Chapter 12 - Fishing requires pre-baiting the water

Tomson Riviera was completed in 2009. Upon its launch that same year, it instantly became the most luxurious high-rise residential property in Shanghai, and even across the entire nation. Nestled along the Binjiang Avenue in the Lujiazui Financial District, the complex comprises two 40-story luxury apartment towers, two 44-story ones, plus a premium river-view clubhouse. With the IFC (International Finance Center) on its left, the Fortune Tower on its right, and the Global Financial Center behind it, the residence faces the Huangpu River head-on. There is arguably no other high-rise residence in Shanghai that boasts a more prime location than this one. In recent years, amid the boom in the real estate market, the housing prices of Tomson Riviera have skyrocketed to unprecedented heights, reaching as much as 240,000 yuan per square meter. The smallest unit has a floor area of 434 square meters, with a total price tag of 110 million yuan. These are luxury mansions where a single unit costs over 100 million yuan. Although Lu Liang couldn't afford to buy one, he could rent. Tomson Riviera has four towers in total. Among them, Towers A and C are for sale, while Towers B and D are available for rent. Lu Liang knew this well, and was also aware of the monthly rental rates, so he directly brought Li Manli to the leasing office of Tower B. After going over the apartment layouts, the two followed the leasing manager to Unit 1 on the 28th floor of Tower B. The apartment features elevator access directly into the unit—one elevator per household—and comes with four bedrooms and two living rooms. It is fully furnished with home appliances, all from world-renowned first-tier brands, and they are in brand-new condition, showing no signs of previous use. This is because the unit was custom-built by Tomson Group specifically for rental purposes, and has not been occupied by anyone so far. "Mr. Lu, the monthly rent including property management fees is 85,000 yuan, with one complimentary parking space. The lease term is two years, requiring a deposit equivalent to six months' rent and payment of three months' rent in advance. Is there anything else you would like to know?" The property manager wore a beaming smile and answered all questions thoroughly. After all, Lu Liang had arrived in a Bentley. No one walks around with "I'm wealthy" written on their face, and a car is the best way to showcase one's financial strength. Driving a Bentley at a young and successful age may cost one their inferiority complex, but it certainly earns them respect. "No issues. Let's sign the lease contract." Lu Liang took a quick tour of the apartment, and his favorite part was the balcony. Perched over 100 meters above the ground, it offered an exceptionally wide and unobstructed view. The river breeze gently brushed against his face, filling him with a sense of peace and relaxation. He was convinced the night view would be even more stunning. Without hesitation, he transferred 765,000 yuan and asked the property management to arrange for cleaners to tidy up the place—he planned to move in the very next day. "Right away, right away." The manager beamed from ear to ear, pulled out the lease agreement, and went over the details with Lu Liang. He then took out the community floor plan, explaining the various exits as well as the procedures for receiving couriers and food deliveries. The property management provides door-to-door delivery services. As long as the floor number and unit number are filled in correctly, delivery staff will bring the items directly to the doorstep. After all, this is one of the top-tier residential communities in the country. To ensure the safety of its residents, unauthorized personnel are certainly not allowed to enter or exit at will. "78,000 yuan a month..." Li Manli muttered to herself, completely stunned. She had no idea how much luxury cars cost, and the price tag didn't really strike a chord with her. She just knew it was expensive—otherwise, it wouldn't have turned so many passersby's heads. But a high-end apartment with a monthly rent of 78,000 yuan left her absolutely dumbfounded. Although salaries at the nightclub were decent, since she didn't work as a companion for customers, her monthly income was barely over 9,000 yuan. The monthly rent for the apartment Lu Liang was renting was equivalent to what she earned in over half a year. How could Li Manli not be moved? She wandered alone through each room. Even a regular second bedroom was more spacious than the entire apartment she lived in. Every room boasted excellent views. Even those not facing the river overlooked the lush, green community park downstairs. Moreover, it was extremely quiet—no noisy rumble of car engines, and no annoying loudspeaker blaring from the supermarket below. Before long, Lu Liang finished signing the contract and returned to find Li Manli standing on the balcony, staring into the distance, lost in thought. The balcony was spacious—about twelve meters long and five meters wide—with a nearly new billiards table placed beside it. Lu Liang walked over to her and pointed at the hotel on the opposite bank of the river. "That's where we had lunch earlier." "Yeah," Li Manli replied, her mind filled with a jumble of thoughts. The entire afternoon's experience felt surreal, like a dream. It seemed that being rich really was wonderful—you could eat whatever you wanted and live wherever you liked. "I have some business to take care of later. You have to go to work tonight, right? Should I drop you off back at your apartment or at the club?" Lu Liang thought the time was just right. He had shown Li Manli a glimpse of the high life; now it was time to send her back to reality. He had always thought that X-Change was an extremely malicious TV show. Putting aside its staged drama and its tendency to manufacture celebrities, its very premise was deeply flawed. When wealthy kids are sent to the countryside to experience hard life, it may make them appreciate their privileges more. Even if it doesn't, they suffer no real losses. But when poor kids are exposed to a life of luxury before their three views of the world are fully formed, only to be sent back home to chop firewood and farm the land afterward—how can they possibly cope with such a huge psychological gap? It's something that even adults would struggle to accept, let alone children. "Brother Liang, please take me back to my apartment first." Li Manli answered distractedly, her heart filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, she secretly hoped that Lu Liang would say something—even if it was just a joke—offering to let her stay in one of the rooms. On the other hand, she couldn't help but wonder: if Lu Liang actually did make that offer, would she agree... or refuse? It felt like there were two little voices arguing inside her head. Yet, by the time they arrived back at her apartment building, Lu Liang had not mentioned a single word about it. "Brother Liang, I'm going upstairs now." Li Manli said goodbye to him with a tinge of disappointment, waving her hand. "Manli, wait a second." Lu Liang called out to her, pulling a box out of the car. "This is for you—thanks for accompanying me to look at the apartment this afternoon." It was a 128GB domestic version of the iPhone 6, which retailed for 7,200 yuan. He had bought it on a whim right after signing the lease contract. Li Manli was stunned for a moment, then a smile spread across her face. She quickly waved her hands, refusing the gift. "It's too expensive. I really can't accept this." "Just take it. Bye." Lu Liang smiled and drove off before she could say anything else, leaving no room for her to decline. He firmly believed in one rule: money was meant to be shown to women, not spent on them. But then again—before you go fishing, you always need to pre-bait the water first. A short while later, Lu Liang received a text message from Li Manli: "Thank you for the gift, Brother Liang." Lu Liang read the message but didn't reply. He decided to give her the cold shoulder for a while. By the time they met again, he was confident that he would have her completely wrapped around his finger. He returned to the Peace Hotel and found Tan Tao. He didn't plan to extend his hotel stay, but he wanted to rent the Bentley for another half a month. Cash flow was king, and Lu Liang had no intention of buying a car or a house just yet. His plan was to first earn his first small target of 100 million yuan before considering such big-ticket purchases. Tan Tao smiled and readily agreed, even enthusiastically offering Lu Liang a variety of other luxury car models to choose from. However, Lu Liang stuck with the Bentley. He loved its logo—the stylized "B" with two wings spread out on either side. This rental extension cost him another 120,000 yuan. "Money really burns a hole in your pocket. I need to lay low for a while and stop spending so recklessly." Lu Liang sighed. His bank account now had only a little over 50,000 yuan left. In less than 24 hours, he had spent nearly a million yuan. Granted, the bulk of that money went toward the apartment rent and the car rental, but it was still a staggering amount of money to blow through so quickly. Lu Liang's desire to make more money burned hotter than ever. He refused to let himself lose this carefree, lavish lifestyle he had just tasted. At 3:00 p.m., this week's trading session came to an end. Chinese Online closed at 17.5 yuan per share, with a decrease of 1.95%. Zhang Qian had been monitoring the stock price closely throughout the day, but she managed to keep her cool. She didn't rush to confront Lu Liang. Instead, she decided to wait and see how things played out over the next few days. After all, if the stock price skyrocketed next week... it would mean she had not only missed out on a fortune but also given herself to him for nothing. At noon on Saturday, Lu Liang checked out of the Peace Hotel. He left the hotel and officially moved into Tomson Riviera. Li Manli had been texting him nonstop since last night: "Brother Liang, I'm off to work now." "Brother Liang, what are you up to?" "Brother Liang, I just woke up. Have you moved into the new place yet?" Lu Liang only replied to the messages that piqued his interest: "Not yet. I've been swamped with work these days. Planning to move a bit later." Li Manli sent him a cute, pouting emoji: "Then do you need me to help you go shopping for some stuff?" "That would be amazing—thank you so much. I'll give you a call once I'm free." A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Lu Liang's lips as he put his phone away. He headed to the community gym to work out. He knew firsthand the benefits of regular exercise. He wanted to live a life of luxury well into his eighties—and to do that, he needed a strong and healthy body.