Chapter 72: A Shift in Mindset

“An agreement isn’t necessary. As long as you don’t regret it in the future.”

Since she had said so much, Chen Feng felt he had to respond.

Xiao Ya said with certainty, “I won’t.”

“Then how much money do you want? How about ten thousand a month?”

In the end, Chen Feng couldn’t hold out. The main reason was that he was afraid that refusing again would hurt the self-esteem of a beautiful woman too much.

Chen Feng was always like this, always thinking of others.

“Ten thousand is too little.” Xiao Ya frowned. The amount of money was secondary; the main thing was that if the amount was too small, it would make her seem too cheap. “In university, I had a classmate who started as a hostess in a nightclub and was later sponsored by a boss. That boss rented a very nice apartment for her, paid the rent, and also gave her 30,000 a month for living expenses.”

“Then let’s make it thirty thousand.”

Chen Feng was also very straightforward, directly adding twenty thousand. Offering ten thousand at first wasn’t to save money, but as a small test.

But Xiao Ya was still a bit dissatisfied. After all, she had initially wanted to date Chen Feng, or at the very least be his mistress. Now, she was directly becoming a sponsored mistress. The drop in status was inevitably a bit large.

“That classmate of mine was only average-looking, not very beautiful. And she started as a nightclub hostess. The apartment she rented, I heard the monthly rent was nearly ten thousand.”

Although she didn’t say it explicitly, Chen Feng of course understood. So he smiled and said, “How about this, I’ll let you live in the villa at Red Villa Bay. I’ll occasionally go there to stay as well.”

Xiao Ya was stunned, then overjoyed. She asked, “Will your girlfriend agree to that?”

Chen Feng shook his head, “I bought this villa on a whim. I originally wanted to give her a surprise and tell her when she got back. But now it seems unnecessary.”

Hearing Chen Feng say this, Xiao Ya was even more delighted.

It was originally intended for his girlfriend, but now it was being given to her to live in. Didn’t this mean that Chen Feng actually valued her very much?

In fact, Chen Feng had never planned to tell Sun Xiaorui about buying the villa in the first place. After all, she wasn’t his girlfriend.

What’s more, the two of them were actually living quite well in the small villa by East Lake. The surrounding life and entertainment facilities, as well as the natural environment, were actually more comfortable than Red Villa Bay.

In the future, Chen Feng even planned to buy that villa directly.

But Chen Feng hadn’t really made up his mind yet. He would have to live there for the two months he had already paid rent for before deciding.

“Are you really willing to let me live in that villa? A villa like that would cost at least thirty or forty thousand a month in rent.”

She was a real estate agent, so of course, she knew a lot about housing rents.

Living in a villa with a monthly rent of thirty to forty thousand, and also receiving thirty thousand a month for living expenses, Xiao Ya suddenly felt it was really worth it.

Especially since this man was Chen Feng, whom she found comfortable to be around and had common topics with.

This was so much better than being with those pot-bellied nouveau riche, fifty or sixty-year-old men.

The female classmate she mentioned earlier had been with a nouveau riche with assets of tens of millions. He was bald, short, and fat, and when he smiled, he revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth from excessive smoking. It was as disgusting as it could get.

In the past, that nouveau riche had used her female classmate’s name to invite a few pretty girls, including her, to dinner. Later, he had even made a move on her, disgustingly having her female classmate act as a go-between and offer a considerable price.

At that time, of course, she had refused without a second thought.

But now, she was actively seeking to be sponsored. Thinking of this, she somewhat understood her female classmate from back then.

However, she told herself that there was still a fundamental difference between the two of them.

Because that female classmate was purely for money, while she, although she also valued money, was more about feelings. At least, that’s what she believed.

Here, Chen Feng smiled and said, “What’s there to be reluctant about? A house is bought to be lived in. For now, my girlfriend and I are living by East Lake. It’s actually a bit better than Red Villa Bay, and we’re used to it. We’re too lazy to move.”

Xiao Ya didn’t like hearing this, but she didn’t show it. At least Chen Feng was being so frank, so he probably wouldn’t screw her over in the future.

“Then I won’t be polite. However, if I live in such a high-end villa, it doesn’t quite match my current job. After all, my monthly salary is generally only a few thousand yuan,” Xiao Ya said with some hesitation.

“You want to quit?” Chen Feng asked.

Xiao Ya nodded, “I do want to quit. The reason I took this job before was to make money quickly, but after I started working, I realized it’s really tiring. I’m surrounded by all sorts of people with ulterior motives every day, and there’s also the office politics and backstabbing. Although I’ve made some money in the past few months, I’m not happy at all.”

“Then just quit,” Chen Feng said very directly. “I’ll give you thirty thousand a month from now on. That should be enough for your personal expenses, right?”

Xiao Ya smiled and said, “Of course it’s enough. Before, with a monthly salary of three or four thousand, after paying rent and utilities, I only had a thousand left, and that was enough.”

“You’re really frugal then,” Chen Feng said sincerely. He had also been a worker who rented a place before, so of course, he knew the hardships of living here.

“It’s alright,” Xiao Ya smiled and said. “My family’s financial condition has always been average, so I’m easy to raise.”

Chen Feng said casually, “Alright then. Since you’re not happy with your job, just quit first. Then, you can slowly find a job you like.”

Xiao Ya smiled and asked, “Senior, do you have any good job recommendations?”

Chen Feng shook his head, “I’m an unemployed person myself right now. What good recommendations could I have? However, have you considered taking the civil service or public institution exams?”

Xiao Ya nodded, “I’ve thought about it, but it’s very difficult. I have a relative who has very good grades. She’s taken the exam several times, passed the written test twice, but was still eliminated in the interview. My grades are just average. After graduation, it’s hard to pick up studying for exams again.”

“Do you have any other ideas?”

Since she was going to be his mistress, Chen Feng felt it was appropriate to show some concern.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Ya said, “I’m thinking of starting a small business of my own. Like opening a milk tea shop or a coffee house. But I don’t have that much start-up capital.”

After speaking, she blinked her eyes at Chen Feng. The meaning of her eager little expression was quite obvious.

To open a shop in the urban area of Xiuzhou, it would be difficult to do without five or six hundred thousand in hand.

A milk tea shop was like that, let alone a coffee shop. The location was a factor, and the cost would of course be even greater.

And she certainly didn’t have that much money on hand right now, so she hoped to get some from Chen Feng.

This is really something!

Our relationship isn’t even confirmed yet, and you’re already trying to get an investment, or even a free investment. You wish.

Chen Feng was a gentleman, it was true, but he wasn’t a pushover, and certainly not a fool.

“That’s a good idea,” Chen Feng nodded in agreement. “However, to run a shop well, you definitely need to understand it inside and out. If you really want to open a milk tea shop or a coffee house, you need to first understand the specific operations of these two types of shops in detail. For example, you could go work in these two types of shops first, for two or three months. After you understand their specific operations, I can consider investing in you.”

After two or three months, they would naturally be more familiar with each other. At that time, if they got along well and Xiao Ya performed well, Chen Feng certainly wouldn’t be reluctant to invest a few hundred thousand in her.

Besides, in two or three months, he didn’t even know if he would still be around.

In short, it was impossible to give her money to open a shop directly now. It wasn’t that he was stingy, but it was a basic principle of being a person.

No pain, no gain!

“That’s great! Thank you, senior.”

Xiao Ya was of course very happy to hear Chen Feng offer to invest in her. She was even more convinced that she had made the right bet this time.

Chen Feng was a man who was willing to spend money.

To be able to come to this top-tier hotel and open a room for over ten thousand a night, he would definitely be willing to spend money on his woman.

“No need to thank me now. It’s not too late to thank me after you get the money.”

Chen Feng waved his hand, very modestly. In fact, whether he would invest in the future would mainly depend on her performance.

“Anyway, I must thank you,” Xiao Ya said with a smile, her eyes curving into crescents. Even with her glasses on, she looked very comfortable and gentle.

Chen Feng’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at her. His gaze towards her also carried a trace of heat as he said naturally, “Then, why don’t you go take a shower first.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ya immediately understood. A blush appeared on her face. She nodded slightly, gave a soft “mm,” and got up, obediently lowering her head and walking towards the bathroom.

Seeing this, Chen Feng couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. He had finally become the kind of person he used to envy, be jealous of, and despise—a man with a lot of money and a lot of women.

Whether he was a scumbag or a player, he was the object of envy and jealousy of other male compatriots.

As the saying goes, a man who is not romantic in his youth has lived in vain. What’s more, he was now a middle-aged divorced man. He should seize the time to be romantic and enjoy life.

This kind of carpe diem, hedonistic thinking was not to be encouraged, but he had a terminal illness and not much time left, so it was worthy of sympathy and forgiveness.

He would just treat it as his own end-of-life care.

While Xiao Ya was showering, Chen Feng sat alone in the living room, trying hard to build up his psychological defenses.

In the past twenty-nine years, Chen Feng had never really thought about being a scumbag. Even though, like many men, he had dreamed of having three wives and four concubines, that was really just a thought. He had never worked or strived for it.

But since his terminal illness and divorce, he had been galloping towards the direction of a scumbag.

However, strictly speaking, he wasn’t really a scumbag now, was he? After all, Sun Xiaorui was just his sponsored mistress, not his girlfriend, and certainly not his wife.

So, for him to sponsor another one now, and it being consensual, it couldn’t be said that he was betraying Sun Xiaorui… right?

Chen Feng could only comfort himself this way.

At the end of the day, his previous life had been too conservative and honest.

So much so that now that he was worth tens of millions, sponsoring another mistress made him feel a bit uneasy.

And in fact, he also knew that in real life, for those rich people, one mistress was standard, several was normal, and it wasn’t unheard of to have dozens.

Reality is often more bizarre and absurd than novels and movies!

But Chen Feng was used to being a loser before, so his mindset hadn’t changed along with the growth of his wealth.

Of course, this change in mindset was definitely not good. It was degenerate and to be criticized.

But many things are like this. When your wealth and social status change, your thinking slowly changes with it.

This is caused by the environment, and also by human nature.

Xiao Ya spent over half an hour in the bathroom before coming out, wrapped in a towel, looking shy.

“Junior, if you want to regret it now, it’s not too late.”

Chen Feng sat on the sofa, saying words that even he himself despised as hypocritical.

It had already come to this point. In fact, saying these words was like farting.

Sure enough, Xiao Ya shook her head, “I don’t regret it. I believe you won’t treat me unfairly in the future, senior.”

These words were very true. Chen Feng never treated people he cared about unfairly.

Including his ex-wife, Shen Lin. He had even thought about leaving her a sum of money after he died.

But later, the thought of her being all lovey-dovey with another man using his money made him feel very uncomfortable, so he gave up the idea.

“Alright. Let’s go to the massage room. The essential oil there is nice, it smells very fragrant.”

Chen Feng stood up with a smile and walked towards the massage room.

…

The two of them stayed in this ancient building villa for three days, trying all the Western, Chinese, and buffet restaurants under the hotel’s banner.

In the end, they could only say that you get what you pay for. Not to mention anything else, the service here was really excellent. You couldn’t enjoy this kind of service even in other five-star hotels.

Three days later, the two of them left together.

Xiao Ya first went to the real estate agency to handle her resignation procedures. She had called her manager on the second day at the hotel to resign and had gotten approval.

The turnover rate for employees at real estate agencies was already very high, so the resignation process was very convenient.

As for Chen Feng, he had to go back to the small villa by East Lake first.

The two of them agreed that Chen Feng would go to her rented place tomorrow to help her move.

Xiao Ya was moving into the Red Villa Bay villa tomorrow.

However, not long after he got home, he received a call from Wu Mengting.

“We’re moving tomorrow morning. Can you come? You’re not going to say you can’t, are you?”

Wu Mengting’s voice was full of resentment from the moment she spoke.

Previously, she had arranged with Chen Feng to go to an open-air concert, but Chen Feng had stood her up at the last minute, which had left her depressed for two days.

That day, Chen Feng was as thick as thieves with Xiao Ya, staying in that ancient building villa, so happy he forgot to go home. How could he possibly go to some open-air performance with Wu Mengting at night?

He hadn’t thought about Wu Mengting at all for the past two days, and had even more so forgotten that he had promised her and Lin Wan to help them move.

Now that she brought it up, Chen Feng finally remembered, and then he hesitated. Because he had also promised to go help Xiao Ya move tomorrow morning.

What a coincidence!

However, Chen Feng still responded immediately, “Of course I can go. Tomorrow morning, right? What time?”

Hearing Chen Feng say this, Wu Mengting finally cheered up a bit and quickly said, “Just come before nine o’clock. I’ll send you the address on WeChat later.”

Chen Feng agreed readily, “Okay. I’ll be there before nine tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks a lot then. Tomorrow at noon, Lin Wan and I will treat you to a meal at our new place. We talked about it last time.”

“Right, right. I’d be delighted.”

…

After talking for a while longer, the two of them hung up.

After hanging up, Chen Feng immediately sent a WeChat message to Xiao Ya, saying that he had something to do tomorrow morning and would go over to help her move in the afternoon.

Xiao Ya was very understanding and sent back an “OK” emoji.

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