An Acquaintance at the Tennis Hall

Compared to buying a car, acquiring a tennis court is a far more complicated affair—especially when the location is in a relatively bustling area of the city.

Luxury cars and tennis are both things Liu Chenyang adores, but the barrier to entry for the former is actually much lower than the latter.

Many second-generation rich kids with average physical fitness can handle driving a sports car just fine, but ask them to play tennis, and they’re completely lost.

After all, tennis remains a niche sport in the country, with relatively high requirements for both facilities and equipment.

"Su Bai, are you really planning to buy a tennis court?"

"Of course."

"But it’s a bit of a hassle, you know? The maintenance and operation afterward aren’t exactly simple."

Liu Chenyang reminded her thoughtfully.

This was something many newly wealthy people tended to overlook.

Some things aren’t unaffordable—it’s just that owning them comes with endless headaches. A tennis court is actually one of the tamer examples; certain ventures are outright money pits.

To use cars as an analogy, some working-class families could technically afford a luxury sedan like a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes, but the upkeep costs are so high that it’s not worth it. Unless they need to keep up appearances, they’d rather opt for a model with cheaper maintenance.

Su Bai, however, just laughed breezily. "No worries. Worst case, I’ll hire a professional team to handle it. Please don’t question my budget."

"Alright, alright, you’re impossible!"

Once she confirmed Su Bai’s seriousness, Liu Chenyang began earnestly running the numbers for her.

It was obvious that Su Bai’s decision to buy a tennis court was partly for her sake.

Seems like Su Bai is really serious about her… Ugh, though it’s still unclear how Su Bai actually views their relationship. Could it be that she’s already treating her as part of her harem?

It’s a bit domineering, but Liu Chenyang can’t say she minds.

"Su Bai, are you thinking of an outdoor court or an indoor one?"

"Indoor. After all, besides playing tennis, we’ll probably end up doing other things there too. An outdoor court wouldn’t be as convenient."

"...You—how could you?! We haven’t even settled on anything yet, and you’re already thinking that far ahead!" Liu Chenyang scolded, flustered.

"It’s called planning ahead. You know me—I like to consider all the details before acting." Su Bai leaned in and whispered, "Besides, I’ve noticed you enjoy it too… in all sorts of places."

"Mmm~"

Truthfully, they were in a private booth at a steakhouse—quiet and secluded—so Su Bai didn’t need to whisper into Liu Chenyang’s ear. But she did it anyway, just to fluster her.

She loved seeing Chenyang blush like this.

That mix of youthful innocence and alluring charm was something ordinary girls could never match.

Only a unique environment and experiences could cultivate such an exquisite soft-hearted girl.

By the time the two walked out of the steakhouse arm in arm, Liu Chenyang’s legs had gone weak again, forcing her to lean on Su Bai for support.

Honestly… this troublemaker, always getting handsy.

Ever since their first handshake, Liu Chenyang had intermittently felt those strange but intensely pleasurable sensations. She had no idea what was going on, but Su Bai seemed to have figured her out completely and took every opportunity to tease her.

Such a bad girl~

...

3:00 PM.

Inside a café, Wu Hanyu took off his sunglasses and instinctively glanced around before balancing them on his index finger and spinning them in circles.

...Admittedly, it was a little childish.

But it was just so fun! Anything that could be spun on a finger, Wu Hanyu couldn’t resist playing with.

Unless there were acquaintances around, or strangers he needed to network with.

What could he do? As a prominent second-generation rich kid in Jiangcheng, Xiao Wu had an image to maintain.

Otherwise, imagine if someone like Xue Tao—a mere underling—came to toast him, and Wu Hanyu just started spinning stuff mid-conversation.

How embarrassing would that be?

Ever since his dad spanked him as a kid for spinning a little girl’s hairpin at a charity banquet, he’d learned to restrain himself.

But today, he was in a good mood.

Just a little spin~

Speaking of which, the indoor tennis court at home had barely been used since it was built.

Xiao Wu had once asked his dad: If it’s not being used, why bother spending so much money on land, materials, and top-tier facilities?

I mean, it’s not like Jiangcheng has a huge tennis-playing population. Anyone could tell this wasn’t a profitable venture…

For a tennis facility to make money, it’d have to be in a first-tier city or somewhere with a lot of foreigners.

His dad’s explanation was that a certain high-ranking official—someone they were collaborating with—loved tennis, so he decided to cater to the man’s tastes by securing prime land and building a court.

But before construction was even finished, the official got busted…

The whole thing was pretty hard to swallow, but what could they do? They’d already started, so they had to grit their teeth and finish it, then try to operate it at a minimal profit to recoup some losses.

As it turned out, not many people in Jiangcheng were willing to pay 80 yuan an hour to play tennis.

Of course, among the local tennis enthusiasts' circle, this facility had an excellent reputation. After all, it was designed with high standards and strict requirements—truly top-notch. The problem was, it kept losing money. The more it operated, the more it bled, so they simply stopped public access and left it idle.

It sat unused for over a year, and the listing for the venue—along with the land it stood on—had been up for sale for quite a while.

No one bought it.

Forget whether anyone even wanted the facility—given the current delicate state of the real estate market, even those purely interested in acquiring land had dwindled significantly.

So Wu Hanyu was curious: Who on earth was this fool willing to pay in full for a tennis facility, and specifically an indoor one at that?

Outdoor courts, after all, were the profitable ones. Charging around twenty bucks an hour, they catered to budget-conscious players, usually college students on weekends. Throw in some ice-cold drinks, and you could actually turn a profit.

But hey, if they could offload this place, it was a win.

His old man was so excited he couldn’t even nap properly at noon. Lately, cash flow had been tight, and selling this facility would help recoup some losses and ease the pressure.

So he sent Wu Hanyu to handle the negotiations.

In Wu Hanyu’s mind, the buyer was probably some clueless out-of-town tycoon.

But when the person he was supposed to meet walked through the door and stood before him…

Wu Hanyu was stunned, the sunglasses he’d been twirling nearly slipping from his fingers.

“No way, man…”

“Long time no see.”

Su Bai greeted him warmly.

Wasn’t this the same guy who’d fought him over that Koenigsegg?

Who would’ve thought he’d be the one selling the tennis facility?

Talk about unexpected.

“Wait, if you could afford a car that expensive, money shouldn’t be an issue. Why sell the tennis facility?”

“…”

Seeing the other man’s twitching lips, Su Bai realized his question might have hit a nerve.