The Black Card

Chapter 243 - I Can Spend Money Again

Translator: Lav

Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia

It was impossible for Wei Xingyue to know that Shi Lei had an ulterior motive for playing golf.

Hence, she replied patiently in a teaching manner. "You are right. You can go to the practice ground since you're a beginner. But it's boring. You only started yesterday yet you could hit the ball that far. Then when you were hitting that guy, your accuracy was quite good. There's really nothing you need to practice. I think you can find a sports shop near here. Buy a practice carpet for putting and practice at home. After you learn putting, then you can go play. You don't need a membership card either. I'll give them a heads up and get you a card under mine. You can hire a coach to teach you other things. Judging by the talent you displayed yesterday, I feel like you'd be able to play a game with me in at most, half a year. But you really are gifted. Have you really never played golf before? Your improvement is crazy."

This has nothing to do with my level, alright? I can't just use the Ancient Times' Martial Arts Card every single time I play. I only have one chance left this month, Shi Lei thought.

But Wei Xingyue was right. If he bought it and practiced at home, it would also count as using the clubs frequently and the Scepter wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Alright, I'll listen to you and practice by myself at home."

Wei Xingyue nodded, then tilted her head to the side and asked, "Then what should we do in the afternoon?"

"Hurry up and go home. You family should be worried, since you weren't home all night."

"Worry your ass. Do you think I'm like your little girlfriend? I can't see my father even once during the day at home. I'm not a child anymore. Isn't it normal to not go home?"

"Damn, how big does your house have to be to not see him despite both of you being home?" Shi Lei exclaimed. Wealthy people's lives really were beyond his imagination. If it wasn't for the fact that he would be killed if he didn't finish spending all the money, Shi Lei hoped that the Black Card could level him up quickly and when he had a billion per month, so he could go and buy a huge mansion big enough that he could roam around in it all day without seeing anyone. It would be the best if he could have two highways inside the house to drive on when he needed to go to the bathroom. Shi Lei was reminded of a crosstalk by Guo Degang(1), where he said that Yu Qian(2) had two highways in his house named the Fubao Highway and the Muchu Highway, so Yu Qian's father's room led to the nanny's room and his mother's room led to the chef's room.

Wei Xingyue ignored his comment and smiled. "What about horseback riding? Now I think about it, I haven't ridden a horse for a long time."

"Does the horse need to wear a face mask in the smog?" Shi Lei asked in a daze.

Wei Xingyue laughed. "Hahaha, don't joke with me. Why are you always thinking about such weird and random things?"

Shi Lei suddenly became excited. "Hurry up and go change," he urged her. "Let's go horseback riding! Go go go! We're going to ride a horse!"

Wei Xingyue's jaw dropped in shock when she saw Shi Lei jumping around the room like a child, with his left hand in front of his crotch and waving his right hand in the air as if he was holding a whip. Isn't this change a bit too quick? Is this guy crazy? Where did all these emotions come out from? Why is he so excited? She thought.

She didn't know that Shi Lei had suddenly realized that he would definitely need to buy protective equipment and special clothes for riding. If he bought the best quality set, wouldn't he spend at least 80,000 or 100,000 yuan? He still had 340,000 yuan left to spend, so how could he not be excited by such a great opportunity to burn some of it?

"Can you be normal?" Wei Xingyue asked.

Shi Lei pulled on the reins and mimicked the sound of a horse. "Neigh! Cut the crap! Hurry up and jump on my horse! I will show you my rivers and mountains."

Wei Xingyue could no longer deal with his insanity. She picked up a slipper and threw it at him.

They headed straight to Dong Jiao Racecourse. It was a racecourse designed for the Olympics a few years ago, and was known as the biggest racecourse in the world. An enormous amount of money had been invested it, but after the Olympics finished, not a lot of that money was regained. If it wasn't for the ridiculous amount of money spent on building it, it would've been demolished a long time ago and the space used for building houses. Luckily, standards of living were gradually improving and many higher class people could afford to go. Although they wouldn't spend as much money as the wealthy people, they would at least buy a membership there. It accumulated over the years and the racecourse soon earned some money back.

If it continued to develop like this for a few more years or so, they would be able to have a balanced cash flow and could perhaps even bring in some profit. Shi Lei followed Wei Xingyue into the racecourse business department. "I'm going to change. Just wait for me here," she said.

"Why do I have to wait for you? I need to go and get a set of equipment ready. Do you want me to ride a horse in my jeans or something?"

"Why not? It's only your first time here and you can only ride a small female horse and walk her around. What do you need equipment for?"

"That's my business! I have the money and I do things the proper way! It doesn't matter what it is. If I don't want to do it, then I won't. But if I do, then I will do it as perfectly and as properly as possible. Don't worry about me. Hurry up and go change. I'll go get a set of clothes and protective equipment ready. You should know that an artist requires the best tools to do well."

Wei Xingyue didn't bother talking to him anymore and waved her hand to call over a manager surnamed Jin. She told him to get things for Shi Lei and went to change into the set of clothes she kept here.

Since Shi Lei was Wei Xingyue's friend and stated that he had money, Manager Jin's smile was as bright as a flower and as he led him to the supplies section.

"I don't what kind of clothes you want, we have—"

Shi Lei assumed that Manager Jin planned on introducing some brands to him, but he wouldn't be able to understand either way, so he cut him off. "You don't need to worry about the price. I can't get something that's worse than what Wei Xingyue has or else I would be embarrassing for her to stand next to, right?"

Manager Jin laughed heartily and asked an employee to give Shi Lei a catalog, printed in color and on smooth paper.

After he opened the book, Manager Jin began to describe the products inside. "These are the brands we represent here. Mr. Shi, please take a look. Which brand are you interested in? Oh, Miss Wei is quite familiar with all the brands listed here. She has purchased quite a few sets from a variety of brands.

Shi Lei didn't understand. He just picked a set based solely on its appearance. The set of clothes only needed to meet two requirements: first, it had to look nice and second, it had to be expensive!

Young Master Shi wasn't lacking in money!

"This set isn't bad!" Shi Lei pointed at the catalog. Manager Jin immediately snapped his fingers and spoke to the employee. "Bring a set for Mr. Shi."

The employee quickly brought the set that Shi Lei had picked. He walked into the changing room and admired himself in the mirror. Mhm, not bad. Tall and handsome, as if Wu Yanzu(3) has possessed me.

After he walked out, Manager Jin and the employee flattered him with compliments. Shi Lei didn't ask for the price. "Get me a set of matching boots and other such things. Just make sure that it's a complete set. Even if I've never ridden a horse before, we can't lose on the starting line, can we?"

Manager Jin quickly finished putting together a set of equipment for Shi Lei, including riding boots with a spur, a whip, a knight's helmet, et cetera. Shi Lei put them on without another word and threw the card to Manager Jin to pay for everything.

Guo Degang: one of the most renowned and popular crosstalkers in ChinaYu Qian: Another crosstalker Wu Yanzu: Daniel Wu, American-Hong Kong actor, director and producer. 

Chapter 244 - New Investment Opportunity

Translator: Lav

Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia

There was a couple talking on the side. The man was patiently trying to persuade the woman. "Horseback riding is a noble sport. 10,000 yuan for a set of clothes plus a helmet, riding boots, and a whip really isn't that expensive."

The woman strongly opposed. "How is 10,000 yuan not expensive? How much money do you usually spend on clothes? This amount of money is even enough to buy a designer handbag!"

"I'll buy the handbag, but since we're going to learn how to ride a horse, we should have a good set of equipment."

How can this woman be so stingy? Shi Lei thought. Don't tell me that the man is spending her money? He couldn't help but look at the man in disdain.

A single glance showed that the man wasn't exactly good-looking, and yet there were still women out there willing support him financially. Public morals were certainly degenerating with each passing day.

The employee on the other side of the counter patiently explained to her, "Madam, the prices in our shop aren't really expensive. It's basically the same as sports stores in the city. These are good brands. Because horse riding does hold potential danger, better equipment will be able to protect you better in an accident."

"Listen to what she said. I say that we take this set!" The man added.

The woman still strongly opposed. "No, I saw a set that was about 4,000 yuan that looked the same as this one. The amount of money we can save is even enough to buy a car wheel."

Seeing that the man was about to give up, Shi Lei proceeded to signing his receipt. He glanced at the bill, which showed only a little over 10,000 yuan. The set of clothes only costed 4,000 yuan, but it was a total of about 10,000 yuan, counting the boots and helmet, which was an acceptable price.

"Holy shit, that's cheap." The words slipped out of his mouth involuntarily. Manager Jin felt awkward. He considered Shi Lei to be the kind of person who had spent over 10,000 yuan on each of the shirts he had at home. When he was about to explain it to Shi Lei, the man seized the chance and spoke. "Look at him! He thinks that 10,000 yuan is cheap! I noticed a while ago that his set is 2,000 yuan more expensive than ours. We really can't afford to be cheap with something like this."

Without waiting for the woman to reply, the man waved his hand at Shi Lei and asked loudly, "Sir, the better the equipment, the lower the risk will be in comparison. Do you think that what I said is reasonable?"

Shi Lei rolled his eyes. "I can't say that. It depends how much money you have in your pocket."

The woman agreed. "Exactly. He's tall, rich, and handsome. How can you compare to him?"

Shi Lei was extremely delighted when he heard that. He had never imagined that anyone would ever describe him like that.

But the man became angry. "I can't compare to him in the money aspect, but he definitely can't compare with me when it comes to height. Look at how tall he is, at most, one hundred and seventy-eight centimeters. I am one hundred and eighty-three centimeters tall. As for handsome, everyone's view is different. I think I'm pretty handsome."

Shi Lei didn't like what the man had said. He looked at Manager Jin. "Manager Jin, tell me who's more handsome."

Manager Jin was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but he eventually said, "I think Mr. Shi is more handsome." He secretly assumed that the other deal would be ruined by that.

But the man was even more agitated and slapped his hand on the table. "I don't care. I'm taking this set. What's so serious about a mere 10,000 yuan? I'll take on a few more jobs and earn it back immediately!"

Shi Lei blanked. Oh, so he is using his money. Then what else is there to say? Why do you care how he spends his own money? He can spend it on whatever he likes.

The woman still continued to insist. "No, you've only just started and we need to save money. I just want to help you save some money so you can buy a car and drive it instead of squishing on the train every day to negotiate investments with customers. And the investors would at least have a better image of you if you have a car. They'll think that you're unreliable when they see that you travel by train."

"Don't mind her. I'm taking this one. Get me the receipt." The man demanded even more stubbornly and even glowered at Shi Lei. I asked you to help me, but you instead ruined it for me! If you have enough money to buy the 10,000 yuan set, then why can't I buy it even if I don't have as much?

The woman objected. "No! I say no, so it's a no! I don't want this. Employee, get the 4,000 yuan set for me. If you must get this, then I'm not learning horseback riding."

Something was wrong. The situation had just changed really quickly. From her words, Shi Lei figured out that the man wasn't purchasing the set of equipment for himself, but for the woman. The man was still insisting, but he was now attempting to persuade her in a soft voice. The woman still refused to give up.

Seeing that the man was about to back down, Shi Lei walked up to them and offered his hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm Shi Lei. May I ask how to address you?"

The man gave Shi Lei a strange look. Although he took his hand and shook it, he didn't answer the question.

Shi Lei didn't mind and smiled. "I think I had a misunderstanding with you. At first, when I heard your conversation, I thought that you, sir, wanted to use the madam's money to buy your own equipment. So when you asked me, I replied with 'do whatever you can within your own capabilities.' I am personally against…Ahem, you know what I mean. But I realized that I've misunderstood you. You are spending the money that you earned yourself, so I again thought that it was strange. Isn't it fine for you to spend your own money? I didn't fully understand until hearing what the madam just said about you wanting to buy better equipment for her, but she wants to save your hard-earned money and therefore opposed."

The couple exchanged a glance with each other and nodded in unison. "How does this has anything to do with you?" the man asked. "Don't tell me you plan to pay it for us?"

If it wasn't for that stupid Black Card, I really wouldn't mind doing that. Just for the fact that both of you are very considerate of each other, I wouldn't mind paying since it is the Black Card's money. But I can't. That's more than one percent and who knows what will be taken away from my body?

"I see you as someone with integrity. Even if I offered to buy it for you, I'm afraid that you wouldn't accept it." The man's expression turned slightly better at Shi Lei's words. "In general, what the sir said is very reasonable," he said to the woman. "When there's an accident, the risk of injury will decrease with better equipment. You are considering the difficulty of him starting a new business and you look like you are searching for resources everywhere. What's his project about? If possible, I'm interested in getting to know it."

The man found Shi Lei even more suspicious and was hesitant to speak, since he didn't know what he was up to.

The woman reacted quickly in joy. "Mr. Shi, are you a business angel whose job is to invest in entrepreneurs?"

Shi Lei was blank for a second, then nodded. "Something like that. I have a great interest in all investments."

The woman was overjoyed. "My boyfriend is a programmer. He developed a mobile app some time ago—"

The man quickly cut into his girlfriend's sentence. "It's a search engine app that focuses on searching things inside the city. It's inconvenient to talk about the finer details here, since I don't really know you. But I can tell you that this type of app is new and there currently shouldn't be any other products of the same kind."

Shi Lei smiled in understanding. "Let's exchange contact information first. Perhaps we'll have a chance to collaborate."