Starting Check-in Reward: Tomson Riviera

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for a successful sign-in. You’ve triggered a Great Luck fortune and obtained a 20% stake in Character Jumping."

"The share certificate has been sent to the system’s storage." The system’s voice echoed in Ye Ling’s ear.

A new day had begun, and Ye Ling had once again received a Great Luck reward from his sign-in.

"What the heck is Character Jumping?"

Hearing the name, Ye Ling couldn’t help but feel a bit baffled. He didn’t seem to have ever heard of this company. Was it some kind of small-time business?

But would a twenty percent stake in a small-time business really be enough to trigger a Great Luck reward?

Half-doubting, Ye Ling searched for it online. A moment later, he let out a gasp of surprise.

Although the company called Character Jumping wasn’t particularly famous—at least, he had never heard of it in Xia Country—one of its software applications was currently taking the world by storm!

He even had it on his own phone.

It was the Douyin short video app!

"This time, I’ve really hit the jackpot."

A smile crept onto Ye Ling’s face.

As the parent company of Douyin, Character Jumping’s current strength was immense. It had even expanded overseas, becoming a ’unicorn’ of Xia Country!

Even with just a twenty percent stake, it was an incredible fortune—worth even more than the sixty percent stake in Shengding Group he had previously acquired!

After all, Shengding Group, for all its power, was only a domestic top-500 enterprise, while Character Jumping was a world-class company still in its growth phase!

In other words, its potential was limitless.

Just then, Ye Ling’s phone vibrated lightly. He glanced at it and saw a voice call invitation from someone named Su Yun.

The name seemed unfamiliar to Ye Ling. After a moment of thought, he suddenly remembered: it was the beautiful woman who had helped him get his VIP card at the Construction Bank.

Ye Ling casually answered the call, and a sweet voice came from the other end.

"Excuse me, is this Young Master Ye?"

"Yes, it is."

Ye Ling was filled with questions.

’Why is this woman calling me so early in the morning...’

’Could it be... she’s after my body?’

"Young Master Ye, I apologize for bothering you so early. I was wondering, are you free this afternoon?"

Su Yun’s voice drifted through the phone.

For some reason, her voice had a naturally seductive quality to it.

Upon hearing this, Ye Ling immediately said, "My apologies, but I’m already spoken for..."

The moment the words left his lips, the voice on the other end of the line clearly faltered for a second.

’I’m already spoken for?’

As Ye Ling’s words echoed in her ears, she suddenly snapped back to her senses. It seemed her own words just now could have been interpreted as her asking him out...

At this realization, Su Yun’s entire face instantly flushed red.

"Young Master Ye, you’ve misunderstood me. It’s like this: our bank is holding an auction this afternoon at the Celestial Immortal Pavilion, and I wanted to ask if you had time to attend."

Su Yun hurriedly explained, trying her best to keep the panic out of her voice.

Meanwhile, her heart was pounding in her chest.

’How could I have said something so ambiguous? It’s mortifying!’

"Ahem, so that’s what it was... My apologies, I misunderstood."

Ye Ling felt a bit awkward himself and quickly changed the subject. "But, banks hold auctions?"

"It’s like this. Every year, some individuals or companies who take out loans with our bank run into cash flow problems and can’t make their repayments. When that happens, we auction off the items they used as collateral to recoup the losses..."

Hearing this, a look of understanding dawned on Ye Ling’s face.

He had never experienced such things himself, but he seemed to recall scrolling past stories about it online... things like a tycoon’s company going bankrupt and their multi-million dollar mansion being auctioned off.

To put it bluntly, it was liquidating assets to cover debt!

Ye Ling did a quick mental calculation. Ning Ruoxi had arranged his meeting with Ning Tianliang for this evening, so an afternoon event wouldn’t create a conflict.

Of course, it wasn’t like he was so bored he had to stick his nose in everything.

The main thing was, he had over a hundred million on hand and was looking for a place to spend it. Attending an auction like this wouldn’t hurt.

"So, can I bring someone with me?"

"As one of our bank’s Gold-level VIPs, you are naturally welcome to bring family or guests to the auction," Su Yun replied, her composure now restored.

"Alright, I’ll be there this afternoon."

"Then I look forward to seeing you this afternoon."

Without any more pleasantries, Su Yun hung up the phone.

Meanwhile, Su Yun was sitting in a large office with floor-to-ceiling windows. She was pouting, her pretty face slightly flushed, Ye Ling’s words still echoing in her ears: ’I’m already spoken for...’

"Still, I wonder if that handsome guy already has a girlfriend?"

A look of disappointment crossed Su Yun’s face.

’She had been thinking about trying to see if something could develop with Ye Ling. After all, it wasn’t every day you met a guy who was so handsome and rich...’

...

Ye Ling hung up the phone, freshened up, and headed to his gym.

Even though his physique was already incredibly powerful after the ten-fold enhancement, the workout habit he’d built over many years was hard to break. So, he still did some exercise every morning after waking up.

After running for half an hour on the treadmill and doing a few sets of anaerobic exercises, Ye Ling felt a light sweat break out over his body and went to take a bath.

"Ruoruo, there’s an auction this afternoon. Want to come with me?"

Wearing a bathrobe, Ye Ling walked downstairs. He saw Ning Ruoxi playing on a tablet and spoke up.

"An auction?"

Upon hearing him, Ning Ruoxi was taken aback for a moment.

"Yes, at the Celestial Immortal Pavilion."

Ye Ling nodded.

"Okay!"

Ning Ruoxi, of course, didn’t refuse. A sweet feeling blossomed in her heart.

The fact that Ye Ling wanted to take her with him even to an auction gave her an immense sense of security.

"I want to go too!"

Seeing her chance, Luo Yue, who was sitting nearby, immediately raised her hand.

"What are you going for?"

Ye Ling gave the little troublemaker a speechless look.

’Why is she always in the middle of everything...’

"I don’t care! I want to go with Sister Ruoruo."

Luo Yue, completely unfazed by Ye Ling’s glare, hugged Ning Ruoxi’s arm and pleaded, "Sister Ruoruo, please take me with you~"

She looked as if she were competing with Ye Ling for favor.

"Alright, alright, we’ll take you with us, okay?"

Ning Ruoxi gave Luo Yue a helpless look and had no choice but to agree. Then, she shot Ye Ling a slightly apologetic glance.

’I knew I shouldn’t have let this girl move in,’

Ye Ling pursed his lips.

’He felt that Luo Yue had now become a major obstacle to the further development of his relationship with Ning Ruoxi!’

’He had originally intended for her to be a human shield, but now it seemed she was completely useless. Hadn’t Ning Tianliang found him anyway?’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Nyah nyah nyah!"

But Luo Yue just gloated in front of Ye Ling, like a little general who had just won a great victory.