Chapter 500 - 499: If Line: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 68

Chapter 500: Chapter 499: If Line: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 68

At 3:00 PM, the fierce battle for tickets began.

Shi Lan had specifically devised a strategy. She was trying to get tickets on her phone and tablet simultaneously. She set her tablet to keep the app in the foreground, turned on her game accelerator to optimize her internet speed, and started tapping her fingers five minutes before the sale began.

In short, she was doing everything in her power to make sure her best friend could see the concert.

But, what she never expected was that with too many people trying to buy tickets and the platform being so popular, the app actually crashed...

The ticketing platform immediately sent out an emergency notice saying it was undergoing maintenance and that ticket sales would resume in about an hour. The original 3:00 PM sale was postponed by an hour.

Shi Lan was stunned. She had figured that with Yan Huoshui’s massive fanbase, the tickets would be hard to get, but she never imagined they would actually crash the system...

She couldn’t help but start to worry. ’At this rate,’ she thought, ’you’d probably need to use a bot to get a ticket.’

With no other choice, Shi Lan started tapping the screen again to practice and keep her fingers nimble.

Beside her, Ping’an didn’t understand what its owner was doing, tapping her fingers over and over, but it seemed to match her rhythm, bobbing its little head along. Eventually, sleepiness took over, and it accidentally dozed off, exposing its round, chubby belly.

Just before 4:00 PM, the ticketing platform finally came back online. Shi Lan impatiently navigated to the ticket-purchasing page and got to work.

The page kept displaying, "Ticket demand is extremely high, now loading. Please wait~" By the time Shi Lan finally got to the next step, all the tickets were gone...

When she went back to the previous page, it had clearly shown at least three hundred tickets available for all sections. She had even picked the most expensive row, but in the blink of an eye, the count had dropped to zero.

Stunned for a good while, Shi Lan didn’t give up. She continued to wait, since there might be a second wave of tickets released within thirty minutes from unpaid orders.

Unfortunately, even after thirty minutes, she still hadn’t gotten one.

Just then, Chen Xinyi sent her several sobbing emoji stickers. Shi Lan understood instantly—her best friend hadn’t gotten a ticket either.

Having no other choice, Shi Lan could only share the bad news from her end and then comfort her: "I see there’s another round at 8:00 PM tonight. We can try again then. If that doesn’t work, there are always scalper tickets, or someone might resell theirs. We’ll definitely have a chance to buy one."

Chen Xinyi didn’t earn much from the cat cafe, only about seven or eight thousand a month. Although she was an only child and her family was reasonably well-off, she was still a bit reluctant to spend several times the original price for a single concert ticket.

She replied dejectedly, "Thanks, Lanlan. It’s okay. If we really can’t get one, then so be it. There will be other opportunities."

She didn’t want to put too much pressure on Shi Lan. She knew that going to a concert was something Shi Lan could take or leave; Lanlan wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed jumping into big crowds.

Chen Xinyi understood that Lanlan was doing all of this for her.

Shi Lan sent back a "hugging" emoji sticker. ’There’s no point in saying too much right now,’ she thought. ’No matter what, I’ll figure out what to say after I get a ticket for my friend.’

「Upstairs.」

Sometime after 6:00 PM, under Assistant Chen’s smiling gaze, Jiang Xia reluctantly picked up his suitcase and left. As he was leaving, he still hadn’t given up hope and tried to ask Assistant Chen about the buyer, but Assistant Chen’s lips were sealed. He didn’t reveal a single thing, only saying pleasantly, "I don’t know either, Young Master Jiang. I am only following Mr. He’s instructions to escort you back to school."

Jiang Xia mumbled, "You’re clearly just here to keep an eye on me..."

But Assistant Chen represented his cousin’s will, so he knew it was pointless and didn’t try to delay any longer.

After returning to school, Jiang Xia subconsciously opened WeChat. He had actually already scrolled through Shi Lan’s social media feed several times that afternoon, but he still couldn’t resist tapping on the profile picture of a black cat.

Shi Lan’s feed, much like her social life, was very simple. She only posted about once a month on average.

Her feed was only visible for the past year. The first post was a share about her new shop, and the second was about her cat, featuring a nine-photo grid of Ping’an in all sorts of cute and endearing poses.

Jiang Xia had gone to her shop that afternoon, but unfortunately, she wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen that post, so he went straight to the photos of her cat. He wasn’t actually interested in the Ping’an in the pictures, but a few of the shots showed Shi Lan holding the cat. Her face wasn’t visible, only her hands.

Jiang Xia looked them over several times but didn’t see a ring. He then remembered that her feed had no wedding photos, and when he was Ping’an, he hadn’t seen any trace of another man in her house. This once again confirmed his belief that Shi Lan was probably single.

’Even if she doesn’t like me now, it’s better than her already having a man she likes,’ he thought. ’If she doesn’t, then I have plenty of opportunities.’

Satisfied, Jiang Xia closed the feed. He hesitated for a long while, still not daring to send a message. However, after his shower that evening, as he lay on his hard dorm bed, he finally sent one: "Good evening."

He waited for a while, but when no reply came, he felt a pang of disappointment. Then, looking at his roommate who had just finished a call with his girlfriend, he asked curiously, "Wang Biao, how did you manage to win over your girlfriend?"

Wang Biao was busy booting up his computer at that moment—he had plans to play five-stack with his buddies that night. Hearing the dorm’s "young master" ask such a question, he paused what he was doing and naturally prioritized answering him. "It’s a long story. First, you have to maintain a good appearance and be mentally sharp. Ahem, of course, Brother Jiang, you’ve got no problems with your looks, so you can start with providing economic and emotional value."

Jiang Xia wasn’t the oldest in the dorm—he was the second youngest—but because he had treated his roommates to meals many times and was very generous, they had long gotten used to calling him "Brother."

"Economic and emotional value?"

Jiang Xia had a puzzled look on his face, while the other two roommates silently perked up their ears, eager for the drama.

Wang Biao explained, "Economic value means that if you’re pursuing someone, you have to show them your sincerity and persistence. When you like someone, you can’t help but want to spend money on them. If you give her lots of gifts and send her money, she’ll get a clearer idea of your intentions."

"Of course, it’s best to pair that with some emotional value—you know, say some sweet things. But hey, Brother Jiang, with your looks and resources, if you try the method I just mentioned for a month and it doesn’t work—like, you can’t even get her to go out with you twice—then you should just give up."

"That means she’s completely not interested in you, and there’s no need to waste any more time. If you can get her to go out, then you should create more opportunities for dates. And of course, you have to be a gentleman with girls. Don’t get handsy before you’re in a committed relationship, or she’ll easily see you as just a casual fling. Even if you do get together, it won’t last long."

Wang Biao really seemed to know his stuff. Although he’d only had two girlfriends—the first in middle school and his current one—he and his current girlfriend had been together for five years and were still going strong.

The reason Jiang Xia had treated them all to dinner in the first place was that he’d heard a bit about Wang Biao’s story and had specifically chosen to ask him for advice.

Hearing Wang Biao’s words, Jiang Xia grew thoughtful. There was only one part he didn’t agree with: the idea of giving up if he couldn’t get her to go out with him within a month.

He was certain of his feelings. It was Shi Lan or no one.