"What do you think?" Chen Qi asked.
"I don't really know much about cars, so I can't give you any useful advice — but it does look incredibly cool," Xu Lu said.
The saleswoman chimed in from beside the car. "The white paint suits you perfectly, sir. It's very refined and elegant."
Refined and elegant. Chen Qi hadn't realized he had that kind of image.
"This Roma is originally priced at 2.78 million. We currently have a promotion running — I can get you a price of 2.58 million."
2.58 million. That's enough to buy two base-model Porsche 911s.
Xu Lu's heart jumped when she heard the price. She didn't know much about Ferraris, but the girl at the Hermès counter next to her store had a boyfriend who drove a Porsche 911 — and that girl always looked so smug sitting in the passenger seat.
"Let me see that red one over there," Chen Qi said, climbing out of the Roma and pointing to a blazing red Ferrari nearby.
"This is the Ferrari 488, equipped with the most powerful V8 engine Ferrari has ever produced," the saleswoman explained. "It's a special-series model built with Ferrari's top-tier racing technology, carrying on the legendary legacy of the Prancing Horse brand... The current price is 3.15 million."
"What do you think?" Chen Qi turned to Xu Lu.
"It's stunning. With a guy as handsome as you behind the wheel, I don't know how many girls you'd kill."
What do you mean, 'what do I think'? It's three million yuan. Just because I say I like it, you'd actually buy it? You're probably just here to show off — no way you're actually buying.
There were all kinds of rich second-generation guys. Some just had family money and never spent a cent of their own — they'd take girls out in the family Porsche, but the moment they had to pay for anything themselves, forget it.
"I'll take this one," Chen Qi said.
"What?" Xu Lu's eyes went wide.
Three million, just like that?
What kind of young master is this? I've seen plenty of rich-boy posers bringing girls here to show off — but someone who actually just... buys it on the spot? That's a first.
"Sir, if you're interested, we'll need you to fill out some paperwork first. The 488 has quite a few optional configurations."
As the crown jewel of the supercar world, Ferrari's optional extras came at extraordinary prices. A 3.15 million base car could easily climb past 4 million once you started selecting add-ons.
"Sure, let's go through the options."
The saleswoman led them to a VIP lounge. She picked up an iPad from the table, tapped through a few screens, and handed it to Chen Qi.
"Sir, please take a look at the available configurations."
"Let her look," Chen Qi said.
Xu Lu blinked.
This is a three-million-yuan car, not a ¥50,000 outfit from our store.
"Chen Qi, I really don't know anything about cars. You guys are way better at this stuff — and besides, you're the one driving it."
The saleswoman stepped in with a smile. "Miss, your boyfriend trusts your taste completely. Whatever you pick, he'll love it. And since you'll be riding in the passenger seat, why not choose an interior you'll actually enjoy looking at?"
Wait, she's completely misunderstood — not that I mind.
Xu Lu glanced over at Chen Qi. He hadn't corrected anything, just sat there perfectly relaxed, sipping his tea.
Since he wasn't saying anything, she wasn't going to either. She was more than happy to let the misunderstanding stand.
With the saleswoman's guidance, Xu Lu spent half an hour selecting configurations. Chen Qi didn't involve himself at all.
"Mr. Chen, the final price comes to 4.38 million."
Xu Lu leaned in close and whispered, "Did I select too much?"
She was genuinely worried — what if he didn't like what she'd picked? And it was so expensive.
"Your taste is perfect. Let's go with it."
"So decided." Chen Qi handed the iPad back to the saleswoman.
The saleswoman's face lit up. This client was almost unreasonably easy to work with. He walked in, barely looked at the cars, handed the entire configuration to his girlfriend — maybe he was just completely whipped.
"When can we pick it up?"
"Mr. Chen, if you put down a deposit today, the earliest would be one week."
Chen Qi wasn't in any rush to start driving a Ferrari.
"That works. Let's lock in this configuration."
"Understood. I'll prepare the purchase contract now — will that be on financing or full payment?"
He had over 28 million sitting in his account. Financing? Seriously?
"Full payment."
The saleswoman processed everything at record speed, and Chen Qi was equally decisive. He wired 4.38 million directly to the dealership's corporate account. On top of that, there was a 10% purchase tax.
All in, it came out to roughly 4.8 million.
Are these two for real? 4.38 million in under half an hour?
[Xu Lu's favorability +10. Current favorability: 20.]
"Huh? How'd that go up? I just bought a car for myself."
Chen Qi didn't understand it yet — women are drawn to power. The sheer ease with which he'd spent 4.38 million was its own kind of proof. And after the Vuitton shopping yesterday plus the full-cash Ferrari purchase today, Xu Lu was absolutely certain he was no poser.
"Soft Boss, if I bought Xu Lu a car, how much favorability would I get?"
"You'd get jack squat. You've known her for two days — if you tried to give her a million-yuan car, she'd be too scared to take it. She'd think you were laundering money."
Chen Qi thought about it. That actually made sense. There was no shortage of money-laundering stories online; Xu Lu had almost certainly seen them.
Slow and steady it was.
"Chen Qi, all those configurations were my picks. If you end up not liking them, you can't blame me."
"I love it because you love it."
"What does my liking it have to do with anything? It's your car."
"But you'll be riding in it too, won't you? I'm already planning to take you out all the time."
Hmph. Called it. He's trying to get with me.
Yesterday's gift — letting her choose the bag — and today letting her spec out the Ferrari: both had given Xu Lu an enormous sense of involvement. Like she was already the mistress of everything.
"Mr. Chen, shall we exchange WeChat? That way you can reach me directly if anything comes up," the saleswoman said with a warm smile.
Xu Lu very much wanted to stop him. Zhang Li was good-looking — honestly about as pretty as herself. And sure, saleswomen adding clients on WeChat was completely normal; Xu Lu knew that better than anyone, since she was a saleswoman too.
But some female sales staff had a way of going after their most valuable clients. The young and rich were basically never safe — and even married, successful older men weren't off the table for some of them.
Chen Qi was obviously in the top tier: handsome, loaded, and charming.
"Mr. Chen, I noticed the home address field on your VIP profile is blank."
"I'd rather keep that private. If anything comes up, just message me on WeChat."
What's Chen Qi's background? Doesn't want to give his home address... is he worried about people knowing where he's from?
Xu Lu had already started filling in backstories for him. So had Zhang Li.
Some old-money families were intensely private — they didn't want their information circulating online or showing up in the news.
What neither of them could possibly know was that Chen Qi just didn't want to write it down. He lived in a very ordinary residential complex. You might see a BMW or a Mercedes there and not blink — but a Ferrari 488? No one in that neighborhood could afford one.
He'd been planning to look at units in Gongyuan No.1 this week. A 200-square-meter apartment, somewhere to stay for the time being.
After the car was sorted, the afternoon was still young. Chen Qi figured he'd spend a little more time with Xu Lu — close the distance a bit more.
"Want to walk around the mall for a while?"
Xu Lu agreed without hesitation. She'd spent two hours on her makeup that morning — it would be a crime to go straight home.
Xu Lu's usual shopping ground, Yida Plaza, was a bit far from the Ferrari dealership. They went to the nearby Jintai instead.