Chapter 54: Li Dong's Prank

October 7th.

Around 9 a.m., Li Dong rushed back to school.

In dorm room 351, only Meng Qiping and Yuan Qingfeng were there; the others hadn't arrived yet.

Yuan Qingfeng hadn't gone home because his home was too far away this time. As for Meng Qiping, it was pure laziness. He didn't want to deal with the hassle of traveling back and forth, so he stubbornly refused to go home.

As soon as Li Dong walked in, he was hit by the smell in the dorm and pinched his nose, scolding, "Are you pigs? Haven't you cleaned up in seven days?"

Meng Qiping, lying on the bed half-dead, weakly replied, "Dong-ge, if you guys hadn't come back soon, I would have starved to death. Where would I find the energy to clean?"

"Damn!"

Li Dong cursed as he looked under Meng Qiping's bed and saw it was filled with instant noodle containers. He was at a loss for words.

"Did you actually stay in the dorm for all seven days?" Li Dong glanced at him in disbelief. Otherwise, why would he be eating instant noodles every day?

Meng Qiping wasn't short of money. From his usual lifestyle, it was clear his family was relatively well-off, so there was no reason for him to be eating instant noodles every day.

Unless, this guy hadn't even gone out to buy food!

Meng Qiping gave a dry laugh, and without him saying a word, Li Dong understood.

There was nothing to say, just one word—impressive!

Looking over at Yuan Qingfeng, who was sleeping soundly on the bed next to him, Li Dong asked suspiciously, "Did you also sleep for seven days?"

Yuan Qingfeng yawned, shaking his head as he replied, "I went to hang out with my high school classmates and only got back last night."

After speaking, he glanced at Meng Qiping and mumbled, "If I slept for seven days, I'd be dead from hunger. I don't have that much fat to burn off."

Li Dong chuckled, pulled a bag of snacks out of his backpack, and tossed it to Meng Qiping, saying grumpily, "Eat up! Starve for all I care!"

Meng Qiping laughed without saying anything, but his hands moved quickly as he tore open a bag of chips and started eating.

"Finish eating and then clean up. I don't want to live in a pigsty," Li Dong scolded, turning to leave the dorm.

Seeing this, Meng Qiping quickly said, "Dong-ge, where are you going? I want to come too!"

"You stay here and clean up first. I've got some things to do outside."

"Come on, Dong-ge, I haven't left the dorm in seven days. Let me come along!" The chubby guy hurriedly tossed aside the chips and jumped out of bed, still in his shorts.

Li Dong couldn't help but laugh, "I really have things to do. Why are you insisting on coming along?"

Ever since last night's conversation with Sun Tao, Li Dong had decided to speed up his plans. Today, he was going to Longhua to pay for and take possession of a property.

Unexpectedly, the chubby guy was adamant about going out with Li Dong, saying he was stiff from all the sleep and needed to go for a walk.

Li Dong felt a bit helpless and said irritably, "If you go, who's going to clean?"

"No worries, I can clean when I get back," Meng Qiping replied without hesitation.

Li Dong gave him a suspicious look. Why was this guy so eager to follow him? Could it really be just to go out for a stroll? He had been sleeping for seven days, but now he insisted on going out with Li Dong. Did he have some ulterior motive?

Thinking of this, Li Dong shuddered. Could this chubby guy have some unusual preferences?

Just as he was about to refuse, Meng Qiping added, "I just want to go for a walk. You do your thing, I won't bother you."

He looked at Li Dong with a pleading expression that was almost laughable.

"Suit yourself."

Li Dong didn't say any more. He figured he could just leave the chubby guy outside later. After all, he didn't know what Li Dong was going to do anyway.

Leaving those words, Li Dong headed out the door, turning back to see that Meng Qiping was indeed following him.

Li Dong stared at him for a while, making the guilty-looking Meng Qiping's eyes dart around nervously, before Li Dong said faintly, "Are you really going out with me just wearing your shorts?"

"Uh, wait a minute!"

Meng Qiping looked a bit embarrassed, quickly rushing back into the dorm.

In less than a minute, he had dressed and caught up with Li Dong.

...

It wasn't until they had left the school that Li Dong suddenly asked, "Fatty, who put you up to this?"

"Huh?"

Meng Qiping's small eyes darted around, and he nervously shook his head, saying, "What do you mean? I just wanted to go out for a walk. Why are you being so suspicious?"

Li Dong gave him a half-smile but didn't ask further.

He had just been testing him, and it seemed the guy really had some ulterior motives. Was he planning on conspiring with someone to kidnap him?

But on second thought, Li Dong felt that was impossible. Meng Qiping wasn't that kind of person.

Even if he had the thought, he wouldn't have the guts. On this point, Li Dong was confident he wasn't wrong about people.

Besides, he hadn't flaunted his wealth at school. The only time he had spent money generously was when Yuan Qingfeng lost his MP3 player, and that was just a few hundred yuan—not enough to make anyone plot against him.

Unable to figure it out, Li Dong stopped thinking about it. Whatever this guy's intentions were, it probably wasn't anything serious.

After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at Longhua Plaza.

Li Dong was about to go to the leasing office when he turned to Meng Qiping and said, "Wait here. I have some business inside."

"Alright, go ahead. I'll wait for you."

Meng Qiping was very agreeable, obediently finding a place to sit down.

Seeing that he didn't insist on following him, Li Dong breathed a small sigh of relief.

It was better to stay low-key at school. He had no intention of flaunting his wealth in front of his classmates, fearing it might ruin the dynamic among them.

In his previous life, Li Dong had seen this situation many times. The second-generation rich kids often had plenty of hangers-on, but how many were truly sincere in their friendships? Nine out of ten had ulterior motives.

Li Dong didn't want that to happen to him. It was better for relationships between classmates to remain simple and pure....

This time, Li Dong's reception at the leasing office was very different from before.

Wang Jia was very enthusiastic, pouring a cup of tea for Li Dong and eagerly saying, "Mr. Li, please wait in the conference room. I'll call the manager over."

Li Dong stared at her for a moment before joking, "You didn't get scolded last time, did you?"

Wang Jia's face immediately darkened. Li Dong had hit a sore spot.

It wasn't just a scolding—it was a half-day-long dressing down!

But Li Dong was now a valuable customer of Longhua, so Wang Jia knew she couldn't afford to offend him. She snorted but said nothing, turning to leave.

Annoying guy! All rich people are annoying!

In less than three minutes, Wang Yunqing arrived.

When he saw Li Dong, he immediately extended his hand with a smile, "Mr. Li, I hear you've opened several more branches. Business must be booming!"

Li Dong smiled without replying. It was normal for Wang Yunqing to dig into his background.

After all, the rent for these shops ran into the millions per year. Longhua was naturally concerned about whether Li Dong had the financial strength to pay.

It wasn't just about the rent; if Li Dong didn't have the strength to continue the lease, it would also reflect poorly on Longhua Plaza.

Longhua was a large group. Although Yuanfang wasn't a big company in Qingyang, it was starting to make a name for itself. It wasn't surprising that Wang Yunqing knew about it.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Dong got straight to the point, "Manager Wang, I'm here to pay the rent and sign the formal contract."

"Not a problem at all!"

Wang Yunqing smiled broadly and immediately called out, "Xiao Wang, come in!"

When Wang Jia entered, Wang Yunqing instructed, "Call the finance department and have a few people come over. Tell them to hurry so Mr. Li doesn't have to wait too long."

He then explained to Li Dong that while they usually handled shop rents themselves, the amount involved here was too large, so the finance department had to be involved.

Li Dong had no objections to this. The more formal the process, the better—it would avoid any complications later on.

The two of them chatted in the conference room for about ten minutes before the finance team from Longhua arrived.

The following process was simple. Since Li Dong had already signed a preliminary agreement with the leasing office last time, they just needed to sign a formal contract now.

The leasing office had a POS machine, making the transfer straightforward. In about half an hour, the lease contract was finalized.

As he was leaving, Wang Yunqing shook Li Dong's hand with a smile, "Mr. Li, be sure to let me know when your new store opens. Even if I can't make it, I'll definitely send a flower basket."

Li Dong didn't mind these attempts to build relationships and immediately exchanged some pleasantries with Wang Yunqing, promising to notify him when the time came.

After all, Longhua Group managed Longhua Plaza, and they'd have plenty of dealings in the future. Building a good relationship now would make things easier down the line.

After the pleasantries, Li Dong was about to leave when he suddenly noticed Wang Jia making faces at him sneakily. He couldn't help but laugh.

She was already in her mid-twenties, but she was still acting like a kid. How childish could she be?

Feeling mischievous, Li Dong smiled at Wang Yunqing and said, "This time, don't scold Miss Wang Jia. Even though the tea leaves were a bit broken, the taste was alright."

Without waiting for Wang Jia's angry and embarrassed reaction, Li Dong turned and left, a satisfied smile on his face....

As he walked out of Longhua Plaza, Li Dong felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Although he had just paid nearly seven million yuan, he now had control of the mall. He could start making big plans for renovations.

He was just considering whether to go ahead and find a renovation company today when Meng Qiping's complaining voice interrupted his thoughts, "Dong-ge, why did it take so long? It's been over an hour."

"I told you I had things to do and that you shouldn't follow me. Who asked you to come along?"

"If it weren't for..."

Meng Qiping paused mid-sentence, then awkwardly laughed it off, "If it weren't for you coming back, I wouldn't have needed to follow you."

Li Dong stared at him for a moment, then snorted, "Forget it. I won't argue with you."

"Dong-ge, where to next?"

"Back to the dorm!"

"What? So soon? I haven't even had a chance to look around!"

"..."