Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

BEEP—

As the sound of the electronic lock beeped, Huang Yufan, who had been distractedly watching TV in the living room, immediately perked up and looked toward the entryway.

"Ruan Ruan, you’re back?"

Huang Yufan casually peeled off her face mask and got up to greet Jiang Ruan.

"I’m back."

Jiang Ruan had a gym bag slung over her shoulder and was carrying a Helena gift box. She looked slightly surprised to see Huang Yufan watching TV in the living room.

"Hehe..."

Huang Yufan blinked, teasing Jiang Ruan, "I was starting to think you weren’t coming home tonight~"

"You came back after your date with Senior Yan, didn’t you?"

Jiang Ruan replied as she changed into her slippers, "President Gu and I just had a casual dinner. There’s nothing substantial between us, so of course I came back."

"Ruan Ruan, it wasn’t a date with Senior Yan!"

Huang Yufan quickly explained, "Senior Yan bought a house a while ago, and I helped him out a little. He just treated me to dinner today to thank me, so don’t get the wrong idea!"

"It’s fine."

"You two can interact however you want."

"Senior Yan is a great catch in every respect. If you’re really interested in getting to know him better, Yu Fan, you don’t have to worry about me at all."

Jiang Ruan finished changing her slippers and straightened up, her expression turning a little serious.

"We really weren’t on a date, and I’m really not interested in Senior Yan."

To be honest, before Huang Yufan ran into Gu Heng tonight, she had been a little interested in Yan Peng. He was highly educated, from a good family, and seemed honest enough—a truly high-quality marriage prospect.

But everything is relative. After seeing Gu Heng today and learning his identity, she just couldn’t muster any interest in Yan Peng no matter how she looked at him.

"Ruan Ruan, have you been drinking?"

Huang Yufan suddenly sniffed the air and asked in surprise.

"Yeah..."

Jiang Ruan nodded. "While I was having dinner with President Gu, the head chef, Master Bai, paired some sake with our meal."

"Wow!"

"The head chef cooked for you himself!"

Huang Yufan exclaimed, "You went in before us but only just got back. You must have had an incredible meal!"

"The food was indeed amazing."

Jiang Ruan followed Huang Yufan to the living room couch and sat down. She sighed with genuine emotion, "I have to say, being with President Gu today was a real eye-opener. So many of those things... I hadn’t just never eaten them, I’d never even seen them before."

"Ruan Ruan, did you take any pictures?"

"I took a few."

"Quick, let me see! I want to see how different our meals were."

"Here. I just snapped a few random ones."

...

Jiang Ruan opened her photo album and handed her phone to Huang Yufan.

A platter of top-tier ingredients, gorgeous and exquisite glasses, a spacious and brightly lit private counter, luxurious and expensive high-end sake, and a dazzling array of delicate dishes...

Looking at the many photos in Jiang Ruan’s album, Huang Yufan was suddenly struck by a strange, life-doubting feeling.

’Did Jiang Ruan and I really just eat at the same restaurant?’

’The difference is just too huge!’

Seeing Huang Yufan’s expression, Jiang Ruan gave a faint smile. "Yu Fan, the set menu at Sushi Yun is just the basic option. It’s meant for customers who have never experienced omakase before."

"If you want a more advanced, higher-tier omakase experience, Sushi Yun offers a custom service. The price starts at 3,000 yuan, with no upper limit."

After hearing Jiang Ruan’s explanation, Huang Yufan felt even more bitter.

’Obviously, the service Jiang Ruan experienced tonight was the one with no upper limit.’

"Ruan Ruan, did President Gu give you this, too?"

Huang Yufan’s gaze shifted to the Helena gift box on the couch.

"Yeah..."

Jiang Ruan gave a slight nod. "I don’t know what’s inside this box."

"Want to open it and see?"

Huang Yufan stared at Jiang Ruan with puppy-dog eyes.

"Alright, let’s open it."

Jiang Ruan was in a great mood tonight. It was always Huang Yufan showing off all sorts of luxury goods in front of her. Now, it was finally her turn to feel proud for a change.

She lifted her hands and unwrapped the exquisite outer packaging. Soon, two of the Helena brand’s flagship products were revealed to them.

"The little green bottle and the Black Bandage!"

"A big shot is a big shot! He’s so generous!"

Huang Yufan couldn’t help but gasp in amazement when she saw the contents of the gift box.

Even though they couldn’t afford these top-tier luxury skincare products, that didn’t stop them from knowing their value like the back of their hands.

This gift box alone was worth at least five thousand yuan!

Young, handsome, fabulously wealthy, with a prominent status and respected position—and to top it all off, he was incredibly generous and not the least bit stingy.

’Girl, aren’t you living a little too well!’

Huang Yufan was so envious her eyes were turning red.

However, as Jiang Ruan stared at the items in the box, her mind began to drift.

She recalled when they had just parted ways. As Gu Heng took this Helena gift box from his trunk, she had noticed several other similar Helena boxes inside.

’Is my Helena gift box the first one he’s given out?’

’And who are the women who will end up with the rest of those Helena boxes?’

Jiang Ruan’s thoughts were in a turmoil.

In truth, she already knew the answer in her heart.

’Would a young, successful man like Gu Heng ever be short of beautiful women?’

Take that woman she had seen at the Mercedes-Benz dealership the other day—her looks and her aura were in no way inferior to her own.

’Her beauty and her figure were her strongest cards.’

’As for her other cards, it seemed their values weren’t very high.’

’Was it possible to become Gu Heng’s one and only, his main partner, based on looks and figure alone?’

Although Jiang Ruan had never been in a relationship before, she had always had a constant stream of pursuers, which made her believe she was at the top of the food chain in the dating market.

It wasn’t until today, after she had witnessed the splendor of true high society with her own eyes, that she truly realized her rank in the dating market was nowhere near as high as she had imagined.

Gu Heng—

he was the one truly at the top of the food chain!

"Ruan Ruan, how did you and President Gu meet?"

Huang Yufan looked at Jiang Ruan and asked tentatively, "What’s your relationship with him now?"

"We’re..."

"Just friends, for now."

Jiang Ruan snapped back to reality. Her eyes flickered for a moment as she responded in a low voice.

"So, is he pursuing you?"

Huang Yufan asked again.

"How could he be..."

"A man of his status? Why would he lower himself to pursue me?"

Jiang Ruan had that much self-awareness, at least. She knew Gu Heng might be a little interested in her, but it was a far cry from actual pursuit.

"Oh..."

Huang Yufan replied softly, seemingly lost in thought.

"Yu Fan, I’m a little tired."

"I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed. Let’s talk later when we have time."

Jiang Ruan stood up from the couch. She closed the Helena gift box and then picked up her gym bag from beside her.

"Okay."

"Get some rest."

Huang Yufan nodded, watching as Jiang Ruan carried her things into her room...