Lan Xi did not know what was going on. Liang Di was Xie Cheng's relative and had originally admired Xie Cheng so much, but after having dinner with her, his attitude took a sudden turn and he criticized him for half an hour.
The Guide to Conquering Earthlings said that although most of the time, relatives on Earth have common interests, sometimes there are also conflicts of interest. Therefore, the relationships between relatives in human society are both united and opposed, in short, very complicated.
Lan Xi could not understand these profound and subtle relationships for a while. Therefore, in response to Liang Di's words, she mostly nodded obediently. After all, the chapter on male-female relationships on Earth in the Guide was too long. Lan Xi had not read it in full, only skimmed a few subtitles. Now Liang Di stated categorically, it must be because she herself was not proficient enough to master the essence of male-female relationships on Earth.
"In short, you can't let him manipulate you and look down on you like this. So what if he has money? Does having money mean he can do whatever he wants without caring about other people's feelings? Can he insult people like this? Can he shirk responsibility to you?"
Liang Di looked at her with an expression of hatred for iron not becoming steel: "Lan Xi, if you want to have a normal equal relationship, you can't keep letting him pay. Although money is a kind of compensation for your emotions, the more this happens, the more he will feel at ease and think that he doesn't need to care about you or be responsible to you. Your relationship has become a business transaction."
Huh? How did it become a business transaction?
Lan Xi asked puzzledly: "Shouldn't our relationship be a conquest relationship..."
As Liang Di looked at the innocent Lan Xi in front of her, she felt her head hurt a little. Her appearance and figure naturally conquered Xie Cheng. For such a cold and abstinent man like Xie Cheng to even eat the grass by the nest, he had to spend money to keep her every month. It shows that in bed, Lan Xi had absolutely conquered Xie Cheng, but... conquering a man's lower body is useless! Conquering this man's heart is the key!
Liang Di was a face fanatic. She had no resistance to a silly beauty like Lan Xi. Moreover, Liang Di was originally the type to stand up for the underdog. Although the last time she stood up for someone went wrong, afterwards Liang Di still punished the scumbag who let down her friend. Now seeing a fellow woman like Lan Xi being so bullied, and thinking of Lan Xi’s upbringing in an orphanage in the remote mountains with no backers whatsoever, she felt as if they were birds of a feather and strongly identified with her situation, giving rise to a strong desire to protect Lan Xi.
Therefore, Liang Di really spoke from the heart: "Do you want to completely conquer this man? If you do, you have to show your stance and not use his money! When you two go out, you should take him to places that you can afford! You pay! Only then can he look at you in a new light! Feel your courage, determination and backbone! Let him know that you don't care about his money! You are with him purely based on feelings!"
Sure enough, the more she talked, the more enlightened Lan Xi’s eyes became, as if thinking "So that's how it is".
Poor girl, no one must have taught her these things growing up in such deprived circumstances.
Liang Di held Lan Xi’s hand: “You must spend money yourself. This conveys a kind of message. I believe Xie Cheng will eventually feel it, especially if you want to formally date and marry him. You have to respect yourself even more and make him realize that you are an independent woman and he must respect you."
Lan Xi really had an epiphany.
So to completely conquer a man and eventually get married, she had to avoid using his money before marriage and spend her own money?
The Guide to Conquering Earthlings was so thick and heavy, completely inconvenient to carry around. So after Liang Di left, Lan Xi who refused to admit defeat immediately took out her phone.
You can find anything online!
She searched and indeed found the answer—
"If a woman uses too much of a man's money before marriage, it will make the man feel that she is not frugal or suitable for homemaking. Men work hard to earn money outside, and even if they are willing to spend money on women, women should not take it for granted. Showing appropriate thoughtfulness will move the man. Occasionally taking the initiative to pay yourself will earn more respect from the man and make him want to marry her..."
"This is how I married well with an image of being frugal and virtuous. As for after marriage, half of my husband's money is mine and I can spend however I want. I just needed to contribute a little before marriage to gain a lot in return. If you sisters also want to marry well, you can pay to scan the code. Our class on marrying well will start soon..."
Lan Xi solemnly closed the web page, instantly understanding everything.
No wonder she had conquered Xie Cheng for so long but he still hadn't made a move towards marriage. The crux of the issue turned out to be here!
Then she would spend some money on Xie Cheng! After all, Liang Di also said to just spend what was within her means!
It just so happened that Xie Cheng was going to take her to an amusement park that weekend. Wasn't this a ready-made opportunity for Lan Xi to show what she’s made of?
When she got home, she could study the Guide more and marry Xie Cheng early. It would be a breeze!
**
Lan Xi had resolutely rejected the 5 million that was within grasp for her own sake. She also trusted herself so much and was reciprocating. Since Xie Cheng had agreed to take her to the amusement park that weekend, he would naturally keep his word.
Moreover, recently Xie Cheng had made an appointment with a reliable and trustworthy behavioral interventionist. In the future, Lan Xi’s social behavioral intervention could be handed over to a specialized teacher, and the private time Xie Cheng spent with Lan Xi in the future would be greatly reduced. For this reason, it was natural that he would keep his distance from Lan Xi. Therefore, today's outing to finally fulfill their promise of going to the amusement park together was not inappropriate at all.
Lan Xi had a pitiful background and tragic experiences that deserved sympathy. Her dependence and affection for him was also completely understandable. But Xie Cheng still hoped that she would soon understand the boundaries and continue her own life properly.
After all, romance was not currently on Xie Cheng’s agenda.
Now, Xie Cheng’s meteorological database software had taken shape and launching was only a matter of time. Currently in the market, the commercial demand for such software was huge: transportation, agriculture, tourism, large commercial activities... There was huge demand across various scenarios for weather data prediction, while the customized personalized analysis services provided by ChengXin were even more capable of providing targeted services to buyers, which currently had huge commercial potential.
Once the software was announced and launched, Xie Cheng would end his years of keeping a low profile. He would formally step into the spotlight and no longer conceal his sharpness. Next, he would start fundraising step by step according to plan, and eventually complete the IPO.
Career was the most important thing for a man. Now was not the time for romance. Although Lan Xi deserved sympathy, she was still far from Xie Cheng’s ideal type. She was indeed shockingly beautiful, but having a partner who was too beautiful was not good either. It could even easily lead to jealousy and accusations that he was a superficial man who only cared about looks, which was completely unnecessary.
There were several amusement parks with complete facilities and mature amusement projects in Rong City. Xie Cheng chose the one farthest from ChengXin—at least this way, the probability of running into acquaintances was very low.
Although Xie Cheng believed that he had no indecent thoughts about Lan Xi and was just fulfilling his promise to take her to the amusement park, if someone happened to see him with her, they would surely get ideas. Better safe than sorry.
Lan Xi was naturally very excited and looking forward to being able to go to the amusement park with him. Because on the very day that Xie Cheng notified her, she informed Xie Cheng in the afternoon that she had already bought two tickets to the amusement park, so Xie Cheng didn’t need to buy them anymore.
"I'll pay for everything today!"
"?"
Lan Xi waved her hand directly: "No need!"
At times like these, there was no room for hesitation at all!
"I did a very thorough guide a few days in advance!" As Lan Xi spoke, she shook the notebook in her hand, "I took notes of key points of attention!"
"This guide is definitely the most cost-effective! Won't waste a penny. My budget is more than enough!"
Seeing this, although Xie Cheng's face showed some confusion, he did not insist anymore.
Very good, it seemed she was gradually feeling his change.
"According to my guide, in order for the park tickets to be worthwhile, we should play the park's best activities first!" As Lan Xi spoke, she flipped open her guide that she made: "Based on route, distance and level of recommendation, we’ll go on the roller coaster first!"
Lan Xi, who was completely socially awkward, was actually able to learn to consider others and be meticulous enough to make detailed plans in advance. Xie Cheng said he was not surprised, but he was even touched.
He had read a lot of books about behavioral intervention for autism spectrum disorders before, and he knew that once patients like Lan Xi were willing to actively learn to integrate into society, they should be encouraged and supported.
What's more, Lan Xi was clearly unresponsive in other matters, but was so concerned about going to the amusement park with him, and even insisted that Xie Cheng not pay any money. The feelings implicit here were as obvious as the sun in the sky.
She was testing the waters.
But the more this was the case, the more one should not lose one's head.
Since he and Lan Xi were just between colleagues and friends, taking turns paying the expenses was normal.
Now that she wanted to pay, let her pay. After all, the expenses involved in the amusement park were not expensive enough for Lan Xi to afford.
Considering that she had already bought the tickets she should have bought before, today's expenses would be limited to meals at most, so Xie Cheng decided to go easy on eating some simple meals.
So today's plan was to simply accompany Lan Xi to check off some iconic amusement park attractions.
Xie Cheng thought this would be a very easy task, until Lan Xi pulled him to the long line for the roller coaster.
It was completely understandable that Lan Xi hadn't been to an amusement park much.
Xie Cheng looked at her patiently and explained, "This line is the regular line. You can go through the fast pass lane if you buy fast passes."
Lan Xi nodded, her expression very calm: "Um, I know."
"Then where's your fast pass? Didn't you buy all the tickets in advance?"
[...]
"..." Xie Cheng rubbed his eyebrows in frustration. Forget it, Lan Xi was indeed unreliable. He would have to buy the fast passes himself.
However, bad things come in pairs. Xie Cheng never expected that the fast passes would actually be sold out.
"It's peak season recently. People who entered the park bought fast passes in advance. The on-site fast pass sales channel is already sold out," the staff explained with a smile. "So you can only line up now."
"..."
Staring at the endless line, Xie Cheng fell silent.
It looked like he would have to give up today...
However, Lan Xi saw Xie Cheng's silence as something completely different - great, she had successfully attracted Xie Cheng's attention with her frugal image!
The "Guide to Conquering Earthlings" said that sharing expenses with Earth men and being meticulous about money would be crucial in getting Earth men to consider forming a family with her. This would demonstrate a woman's virtue of thrift and planning, which was most attractive to men...
Lan Xi decided to demonstrate her virtue and planning ability in full.
She patted Xie Cheng comfortingly on the shoulder, "Xie Cheng, you have to be frugal with money. We don't spend money on unnecessary things like fast passes if we can avoid it. Otherwise, when we go bankrupt in the future, life will be very difficult."
Sure enough, no woman had probably ever said this to Xie Cheng before, no woman had ever sincerely wanted to save money for Xie Cheng from the bottom of her heart like this.
Lan Xi saw that he looked genuinely shocked. He probably thought of the risk of bankruptcy and immediately frowned, "Why would I go bankrupt?"
"If one does not plan ahead, one is bound to have worries close by. We always have to assess risks and be prepared for the worst," Lan Xi said cheerfully. "But don't worry, I've already planned out life after your bankruptcy, so you don't need to worry."
Lan Xi was not joking. To demonstrate her planning skills, she had stayed up last night doing her homework: "The economy is declining now and jobs are hard to find. And since you've bankrupted your company, ordinary people wouldn't dare hire you. So after bankruptcy, you can blaze a new trail and switch careers directly."
Seeing the grim look on his face at the prospect of bankruptcy, Lan Xi could tell Xie Cheng was interested in her plans, but he still wanted to appear calm. So she saw him turn to look at her expressionlessly -
"Oh, you're pretty capable, already thinking about my post-bankruptcy career for me? So what can I switch to?"
"Of course!" Lan Xi was overjoyed, "I've got it all arranged for you, and I'm putting your abilities to use too - be a fitness coach at the gym in the morning, you have a good physique and rich fitness experience to convince people to take your classes; be a waiter at a high-end Western restaurant at lunch, you've been to lots of high-end Western restaurants before so you can definitely introduce the menu fluently; be a luxury brand salesperson at the mall in the afternoon, you used to wear these brands anyway so helping customers pick out clothes will definitely be a breeze; and there's a lot you can do at night - be a premium wine steward at a bar, or accompany rich women at a club, you could even be a male model at a KTV..."
"..."
Perhaps her words gave Xie Cheng food for thought about bankruptcy, leaving him breathless. He glared at Lan Xi, his chest heaving violently, seemingly unable to speak for a long time.
Lan Xi comforted, "It's okay, with me at the company, bankruptcy is generally unlikely, but we still have to start learning to be thrifty now. I can teach you hands-on."
With someone like you at the company, I'm even more worried about going bankrupt. Xie Cheng thought to himself.
Looking at the long winding rollercoaster line only made him feel more hopeless.
[...]
