Chapter 43: Dear Mercedes Owner

Li Xiao looked at his three roommates, a little confused.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?"

Zhang Jiawen spoke, sounding a bit hesitant.

"Brother Li, from what you just said... are you going to pick up a car?"

Zhou Yu leaned in too.

"Brother Li, what kind of car did you buy? A sedan or an SUV?"

Li Xiao hadn’t expected his three roommates to overhear a simple phone call.

He had no intention of hiding it, so he nodded.

"I ordered it a while ago. All the paperwork was finalized today, so the 4S dealership told me to come pick it up."

Huang Zhiyuan asked curiously.

"Brother Li, what kind of car did you get?"

Li Xiao replied nonchalantly.

"It’s nothing too special, just a GLC."

Among the three, Zhou Yu’s family was the least well-off. They had a car, but it was just a Honda Fit worth a little over a hundred thousand yuan—an old one at that, which they’d had for many years.

So, when he heard "GLC," he didn’t have much of a reaction, assuming it was just an English acronym for some car brand.

However, Zhang Jiawen and Huang Zhiyuan both came from families that weren’t doing too badly.

Huang Zhiyuan, in particular, was a huge car enthusiast. Even his phone’s screen saver was an HD picture of a sports car.

The moment he heard that the car Li Xiao was going to pick up was a Mercedes-Benz GLC, his eyes went wide.

Huang Zhiyuan sucked in a sharp breath and said in disbelief:

"Wait, you secretly went and bought a GLC???"

Zhang Jiawen, standing beside him, playfully clapped a hand over Huang Zhiyuan’s mouth.

"What do you mean, ’you’? It’s Master Li!"

"Our Master Li is a big shot who can casually drop tens of thousands on a single stream. What’s the big deal about buying a GLC?? Isn’t that perfectly reasonable?"

Huang Zhiyuan caught on.

"Right, right! With Master Li’s financial power, buying a GLC is as easy as going out for a meal, isn’t it?"

"By the way, Master Li, which model did you get?"

Many people might assume that since Li Xiao had driven plenty of luxury cars in his past life, he must know a lot about them.

But the reality was the complete opposite.

Often, the ones who know every detail about luxury cars are the ones who can’t afford them. Since they can’t buy one, they can only meticulously research them out of passion. People like Li Xiao, who actually own them, often don’t know that much about the specifics.

So, he shook his head.

"I don’t know the exact model. I just bought it because it looked pretty good."

"If you’re interested, why don’t you come with me this afternoon to pick it up?"

Hearing Li Xiao’s casual tone, Huang Zhiyuan, who loved cars as much as his own life, felt a pang in his heart.

He was the type of person who would compile a multi-page research report before buying anything, listing out and comparing every single car in the same price range, and would only make a decision after a personal test drive.

Hearing that Li Xiao had just bought one without knowing anything about it made him feel a pain so sharp he could barely breathe.

However, when he heard Li Xiao invite him to come along, Huang Zhiyuan’s spirits instantly lifted.

"Really? Can I?"

Li Xiao gave a noncommittal nod.

"Of course. If you guys are free this afternoon, you can all come. If I remember correctly, there’s a pretty good restaurant near there. After we get the car, we can grab a bite to eat."

The three were tempted, but having had Li Xiao treat them to meals for several days in a row, they actually felt a little embarrassed.

But Huang Zhiyuan, the car fanatic, ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of test-driving a GLC. After only a moment’s hesitation, he immediately nodded.

"Since Master Li has so graciously invited us, it would be rude to refuse."

Seeing that someone had already accepted, the other two stopped being coy and quickly nodded in agreement.

The afternoon classes went by in the blink of an eye.

All four of them in the dorm called in sick, but their counselor didn’t pay it much mind.

After all, it was just P.E. class. The counselor couldn’t be bothered to care.

The P.E. course didn’t even have an exam, so he didn’t have to worry about the four of them failing.

The four of them hailed a Didi and headed to the 4S dealership.

After arriving at the dealership, Li Xiao called Yao Mingquan.

In less than half a minute, a handsome young man, about five-foot-nine and wearing a suit, appeared before them.

Yao Mingquan extended a hand to shake Li Xiao’s.

"Mr. Li, hello. I’m your dedicated customer service representative."

"In the future, if you have any problems with your vehicle, you can call my number for assistance."

"Of course, if you become interested in other Mercedes models, you’re also welcome to call me anytime."

After a few simple pleasantries, Yao Mingquan led the four of them to the vehicle pickup hall.

The pickup hall had been decorated in advance with flowers, balloons, and some snacks—they had everything. There were even two young women in the hall wearing black stockings and bunny ears.

In the center of the hall, a black Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupe SUV, Luxury Edition, was parked quietly.

Seeing this whole spectacle, Li Xiao rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Honestly, if he were here to pick up a luxury car worth two or three million yuan, then having some kind of delivery ceremony would be understandable.

But he was just picking up a GLC worth a little over 500,000 yuan. All these ceremonies were a bit over the top.

Yao Mingquan had become a sales manager at such a young age precisely because he was sharp.

Noticing the displeasure in Li Xiao’s eyes, he immediately understood that this Mr. Li, who looked as young as a university student, was not a fan of these arrangements.

He quickly leaned in close to Li Xiao’s ear and asked in a low voice:

"Mr. Li, are you not fond of this pickup ceremony?"

Li Xiao nodded.

"It’s just a car to get around in. Why all the flashy, over-the-top stuff?"

"Get rid of it all. I don’t need any of this."

As a sales manager for a Mercedes-Benz 4S dealership, it wasn’t like Yao Mingquan had never met a wealthy person before.

But this was the first time he had ever seen someone describe a top-spec GLC, worth nearly 600,000 yuan, as "just a car to get around in."

Suppressing the urge to retort, Yao Mingquan’s smile became even more respectful.

’A top-spec GLC worth almost 600,000 yuan is just a daily driver in his eyes.’

’His family background must be terrifying. He’s definitely not someone a humble sales manager like me can afford to offend.’

Yao Mingquan quickly had all the miscellaneous decorations removed. Looking at the clean and tidy pickup hall, Li Xiao immediately felt much better.

Yao Mingquan respectfully handed the box in his hands to Li Xiao.

"Mr. Li, here are the two keys. All the vehicle-related documents have been placed in the briefcase on the front passenger seat."

"The gas tank is full. Would you like me to accompany you for a test drive?"

Li Xiao examined the box in his hands. It was solid black, with matte silver lines, giving it an understated yet luxurious feel.

In the center of the box was the Mercedes-Benz logo.

He reached out and gently pressed the logo. The next moment, the box made a CLICK, followed by the sound of mechanical whirring from within.

The box opened, revealing one silver and one black car key lying quietly inside.