Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

"Hello, could you tell me about your gift sets?"

Gu Heng looked at the sales associate and asked politely.

"Sir, our Helena counter currently has two types of gift sets. One is a cream combination set, and the other is a serum and cream combination set."

The sales associates here had noticed Gu Heng wandering in front of their counter a while ago. As salespeople for a high-end luxury skincare brand like Helena, they had a sharp eye for these things.

Although Gu Heng wasn’t wearing any accessories and his clothes had no conspicuous logos, they could tell from the fabric and quality of his shirt alone that it was anything but cheap.

"Hmm..."

"How much is the serum and cream combination set, roughly?"

Gu Heng tapped his finger on the glass display case and asked the sales associate again.

"Sir, this serum and cream combination set contains a 50ml bottle of the Green Treasure Bottle serum and a 50ml jar of the Black Bandage cream. Both are signature products of our Helena brand."

The sales associate explained in detail, "Right now, our Helena counter is having a promotion. You get a 10% discount on purchases over 5,000 yuan. After the discount, this serum and cream combination set costs 4,980 yuan."

Gu Heng nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

Skincare was a complete blind spot for him.

He had never even heard of the brand Helena before.

The only reason he’d chosen to walk into the Helena brand counter was that among all the brand counters, theirs looked the most spacious and luxurious.

The three girls standing next to Gu Heng watched him chat with the sales associate, realizing he had no intention of striking up a conversation with any of them.

They exchanged glances, their expressions varied.

"Hey, are you buying a gift set for your girlfriend?"

Suddenly, Liu Nanyi leaned out and asked Gu Heng.

Her voice was clear and pleasant. A light green floral spaghetti-strap dress left her snowy-white shoulders completely exposed. Paired with her innocent-yet-seductive makeup and a slightly playful expression, it was a truly lethal combination for any 18-year-old boy.

Gu Heng, who had been talking to the sales associate, was taken aback that one of the three girls beside him would actually initiate a conversation. He paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

Nearby, both Su Tang and Feng Yao were surprised that Liu Nanyi had decided to take the initiative.

But since Liu Nanyi had already broken the ice, the other two dropped their reserved, aloof pretense and also turned their gazes toward Gu Heng.

"So it’s for a friend, then?"

Liu Nanyi gave Gu Heng a thumbs-up. "Mister, Helena is a really good choice. You’ve got great taste!"

Gu Heng looked at Liu Nanyi and found her rather interesting.

"If you had to choose between the cream gift set and the serum and cream gift set, which one would you prefer?"

Gu Heng turned slightly to ask Liu Nanyi.

He didn’t ignore the other two girls, though. His gaze swept over to them, and he gave a slight nod as a polite greeting.

"Definitely the Green Treasure Bottle and Black Bandage set!"

Liu Nanyi replied with a smile, "For young women, serum is more practical than cream!"

"Thanks for the recommendation."

Gu Heng nodded at Liu Nanyi, then looked at the sales associate. "I’ll take the serum and cream combination gift set, then. Please get me five of them."

Five sets?

The sales associate froze for a second before her heart was instantly filled with immense delight.

"Yes, of course!"

"Sir, please wait a moment!"

The sales associate agreed effusively. "I’ll get them ready for you right away!"

"Oh, right."

"I have a Zhuo Zhan Super VIP card. Can I get an additional discount on top of the current one?"

Gu Heng had suddenly remembered that his Super VIP card came with discount privileges, so he asked the sales associate another question.

After all, as the saying goes, spend where you must, save where you can. Over time, those savings could add up to a lot of special-order foods without cilantro and plenty of gummy bears.

"Sir, our Helena brand is a contracted counter, so we can’t offer a discount on top of the promotion."

"However, you can use your Super VIP card’s 12% discount directly, which is better than our 10% promotional discount."

When the sales associate heard Gu Heng was a Zhuo Zhan Super VIP, her attitude immediately became even more respectful.

"Oh..."

"Then let’s go with the Super VIP card’s 12% discount."

Gu Heng nodded, then pulled a thick stack of cards from his pocket. He found the Zhuozhan Shopping Center Super VIP card and a CMB Centurion Black Card.

"Just charge it."

Gu Heng handed the two cards to the sales associate.

"Of course!"

"One moment!"

The sales associate looked at the top-tier membership cards for all of Beichun’s most exclusive establishments in Gu Heng’s hand and was completely stunned.

And if a Helena sales associate, who was used to dealing with wealthy people all the time, was this shocked, one could only imagine how the three freshman suitemates felt.

Su Tang and Feng Yao managed to maintain their composure, but inside, their minds were reeling.

Helena gift sets worth nearly five thousand yuan, and he bought five of them without a second thought.

When their families bought them Chanel bags for starting college, they treasured them so much they practically wanted to sleep with them every night.

But in the blink of an eye, this guy had just spent the equivalent of one of their Chanel bags.

And then there were all those exquisitely designed, top-tier membership cards. Although they didn’t recognize most of them, the cards just gave off an intimidatingly impressive aura.

’We’ve run into a true Brother Fu...’

The same thought flashed through both girls’ minds.

In contrast to the other two’s feigned calmness, Liu Nanyi didn’t hide her emotions, letting her astonishment show plainly on her face.

"Oh my God!"

"You just bought five sets!"

"Your friends must be so lucky!"

"Hey, Mister, are you looking for any more friends?"

"I don’t care about the gift set, I just think you’re handsome!"

Liu Nanyi blinked her large eyes, her long eyelashes like a pair of tiny brushes, a hint of adoration twinkling in their depths.

Hearing this, Gu Heng found Liu Nanyi’s lively, pretty face inexplicably amusing. He smiled and said, "My name is Gu Heng."

"I’m Liu Nanyi!"

"A freshman in the Vocal Performance Department at Jilin University School of Art this year!"

"These are my roommates!"

Liu Nanyi bypassed Su Tang and Feng Yao to stand beside Gu Heng. "What about you? I feel like we’re around the same age."

"You’re freshmen."

Gu Heng replied with a smile, "Then we should be the same age. I’m also 18 this year."

"Wow!"

"What a coincidence!"

Liu Nanyi exclaimed, then pulled her phone, which was in a cute puppy case, out of her bag. "Mister, want to add each other on WhatsApp?"

"Okay."

The girl was being so forward; Gu Heng naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Mister, you really don’t have a girlfriend?"

"You can’t lie to me."

"If your girlfriend found out you added another girl on WhatsApp and got into a fight with you over it, I’d feel really bad."

As Liu Nanyi scanned Gu Heng’s personal QR code, her eyes sparkled as she teased him playfully.

"Not at the moment."

"I’ll delete you when I get one."

Gu Heng replied with a light chuckle.

"Huh?"

"That’s a little heartless of you."

Just as the two were chatting and adding each other on WhatsApp, a man’s voice suddenly called out from outside the Helena brand counter...