I Just Like It Hard

"Su Yang~"

Hearing her voice, Su Yang turned to look.

He saw Qin Su waving at him as she approached.

Qin Su was wearing a French-style red floral print spaghetti-strap sundress today, with sunglasses on her face and a head of slightly curly brown hair flowing down her back. On her feet, she wore a pair of black round-toe leather shoes.

In her right hand, she carried a Hermès bag, around her neck hung a Van Cleef & Arpels four-leaf clover necklace, and on her wrist was a watch in the same color scheme as her dress.

Her overall look was youthful and stylish.

Seeing this, Su Yang quickly stepped forward. "You're here."

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting, Su Yang. There was a bit of traffic on the way."

"No problem, I only came out two minutes ago myself."

"Good." Qin Su took off her sunglasses and nodded with a smile.

Looking at the two pretty girls standing behind Su Yang, Qin Su asked with slight curiosity, "These two are... your friends?"

Su Yang turned to look at the two girls and chuckled. "Yeah, friends I just met."

"Just met?"

"Uh-huh."

Chen Yuxi and Lin Chuxia, upon seeing Qin Su, immediately switched into gossip mode, whispering to each other, guessing whether this beautiful woman might be Su Yang's girlfriend.

Just then, Su Yang looked at them and said, "Yuxi, Chuxia, this is my friend, Qin Su."

Qin Su stepped forward and greeted them with a smile. "Hello."

"Hi there, beautiful."

After a brief exchange of greetings among the three, Su Yang spoke up. "Yuxi, we're about to head off now."

"Oh, right, we're leaving too. Keep in touch~"

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

After watching the two leave, Su Yang turned to Qin Su and smiled slightly. "Let's go, Xiao Qin."

"Xiao Qin?" Qin Su asked, startled.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't I tell you to call me Susu? Xiao Qin doesn't sound very nice."

"Haha, alright. I'll call you Susu from now on."

"Mm-hmm, let's go. The car's parked out back."

"Okay."

Su Yang pulled his suitcase as he and Qin Su walked toward the back. A few steps later, they saw a cream-white G63 parked by the road.

Qin Su pointed at the car and smiled. "That's the one."

"Nice. I didn't expect you to drive a tough off-road vehicle like this."

"I just like things tough~" Qin Su blurted out.

But as soon as she said it, she felt the words sounded a bit off. She quickly flipped her hair and shifted the subject with a laugh. "Haha, the car looks good. I like boxy SUVs."

"It really does look good. Come on, pop the trunk." Since they weren't all that familiar with each other yet, Su Yang didn't tease her. He walked over to the rear of the car with his suitcase, pretending not to know how to open it.

Qin Su opened the trunk door. Su Yang put his suitcase inside, then shut the door and went around to the passenger side to get in.

Inside the car, Qin Su handed Su Yang a bottle of oolong tea. "Here, you must be tired. Have a drink."

"It's just a plane ride. There's nothing tiring about it. I'm not that delicate."

"Still, have a sip~"

"Alright." Su Yang took the tea, opened it, and took a drink. "So, where are we heading now?"

"It's 1:40 now, just in time for lunch. You definitely haven't eaten yet, right?"

Su Yang shook his head. "Not yet."

"Then let me treat you to lunch. We don't have much going on today anyway. After we eat, I'll take you to look at some cars."

"Sounds good. I'll follow your lead today." Su Yang pulled down the seatbelt and fastened it.

"Great!" Qin San smiled happily, put her sunglasses back on, started the engine, and drove out of the airport.

This was Su Yang's second time in Shanghai, and he figured he'd be coming here more often in the future.

He planned to buy an apartment here. Shanghai was an international city after all, but his reasons weren't really about living in a bigger city with more development opportunities.

What he was really thinking about was the greater potential for enjoyment here. In a way, it also had to do with his 'work.'

Because enjoying himself was, essentially, his job.

On the road, neither of them really knew what to say. After all, they hadn't known each other long—this was only their second meeting—so there was still some awkwardness.

To avoid an uncomfortable silence, Su Yang casually asked, "Susu, you're from Shanghai, so you must know the place pretty well, right?"

"Of course. I grew up in Shanghai."

"Well, if I were thinking of buying an apartment in Shanghai, do you have any recommendations?"

"Buying an apartment?" Qin Su turned to look at Su Yang, a bit surprised.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with buying an apartment?"

"No problem. It's just that property prices in Shanghai are a little on the high side." As soon as she said it, Qin Su realized that might sound like she thought Su Yang couldn't afford it.

She quickly added, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just think that if you don't plan to live here long-term, renting might be more cost-effective."

Su Yang didn't mind. He smiled and said, "I'm not really into renting. I'm well aware of the prices here. It's no big deal. Just recommend a few developments based on what you know."

Qin Su wasn't stupid—she just sometimes spoke a bit bluntly.

Hearing Su Yang's response, she understood that he clearly wasn't short on money.

"Alright, let me think. By the way, do you have any specific requirements? Like area, budget, amenities, layout?"

"Preferably a high-end neighborhood, a penthouse apartment in the city center. That way, it's convenient to get anywhere."

"City center?"

"Yeah, the city center. Preferably one with a river view by the river."

"Well, there are plenty of places that fit that description. But a river-view apartment might easily run you tens or even hundreds of millions."

Su Yang laughed. "That's not a problem."

Qin Su glanced at Su Yang, feeling a bit curious. She had initially thought he was just doing okay for himself—after all, she'd seen him drive an M8 before.

But if sums in the hundreds of millions didn't faze him, she felt like she might have misjudged him before.

"Alright then, let me suggest a few places."

"Go ahead."

"The first one is in the core area of Lujiazui. It's called Shimao Riverside. It's an older development, so there might not be any units for sale right now, but the location is great. If you're interested, I can ask around to see if anyone's selling."

Su Yang smiled. "I'll pass on second-hand for now."

"Oh... okay. Let me recommend some newer ones."

"There's another one, also in Lujiazui. It's called The Grand Mansion. The average price is around 170,000 per square meter. A friend of mine lives there, and I visit often. The estate's environment is excellent, and the layouts are great. The biggest units are around 700 square meters."

"Really? That sounds interesting. Let's note that one." Su Yang jotted down the development name in his phone's notepad.

Next, Qin Su recommended two more expensive developments: Dynasty One and the neighboring Shanghai Sea View One.

The two were right next to each other—one averaged 270,000 per square meter, the other 350,000. Across the river, you'd have a direct view of the Bund.

Su Yang smiled and nodded. "Alright, let's stick with these three. Thanks. After I take care of the business I have here, I'll go check them out."

"Sure. If you need company, I can come with you."

"Sounds good. By the way, where do you live?"