Hearing this, Li Shuang perked up immediately.
Rich guy's starting to flex again.
Not just good food, but alcohol couldn't be left out either.
Seems like he's really the spontaneous type. If someone planned to treat girls to fine wine, they'd usually bring their own bottles.
After all, buying through personal connections at home can get you alcohol much cheaper than hotels or restaurants.
Wealthy people are often surprisingly frugal about these things.
But Su Bai had already been conditioned by his indulgence system to act on whims.
Even from a rational perspective, the premium from impulsive spending would generate more cashback - a win-win.
Li Shuang frantically scrolled through her phone before pulling up the wine list for Su Bai.
Su Bai quickly made selections matching his personal taste.
Two bottles of red wine, two bottles of white, plus one bottle of whiskey.
The whiskey was just an everyday variety - the famous Johnnie Walker.
The real price came from the wines, which Su Bai deliberately chose at the highest end.
[Ding! Detected host's indulgent spending on alcohol totaling 52,988 yuan. Triggered 10x cashback - 529,880 yuan received!]
A casual wave of the hand, and half a million lands in the account!
After finalizing the order, Su Bai announced: "Tonight we're drinking the good stuff - go wild. We can sleep in tomorrow morning and think about hiking in the afternoon."
"Hell yeah!" Wan Xinyan led the cheers.
Though she enjoyed outdoor activities, fine wine definitely took priority over mountain climbing.
Last time when she and her sister dined with Su Bai, they'd been shocked when he casually opened a collector's red worth over 100k.
As for the taste? They weren't wine connoisseurs, but even they could tell it was exceptional.
Li Shuang bustled about organizing an elaborate wine-opening ceremony.
Having seen it before, Su Bai wasn't particularly impressed, but the other girls found it fascinating.
Jiang Qiuran even filmed a clip for her social media.
The notification chimes for comments immediately started pinging nonstop.
It outperformed Chen Yusheng's relationship announcement post in engagement.
As the campus belle, Jiang naturally dominated social media - no contest against homebody Chen Yusheng.
After waves of admiring comments, someone finally posted what Jiang had been waiting for:
"Holy shit, isn't that the lakeside villa at Tianrong Resort? Off-season rates are nearly 20k per night - with Mid-Autumn holiday pricing, that's gotta be 30-40k?"
"Is our Jiang celebrating someone's birthday?"
This came from a wealthy student council senior Jiang knew.
The comment redirected everyone's attention from the elegant setting to calculating its monetary value.
Soon a wine expert pointed out the photographed reds and whites were all premium selections - clear signs of a truly wealthy host.
But immediately someone countered:
"Rich my ass. Proper high-profile parties book entire floors in prime locations. This resort's still the suburbs..."
Admittedly,
while somewhat bitter, the criticism held merit.
The lakeside villa was undoubtedly upscale, but not top-tier - premium wedding venues also cost tens of thousands to book.
But this situation was completely different - Su Bai had simply brought friends for casual fun. Despite the small group, he'd spared no expense, easily spending over 100k tonight.
Jiang Qiuran's eyes sparkled.
This was exactly what she wanted!
She immediately commented:
"Hehe, not a birthday~ Just hanging out with the guy I've been secretly crushing on ❤️"
After about a minute,
Jiang promptly deleted the comment.
Gotta keep them guessing~
Leaving it up would cause excessive speculation and people digging for details.
If this led to exposing Su Bai, she knew he'd find it troublesome.
Paradoxically, deleting it would fuel more imagination.
As for letting her admirers see it...
That was precisely Jiang's intention!
Let them know Jiang Qiuran's heart already belonged to someone.
Stop trying to approach her.
Reconciling with Su Bai required first informing her pursuers that she was already taken.
Who needs being the campus belle when you can be Su Bai's plaything?
This dramatic shift made Su Bai click his tongue in amusement: "Damn, you're gonna ruin these guys' Mid-Autumn Festival, aren't you?"
"So what? I didn't actually..." Jiang suddenly realized something and whirled around to find Su Bai standing right behind her with a mischievous grin.
Flustered, she stammered: "Y-you saw everything?!"
"I see, well, I suppose you’ve handled it with some tact. Keep it up."
"I’ll keep working hard~"
Jiang Qiuran rose on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss by Su Bai’s ear, whispering softly, "Master~" in a playful tone.
She really knows how to charm him.
Su Bai gave her little rear a teasing pinch before heading off to grill the skewers.
Jiang Qiuran watched his retreating figure, clenching her small fists with quiet determination.
Though this was still far from enough to win back Su Bai’s affection…
Jiang Qiuran would keep trying!
...
Grilling is an art that tests both technique and timing.
But as the saying goes?
With top-tier ingredients, you can brute-force your way to success.
Take beef, for example—premium cuts taste even better when cooked rare.
Charred on the outside, tender and juicy inside—it’s a flavor all its own.
The same goes for lamb and fish, which also have their own delicious half-cooked preparations.
This was why Su Bai had insisted Li Shuang source high-quality ingredients—since none of them were professional grillers, the materials had to make up for it.
Su Bai knew his way around a kitchen, which gave him an edge over the girls when it came to controlling the heat.
The least skilled was clearly Jiang Qiuran, who barely ever stepped into a kitchen. Even sprinkling salt or cumin was a struggle, so Su Bai sent Wan Xinyan to coach her.
Chen Yusheng wasn’t much better, so Su Bai guided her hands personally—and took the chance to get cozy.
This alone made it obvious that among the four women present, Su Bai’s favor was unevenly distributed.
In his mind, he had a clear hierarchy, adjusting his approach based on each girl’s qualities and how they treated him.
Li Shuang observed this and, with impeccable timing, was the first to pour glasses of the now-aerated red wine, handing two to Su Bai and Chen Yusheng.
"Mr. Su, Miss Chen, please try this ‘Screaming Eagle’ from Napa Valley. It’s a cult favorite—intensely fruity, richly concentrated, with silky tannins, perfect for pairing with bold, smoky grilled meats..."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
