The staff member was somewhat doubtful, but since Li Shiqi produced his card, he raised no further questions.
"These clothes are too expensive!"
Li Weiwei quickly said, "Let's go look somewhere else!"
"As long as you like them, price doesn't matter!"
Li Shiqi smiled. "Your brother isn't broke!"
"Who are you trying to impress? I don't believe for a second you can afford clothes this expensive!"
Zhang Ya forced herself to keep up appearances and said coldly.
Anyone could see that Li Shiqi was only doing this to humiliate her.
Yet if he couldn't afford them, what right did Li Weiwei have to buy them?
A moment later, however, the staff member packed up the clothes and handed them to Li Shiqi. "Sir, these are the clothes you purchased!"
"His card actually went through?" Zhang Ya demanded, challenging the staff.
"Naturally!"
The staff member said with a frown, "It's one thing if you can't afford them, but why sit here making snide remarks? I've truly never seen anyone quite like you!"
When the card had gone through, the staff member had been quite startled to see the balance.
Never had he imagined that such a young man in ordinary clothes would turn out to be a hidden tycoon.
Zhang Ya was left speechless, her face flushing red with humiliation.
"Wow, Weiwei, these clothes are so pretty!"
Shen Ruofang chimed in with a well-aimed jab, casting a meaningful glance at Zhang Ya.
Unable to maintain her footing, Zhang Ya left in a huff.
After all, at school, she had carefully cultivated the persona of a wealthy heiress.
She never expected to lose face today in front of her own classmates.
It was all the fault of that damn bald guy for failing her at a critical moment.
After finishing their shopping at the mall, Li Shiqi took Li Weiwei and Shen Ruofang to a barbecue restaurant.
When they finished eating, Li Shiqi hailed a cab and brought them to Longquan Residential Area.
"Brother, why are we here?"
Li Weiwei asked in surprise. "Are you looking for a job?"
"Of course not!"
Li Shiqi smiled. "The shared apartment is too small, and the environment is poor. From now on, you two will live in Longquan Villa!"
"Longquan Villa?"
Shen Ruofang gave him a peculiar look. "Are you sure you're not joking? I've heard that Longquan Villa is the most expensive estate in the entire Longcheng!"
"I'm certainly not joking!"
A wide smile on his face, Li Shiqi led them inside.
Meanwhile, inside the security booth, a man in a Western-style suit was reprimanding several security guards. "Playing on your phones during work hours, you lot are something else! If management saw this, you'd all be fired!"
"Manager Zhang, we were just careless for a moment!"
The guards quickly placated him, slipping Zhang Dashan several packs of cigarettes. "We'll never dare do it again, please don't be angry, Manager Zhang!"
"Fine, fine. Since you know how to behave, I'll let you off this time!" Zhang Dashan waved a hand dismissively.
As the property manager of Longquan Residential Area, he naturally wielded some authority.
"Zhang Dashan?"
Li Shiqi's voice rang out. "What are you doing here, man?"
"Shiqi?"
Seeing Li Shiqi, Zhang Dashan hurried out to meet him. "Where have you been all these years? We couldn't get in touch with you at all!"
"Things happened at home," Li Shiqi replied with a smile.
"What, are you here to apply for a job?"
Zhang Dashan pulled out a cigarette and tossed it to Li Shiqi.
Back in college, the two of them had been roommates.
Looking at Li Shiqi now, it seemed he hadn't been doing very well for himself.
"No, I live around here," Li Shiqi smiled.
"Quit messing around!"
Zhang Dashan shot him a sidelong glance. "We're brothers. If you're having a hard time, just tell your brother. I might not have any other skills, but I can still manage to find you a job here in Longquan Residential Area!"
In Zhang Dashan's eyes, Li Shiqi had undoubtedly come looking for work, but was too embarrassed to admit it upon running into an old friend, hence the random excuse.
"Where is Longquan Villa located?" Li Shiqi asked.
"Longquan Villa?"
Zhang Dashan asked with curiosity. "It's right at the very top of the estate. You aren't going to tell me *you* live there, are you?"
"Indeed I do!"
Li Shiqi gave an awkward chuckle. Being doubted by an old college brother was rather amusing.
"Stop putting on an act for me!"
Zhang Dashan rolled his eyes at Li Shiqi. "I heard that the Li Family went bankrupt a few years ago! Even back in its prime, the Li Family didn't own Longquan Villa!"
"If you don't believe me, you can check the property database," Li Shiqi shrugged.
Since Elder Han had given him Longquan Villa, the title deed must have already been transferred.
Hearing this, Zhang Dashan finally pulled up the records.
A moment later, his eyes lit up. "Holy crap, you've struck it rich! The owner of Longquan Villa really is you!"
Hearing this, Shen Ruofang looked suspicious.
Even Li Weiwei beside them found it utterly hard to believe.
Chatting along the way, they finally reached Longquan Villa, which featured a pond in front and a garden in the back.
The grounds were immensely vast, and the interior decoration was nothing short of luxurious.
Zhang Dashan instantly snuffed out the cigarette in his hand. Once inside the villa, he let out a series of gasps in wonder. "I've worked as a manager in Longquan Residential Area for so many years, and I've never even set foot inside Longquan Villa. You're something else, man!"
"If you like it, you can come over and hang out whenever you want!"
Li Shiqi chuckled, acting completely casual with his old college best friend.
"It's a deal!"
Zhang Dashan's face lit up with a smile. "Oh right, there's a class reunion in three days. Are you coming?"
"A class reunion?" Li Shiqi hesitated.
"I hear a few of our old classmates are doing quite well for themselves in Longcheng,"
Zhang Dashan said. "Besides, we haven't seen each other in all these years, so I thought it'd be nice to get together!"
"Alright then," Li Shiqi nodded.
Originally, he had no desire to attend, but since Zhang Dashan had put it that way, refusing outright would probably be impolite.
After Zhang Dashan left, Shen Ruofang spoke up. "Weiwei, it looks like we'll have to live separately after all!"
"Why would we live separately?"
Li Shiqi interjected. "Just come live here with Weiwei!"
"But the rent for Longquan Villa must be astronomical!" Shen Ruofang said awkwardly.
To temper her character, her father kept her monthly living expenses strictly rationed.
"What are you talking about? If it weren't for you, Weiwei would probably have had an even harder time," Li Shiqi said bluntly. "From now on, treat this place as your home. You can stay as long as you like!"
"That's right! If you weren't here, I'd feel so lonely!" Li Weiwei took Shen Ruofang's hand.
Only then did Shen Ruofang reluctantly agree.
Over the next couple of days, Li Shiqi spent his time refining pills inside Longquan Villa.
He planned to make another trip to Wanbao Pavilion and simultaneously gather intelligence on the current situation in Longcheng.
Moreover, if his assumptions were correct, the Longcheng Lu Family must already know he had returned.
It probably wouldn't be long before they came looking for trouble.
However, the Li Shiqi of today was no longer the Li Shiqi of the past.
In his eyes, the Longcheng Lu Family was nothing more than lambs waiting to be slaughtered, should he choose to act.