Chapter 780: Chapter 126: Satisfied, Very Satisfied

Chapter 126: Satisfied, Very Satisfied

This Christmas fell on a Saturday, normally a pleasant day for many people, but last night, many couldn’t sleep.

It had nothing to do with Li Yan, who had a great sleep.

...

After calling Wen Qianyi last night, Li Yan turned off his phone to avoid disturbances.

He slept until he woke up naturally and, upon waking, checked the time, blinked a few times, and rolled his eyes. He felt his eyes had healed, with just a bit of morning dryness but no pain.

As he pondered whether to get up for breakfast or sleep a bit more, he heard someone knocking at the door. After a while, Zhang Yurong’s voice called out, "Get up for breakfast! Are you awake?"

She’s kindly calling me to eat? In a good mood, huh!

Li Yan remained silent, continuing to lie there, curious if Zhang Yurong would come in to get him up. He didn’t need to guard against a night attack from the two, so the door wasn’t locked.

He had wanted to play a little intimately, but instead, Zhang Yurong didn’t come in, nor did she call again or knock. This left him a bit disappointed; it seemed a little more romance would need to be cultivated slowly.

The earlier knocking had already left him wide awake, so he sat up and turned on his phone. Upon booting up, he immediately received three messages, with content simple and identical—"Call back."

One was from Wen Qianyi, one from Zheng Yixuan, and the other from Li Jie.

Li Yan could roughly guess the reason for their calls and didn’t rush. Checking the time, he first called Wen Qianyi.

"What’s up? Little Yi, thinking of me so early in the morning?"

"Who’s thinking of you early in the morning?"

"Oh? Couldn’t sleep last night thinking of me then?"

Wen Qianyi laughed and scolded, "Haven’t even brushed your teeth yet, with a stinky mouth talking all this mushy nonsense, don’t you find it disgusting?"

Li Yan started sweating; she hit the nail on the head...

"Correction, it’s not that I didn’t brush my teeth; I called you first thing upon waking, and haven’t had a chance to brush yet."

"Alright, whether you brush or not is none of my business, I just want to ask, what are you up to?" Wen Qianyi asked seriously.

"What am I up to? Am I up to anything?"

"Did you have someone send me a bottle of red wine?"

"Yeah. I was just about to ask if it arrived. Have you received it? You’re knowledgeable, see if any fraudsters are tricking you with fake goods."

Wen Qianyi lowered her voice a bit and spoke quickly, "Is this my birthday gift? How much is your monthly salary now? You spent tens of thousands on a bottle of red wine as a gift, which is gone once drunk—are you crazy?"

She earns a decent amount and often drinks, trying various kinds of wine. But mostly for the atmosphere, and usually a few hundred bucks wine suffices, even beer works. Those costing tens of thousands are for tasting and mostly flaunting. She wouldn’t buy them herself nor fleece a guy for them; at most, she’d join friends or clients who have the spending power for such.

She initially looked forward to what gift Li Yan would give her but never expected him to buy such an expensive red wine.

The world’s best red wines may be in Lan Country, but that doesn’t mean all Lan Country wines are the best. Even in prestigious wine regions like Master among Lan Country, quality and quantity vary annually due to factors like climate and rainfall, affecting grape quality and harvest, indirectly affecting wine production and quality.

Like the renowned Lafite from Yun Country, the second label (Little Lafite, Lafite Treasure) usually costs three or four thousand, the main label (Big Lafite, Lafite Castle) usually eight or nine thousand, but 2003 and 2005 vintages cost over ten thousand, 1996 is a bit pricier, 1986 even more so, and the famous ’82 Lafite in films and novels costs forty to fifty thousand. Romanée-Conti is priced over 2500 International Coins, those aged a few years can go from 3000 to 5000 International Coins, with rare vintages reaching astronomical prices.

Such wines are surely delightful and possess artistic value. But ultimately, they’re just wine, gone once consumed, unlike other art pieces that can be admired for long. So, their value is limited, and current pricing is driven up by the market. Simply put, it’s promoting wine culture, or bluntly put, overhyped. As East Continent amassed more wealth, accepting Celestial Continent’s norms, high-quality, historical luxury goods with mature business models flooded the market, driving prices up due to demand.

The sky-high-priced red wine is a luxury item, with its main market now in the newly prosperous areas centered around Yun Country. Though most Yun Country citizens aren’t wealthy, its massive population means even a small percentage of affluent people presents a huge market, bigger than some Celestial Continent countries’ entire populations.

After hearing Wen Qianyi’s words, Li Yan chuckled, "The wine is gone after consumption, money’s gone after spending, youth? Gone when past. You are twenty-five today; you’ll have birthdays again next year, but never another 25th birthday. Compared to such splendid youth, what’s this? As long as you enjoy, tasting the finest wine in your prime, it’s all worth it."

"..."

Wen Qianyi was stunned, not expecting this perspective. This guy was like a "live in the moment" drifter! But she suddenly recalled something she often forgot—Li Yan’s other identity.

She was initially anxious and upset because Li Yan wasn’t making much money now, yet spent wildly, especially on her. Now realizing his other identity, she understood it was quite expensive but not financially crippling for him; he could afford it. Using his hard-earned money on her, thinking it worthwhile, made her deeply moved.

"I forgot you... humph! Deliberately mentioning my 25 years, what does that mean? Emphasizing fading youth? Are you saying I’m old?" Wen Qianyi feigned anger.

"How could that be? If you were old, I wouldn’t remind you, just reminisce about youth with you. Precisely because you’re young, I’m reminding you to enjoy it!"

"You’re older than me anyway!" Wen Qianyi’s mood lightened.

She was initially worried, contemplating returning that wine; now reassured by his explanation and knowing he could afford it, she thought of sharing it with him over dinner since it wouldn’t keep well. Good wine requires precise environmental conditions: low light, 12℃-18℃ temperatures, and 65% humidity, or else its quality would degrade easily.

Li Yan checked the time, "Are you satisfied with this gift?"

"Um..." Wen Qianyi initially wanted to say she’s satisfied but remembered he mentioned a backup gift, wanting to see what it was, out of curiosity, not greed. If it were something else precious, she’d firmly refuse. "Satisfied, yes, but not extremely satisfied. Do you have something that will make me extremely satisfied?"

Extremely satisfied... Since she and Yurong shared the same birthday, Li Yan once thought of a lazy trick; like when shopping in Beihai Country, he considered giving Yurong’s video to Wen Qianyi too! To protect Yurong’s privacy, he hadn’t mentioned names when asking for blessings from passersby, so he only needed to re-record his introductory remarks for Qianyi, and that gift could serve both.

But later he felt it was too shameless; gifts should mainly carry heartfelt intentions, and being lazy lacked sincerity. If ever exposed, neither would forgive him.

"Are you up yet?"

"Nonsense! As lazy as you? I wouldn’t be up to receive the wine if I weren’t!" Wen Qianyi laughed and scolded.

"Then go back to bed..."

"Alright, joking aside, go to your balcony or window and look outside."

Wen Qianyi, just up, still had the curtain drawn in her bedroom. It was a bit chilly, so the balcony door was also closed. Hearing him, thinking he was downstairs, slightly surprised, she hurried to open the door and run to the balcony. Once outside, without even looking down, she saw her gift—somehow, a bunch of balloons had floated to her balcony. They were colorful, some with smiley faces and birthday wishes. The balloons were tied together, possibly released and flown up kite-style. Once they hovered at her balcony, the string was cut, letting them land there.

"...I see... I really like them... extremely satisfied!" Wen Qianyi didn’t expect so many balloons; she was delighted to see them, especially launched in this unique way. "Are you down there? Come up!"—To the new and old brothers in the mix, if you have monthly passes, send one over; we’re almost dropping out of the top 50, not gunning for top 10 in urban, being in the top 50 overall is our glory, please!

(Thanks for yesterday’s rewards: zjun971210, Rain’s Destiny, l1l2x3, Feather jh, Tiger-mouthed Plucking Fur, pro.Eve, Cp Pampas, Li Fanshow, Book Friend from Taiwan) (To be continued, to find out what happens next, please log in at www.qidian.com, more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)