Chapter 10 The Scenic Cuiping Lake

"So much?"

Ying Yue was taken aback, pulled out his wallet to check, and saw he only had 1700 yuan. He scratched his head with a bit of embarrassment, "Aunt Wu, why is the amount so high?"

The landlady chuckled, "The rent has gone up, I reminded you about it six months ago, have you forgotten?"

"Oh no, I actually forgot about this!"

Ying Yue smacked his forehead, annoyed, "Then... Aunt Wu, please wait a moment, I'll ask my family for some money!"

"Sure!"

Leaving the landlady's house, Ying Yue furrowed his brows in worry. The landlady had indeed told him about the rent increase six months ago, but at that time, he was completely focused on his studies, preparing seriously for the exams, and thus didn't take much notice of it.

That's why he calculated the rent wrong and was short by 600 yuan.

"Short by 600 yuan, what a mess this has become!"

Ying Yue sighed, instinctively took out his phone to ask his family for money, but he hesitated just as he was about to dial.

"Should I really be asking my family for money now?"

"No, no, no! With my current ability, earning some money should be easy. There's absolutely no need to ask my family for money!"

"Yup, I'll figure it out myself!"

Just as this thought rose in his mind, his phone began to ring; it was a call from Mom.

"Mom, what's up?"

Ying Yue was puzzled, "Didn't we just talk?"

"Little Yue, one of your classmates told me, just go have fun, there's no rush to come home. It's fine if you come back a day or two late!"

His mother's voice came from the phone, "You've just finished your college entrance exams, relax a bit, okay. That's all!"

After finishing, Mom hung up the call.

Ying Yue stared blankly at his phone, not quite catching on, when his phone rang again. The caller ID read: Old Gao.

"Hehehe, Old Ying, did you get a call from your mom?"

As soon as the call connected, Gao Xiaoguang's smug voice came through, "I told you, you'd have to go whether you wanted to or not, hahaha, you can't outplay me, bro!"

"Go to hell, what the heck did you tell my mom?"

If Ying Yue still didn't understand what had happened, then there was no place for him in the world; it must have been Old Gao, this bastard's doing.

"Nothing much, just told her that the class is having a gathering, and every classmate must attend. Oh right, I told her that several girls specifically asked for you to be there, wahahaha..."

"Holy shit!!!"

...

A peeling white pickup truck sped down the road, with Gao Xiaoguang's lewd laughter echoing from inside.

"Let me tell you, Old Ying, you're definitely going to enjoy and want to come back for more. The first time you go, you'll want to go a second time!"

Ying Yue replied irritably, "I'm really busy right now, how do I have time to hang out with you? And seriously, why did you call my house?"

"Hey! Don't be mad, I'm doing this for your own good!"

Gao Xiaoguang replied with a playful grin, "Before the exams, you buried yourself in your studies every day, which was fine. But now, the exams are over, so why not go out with your bro, relax your mind a bit, what's wrong with that?"

"Forget it, I hope I can make some money on Huxin Island!"

Ying Yue rolled his eyes, "I'm still short 600 yuan for rent!"

"Hehe, don't worry, leave it to me!"

The trees on both sides of the road sped past as the white pickup truck raced forward.

15 minutes later, the truck turned onto a concrete road heading toward the mountains. Shortly after navigating a winding mountain path, it arrived at a vast lake.

"Hahahaha, Cuiping Lake, finally here!"

Jiangzhou is famous for being a "mountain city" and "river city," with great mountains and waters, and beautiful lakes. When you need a peaceful place to stay, a lake hidden within the city is the best choice.

The lakes of Jiangzhou are world-renowned.

Cuiping Lake could definitely rank among the top ten.

Standing by Cuiping Lake, even someone as composed as Ying Yue was overwhelmed by the beauty before him.

Before him lay a vast expanse of green lake.

The lake shone with glimmering light, its waves gently rippling, enchanting and captivating. Dense forests surrounded the lake, the natural scenery picturesque and tranquil, idyllic and elegant.

"Cuiping Lake is 18 kilometers long, with a water surface area of 5,300 mu, intertwined with bays, naturally formed peninsulas and islands, and the surrounding area includes a national agricultural tourism demonstration area and a provincial-level forest park!"

Gao Xiaoguang took a deep breath, his face full of intoxication, "If you could have an island here and build a villa on it, that would be living the dream!"

Ying Yue nodded slightly, then asked, "The islands here must be pretty expensive, right?"

"Expensive?"

Gao Xiaoguang shook his head and sighed, "It's more than expensive. Let me tell you, even with money, you might not be able to buy one because this is a nature reserve, and theoretically, these islands aren't sold to the public!"

Ying Yue was taken aback, "Theoretically? What about in practice?"

"Theoretically, they're not available for sale, but in reality, many people use various channels to build houses and live here, and even to sell or rent!"

Gao Xiaoguang smirked, shaking his head, "As long as you have powerful enough connections, there's nothing you can't do, not even obtaining a few islands, right?"

Ying Yue nodded slightly.

"Just wait, some of my friends will be here soon!"

Lake and mountain colors complement each other, the surface calm as if the mirror has never been polished.

Without a breath of wind, the lake surface was as still as a green mirror, reflections of the beautiful scenery from both shores mirrored in the water, peaceful and harmonious.

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"What a wonderful place!"

Ying Yue silently praised, although he had fused with Great Saint's memories and knew of countless famous mountains and rivers, mysterious and marvelous sights, there was still beauty unique to the human world.

Compared with those famous mountains and swamps, the scenery here was also quite unique.

"Rumble rumble—"

As they admired the view and waited silently, about fifteen minutes later, two luxurious off-road vehicles drove up.

Leading the way was a Porsche Cayenne, 4.8T edition, worth over two million, followed by a slightly less impressive BMW 330 convertible, which was also a good car worth hundreds of thousands.

"Here they come! My friends are here!"

Gao Xiaoguang shouted, hurrying to greet them, and Ying Yue turned to look as well.

Three men and three women got out of the cars, but what astonished Ying Yue was the familiarity of one of them.

Zhao Huahua!

"She's actually here?"

Ying Yue muttered to himself, thinking how small the world was to encounter her here of all places...

Meanwhile, Gao Xiaoguang, with nods and bows, said with a smile, "Young Master Zhao, how come you arrived so early? Was there no traffic on the road?"

Young Master Zhao was a tall and handsome young man in a white shirt, casual pants, and shiny leather shoes, exuding an air of status and position.

Young Master Zhao glanced at Gao Xiaoguang, gave a slight nod, and then, smiling, turned to the sexy and tall Zhao Huahua at his side and said, "Sister, you like the view here, right?"

Zhao Huahua gathered the hair at her ears and lightly nodded: "The scenery really is nice, far better than that of the Eastern Sea Capital!"

"Of course, how can that tiny nation compare with our Great Qin Kingdom?"

Young Master Zhao hummed with pride, then told Gao Xiaoguang, "Little Gao, the stuff is in the trunk, take it all out!"

"Yes, yes!"

Gao Xiaoguang quickly agreed, then turned to Ying Yue not far away and waved, "Old Ying, come over and help carry the stuff!"

Shit!

So calling me over was to help carry things!

Ying Yue was speechless with extreme irritation, not moving a muscle, "I came out with you to have fun, not to be someone's lackey, get it yourself!"

"My brother, please don't cause trouble, okay?"

Gao Xiaoguang, hearing this, felt worried and quickly came over to Ying Yue and whispered, "Aren't we still brothers?"

"Of course."

"If we are brothers, then you can't mess up my situation, can you?"

Gao Xiaoguang said urgently, "Do you know who these people are? Let me tell you, that Young Master Zhao in front is the Young Director of Jiangzhou Shennong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and that Sister Zhao is his sister, with an extremely distinguished status!"

Ying Yue looked at Zhao Huahua with surprise, not expecting her to have such a significant background. Still, he replied casually, "So what?"

"My dear brother, do you know about Jiangzhou Shennong Pharmaceuticals?"

Seeing his friend looking clueless, Gao Xiaoguang glanced at Young Master Zhao and the others cautiously, then whispered, "They are the leading company in the pharmaceutical industry in the Southwest Region. If we serve these young masters and young ladies well today, just one word from them and our future jobs will be secure!

I have always had you in mind, brother, and that's why I brought you here today. You need to perform well and not drop the ball at the crucial moment!"

Ying Yue shook his head and patted his shoulder, "Old Gao, I know you mean well, but grovelling to them won't get you far. Instead of doing that, you might as well suck up to me!"

"Big talk!"

Hearing Ying Yue's words, Gao Xiaoguang's heart skipped a beat, knowing trouble was coming. Indeed, Young Master Zhao came over, his cold gaze sweeping over Ying Yue. Seeing him in his cheap clothes, Young Master Zhao's lips curled with disdain.

"You talk big, brother. Just how high can you reach?"

"Young Master Zhao, my friend just graduated from high school, he's a bit of a bumpkin and hasn't seen much of the world. Don't take what he said to heart; he meant no harm!"

Gao Xiaoguang's forehead was sweating as he quickly tried to explain with a smile.

"It's none of your business, stand to the side!"

Young Master Zhao waved his hand dismissively and then looked at Ying Yue with a mocking smile: "Zhao Yang here, my family deals in medicinal herbs. Where are you from, old chap?"

"Ying Yue, from Yunyang County, Huangshi Town," Ying Yue responded indifferently.

"Yunyang County?"

Zhao Yang raised an eyebrow: "As far as I know, among the distinguished young gentlemen of Yunyang County, there is no one of your caliber. It seems you must be an insignificant commoner, right?"

"Young Master Zhao, I'm really sorry, my friend…"

Gao Xiaoguang, knowing Zhao Yang's character, sensed Ying Yue had upset him and tried to explain.

But Zhao Yang didn't give him a chance to speak: "Shut your mouth! You don't have a say here!"

And with that, he looked at Ying Yue scornfully, "I thought you were someone impressive, but it turns out you're just a nobody. Let me tell you, someone like you isn't even worthy to shine my shoes!"

"What's going on, little brother?"

At that moment, Zhao Huahua and the others came over.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, just ran into a fool. Just teaching him a bit, so he knows his place!"

Zhao Yang turned and said with a smile.

"Really?"

Zhao Huahua stepped forward, curious, looked over, and then her eyes fell on Ying Yue and widened in shock: "Pervert, it's you?"

PS: The new book is uploaded, desperately needing the support of my brothers and sisters. If you haven't added it to your favorites, please do, and your Recommendation Tickets are also not refused.

Mwah O(∩_∩)O

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