Chapter 48: Shopping

Su Shiyi didn’t think there was anything wrong with being in her twenties and seeking her father’s help when she was being bullied. Defeat magic with magic, and only a domineering CEO can counter another domineering CEO!

Gu Lang’s attention shifted from the computer screen to his tablet. No one dared to disturb him when he was focused on something, but Su Shiyi repeatedly broke that habit.

Well, seeing her act so clueless, it seemed like she couldn’t live without her wise and capable father.

“Dad, let him start another round,” Su Shiyi pulled out a chair and sat next to Gu Lang. “You can play one-on-one with him and help me get revenge.”

Gu Lang’s fingers moved quickly on the tablet. During the other three players’ turns, he swiftly reviewed the game rules of this version of Monopoly, as well as the financial status and item conditions of the four players.

They were playing the unlimited mode, where the game continued until the other players went bankrupt, and the last player standing would be the winner. Gu Chen had a very high land ownership rate, almost reaching fifty percent. Poor Su Shiyi barely had any properties left, and the few she did have were scattered by other players. Most of her properties were in the early stages with no buildings.

Gu Lang sighed. “How can you play so badly?”

“It’s luck, just bad luck,” Su Shiyi tried to defend herself. “I can never roll the numbers I need.”

“Not necessarily.”

Gu Lang opened the item card catalog and showed it to her. “With all these item cards, the online version of Monopoly has greatly reduced the impact of luck on players. As long as you use them well, the dice rolls won’t matter. Did you even understand the rules of the game?”

Su Shiyi, who had been caught, lowered her head obediently. “I just thought it was the same as when we played as kids—just roll the dice and buy properties… I didn’t think about all these items. But the dice card is really hard to get! I’ve been using the items too, but they’re all useless turning cards.”

What’s the use of just turning directions? She couldn’t even roll the numbers she wanted!

Gu Lang gave her a “are you an idiot?” expression. Su Shiyi quickly changed the subject. “Dad, let’s just slack off this round. I can see big brother will win soon. In the next round, can you help me beat him? Please?”

“No need to wait for the next round.” Gu Lang casually pressed the dice button. “With me here, he won’t win.”

Oh my god, what a flashy and cool boss statement!

Su Shiyi unconditionally trusted her father, even though her character’s balance and cash were running low, and she had almost no properties left. As long as her dad said she could win, she would.

When Gu Lang passed the bank landmark, he took out the maximum loan. Su Shiyi rubbed her hands together. Was he going to grab the last piece of unowned land? She was ready for a dramatic comeback.

But then she saw Gu Lang controlling her character, turning and entering a zone with no properties, only various mini-games that could earn points.

Su Shiyi:?

She couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, aren’t we going to buy land? There’s still unowned land over there.”

“You’re such a fool,” Gu Lang shook his head. “Those empty plots are all scattered. Even if you happen to roll the right number, the tolls along the way would waste all the money you just borrowed, speeding up your bankruptcy.”

He opened the stock market system in the online Monopoly game. “Their attention is on land, so let’s focus on stocks. In reality, bank loans can’t be used for financial investments, but this is a game, so we can exploit this loophole.”

“And the item system is more powerful than you think. Just keep using the turning cards in this area to farm points and items. Let them three sort themselves out. When a player goes bankrupt, their land will be bought by the government—that’s when you can make your comeback.”

Huh, you can play like this too?

Su Shiyi felt like she had discovered a new strategy. Following her dad’s advice, she kept using the turning cards in the point area to barely survive. Soon, she became an item points rich woman. Besides constantly replenishing turning cards and step cards, she also bought a lot of landmine and dynamite cards under her father’s guidance.

Both of these cards had the effect of sending players to the hospital after an explosion, with different methods of use. The dynamite card exploded after a certain number of steps, could be transferred to another player, and would destroy surrounding buildings. The landmine card exploded immediately upon stepping on it, but only affected the player who triggered it.

“If you run out of turning cards and have no choice but to head into their land area, just step on a landmine. It will send you to the hospital, and you’ll skip the dice rolls for 3 turns. The dynamite card can be thrown around casually. After all, you don’t have any properties left. Whoever’s buildings get blown up when you run out of steps, it’s not a loss for you.”

Su Shiyi thoughtfully nodded. This strategy was to muddle through, using the method of mixing things up and playing dirty.

Gu Lang’s strategy was very effective. With her growing wealth of cards, Su Shiyi quickly made a profit in the stock market, and couldn’t help but marvel.

A big player is indeed a big player! Even in a random stock market, they can dominate… Maybe there’s some hidden rule she hadn’t noticed?

Meanwhile, Gu Chen, Gu Pan, and Lin Xi were fighting fiercely over real estate, not unaware of the importance of props, using their accumulated cards to fight each other. Originally, Gu Chen had intended to go easy on Gu Pan, but after Gu Pan backstabbed him without mercy and declared, “In Monopoly, there’s only winning or losing,” he took things seriously with his girlfriend.

But all of this had nothing to do with Su Shiyi. She quietly collected cards on the sidelines, being a diligent card hoarder. The real estate market finally produced the first player to be eliminated—Lin Xi, who unfortunately went bankrupt, while Gu Pan earned a large toll fee.

At this point, Su Shiyi had repaid her loan to the bank. Her wealth was still in third place after the monthly settlement, but her card reserves and points were the highest among all players.

“Since Lin Xi is out, there’s not much land left for them to fight over. Let’s keep our pace unchanged.”

Gu Lang circled a square commercial property. “I remember you have two location swap cards, right? Swap with Gu Pan first, force her to buy her R&D center, and then upgrade it to level one so you can get the □□ card.”

The R&D center didn’t collect toll fees, but it produced high-level prop cards. Although Su Shiyi was envious of Gu Chen and Gu Pan’s hotels and malls, she listened to Gu Lang and, after purchasing Gu Pan’s R&D center, quickly swapped back to her safe zone.

Gu Pan: …

Damn it! She had worked hard to upgrade her R&D center to level 4, only for Su Shiyi to steal it!

She did want to “repay” her with a few cards, but her card reserves couldn’t compete with Su Shiyi’s intense focus on collecting them. After multiple attempts to sabotage her using harmful cards, all were neutralized by Su Shiyi with other cards, and Gu Pan had no choice but to admit defeat.

Under Gu Lang’s godlike operations, Su Shiyi made a fortune in the stock market. Once the timing was right, Gu Lang advised her to deposit most of her earnings in the bank.

Gu Pan, having nearly reached Gu Chen’s territory, was now facing his wrath. Without showing any mercy for his girlfriend, Gu Chen used the turtle card. Gu Pan rolled three ones in a row and, after paying massive toll fees three times, went bankrupt.

“Cash Distribution Card.” Gu Lang smiled with satisfaction. “The most expensive card on the board can finally come into play.”

As its name suggested, the card directly took away most of Gu Chen’s cash. Although his land holdings were far superior, their wealth levels were now nearly the same.

Su Shiyi was stunned. Who would have thought that by just hanging on the sidelines, she could become so powerful? Three months ago, she was a pitiful player close to bankruptcy, but now she had enough capital to rival Gu Chen!

“Next, is it time to expand a lot?” She rubbed her hands together. “After Gu Pan went bankrupt, there’s so much unclaimed land. Even if big brother wants to compete with me over props, it doesn’t matter. He can’t have more prop cards than I do.”

While she remained focused on collecting cards, Gu Chen had to battle with the other two, working to upgrade his properties. If his prop cards were still more than hers, it would be a real miracle.

“No.” Gu Lang analyzed calmly. “His land coverage is vast, and if you compete for land with him, you’ll have to pay toll fees, which will drain you. Look at this street area, its land value is the highest. For every additional land piece collected on this street, the toll fee doubles. So, we’ll focus on this.”

He pointed to the longest and most valuable street on the board. It also had two of Gu Chen’s land pieces, which could be forcibly purchased. Su Shiyi had little land but many prop cards.

At that moment, the nuclear bomb card was also developed. Now, it was just her and Gu Chen left, and there was no need to worry about attracting too much hatred prematurely. Su Shiyi pressed a button, and the street with the advanced buildings, which had caused Gu Pan’s bankruptcy, was instantly flattened. Gu Chen’s wealth quickly shrank, and now her net worth surpassed his.

Gu Chen furrowed his brow, looking at the stock market and the number of cards each player held. He had a rough idea of how Su Shiyi had made her fortune. If he had noticed earlier, perhaps he could have nipped her growth in the bud, but now it was too late.

A misstep. He had underestimated her, letting Su Shiyi silently amass wealth.

Su Shiyi bought the entire street, going back and forth, rolling dice to upgrade. When all the buildings reached the highest level, she smiled with satisfaction, ready to harvest her profits!

Of course, Gu Chen tried to stop her, but as predicted by her and Gu Lang, his prop cards couldn’t compare to hers. Eventually, he was forced onto the street with a “five-times toll fee” tag and went bankrupt as soon as he landed.

Watching the system automatically acquire Gu Chen’s properties, his land turned from owned to unclaimed, and the word “Bankrupt” appeared in big letters. Su Shiyi couldn’t be happier.

Father Gu Lang, forever a legend!

In their family group chat, Gu Chen was sulking, criticizing Su Shiyi’s sneaky strategy. “It’s ^[1]Monopoly, a popular board game where players buy, sell, and trade properties to accumulate wealth and bankrupt their opponents.Monopoly! You don’t just hide in the point zone and win. You should be out buying property and collecting tolls. What’s this nonsense about playing like that? If this were the traditional version, Su Shiyi would have been bankrupt long ago.”

The name called out was Su Shiyi, who was quite displeased. She had already prepared numerous reasons to counterattack, but Gu Lang had already picked up his phone and sent a voice message.

“It’s what I taught her, do you have a problem with that?”

Gu Chen: …

He dared not say anything.

Not only that, but Gu Lang directly called Gu Chen, listing out all the issues with his gameplay one by one. It wasn’t just about how many chances he missed to quickly eliminate Su Shiyi, but also the ways he let Gu Pan and Lin Xi get eliminated, which were criticized as “too slow,” “too costly,” and “not optimal” among others…

Gu Lang’s points were reasonable and quickly escalated to criticizing Gu Chen’s shortcomings in real life. He harshly criticized him for half an hour, and every word hit the mark, leaving him no room for rebuttal.

Gu Chen felt miserable. He had only casually mocked Su Shiyi, and his father got angry, calling him in the middle of the night to give him a scolding. Meanwhile, Gu Pan was laughing in the group chat, praising Su Shiyi for doing well and avenging her.

Gu Chen: Only able to smile bitterly.jpg

On the London side, after Gu Lang unloaded all his firepower on his son, he was in a great mood. He handed the tablet back to Su Shiyi and received more tons of praise from his daughter, making him feel like the greatest sage since the creation of the world, even since Pangu opened up the heavens.

Although the praise was exaggerated, it did feel pretty good. Gu Lang patted her head, noting that her ice-blue hair color looked great.

“It seems like every time you see me, you dye your colorful hair back to the usual color. Did you not expect that this time?”

Su Shiyi, whose little secret was exposed, felt a bit guilty. “Hmm… I was afraid Dad wouldn’t like it.”

Although she was not raised by her parents, she knew how other people’s parents were. In Su Shiyi’s impression, most parents would care greatly about their children’s hairstyles, forbidding perms and especially hair dyeing.

Even in college, her classmates would worry about their dyed hair and how to confess it to their parents. Some would dye trendy colors in school and then obediently dye it black before returning home for the holidays.

Although Gu Pan said Gu Lang never minded these things, she still felt a bit scared. Even Gu Chen gets nervous facing Gu Lang, so it’s only natural for this little lamb to tremble too…

Gu Lang laughed and helplessly said, “As long as you like it, do I look like an old stickler? Young people dyeing their hair isn’t a big deal, don’t hide it next time. Dyeing and undyeing won’t hurt your hair.”

Su Shiyi was secretly pleased, but still a bit shy on the outside. “Then, with my hair like this, it won’t seem ungraceful, right? I’ve seen other wealthy young ladies don’t go through this kind of hassle. Won’t others laugh at me behind my back, saying I look like some internet celebrity or something?”

“Who dares?” Gu Lang flicked her forehead. “I see you really don’t have a clear understanding of your identity.”

“However you dress, they’ll follow your lead. What you like will become the new trend in the socialite circle, got it?”

Su Shiyi seemed to half-understand, but Gu Lang didn’t explain further. He glanced at the time on the computer, urging her to go back to her room to sleep.

Before leaving, Su Shiyi still couldn’t help but ask him, “Dad, are you busy tomorrow?”

“Busy.” Gu Lang’s gaze returned to the computer screen. “A few more steps here and you’ll reach Bond Street. You can buy something to pass the time. If you don’t want to buy clothes, bags, or jewelry, go check out real estate, buy a few estates you like. There’s a Sotheby’s auction tomorrow, if you’re interested, you can go.”

Every suggestion was a money-burning activity, and each one sounded even more extravagant than the last.

Su Shiyi asked, “For such a prestigious auction, they must send out invitations, right? Let me see.”

Gu Lang replied, “If you want, I’ll have them customize a pure gold one for you. But we don’t need that kind of thing. These events mostly just require face recognition. Being able to attend is giving them face.”

Su Shiyi: Stupid.jpg

Oh right, last time at the film festival, Gu Pan had told her about this, and she had forgotten again.

Once again, her understanding of her family’s power deepened. Sure enough, the Mary Sue world is the most thrilling!

“Then I’ll go to sleep now.”

Su Shiyi had already stepped out of her room but turned back after a moment to look at Gu Lang. “Dad, why aren’t you sleeping yet? Don’t work too hard. Money can’t be earned forever, and health is the most important.”

Gu Lang made an ‘mm’ sound and didn’t plan to leave. Su Shiyi just stood there, staring at him, not moving.

Gu Lang: …

He could only say, “I’ll sleep after I finish this. Five minutes.”

“Really?” Su Shiyi showed a doubtful expression. “It won’t turn into five minutes, then five more minutes, and eventually become five hours, right?”

“You don’t need to introduce me to your own habit of staying up late reading novels.”

Gu Lang sped up his reading, skimming through the key points in seconds. This kid, Su Shiyi, was really a bit naive, still standing at the door waiting for him.

After confirming everything, Gu Lang closed the computer and ended his plans for the day early.

“I rested on the plane,” he explained to Su Shiyi. “Do you think I’m like you, with no sense of my own routine?”

Although he said that, Gu Lang still felt very touched inside. His obedient daughter was so considerate, even caring about his health and using this little willfulness to urge him to rest earlier. Truly a thoughtful little cotton-padded jacket.

Su Shiyi walked alongside him, talking as she walked. “Then, Dad, you need to go back to your room and sleep soon too. This corridor looks so old-fashioned, and the lamps are all fireplace-style. It looks a bit scary. I wouldn’t dare walk alone. I got scared just now when I came out to take a look.”

Gu Lang: ???

So this dutiful daughter was urging him to go back because she was too scared to walk down the corridor by herself?

Gu Lang, somewhat annoyed, quickened his pace. Su Shiyi had to jog to keep up, and when she nervously called out to him from behind, he still softened and stopped to wait for her.

This useless daughter, how could she be afraid to walk down the corridor by herself?

He truly was a considerate and good father—though, when he sent her back to her room, he also threw in a short horror story that gave her a big scare, but that didn’t affect the fact that he was still the best father in the world.

That’s right, exactly like that!

—

The morning sunlight shone on Su Shiyi’s cheek, a rare sight in the usually overcast city of London. She opened her eyes, feeling like she was gradually getting used to waking up in different places.

Less than a month after returning to the capital for summer break, she had already been to O State, Shanghai, and now was in London. Compared to her monotonous work life before transmigrating, it seemed quite fun to be running all over the world.

Su Shiyi still lay in bed, waking up Sunday with a voice command and listening to its daily briefing. Gu Lang had already had breakfast and gone out. Kevin and Lucy had arrived at the villa and were ready to serve her at any time.

She had secretly come out to watch the show, of course, without bringing her secretary or assistant. But since she decided to have a few days of fun in London, Gu Lang arranged a flight to bring them here, along with her bodyguards—now six of them, up from four. The two new ones, she didn’t even know where they were, as they were purely for surveillance protection, only responsible for her safety and not listening to her orders. She couldn’t shake them off.

Sunday also relayed Gu Lang’s criticism, saying that while it wasn’t a problem to play wherever she wanted, how could she not bring bodyguards, even if she didn’t want to bring a secretary or assistant?

Even though it was a voice synthesized by AI and lacked emotion, Su Shiyi could still feel Gu Lang’s authority…

“I won’t dare again,” she honestly confessed to the phone’s microphone, “I’ll definitely bring them next time.”

This message would be automatically sent to Gu Lang by Sunday. Su Shiyi struggled for a few more minutes in bed before finally dragging herself out of the blankets.

She didn’t want to stay in bed, but the Italian white goose down quilt combined with the finest double-ply mulberry silk was just too comfortable. There was another set of golden silk quilts available in the villa for her to choose from, but she felt they were too tacky.

The current Su Shiyi was no longer someone who would be easily impressed by golden things. Even if the quilt was made from real gold, it wouldn’t be easy to win her favor.

All the properties under the Gu family’s name can basically be fully equipped with smart home technology, with a subsidiary under the Gu Corporation dedicated to such projects. The UK branch also has new products, which Su Shiyi tried out today.

After getting out of bed, she put on her forward-moving balance slippers, which could control speed and direction via voice commands. Even without saying a word, the slippers guided her steadily to the bathroom mirror without her having to take an extra step.

She pressed the button on the left side of the mirror, and a mechanical arm extended to retrieve a new electric toothbrush from the sterilization cabinet. After waiting two seconds under the toothpaste dispenser, a perfect amount of toothpaste was squeezed out.

For brushing her teeth, Su Shiyi only needed to open her mouth. The toothbrush, equipped with a miniature camera and sensor, was adjusted in real-time by the smart computer to provide the best service based on her oral condition, offering better results than if she brushed her teeth herself.

If she hadn’t been waiting for the mechanical arm to bring the mouthwash, Su Shiyi could have simply grabbed a cup and filled it herself—she really didn’t need to move at all.

“I’d like to make a technical suggestion,” Su Shiyi said to Sunday. “I hope this process can be fast-forwarded so I can brush my teeth and wash my face in bed. For someone as lazy as me, even getting out of bed feels like an unnecessary action.”

“Okay, your feedback has been received.”

The AI would seriously pass on her suggestion to the relevant company. While it may seem like a suggestion that invites teasing, her ideas were sure to be pursued enthusiastically.

Su Shiyi also experienced a fully automated facial wash, which was similar to brushing her teeth. This time, she didn’t need to lift a finger. After completing these basic cleanses, she went downstairs for breakfast. Further skincare routines would be handled by professionals—she didn’t need to worry about figuring out how to use all those bottles and jars.

The smart slippers used in her room were unable to assist with stairs, so Su Shiyi had to go downstairs herself.

The breakfast table was laid out with a classic British breakfast, a result of her spontaneous decision to try authentic British cuisine last night. She had bacon, fried mushrooms, fried potatoes, fried tomatoes, fried eggs, fried sausages, and black pudding, all accompanied by coffee and tea. The main dish was fried toast.

Wow, a table full of high-calorie food. How do Brits manage not to gain weight?

But high-calorie food has its benefits. Although these items weren’t extraordinary in taste, at least they weren’t bad. This meal didn’t miss the mark.

Well, she should be thankful she didn’t choose to try British cuisine for lunch or dinner, or she’d have ended up staring blankly at the sky.

After finishing the fried-food-based breakfast, Su Shiyi stretched comfortably in her seat, ready for a great day ahead.

Kevin told her, “Miss Shiyi, we were in a rush for this trip, so we only brought fifty outfits for you to London. It might not be enough.”

Don’t get the wrong idea—he meant that there might not be enough outfit combinations for different occasions. Although Su Shiyi never wore the same outfit twice, she didn’t need to change several times a day. She didn’t have the superpower of instant wardrobe changes—it could get tiring.

Kevin continued, “We’re very close to Bond Street. Would you like to have those brands deliver selections for you, or would you prefer to experience the fun of shopping yourself?”

Su Shiyi thought for a moment. “I think I’ll go out and walk around. It’s been a while since I’ve bought clothes myself.”

Wearing limited edition or custom-made clothes all the time wasn’t that interesting. It was time to see what the brands had for the general public.

Given her current icy blue curls, the stylist picked a dress with an oceanic vibe for her. She also had a pair of real crystal shoes in her wardrobe, but unfortunately, she hadn’t brought them along, so she settled for shoes adorned with blue diamonds.

When staying abroad, she didn’t need to wear a mask, as there weren’t many people who knew her. In Mayfair, an upscale area in London, her chauffeur-driven car didn’t stand out. However, when she got out of the car, she still attracted quite a few gazes.

There was no other reason—the dress was simply too beautiful. On a rare sunny day in London, the sparkling waves of her dress gave off a dreamy ocean feel. The dress’s lively, cute, everyday style matched her small, Asian features, giving the overall impression of a sea princess stepping onto land.

She even wore a crown—though it wasn’t the heavy pink diamond crown. She’d only wear that one for very formal occasions since it was too heavy.

This was a relatively simple crown from her growing collection, which was about to hit triple digits. It was only worth a few hundred thousand, far less than the price of her dress.

Several bodyguards politely turned down requests for photos with passersby, while Lucy quickly noticed a few people filming her with their phone cameras. Su Shiyi didn’t mind much—let them film, she looked especially beautiful today with her full makeup.

The first store she visited was Chanel, a brand she really liked for its elegant, simple, and exquisite design philosophy.

In her impression, Kevin had a good relationship with them. He’d even secured a role as the Asia-Pacific ambassador for a certain sub-line for Xu Wenwen’s idol. For a small idol like her, it was quite a top-tier resource, as if she had been promoted several levels.

After she entered the store, she was warmly welcomed by the staff. Other customers suddenly noticed that the sales associates, who had previously been somewhat aloof and distant, were now unusually attentive and service-oriented.

The store manager even asked her in Chinese, “Dear Ms. Su, would you like to go to the VIP room? We will arrange a runway show for you to select your desired items.”

It was clear that her Chinese was newly learned and not yet as natural as Kevin’s.

Su Shiyi began to understand what Father Gu Lang had meant when he spoke last night. So what if her English wasn’t good? Whatever language she spoke, others would have to learn it if they wanted to communicate with her.

She modestly shook her head and declined, saying, “No need, it’s been a while since I’ve had the experience of regular shopping.”

Manager: …

The wealthy people nowadays are really so refreshingly unconventional.

“Okay, I will be at your service at all times.”

The manager adjusted his expression and politely followed behind her. At that moment, there were other Chinese customers in the store who were shocked to hear the sales associates speaking Chinese.

Although the plastic tone was quite strong, this was genuine Chinese!

The Bond Street store had a complete range of bags, but Su Shiyi didn’t care if the hot-selling ones weren’t displayed—those had already made their way to her wardrobe.

The great thing about having a good assistant was that as soon as her gaze lingered on a particular bag for even a second, Lucy would signal to the sales associate to bring it out for her to try, regardless of whether she already owned that style.

Buying two or three? So what? As long as spending the money brought her happiness in the moment, that was enough. Su Shiyi, the rich woman, only cared about the immediate joy of shopping.

At first, Su Shiyi was carefully choosing, but then she felt like they all looked great and she wanted them all.

In this largest Chanel boutique in the world, she finally had the chance to say the classic line of a shopping spree:

“This one, that one, and besides these two, wrap up everything else for me.”