Chapter 51: Shen Xin

In his previous life, Zhou Ziyang did not own his first car until he was twenty-eight. It was a white Audi A4L, which had cost three hundred and twenty thousand yuan on the road back then. In this lifetime, Zhou Ziyang did not hold any special romantic attachment to luxury cars; people of his type were rather zen-like about such things. A car did not need to be overly expensive, but naturally, it shouldn't be too cheap either.

The BBA trio fit the bill perfectly.

There was another reason as well: over the past few days, he felt he had spent quite a significant amount of money.

Just purchasing two commercial residential properties had cost two million yuan, followed by a shopping spree at Deji Plaza and the purchase of a car, adding up to another three million yuan gone.

One must realize that out of the sixteen million yuan in Zhou Ziyang's possession, nine million was tied up in the stock market, leaving seven million reserved for paying employee salaries next month.

Zhou Ziyang's current financial status was entirely one of advance consumption.

Compared to discretionary spending like buying a car, Zhou Ziyang preferred steady, tangible assets like real estate.

The two properties he had bought earlier were both high-rises. One of those units was intended to house Li Dongfeng and his crew, while the other was meant to serve as a contingency for emergencies.

As for Zhou Ziyang's own residence, he leaned more toward garden houses and villas with better privacy.

Naturally, appreciation potential was also among Zhou Ziyang's considerations.

During his final days in Jinling, Zhou Ziyang had been constantly browsing real estate developments near Nanjing University. His favorite was "Nanda Heyuan," located just three kilometers away from Nanjing University.

Constructed in 2013, the residential complex primarily consisted of garden houses and villas.

The garden houses were divided into six-story and eleven-story elevators apartments.

The neighborhood featured lush lawns, twenty-four-hour butler service, and dedicated security patrols.

Zhou Ziyang had made an appointment with a sales representative in advance. When he drove his car to the sales center, a dedicated sales assistant was already waiting there, her face bearing a quintessential, polished smile: "Hello, Mr. Zhou."

Currently, the average price at Nanda Heyuan ranged between twenty-six thousand and thirty thousand yuan per square meter, placing it in the high-end tier for the entire Xianlin sector, yet Jinling was never short of wealthy people.

Even with prices reaching thirty thousand per square meter, crowds of people still flocked there eagerly.

Today, Zhou Ziyang had to tour the properties alongside several other prospective buyer families.

Guided by the sales representative, Zhou Ziyang boarded a white sightseeing buggy. The sales rep found a seat for him and said, "Mr. Zhou, let me take you on a tour of the community environment first."

Zhou Ziyang did not mind at all, treating the whole excursion like a sightseeing tour.

There were about a dozen people on the buggy, mostly appearing to be family units—young couples or parents with children. A young man like Zhou Ziyang, touring completely by himself, seemed rather unusual.

Aside from Zhou Ziyang, the only other notable passenger was a girl sitting in the front row, who looked to be around Zhou Ziyang's age.

She was exceptionally pretty, with fair, snowy skin and large eyes. Above all, she possessed a wonderful figure, wearing a black Adidas Trefoil T-shirt paired with jeans. Her breasts strained against her top, full and bursting with vitality. Even without wearing particularly sexy clothing, she inevitably drew lingering glances.

The girl was not wearing makeup, yet she gave off a pristine, lotus-emerging-from-clear-water vibe—naturally beautiful without any artificial adornment.

Especially when she turned her head to speak to her mother, her smile revealed a pair of charming little canine teeth.

She was truly breathtakingly pretty.

The sales representative at the front of the buggy was enthusiastically listing the advantages of the community, mentioning things like the meticulously manicured lawns and the flock of swans residing in the artificial lake.

The entire neighborhood felt somewhat like a zoo.

There were young children on the buggy shouting and making a ruckus.

The girl's family seemed relatively well-bred.

Their voices were soft and gentle. Although Zhou Ziyang could not catch the exact words, he could tell they were speaking Suzhou dialect—the famed, melodious Wu dialect at its finest.

The girl's Suzhou dialect sounded lovely as she pointed toward the distant swans and whispered to her mother.

The tour moved from the community's landscaping to the model units.

The development's flagship offerings were six-story garden houses, where the ground floor units came with a private courtyard, and the top-floor units featured an attic.

The unit the sales representative was currently showing them was the building closest to Nanjing University.

The sales rep introduced, "Our neighborhood is separated from Nanjing University by just a single wall. If you have children studying at Nanjing University, buying a unit here makes getting to classes extremely convenient."

It sounded like a slightly odd selling point, but several people nearby nodded repeatedly at this.

At that moment, the girl's father turned to her and asked what she thought of the property.

From the father's tone, it was clear he intended to purchase a home here.

It would also make things convenient for Shen Xin's future studies.

Shen Xin—the girl with the superb figure—spoke in a very pleasant-sounding Mandarin. She said, "There's no need, Dad."

Shen Xin remarked that the housing here was far too expensive.

It simply wasn't worth going to such great expense just because she was coming here for school.

Besides, after graduating from university, she might not necessarily stay in Jinling.

Hearing this, her father waved his hand dismissively, indicating that her thinking was mistaken.

"Whether you live in it or not, buy it first. Property prices are rising so fast nowadays; if you buy it now, you can sell it later and make a handsome profit."

Shen Xin had just graduated from high school, so naturally, her financial acumen regarding real estate did not match her father's.

The sales representative wholeheartedly agreed with Shen Xin's father, praising President Shen for his visionary perspective.

"On one hand, it's an investment. On the other hand, our community's environment is genuinely suited for living. Is Miss Shen studying at Nanjing University?"

The sales rep's question prompted Shen Xin's father to nod proudly, stating that his daughter would be enrolling this coming September.

"What is Miss Shen's major?"

"Architectural design."

"What a coincidence! The School of Architecture is right at the back of our community—very close by."

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Shen Xin's father became even more delighted. He immediately inquired about the pricing, making a gesture as if he were ready to buy a unit for his daughter.

With a smile, the sales representative replied that the price was twenty-eight thousand yuan per square meter.

"The unit we are currently viewing has a gross floor area of 149 square meters, featuring four bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms, with a layout transparent from north to south and two complimentary balconies front and back."

"President Shen, this layout sells exceptionally well, and there are only a few units left now."

The sales rep smiled, completely failing to notice that upon hearing the price, the smile on Shen Xin's father's face involuntarily stiffened.

While their family could be considered well-off middle class back in Suzhou, Jinling's housing prices genuinely gave them a shock. At 28,000 yuan per square meter, a unit came out to four million one hundred and seventy thousand yuan.

Even with the Shen family's modest wealth, that sum was certainly no small amount.

After finishing the introduction, the sales rep asked about Shen Xin's father's purchasing intentions. However, the father only muttered that he wanted to look around a bit more to see if there were other floor plans available.

"Certainly."

Although many people came here to view properties, buying a home was ultimately not like buying cabbages at the market; no one made a commitment without comparing options repeatedly.

Taking advantage of the moment while they were discussing the properties, Zhou Ziyang inspected the unit from front to back and felt the layout was indeed quite good.

Moreover, a price tag of four million yuan was acceptable to him. He could pay a fifty percent down payment, leaving a monthly mortgage of around thirty thousand yuan, which could easily be cleared three years later when he cashed out his stocks.

Thus, just as the sales representative was about to lead everyone to another location, Zhou Ziyang asked the sales rep:

"Can I buy this property right now?"

This single sentence left a profound impression on Shen Xin, who was preparing to leave with her father.

When he first boarded the sightseeing buggy, Zhou Ziyang had already noticed the similarly aged Shen Xin.

And how could Shen Xin, a peer, fail to notice Zhou Ziyang—someone of about the same age who had come touring properties entirely by himself?