Chapter 340: No Matter How Fast the 86 Is, It Can't Catch Up With the Sports Car!
"What a coincidence!"
Suzuki Natsuki's cute, pure face showed surprise.
Such luxury supercars rarely appeared in a small place like Gunma Prefecture, and it just happened to be parked nearby. They met again.
"It's not a coincidence; I was specifically waiting for you here."
At that moment, a magnetic male voice came from the red Ferrari supercar.
Immediately after, to Suzuki Natsuki's astonished expression, a handsome and dashing young man opened the red Ferrari's door and stepped out.
[Ding! Detected destined heroine Suzuki Natsuki's Favorability +20, Plundered +60,000 Destiny Points!]
[Ding! Detected destined heroine Suzuki Natsuki's Favorability +10, Plundered +30,000 Destiny Points!]
...
"Eh? Waiting for me?"
Suzuki Natsuki looked at the handsome guy leaning against the red Ferrari in front of her, utterly surprised.
She stood frozen on the sidewalk, her school bag clutched tightly in her hands. The late afternoon sun of Gunma cast a golden hue over the street, but the man before her seemed to shine with his own luminescence.
She racked her brain, searching through her memories, but found no recollection of ever knowing him. If she had met someone of this caliber—someone who radiated such overwhelming nobility and wealth—she would have carved his image into her hippocampus instantly.
In Suzuki Natsuki's eyes, the handsome guy in front of her was a god descended among mortals. He was tall, at least 1.85 meters, towering over her with a presence that made the air feel thin. Compared to Echizen Takumi, who was somewhat plain and always smelled faintly of tofu and gasoline, this man was a different species entirely.
He had neat, jet-black short hair that looked professionally styled, framing a face that was sculpted to perfection. His skin was clean and fair, devoid of blemishes, and his high nose bridge and thin lips gave him an air of aristocratic aloofness. Even the top idols in the Sakura Country entertainment industry—the ones plastered on billboards in Shibuya—couldn't compare to the raw, masculine elegance he exuded.
But what truly made her heart race wasn't just his face. It was the frame he leaned against.
The Ferrari.
It was a beast of engineering, painted in the iconic Rosso Corsa red that seemed to scream money. The low, aggressive chassis, the aerodynamic curves, the sheer presence of the machine—it was worth over 200 million Yen easily. It was a mobile fortress of wealth. And he leaned against it casually, as if it were nothing more than a bicycle.
[Ding! Detected destined heroine Suzuki Natsuki's Favorability +10, Plundered +30,000 Destiny Points!]
...
Shen Anyu was immediately amused; this destined heroine seemed easy to deal with.
He stood there, one hand in his pocket, watching the expressions flicker across her face like a slide show: confusion, realization, shock, and finally, a greedy, reverent admiration.
He had just met her, barely spoken a sentence, and her Favorability was already skyrocketing.
'As expected,' Shen Anyu thought, a cynical smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. 'Liking money... that is the easiest "flaw" to exploit in this world.'
If she demanded true love, deep emotional connection, or shared trauma, he would have to spend time weaving a web of lies. But if she just wanted money? He had an infinite supply. To Shen Anyu, money was just a number, a tool to be used to pry open the legs—and hearts—of the greedy.
Shen Anyu smiled, his gaze turning warm and gentle, a perfect mask of the "Prince Charming" every girl dreamed of. He looked at Suzuki Natsuki and said, "I'm a tourist from Yanxia Country, on a self-driving tour in Sakura Country. But, embarrassingly enough, I got lost and accidentally ended up in Gunma Prefecture. However... in this misfortune, I met a very beautiful and lovely girl."
His voice was like rich, dark chocolate—smooth, deep, and intoxicating.
Suzuki Natsuki noticed Shen Anyu's fervent gaze sweeping over her body. It wasn't the rude, leering stare of the old men in Tokyo; it was an appreciative, burning look that made her feel valuable. Her pretty face immediately flushed a deep crimson.
The compliment hit her like a drug. "Beautiful and lovely." Coming from him, it felt like a coronation.
At this moment, Shen Anyu made a bold move. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and reached out his hand directly towards Suzuki Natsuki's cute and beautiful face.
Suzuki Natsuki was startled. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her pretty face showed panic as she instinctively took half a step back, her back hitting the invisible wall of his presence. She bit her pinkish-white lower lip, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and anticipation, and weakly questioned Shen Anyu, "You... what are you going to do?"
Time seemed to slow down.
Shen Anyu's gaze swept over her attire with the precision of a connoisseur. Suzuki Natsuki was wearing the standard "JK" (High School Girl) uniform—a short black mini-skirt that rode dangerously high on her thighs, and black stockings that hugged her legs tightly. The stockings compressed her flesh slightly, highlighting the perfect, soft curves of her legs and making her skin appear even fairer by contrast. It exuded a seductive charm that walked the fine line between innocence and corruption.
'Not bad,' Shen Anyu evaluated coldly. 'I wonder how they would feel to the touch. The texture must be... exquisite.'
Shen Anyu thought to himself, as a great man of Destiny, he was kind-hearted. He was simply doing a public service. He wanted to test the "feel" for Jay Chou—no, for Echizen Takumi. After all, Takumi was too focused on drifting to appreciate the finer things in life.
The next moment, Shen Anyu's hand didn't touch her skin. Instead, his long, slender fingers deftly pinched a small piece of white foam box debris from Suzuki Natsuki's hair, just above her ear.
He held it up, showing it to her with a smile.
"You had something in your hair," he said softly.
Suzuki Natsuki blinked, her tense shoulders relaxing instantly. She looked at the white speck and suddenly realized—it must have stuck to her when she was helping Takumi load and unload tofu earlier at the Fujiwara Tofu Shop.
Shame washed over her. She had misunderstood the handsome guy from a foreign country! She thought he was going to do something... inappropriate right here on the street.
'Natsuki, you pervert!' she chided herself.
Immediately, Suzuki Natsuki placed her hands on her stomach and bowed ninety degrees to Shen Anyu in a standard, polite apology: "Honto ni Sumimasen (I'm truly sorry)!"
"Thank you for your help; I misunderstood."
Shen Anyu smiled, waving his hand elegantly to indicate that he didn't mind. His eyes, however, remained locked on her, calculating the next move.
"I want to go to Tokyo to buy some things," Shen Anyu said, his tone casual yet authoritative. "But as I said, I'm lost and I don't know the language well enough to navigate the deeper districts. I need a guide. I wonder if you could help me?"
Upon hearing this, Suzuki Natsuki bit her pinkish-white lower lip with her pearly teeth again, her expression becoming hesitant.
Her mind raced. 'Go to Tokyo? Now? With a strange man?'
Going shopping in Tokyo with a strange young man from Yanxia Country, acting as a guide... it seemed too inappropriate. It was dangerous. It was reckless. And more importantly, tonight was the big race on Akina Mountain. She had promised to be there for Takumi.
Suzuki Natsuki was a very gentle girl on the surface, carefully considering her words, thinking about how to refuse politely without offending this foreign nobility.
"Ano... I..." She stammered.
Shen Anyu seemed to realize something. He didn't let her finish her refusal. He knew exactly what language she spoke fluently.
"I will pay a guide fee," he interjected smoothly. "How about one million Yen?"
The words hung in the air, heavy and golden.
It wasn't that Shen Anyu couldn't give more. To him, a million Yen was less than pocket change. But he knew the psychology of the hunt. Too much money upfront might scare the little kitten in front of him; it would make the transaction feel too "transactional," too much like prostitution. It was better to take it step by step, like boiling a frog in warm water. Start with a fee that is shockingly high but justified as "generosity," then slowly erode her moral baseline.
One million Yen was not a small sum in Sakura Country. For an ordinary high school student, or even an office worker, it was several months' income. It was enough to buy a used car.
"One... one million Yen?"
Suzuki Natsuki's eyes visibly lit up. The hesitation in her posture evaporated instantly, replaced by a hungry shimmer.
For someone from a poor family like her, who constantly envied the branded bags and clothes of the rich girls in Tokyo, this number was dizzying. All her pocket money from childhood combined wouldn't even amount to one million Yen.
Just being a guide? Just sitting in a Ferrari and pointing out shops? For such a high income?
Her heart fluttered violently. The image of Takumi and his tofu shop began to blur, replaced by images of Chanel, Gucci, and Dior.
Suzuki Natsuki was extremely pleased in her heart. The dopamine rush was intoxicating. Just as she was about to agree, a pang of guilt struck her.
'Takumi... the race...'
She suddenly thought of something and said to Shen Anyu, "Can... can I tell my friend? I have to cancel plans..."
She planned to call Echizen Takumi. She wanted to tell him that she couldn't go to Akina Mountain to cheer him on for the race tonight because something "urgent" came up at home.
Shen Anyu, however, frowned. The gentle smile vanished, replaced by a look of impatience and mild displeasure. He shook his head.
"I'm in a hurry," he said coldly, checking his Patek Philippe watch. "I don't have time for you to make calls and explain things. The shops in Ginza will close."
He paused, looking at her struggling face. He decided to crush the last bit of resistance.
"How about this," Shen Anyu said, his voice flat. "I'll give you two million Yen for the guide fee."
Bam!
The number hit her like a physical blow. Two million.
"If you don't want to, then I'll find someone else," Shen Anyu continued, turning his body slightly back towards the car door. "Although traveling around Tokyo with a cute Sakura Country beauty would be very pleasant... I hate waiting even more. There are plenty of girls in Gunma."
As he spoke, Shen Anyu raised his hand to look at his watch again, looking very impatient.
Suzuki Natsuki immediately became anxious. Panic seized her.
'He's leaving! Two million Yen is walking away!'
This was two million Yen! Such a large sum of money! It was enough to change her life for the next year. It was enough to buy several luxury bags to show off to her classmates. It was freedom.
Compared to two million Yen, what was a race? Takumi raced all the time. He wouldn't miss her for one night. But this opportunity? It might never come again.
Seeing Shen Anyu turn to leave, Suzuki Natsuki could no longer maintain her composure. Her greed overrode her loyalty completely.
She lunged forward, reaching out to pull Shen Anyu's arm. Her soft hands gripped his expensive suit sleeve tightly, afraid he would vanish like smoke.
With a sweet, desperate smile, she said, "I'm willing! I'll go! But... you have to pay first."
A hint of a smile flashed in Shen Anyu's eyes. It was the smile of a hunter who had just watched the trap snap shut.
"No problem," he replied.
As his voice fell, Shen Anyu turned back. He reached into the car—ostensibly into the glove compartment, but in reality, his hand flickered as he withdrew cash from his [Storage Ring].
In Shen Anyu's Storage Ring, there were mountains of cash—currencies from various countries, gold bars, gems, and so on. And of course, more useful items like Grade-9 Pills and Soul-Severing weapons. Pulling out a few stacks of paper was effortless.
He took out two thick stacks of crisp, 10,000 Yen banknotes. The smell of fresh ink was palpable. He placed them directly into Suzuki Natsuki's trembling hand.
"Here. Two million. Count it if you like."
Suzuki Natsuki held the money. It was heavy. Heavier than she expected.
Looking at the two stacks of banknotes in her hand, Suzuki Natsuki's watery peach blossom eyes were gleaming with an almost fanatical light. She didn't need to count. The thickness told her everything.
She looked up at Shen Anyu. In that moment, the Yanxia handsome guy in front of her seemed to glow with a divine halo. He wasn't just handsome; he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He was her provider.
Two million Yen, just like that, cleanly given to her! No questions asked!
[Ding! Detected destined heroine Suzuki Natsuki's Favorability +20, Plundered +60,000 Destiny Points!]
...
Shen Anyu almost burst out laughing. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to suppress the corners of his mouth.
Two million Yen. That was it.
And it plundered sixty thousand Destiny Points and gained twenty Favorability.
It was the first time Shen Anyu had gained Favorability and Destiny Points so easily. It was almost insulting to the other heroines who required complex schemes, life-saving graces, or elaborate conquests.
Let alone two million Yen, even two hundred billion Yen—if it could exchange for twenty Favorability and sixty thousand Destiny Points, Shen Anyu would exchange as much as he could, even ten times over.
Two hundred billion Yen was just over one billion US dollars.
To conquer Zhong Lingyin, the Heavenly Queen, Shen Anyu had directly offered a reward of one billion US dollars to the entire Dark World, creating such a grand spectacle that countless powerful figures flocked to him, shaking the foundations of the underground society.
Yet now? A mere two million Yen—pocket change he wouldn't even bend over to pick up—earned him twenty Favorability from Suzuki Natsuki and plundered sixty thousand Destiny Points.
It was simply a huge profit! A return on investment that defied logic!
At this moment, Shen Anyu found Suzuki Natsuki incredibly pleasing to the eye. What a treasure girl she was. She was honest in her desires.
'Isn't it just that she likes money?' Shen Anyu thought, opening the passenger door for her. 'I have money. I have too much money.'
As Suzuki Natsuki happily hopped into the passenger seat of the Ferrari, clutching her two million Yen like a lifeline, Shen Anyu cast a brief glance toward the direction of the Fujiwara Tofu Shop.
Shen Anyu apologized to Jay Chou in his heart—oh no, to Echizen Takumi.
'Sorry, Takumi. But this is the reality of the world.'
Even the fastest AE86 couldn't catch up to a luxury sports car...
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