Chapter 44: Grand Opening of the New Store

"Calm down! Chill out!" Yang Rui patted Old Liu's shoulder. "The facts are right in front of us, and the gap is an objective reality! You have to accept it! Besides, I didn't even speak that harshly! Don't you know me? When have I ever bowed to anyone? But this guy—you really have to hand it to him!" Yang Rui's tone was resolute.

Old Liu mulled it over internally. True enough, comparing yourself to others only makes you want to die, and comparing goods just makes you want to throw them away!

"Then what do you think... should we take this job or not?" Old Liu asked tentatively, his confidence noticeably lacking.

"Take it! Why wouldn't we? Do you have a grudge against money?" Seeing him still hesitating, Yang Rui reassured him, "Don't worry, when soldiers come, we send generals; when water comes, we build a dam! With me here, everything is under control! Besides, the art of Feng Shui runs deep, and there are some 'shortcuts' you know better than I do!" As he spoke, Yang Rui gave Old Liu a meaningful look.

Old Liu immediately understood that Yang Rui meant they could "handle things flexibly" if necessary. He nodded somewhat awkwardly and said nothing more.

The two of them immediately huddled together, whispering about the subsequent details. The more they talked, the more animated they became, gesturing wildly. During this, a few youngsters came over to buy roasted chestnuts, but Old Liu impatiently shooed them away.

"Hurry up and get ready then. Make an appointment with your old flame—uh, old patroness—so we can go meet that wealthy madam!" Seeing that Old Liu had made up his mind, Yang Rui cheerfully made the final decision.

Old Liu was probably still immersed in the excitement and didn't catch the teasing undertone in Yang Rui's words, happily agreeing to the plan.

"Let's go, Third Brother! My treat today!" Yang Rui waved his hand grandly.

"What?!" Old Liu's eyes almost popped out of his head. First he was shocked, and then he suspiciously looked Yang Rui up and down from head to toe. Having dealt with this brat for several years, this was the first time he had ever heard him voluntarily offer to treat! Did the sun rise from the west? Could he be digging some kind of trap?

Ignoring Old Liu's ghost-seeing expression, Yang Rui walked on ahead on his own. "There's a newly opened beef noodle shop ahead! The flavor is authentic, and you'll get your fill, so don't stand on ceremony with me!"

Old Liu cursed inwardly, but still quickly followed. After all, Yang Rui treating for once in a blue moon was a spectacle not to be missed.

Yang Rui, however, had other calculations in mind. Making a tidy sum was naturally the primary objective, but more importantly, he wanted to witness firsthand the legendary Feng Shui layout personally arranged by Guo Songling, and hopefully steal a trick or two! He was confident that with his discernment, no matter how exquisite the layout, a few glances would be enough for him to grasp it entirely.

After finishing the noodles, the two agreed on a meeting time and went their separate ways.

Yang Rui hummed a little tune as he walked home. Having felt stifled for so long, he finally heard some good news; the heavens were still watching out for him!

Just then, his phone screen lit up. Thinking it was a new business opportunity, he found it was actually a message from Su Jin. For the past half month, that professor had finally stopped coming to "care" for him, and he had almost forgotten all about her. Although he did have a favorable impression of her and they had gone through hardships together, he knew very well in his heart that the gap between them was too vast—they simply belonged to different worlds—so he never entertained any romantic notions.

Su Jin said she had been dealing with the aftermath of the Hengtai Foundation's environmental issues and had been so busy she barely touched the ground, which was why she hadn't been in touch. She asked how his recovery was going and mentioned treating him to a meal sometime later. The message was a long, rambling paragraph. After reading it, Yang Rui merely smiled to himself, thinking, "Could this little woman actually have a bit of a thing for me..."

So he replied: "All good, don't worry. I'll treat you another day."

As he was about to walk out of the pedestrian street, Yang Rui was drawn by a massive crowd gathered ahead.

In a bustling district like Diyang Road, crowds were normal. But today was different! Yang Rui could clearly see that someone's new shop was opening! This made absolutely no sense!

This territory had always been his "traditional sphere of influence." Regardless of whether it involved weddings, funerals, or shop openings, whenever it came to the business of "selecting auspicious dates," there was nothing he didn't know about! Yet a store was opening right before his eyes, and he, Yang Rui, knew nothing about it? This instantly made him alert!

Someone had crossed the line! This was damn well coming to smash his turf!

Cursing under his breath, Yang Rui hurried to squeeze through the crowd.

Before he even reached the core area, he heard the surrounding discussions buzzing:

"What kind of shop are they opening?"

"Who knows?"

"The signboard has a weird name!"

"A teahouse? Or an antique shop?"

"Are you kidding me? Opening a teahouse in this prime location? The annual rent wouldn't be less than a few million! Is that even possible?"

...

Yang Rui grew more interested as he listened, and he pushed harder inward, finally managing to see the situation inside.

"Puming Pavilion!" Three large characters came into view. Before he could ponder them further, a harsh blast of a car horn sounded, startling him and the surrounding onlookers into leaping out of the way to both sides.

A sleek luxury sports car of a model Yang Rui couldn't name screeched to a halt right in front of the entrance of Puming Pavilion.

The gull-wing door slowly rose upward, and a polished leather shoe stepped out first, landing on the ground. Immediately following, a face combining handsomeness and maturity came into view, looking to be around thirty years old.

When he stood upright, an exclamation of awe burst from the surrounding crowd!

"Wow! So handsome!" A few girls couldn't help crying out.

"I heard the boss of this Puming Pavilion is a returnee just back from America! Could it be him?" Someone whispered in discussion.

"Handsome, loaded, and young—whoever marries him is going to be so blessed!" Another girl's eyes sparkled.

After getting out of the car, the young man flashed a perfectly measured smile at the crowd, then quickly walked around to the passenger side and gentlemanly opened the car door.

A young woman wearing oversized sunglasses slightly leaned out. Her shoulder-length, slightly wavy hair carried a faint golden tint. The sunglasses covered most of her face, but her exquisitely sculpted bridge of the nose and petite lips still revealed a stunning, almost surreal beauty.

Amidst the gasps of the crowd, Yang Rui gently shook his head. Fancy cars, beauties, a successful career—these things were far too distant from his life, so far that they hadn't even appeared in his dreams.

Since the owner was so extravagant, choosing an auspicious day for the grand opening naturally didn't fall to a "street-stall-tier" player like him. Moreover, Yang Rui had just taken a quick glance at Puming Pavilion's peripheral layout! It was by no means a conventional Jianghu trick! That was clearly the long-lost Mysterious Void Flying Star secret technique! Yang Rui had only ever seen the surface of this method in his ancestral ancient texts; it relied on the flying deployment of the One White, Two Black, Three碧, Four Green, Five Yellow, Six White, Seven Red, and Eight White Nine Stars, making it extremely difficult to master. Executed well, it brings rolling wealth; but with the slightest misstep, not only does disaster befall the master of the house, but the layout designer themselves cannot escape the karmic backlash!

Yang Rui couldn't help wondering who had the daring and ability to set up such a formation. Looking closer, he felt even more astonished—the layout cleverly incorporated elements of Western astrology as well! This left him completely baffled! You see, when arranging such a profound and esoteric Feng Shui formation, the greatest taboo was painting legs on a snake or creating unnecessary complications! Yet this designer had deliberately done the opposite! The most incredible part was that Yang Rui faintly sensed a bizarre blend of Chinese and Western aesthetics in this layout, possessing both deep Eastern classical wisdom while exuding a touch of Western mystery and eeriness. The two intertwined, appearing somewhat unconventional yet somehow achieving a subtle, harmonious complementarity. For a moment, even Yang Rui was left in a daze.