Everyday Romance After Becoming a Billionaire

After a satisfying meal, they all pitched in to clean up, loading the plates and bowls into the dishwasher. The earlier deal about whoever cooked the worst dish having to do the washing was just a youthful joke, not something to be taken seriously.

Shanglin Fu.

It was built at the very end of the Jiangning River, which flowed into Jiangning Lake.

Qi Shan had adapted the plans for Su Ran’s Buchu Garden to the local geography. Upon seeing a solitary island in the lake, he had his designers draw up plans for a luxury villa. A developer, after all, never passes up an opportunity to make money.

Of course, Su Ran was very fond of this island mansion. It wasn’t that he was being pretentious; the solitary island truly had an "isolated from the world" kind of vibe to it.

「In the afternoon.」

Sunlight filtered through the rustling bamboo grove, bathing the courtyard in a warm glow. The four girls were lounging lazily on chairs on the waterside deck, gazing out at the vast Jiangning Lake.

As the host, Su Ran freshly squeezed a few glasses of juice and brought them over.

He had even garnished each glass.

Xiao Wanqing took a sip of her juice. ’Sweet.’

"Su Ran, I think you should buy a yacht to keep here. We could take it out on Jiangning Lake whenever we want."

"Alright, I’ll make a call and ask about one right now."

Su Ran raised his phone, but Xiao Wanqing quickly stopped him.

"Hey, I was just saying! You actually took me seriously."

A warm feeling spread through her chest. ’Su Ran really is so sweet. I just casually mention a yacht, and he’s ready to buy one for me without a second thought.’

Su Ran rested his chin in his hand, thought for a moment, and said, "Hmm... next time, I’ll rent a yacht, and we can go on a trip out to sea. To Xisha."

Liu Jinyu: "That sounds wonderful."

Aina: "If you want to see Xie Yiren in a bikini, just say so."

Xie Yiren: "Screw you, you little slut. Shut your mouth."

Su Ran chuckled and said, "It’s still early. How about I take you guys out? Historic sites or the mall?"

Aina, channeling her inner Lin Daiyu, said in a sultry voice, "I want to go to the places you’ve been, to see them, to walk where you’ve walked... Ahh! Xie Yiren, you’re dead! Why are you pinching me?"

Xie Yiren shot back, gritting her teeth, "I’ve had it with you. You use that seductive voice one more time and I’ll toss you in a brothel and see how much of a flirt you are then."

"How cruel!"

Aina was annoyed. Puffing out her modest chest, she retorted, "You’re calling me a flirt? You’re the flirt! I’m the picture of innocence, you know. When it comes to being slutty, I’d probably only rank fourth. Liu Jinyu is the real number one."

Pfft—

"You damn bitch, what did I ever do to you?"

Liu Jinyu, having been caught in the crossfire, rushed over to "beat up" Aina.

Soon, the four women were at it again, starting another round of playful fighting.

Su Ran’s head was buzzing.

’Being with these four, there’s never a quiet moment. It’s like they’re all permanently on a sugar high.’

’When we’re apart, I miss them.’

’When we’re together, I find them too noisy.’

They spent the entire afternoon in the courtyard.

It was mainly because Su Ran’s Buchu Garden was so relaxing and comfortable. The four girls, getting this chance to "vacation" here, naturally wanted to fully experience the life of the wealthy—and order the "wealthy man" around to serve them.

’Mmm, this feeling of being the boss and lording it over a rich guy is awesome.’

Su Ran, for his part, didn’t mind who was on top.

As long as the four of them were having fun, that was all that mattered.

This continued until late afternoon, just before they started preparing dinner. Xiao Wanqing suddenly remembered something and said she had to go out. She walked out of the courtyard and called out to Su Ran, who was chatting with a neighborhood lady by the gate.

"Su Ran, I have to pop out for a bit."

Su Ran walked over and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To buy some... feminine things."

Xiao Wanqing thought she heard Su Ran let out a small, disappointed sigh.

’I said I’m going out to buy some feminine things, so why is he sighing?’

She reached out and gave Su Ran a hard pinch.

"I say I’m going to buy some feminine things and you’re over here sighing. What’s going on in that head of yours? You have a girlfriend, you shouldn’t be having improper thoughts. Believe it or not, I’ll teach you a lesson on Jinyu’s behalf!"

Xiao Wanqing threatened him with a small, raised fist.

Su Ran looked completely innocent. "I wasn’t thinking anything improper! Sigh, I was just talking to my neighbor. She said one of the male homeowners in the complex died in a car crash. Worth billions, and he died just when he could finally enjoy it. It’s such a shame."

"Oh..." Xiao Wanqing lowered her fist and cleared her throat, explaining a little too casually, "I’m going to buy a couple of bras, not... *that*."

Su Ran held up his hands. "Why are you explaining that to me?"

Xiao Wanqing pointed at him with a look of mock disgust. "You—you—look at that! You started smiling immediately! Su Ran, you’re unbelievable."

Pfft—

Su Ran nearly coughed up blood from frustration.

"Wait..." Su Ran grabbed Xiao Wanqing’s hand. "There’s a new Victoria’s Secret that just opened downtown. I’ll go with you. Hold on, let me ask the others if they want to come."

Su Ran went into the kitchen and asked Liu Jinyu and the others if they wanted to go shopping at Victoria’s Secret, his treat.

He said it openly and casually. If he’d asked timidly, the girls would have been creeped out. By treating "Victoria’s Secret" like any other ordinary store, he made sure they wouldn’t feel awkward.

Besides, ever since their RV trip together, where the girls’ underwear was practically flying all over the place and sometimes even landed on his head, a trip to Victoria’s Secret was no big deal.

Of course, it all depended on the person. Only Su Ran could "treat them to Victoria’s Secret"—that was called being doting.

If anyone else said it—that would be cause for a 911 call.

Liu Jinyu, who was prepping vegetables, shook her head. "We’re already starting on dinner, so we’ll pass. You can just take Wanqing. She forgot to pack a change of underwear. By the time you get back, we’ll be ready to eat."

Su Ran: "I hear Victoria’s Secret is something boyfriends usually buy for their girlfriends. Should I pick up a couple of sets for you while I’m there?"

Her heart warmed at his words, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Suit. Your. Self!" Those three words were the equivalent of saying, "I’m game!"

Su Ran smiled and looked at the other two. "Aina, Yiren, are you guys going?"

Aina was about to speak, but Xie Yiren clapped a hand over her mouth. "We’re not going. Just get Aina a pair of custom-made panties on your way back, that’ll be enough for her."

Pfft...

Everyone burst out laughing.

Aina’s face turned red with anger as she chased after Xie Yiren, trying to hit her.

"Alright, I’ll bring you guys back some snacks then."

Su Ran said his goodbyes, grabbed the keys, and headed out, leaving with Xiao Wanqing in the Aston Martin DBS.

「In the car.」

Xiao Wanqing crossed her fair-skinned left leg over her right.

As Su Ran’s hand reached down, Xiao Wanqing shifted her leg away. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Pfft—

Su Ran felt like spitting up blood again.

"Sister Wanqing, what are you thinking? I’m just getting the pack of Stride from the center console."

"Oh." Xiao Wanqing had been startled, thinking Su Ran was about to suddenly grab her thigh.

’If you could take the most perfect feature from each of these four women and combine them into one person, she’d be an absolute world-ender.’

’Wait...’ As Su Ran thought this, why did his mind suddenly jump to the seven pieced-together desiccated corpses from the "Young Justice Bao" TV series?

"Why are you chewing gum?" Xiao Wanqing gave Su Ran a look worthy of Sherlock Holmes. "You’re not planning something nefarious, are you?"

Su Ran chuckled. "Wanqing, you’re overthinking it. Fine, then I won’t have any."

"Hmph. Here."

Xiao Wanqing unwrapped a piece of the gum and personally fed it to Su Ran before taking a piece for herself.

"Why are you having a piece too? You’re not planning something nefarious, are you?" Su Ran retorted.

"Me? With you? You’re overthinking it. Hmph."

"Good to know."

"You know... Su Ran, I’ve noticed you’ve gotten a lot smoother with your words lately," Xiao Wanqing said with keen interest, propping her elbow on the center console and resting her chin in her hand.

"We’ve known each other for so long and are so comfortable with one another. Of course, we’re all showing our true selves. If we weren’t close, I probably wouldn’t say much at all."

Hearing this, Xiao Wanqing nodded in agreement. ’People have to get to know each other, after all.’ If they weren’t this close, the four of them would never show their true selves to Su Ran; they’d just maintain their "goddess" personas. The same went for him.

Xiao Wanqing put on an English song, leaned back in her seat, and watched Jiangning City go by outside the window, blowing bubbles with her gum.

To be honest, this applied to all of them—his girlfriend Liu Jinyu, and his confidantes Xiao Wanqing, Aina, and Xie Yiren. Though they were all having a great time with Su Ran now, they were still young. The thrill of novelty came and went quickly. The more fun they had, the more they secretly worried that one day, they would just drift apart and lose touch.

’After all,’ she thought, ’Su Ran is so rich, and he’s a college freshman now. What if he meets someone even prettier? He might stop visiting them in Shanghai. When you spend a lot of time with someone and grow attached, you start to overthink things. In the end, it was because they truly cared.’

"Su Ran, are you the type of person who’s always chasing after the next new thing?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, will you get tired of us one day and just stop talking to us?"

"What are you thinking? Am I that kind of person?"

"It’s mainly that you’re so rich. It’s hard for people to feel secure."

"Then I’ll donate my entire fortune."

’And that would solve it?’

’He’d just wake up to another Wealth Card.’

"Why do you girls keep asking me this every other day?"

"Girls need reassurance. When we ask you every now and then, it’s because we need you to give us a shot of security. Don’t you know that?"

"Oh... giving shots. Right. I can do that."

Su Ran had indeed been conserving his energy lately; he had several "shots" saved up.

While they were stopped at a red light, Su Ran saw a vendor selling tanghulu. He raised his right hand again, but this time, Xiao Wanqing didn’t reflexively move her long legs away.

"You’re... not moving away? Not afraid I’ll get handsy?" The moment the words left his mouth, Su Ran saw the screen of Xiao Wanqing’s phone: 911.

Su Ran laughed. "Wanqing, you’re really something else." With that, he took a few bills from the center console, waved the tanghulu vendor over, bought a skewer, and handed it to Xiao Wanqing.

"For me?"

"Mhm."

"Why?"

"I like the way you look when you’re eating tanghulu."

"Believe it or not, I’ll stab you with this."