Chapter 19: The Force of Compulsion, Three Sections

Fang Minhui didn't expect to run into an acquaintance here.

This man named Qin Yang was her senior in high school, two years older than she.

During high school, Qin Yang had pursued her, but at the time Fang Minhui wasn't interested in dating and didn't like Qin Yang's type, so nothing came of it.

After graduating from high school, Qin Yang had dropped out and, it was said, had been working in sales in Star City ever since.

Fang Minhui still remembered that Qin Yang had even come to her university to find her when she was a freshman in Star City.

However, after entering university, Minhui's standards had risen, and she definitely wouldn't consider someone like Qin Yang.

"And who is this?"

Qin Yang noticed Minhui was with the young man beside her, so he wanted to clarify their relationship.

"I'm her classmate, Shen Yuan."

Shen Yuan responded politely. These kinds of questions were naturally better answered by the males, especially since the two hadn't established a relationship yet.

"I see, hello, I'm Qin Yang."

As soon as Qin Yang heard they were classmates, he felt quite relieved, thinking that Minhui didn't have a boyfriend yet.

Even though he had been rejected by Minhui back then, three years had passed, and he was no longer the person he used to be.

"Are you here to look at cars?"

Qin Yang gave Shen Yuan a once-over. His pants and T-shirt were very ordinary, the only item of value seemed to be the Nike shoes he wore; other than a good appearance, he really didn't look like someone wealthy.

He had seen many of this type, all look and no buy, bringing girls to 4S stores claiming to be interested in buying a car, when in reality they didn't even have money for a down payment.

Simply put, just showing off.

Qin Yang knew the cheapest model they had, the Defender, was nearly three hundred thousand. It was hard for the average person to afford.

"Yes, I'd like to learn about the Defender."

Shen Yuan's gaze rested on a dark green Defender in the showroom.

The thing that mainly attracted him to this model was its appearance; the Defender wasn't a rugged off-road vehicle, but rather styled as a sporty off-roader, contemporary in design and more suitable for young people.

Upon hearing him mention the Defender, Qin Yang smiled and said nothing. The Defender's base model P300 had a retail price starting at 650,000, and with Land Rover's substantial discounts, it would still cost over 700,000 on the road.

And virtually no one bought the base model; most went for the P400, which had a retail price of 768,000 and would cost at least 900,000 to drive off the lot.

Honestly, he had little respect for these types of people; if they didn't have money, just admit it, what's the point of showing off at a 4S store with a girl?

Of course, he was a professional salesman and didn't want to publicly expose Shen Yuan's pretense, so he went and got a spec sheet to hand to Shen Yuan.

"The display car is over there, you can take a look around freely, and feel free to sit in it as well."

Shen Yuan was mainly there to see the actual car and for a test drive. He already knew the difference in specs from Autohome, but out of courtesy, he took the spec sheet.

Shen Yuan walked over to the display car, climbed the step, and got into the driver's seat.

The Defender's body was quite high, necessitating the use of the step to get in. Once inside, Shen Yuan found the seats soft and comfortable with a good amount of support, and notably, the view was much more expansive than in a sedan, offering a completely different experience.

The only drawback was the plain interior with a strong plastic feel, especially the bulky large screen on the console; one might think it was from a 300,000 Highlander.

Seeing he was not a serious customer, Qin Yang simply left him to it and turned his attention to Fang Minhui, "Minhui, it's been a while. Are you free tonight to catch up?"

He knew that modern girls were very practical, looking first at whether a prospect had a car and a house.

But now he was no longer the impoverished Qin Yang of before.

Now he was a sales ace at a 4S store, his monthly salary had passed ten thousand, and he had also bought a nearly 200,000 Accord for commuting.

Although he hadn't bought a house yet, by saving till the end of the year and with some help from his parents, he could just about afford one in Star City.

So now he naturally had the confidence to face Fang Minhui.

As he thought about this, he involuntarily puffed out his chest a bit.

"Sorry, senior, I probably won't be free today. I have other things to do tonight."

Fang Minhui shook her head; her main purpose today was to accompany Shen Yuan to look at cars, and she still didn't know if there would be other plans for the evening. Moreover, she didn't want to get involved with Qin Yang.

Qin Yang was slightly disappointed, but still pretended to be gracious, "I see, no worries. Maybe next time when you're free, after all...."

"Could we arrange a test drive?"

At that moment, Shen Yuan poked his head out from the driver's seat of the showroom car.

Qin Yang had just been brushed off by Fang Minhui, and was already in a bad mood, now having his words interrupted only added to his frustration.

He cursed silently, damn it, can't afford it yet still wants a test drive.

"Sorry, our boss took the Defender out today, so no test drives are available."

This excuse was his common tactic when dealing with customers he perceived as having no real interest—just insist that the test drive vehicle was taken by the boss, as these customers wouldn't know which one was the test car anyway.

Can't afford to buy, yet still asking for a test drive, wasting my time?

"Taken by the boss?"

Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment, not expecting Qin Yang to use such an excuse.

He wasn't new to cars; he had seen the Defender in the test drive parking area right outside the dealership before he even entered the door.

Test vehicles were usually easy to recognize, typically having a LOGO stickered on the car body.

But if this dealership didn't offer test drives, he could simply go to another one.

Qin Yang casually brushed off Shen Yuan and continued his advances on Fang Minhui, "How about it? You're a junior now. You must be thinking about internships next semester, right? Have you considered where you might want to intern?"

"Not yet."

"You might consider coming here. The environment and compensation are quite good. Finding a job with a salary over ten thousand a month isn't easy, and I could guide you too."

Qin Yang said generously, his job was a source of pride for him and also his reassurance.

Of course, he didn't actually expect Fang Minhui to come here for an internship.

The main point was to indirectly tell Fang Minhui that he was now earning over ten thousand a month.

"Uh... no need."

"Don't disregard the recent down market for Land Rovers. By my estimation, there will be a rebound. Currently, all the car companies are making electric cars, but they inherently have shortcomings, unlike fuel cars, which have developed over many years and have a historic depth."

Seeing that Fang Minhui didn't catch his previous meaning, Qin Yang promptly switched to discussing the broader situation.

"Rebound," "shortcomings," and "historic depth" were terms he'd learned from a big V on some social platform—they sounded really high-end!

Although he didn't understand them fully, Qin Yang figured Minhui understood even less.

This would also better highlight his depth of knowledge.

"Uh....."

Fang Minhui was somewhat speechless; her major was International Economics and Trade, so she was actually quite familiar with this kind of professional terminology and completely understood what Qin Yang was saying.

In her view, Qin Yang was merely trying to show off to her.

Honestly, Fang Minhui found this approach pretty low; it was no different from Li Zhanpeng's.

Except Li Zhanpeng was more direct, while Qin Yang was a bit more roundabout.

But so what if your salary is over ten thousand a month?

She didn't have the heart to tell Qin Yang that the two bags Shen Yuan bought for her last night almost equaled half a year of his salary.