Ran seems..."

Liu Jinyu: ...