Jiang Chen washed his face and saw that it was already afternoon. As he walked out of the restroom, he saw Brother Hu Zi looking around not far away, probably searching for him.
He walked behind Brother Hu Zi and patted his shoulder, which seemed to startle him. "Mr. Jiang, it's you! You scared me to death. I couldn't find you just now, do you know how anxious I was?"
Brother Hu Zi patted his chest, as if he had truly been frightened by Jiang Chen, then took out some documents and handed them to Jiang Chen, saying,
"Mr. Jiang, these are the relevant car purchase contracts and vehicle documents. Your relevant identification is also included. Please take a look."
Jiang Chen took the document bag, casually flipped through it, and jokingly said to the exaggerated Brother Hu Zi, "I've already paid, are you afraid I'm going to run off?"
"Of course not, it's just that Mr. Jiang is now our esteemed guest, and we were just worried about you."
Brother Hu Zi subtly flattered him, then took out the keys and handed them to Jiang Chen, saying, "The car is ready and parked downstairs at the entrance."
Jiang Chen took the keys and asked Brother Hu Zi, "Can I drive it away now?"
"Of course, please follow me, and I'll take you there." After saying that, Brother Hu Zi led Jiang Chen downstairs to the entrance on the first floor, where the Rolls-Royce cullinan that Brother Hu Zi had prepared for Jiang Chen was already parked.
Jiang Chen opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, ignited the engine, and started it with a single button. The Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy on the front of the car rose, and the V12 engine roared, but Jiang Chen, sitting inside, felt no vibration, as all sound was isolated outside.
He rolled down the window and said to Brother Hu Zi, who was still standing by, "I'll take the car for now. You can contact me when the other car is ready for pickup."
"Alright, Mr. Jiang. If you have any questions, you can contact me anytime. Goodbye, Mr. Jiang!" Brother Hu Zi said with a smile.
"Mm," Jiang Chen nodded, lightly pressed the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and drove away from the Rolls-Royce 4S store.
Brother Hu Zi watched Jiang Chen completely leave before returning to the store.
Driving the cullinan, Jiang Chen recalled his phone call with his parents earlier. He hadn't gone back before purely because he had no money, neglecting his family, and also avoiding them due to his own reasons, not daring to go home. Now, heaven, or rather, the System, had given him a chance, and he was determined to be doubly good to his family and not let down his parents' affection for him.
Taking a breath, Jiang Chen told himself not to overthink. The immediate priority was to take over the Group at Xinghe tomorrow. Other matters could wait until after that was dealt with.
As Jiang Chen drove, he arrived at the urban village where he currently lived. He parked the car in a roadside parking area, turned off the engine, and got out. He could clearly see many passersby secretly glancing at the car, and some were even directly taking out their phones to take pictures.
The corners of Jiang Chen's mouth curved slightly upward. Once upon a time, he was one of those people. This feeling was exhilarating.
He pressed the remote control to lock the car. After seeing the car lights flash twice quickly, Jiang Chen walked into the dim alley. This was a unique scene in Pengcheng; even at noon with the sun shining brightly, there was always a spot here where no sunlight could penetrate, and Jiang Chen had lived in such an environment for eight years.
Jiang Chen opened the downstairs door and walked up the stairs. His place wasn't high, on the 5th floor. He climbed for a short while and reached it, took out the key, and opened the door.
This house wasn't large, just a one-bedroom, one-living room, about twenty square meters, but to him, it held special significance.
Since graduating and coming to Pengcheng, he had lived here continuously, never moving.
This small room held too many of his memories and emotions. It witnessed his confusion and struggles when he first entered society and recorded his past self, who was once good for nothing.
He carefully looked over his "home" of eight years again and again, as if to see every inch of it. With a sigh, he entered the bedroom and began packing some frequently worn clothes and personal items, which all fit into one suitcase.
After packing, Jiang Chen closed the door, placed the key under the mat, and carried his suitcase downstairs. It was as if he was leaving Pengcheng just as he had arrived, alone with a single suitcase. Unlike his initial obscurity, this time he was leaving behind a legend belonging to Jiang Chen in this city, and saying goodbye to the past.
By the roadside, Jiang Chen opened the trunk, put his luggage inside, then walked to the driver's seat. He took out his phone, opened Feixin, found the contact noted as "Landlord," informed him that he was moving out and didn't want the deposit back, and transferred him 1000 yuan to hire someone to clean up the house and his remaining belongings. The one thousand yuan was for cleaning fees.
The landlord was a sub-landlord. Although they had rented for so long, they didn't have much interaction; their communication records were only for monthly rent payments.
Then Jiang Chen picked up his phone again to browse hotels. After a while, he finally chose the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which was closest to him.
He booked the most expensive Oriental Suite, costing over eighty thousand yuan per night. Considering he had no place to live at the moment, he directly booked it for a month, spending over two million yuan. Now, this amount of money was just a number to him; since it wasn't money he had painstakingly earned, he felt no heartache. He took out his phone, set the navigation destination, and Jiang Chen drove straight there.
On the way, Jiang Chen looked at his phone, which was simultaneously running navigation and Ugly Group, intermittently broadcasting directions. He felt a bit helpless; this phone had been used for three or four years and was too slow.
"It's time to replace you," Jiang Chen decided that after checking into the hotel and resting, he would go to the mall to get a new phone and some new clothes.
After about twenty minutes, Jiang Chen drove to the hotel lobby downstairs. Seeing the Rolls-Royce parked at the entrance, the doorman immediately ran over to open the car door for him. Jiang Chen then got out and took his luggage from the trunk.
The doorman, with good judgment, stepped forward to take the luggage and said, "Sir, I'll help you with that."
Jiang Chen nodded, handed the suitcase to the doorman, then gave him the keys and said, "Also, please help me park the car."
"No problem, sir. I'll take you to the front desk to check in. My colleague will park the car for you, and the car keys will be sent to your room after it's parked."
Taking Jiang Chen's keys, the doorman handed them to a staff member nearby, then led the way, and Jiang Chen followed him into the hotel entrance.
Inside the hotel front desk, the front desk lady smiled with a standard eight-tooth grin and said, "Sir, please show your identification, and I will assist you with check-in."
Jiang Chen took out his ID card and handed it to her. She took it with both hands, placed it on a machine nearby, and operated the computer with both hands.
"Ah!" The front desk lady carefully looked at the notes on the computer, let out a soft exclamation, and quietly spoke into the walkie-talkie in a voice Jiang Chen couldn't hear, "Manager Zhu, Manager Zhu, I need you to come to the front desk. Your noted guest has arrived."
After speaking, she immediately showed an apologetic smile to Jiang Chen and said, "Mr. Jiang, please wait a moment. May I take you to the lounge area nearby to sit down for a bit?
Because you are our most distinguished guest, our hotel's General Manager will personally handle your check-in."
Jiang Chen nodded, thinking to himself, "As expected, money makes the world go round. Spending over two million yuan, even the General Manager has to come and check me in."
On the surface, however, he said nothing and followed her to the sofa area nearby and sat down.
The front desk lady who had escorted Jiang Chen to his seat then retrieved a menu from nearby, bowed, and said to Jiang Chen, "Mr. Jiang, would you like to try our hotel's special blend? We have wine, tea, coffee, and other beverages."
"Sure, let me see." Jiang Chen took the menu, calmly flipped through it, and finally pointed to one at random, saying, "I'll have this Yunling Jasmine White."
After reporting the name of Jiang Chen's desired drink over the walkie-talkie, the front desk looked at the time. The manager hadn't arrived yet, so she said, "Alright, Mr. Jiang, please wait a moment; your drink will be brought to you shortly. Our manager received the notification and is now rushing over. We hope you don't mind."
Jiang Chen felt that the service at a five-star hotel was indeed exceptional; from entering the hotel to sitting down now, it had only been about ten minutes. He waved his hand, indicating it was fine, "I'm not busy, and it hasn't been that long anyway."