Chapter 10: 10.

Chapter 10: 10.

The time it took Chen Kai to reach the Girard-Perregaux boutique, was the same span it took for the General Manager to know of his purchase. Large sales in any store will notify the higher-ups by way of notifications. She called to confirm his appearance and where he was headed next.

Xu Yushi felt a headache coming on.

Immediately she dispatched four competent security guards to escort Chen Kai during his excursion and to keep his purchases safe.

Walking around with $24 Million Yuan worth of shopping is unheard of. Bags can be forgotten or misplaced. Though she prided herself on her security measures, one can't trust the human heart.

After sending Chen Kai's information and his position in the company, she held patted her chest and praised herself for her timely interference.

This little venture was included in her evaluation report for her bosses.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The main cause of the higher-ups' uproar was being tended to by three sales clerks as the manager supervise their service.

His entrance was flashy. His confident walk, the Patek Phillipe bags in his hand, and the new watch on his wrist. Three clerks approached him quickly to earn good commissions, hoping he will pick one of them but they were turned on their heads when he called out four watch models from the collections they had in store.

Their smiles were radiant when he spoke.

He was a big spender.

The customers who were window shopping stopped and looked on as Chen Kai unconsciously made a show of choosing the perfect watch.

His shopping bags were held by the manager which was a novel happening.

The manager of a foreign brand was a caddy for this young man.

They shook their heads in disbelief and returned their attention to the young man whose eyes were bright with excitement.

"You look pleased with the craftsmanship, Mr. Chen," the manager spoke.

"Yes. I prefer mechanical watches over the present smartwatches. Isn't it soothing to hear the clockwork and to see how each groove dance against the other? These watchmakers are true wonders of the world."

Hearing the young man speak so fervently and seeing the genuine expressions on his face made the ladies blush in delight. To them, he was adorably handsome.

In the manager's opinion. Chen Kai was a rare young master. Most simply purchase the watches to display their wealth and not the craftsmanship. He knew the young one wasn't lying. The Patek Phillipe on his wrist was simple at a glance but the mechanical work was worth the price. There were no gems to bring attraction to himself, it was a watch he loved.

The customers who overheard his comment couldn't help but take a deeper look at the products they said were so expensive. If such a young man focused on the fine details of the watch and not the cost, why were they planning to buy it?

"Hello, Mr. Chen!"

The chorused greeting of male voices gained everyone's attention in the boutique.

"Did something happen?"

"Why are they here?"

"Did someone commit a robbery?"

"Wait. They said the name of the young man. Did he do something?"

"Is he a scammer?"

So many speculations were flying around and it upped the drama-thirst within them.

How dull are these people's lives?

Chen Kai turned to the entrance and saw four uniformed men looking his way. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

He tilted his head in curiosity and answered. "Yes."

"Excuse our disturbance during your shopping. We were dispatched by General Manager Xu to escort you on your trip," one said firmly.

Chen Kai thought of why she will do that for a minute then realized why. He gave the guards a small nod. "I will have to trouble you. Manager Zhao, please rest. These men will take care of my packages," he said politely.

The manager recognized the captain of the security team and the other three prominent guards. They were army veterans hired by the top security company in the country. Nanhe Mall has a long relationship with the company and only the best are dispatched to the malls. To mobilize these few for him, who was this young man?

Captain Xia saw the confused look on the manager's face when he walked over.

"Do you know who he is?" the captain asked softly as he took the bags carefully.

Manager Zhao shook his head slightly and stood by the man's side. Two guards took up a position at Chen Kai's side and resumed his shopping, unbothered by the activity around him.

"He's basically your boss. He bought 40% of the company's shares. The handover was finalized earlier today," Captain Xia stated. He wanted someone else's mindset to be shaken.

The manager's knees weakened. "Please don't play with my health, Captain Xia. Isn't our company nearing a net worth of a billion or more? Look at how young he is. I was still doing errands in an office to appease my boss at his age."

The captain chuckled. "General Manager Xu was sent to meet him personally by the chairman. Oh! and how does it feel to hold a bag worth $24 Million Yuan?"

Manager Zhao began to look back on his life. Where did he miss that fateful encounter with riches?

"The Planetarium Tri-axial and the Cosmos Infinity Edition."

The clerks with the chosen watches beamed in delight. They turned searching eyes for their manager and found him lost in a trance next to the security captain. What was taking this man so long? Commissions need to be placed.

"Manager! Mr. Chen is ready."

"Oh. Right. Excuse me." The man quickly moved to the sales cubicle while the ladies packaged the watches. The manager took a few seconds to say the total. Everyone was waiting to know the final costs.

Chen Kai patiently waited.

"Your total is $9.2 Million yuan."

Sharp gasps filled the air. They held their breath when the bank card was offered and went through the transaction. The sharp beep of success toppled their thinking.

$9Million on two watches without batting an eye.

"And here we were complaining about the ones that cost less than $2 Million," someone commented.

"There's always someone with more riches."

"To have such financial freedom is an envious thing."

"Thank you, everyone."

One of the guards took Chen Kai's purchase as he waved goodbye to the staff.

"Mr. Chen, I'm Captain Xia. Is there anywhere else you have to visit?" the captain politely asked.

"Hmmm. Miansai and Gucci. Possibly two clothing stores that caught my eye on the fourth floor," he replied while checking the time. He had two hours to spend before heading to his new home.

"No problem, sir."

The guards didn't mind playing the role of a caddy for the young man. Witnessing the life of the rich was better than walking the spot hundreds of times.

~~~~~~~~~~~

While Senior Chen was happily updating his wardrobe, other seniors were on the verge of mental breakdowns.

Why do we have to know this?

Are we going to calculate this at work?

Maybe I should just sell at a food stall, this is too much?

Every student has a different major, meaning different modules to reflect on in their thesis. That's two to four years of learning depending on one's majors.

Father and son frowned at Lin Shen's words. They heard distinctly the contempt when he asked the first question.

"Your brother worked throughout his college years and was hired due to his achievements and his work experience. I allowed him to work in other places until it was time for him to come home. He understood the differences in society hence our climbing success. You need to understand this, Little Shen," Lin Yang explained. He finally saw with his own eyes how the pampering shaped his youngest son's thinking. He should have pushed harder for his son to be disciplined but his wife thought differently.

In her mindset, the firstborns are the ones who should develop the family. The little ones can live their lives freely.

Lin Yang hated that mindset and wished to change it. Now here is his son thinking he will get the riches he deserved through nepotism.

"Understand that I must lower myself to those people just to get a position in the company? Father, you can't be serious. Mother will never approve of this." Lin Shen shouted his displeasure and turned his angry eyes to his brother. "You did this. Do you hate me this much, brother?"

Lin Xian shook his head at his little brother's taunt. He expected this.

"ENOUGH!" Lin Yang yelled. He hated how this kid always use his mother as a shield. He was 22 years old and still look to her for support.

How can he survive in society when he graduates?

"You are over the age of eighteen. You're basically a man in society's eyes yet you prefer to stand behind your mother's skirts. The days of your coddling are over. After graduation, depending on your final results and evaluation, you will work according to them. You will do this for five years. According to your success then you will have a position in our company."

"WHAT?!"

Lin Shen's eyes shook in disbelief and despair as his father continued to speak. Each change was like a crack in his image. They were literally stripping him of his riches. The words were loud in his ears and couldn't block out.

An entry-level job.

Must be hired under his own strength.

Living on a monthly salary.

Paying rent.

Cooking his own food.

Using public transportation.

No family help or connections.

Why? Why were they doing this?

"Remember, your future depends on your results." His father's words were like a knife over his head.

Lin Shen didn't answer. He was too numb to do so. All he can think of is Chen Kai's thesis. That should give him a boost.

Yes! That will make his life smooth.

~~~~~~~~~

Back at Lin Shen's apartment, Zhang Rui fluttered from room to room, taking photos of the place to post in her WeChat Moments. The place was large and decorated beautifully. At a glance, you can tell the quality of any furniture. It was all high-end. She laughed heartily when she saw the envious comments from her classmates and friends from her home city.

"Let your eyes bleed. I'll soon enter the Lin Family leaving you cockroaches behind."

Zhang Rui quickly redid her make up then made a short video of the view outside the large window. To the camera, she mimicked the look of a carefree woman enjoying her life and made a bland comment about enjoying the last days of peace before entering the working world.

After her gloating session was over, she decided to go check out the thesis she can use for her own work.

Since her laptop was back in her dorm, she decided to use her boyfriend's. Her eyes lit up when she retrieved the HP Elitebook from his bag. Zhang Rui saw this being advertised online and knew this was the latest model. She couldn't believe Lin Shen changed devices so easily.

Grabbing the thumb drive, she inserted it and took her time searching the content on the laptop. There weren't many things. She found Lin Shen's draft of his own thesis and a few gaming videos. The apps of the three games he played were pinned on the taskbar. There was no folder with documents as study materials, no categorized folder of everything he learned nor coded notes on his in the notepad. A great contrast to Chen Kai's laptop.

~ An Unknown device has been detected. Do you wish to scan it?

Zhang Rui saw the prompt and selected no. The thumb drive opened in File Explorer the window. Three folders were present. She didn't hesitate to open the Multimedia folder. If she can do better on her present project, it will be a plus. Getting this 'help' from that sewer rat was a godsend.

"Getting rid of him would have been better. It's not like anyone will look for him if he went missing anyway," she mumbled to herself and opened the folder.

More than ten different drafts of topics were there. Just reading one topic title made her head spin. To make her life easier, she chose the safest topic that spoke about Social Media Usage. Double-clicking the file, the Microsoft Word opening screen popped up.

Zhang Rui waited.

How long does it take to open?

She clicked on the file again.

Now it's two Microsoft Word pages loading.

Five minutes have passed and no movement. Her patience was really thin.

She clicked it a third time and a third loading page popped up. This time it came with a friend.

Zhang Rui frowned.

On the screen, an animated worm appeared. It held a pickaxe in its hand and a cute blue hard helmet on its head. She thought it was adorable as it moved from left to right on her screen. It did this five times then stopped.

The little worm turned its head to look out and saluted any onlookers. This amused her.

After the cute salute, the worm disappeared.

A second later, the sound of glass breaking blasted from the device speaker. Warning alerts were now mixed into it then the sound of a broken dial-up internet. The cacophony of sounds deafened her. Zhang Rui was at a loss for what to do. She tried to lower the volume, press the escape key or the start-up button, and even move the cursor from the touchpad but all fail. Yellow warning signs popped up on the screen.

SECURITY ALERT! PLEASE CHECK FILE 035A!

The yellow warning signs turned to red. Zhang Rui's heart was beating out of her chest. She was panicking. Behind those signs, the image began to fritz. The colors and texts were all over the place.

MALWARE DETECTED. SOFTWARE HAS BEEN BREACHED.

WARNING! UNKNOWN CODE INSTALLATION. WARNING! SYSTEM ERROR!

The blaring noise and the warnings had Zhang Rui freaking out. She was pressing so many keys and clicking the touchpad to get some sort of reaction but nothing.

"Come on! Please! Come on! What is happening?" She was on the verge of tears. How can she repay Lin Shen for this? She ruined his laptop! What can do?

She held down the power button to do a hard reset after numerous failures. "Please let this work," she prayed.

Wasn't this the all-in-one fix-it strategy?

It will work.

When she saw the screen blacked out and then began to restart after a long fifteen seconds, she was relieved.

Zhang Rui expected to see the HP logo but she saw that worm.

The adorable worm with the pickaxe.

It didn't move this time.

It struck a pose and folded its arms with a toothy grin on its face.

The worm didn't move for 1 minute.

3 minutes.

5 minutes.

9 minutes.

15 minutes.

The worm didn't move.

She can no longer access the laptop.

"What the hell just happened?"