Chapter 49 A New Life

After settling matters for Li Dongfeng, Zhou Ziyang was finally able to relax for a couple of days.

Holding a massive fortune of sixteen million yuan and having just turned eighteen, he returned once again to the bustling city of Nanjing. At this moment, Zhou Ziyang could truly be considered reborn.

First, he strolled around Deji Plaza and outfitted himself with two decent sets of clothes. Zhou Ziyang’s pursuit of high luxury was not particularly high, but he still needed a couple of respectable outfits. He bought three belts that cost nearly fifty thousand yuan, followed by a Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris series mechanical wristwatch for one hundred and thirty thousand yuan. In total, he spent less than three hundred thousand yuan at Deji.

He used a China Merchants Bank Black Gold Card, also known as the American Express Centurion Black Card. This was the highest-tier credit card offered by China Merchants Bank, with an overdraft limit ranging between two million and ten million yuan. The application criteria for this card were extremely stringent, requiring recommendations from prominent social figures or a daily average balance of around twenty million yuan.

Zhou Ziyang happened to meet the requirements: his stock account held a cash flow of nearly thirteen million yuan, and he also had a month's salary pending from the labor service company. Although he was currently just barely clearing the threshold, it was also true that his transaction volume over the past two months exceeded ten million yuan. Therefore, when Zhou Ziyang applied for the credit card, the relationship manager at the provincial branch of China Merchants Bank beamed with joy and personally fast-tracked Zhou Ziyang through the special channel.

Seeing that Zhou Ziyang was young and dressed quite ordinarily, the relationship manager wondered how he could possess such immense wealth.

Zhou Ziyang replied, "My father works at the Procuratorate."

Upon hearing these words, the relationship manager immediately indicated that he understood, following the unwritten rule of never asking what shouldn't be asked. He rapidly issued a Centurion card to Zhou Ziyang with a limit of five million yuan.

The card came with a fifty-day interest-free period. If the balance remained unpaid after fifty days, the annual interest rate could reach eighteen to twenty percent. Therefore, the relationship manager advised Zhou Ziyang to manage his funds within the fifty-day window. Zhou Ziyang acknowledged and understood.

According to the privileges of the Black Gold Card, Zhou Ziyang could enjoy free stays at five-star hotels partnered with China Merchants Bank for eight to ten days a year. In addition, he was entitled to two free comprehensive health check-ups for family members, a VIP medical access channel for himself, fifteen chauffeured car services, complimentary buffets, and VIP treatment at high-speed rail stations and airports, among other perks.

They say that even if a peasant dreams of becoming an emperor, he still wields a golden hoe.

Others who were reborn would indulge in hedonism, but a poor person reborn like Zhou Ziyang still couldn't bear to spend his own principal. He preferred to leave his money in stocks to earn interest while frugally consuming on a credit card.

The texture of the Black Gold Card was exceptional. The card body was predominantly black with raised laser-engraved antique gold lettering. In any case, it looked extremely high-class, bearing Zhou Ziyang’s name and cardholder serial number.

Even in a high-end luxury shopping mall like Deji Plaza, when Zhou Ziyang produced the Black Gold Card, the sales assistant involuntarily bowed her waist another two degrees lower. After neatly packing the items for him, she politely asked if he needed any other accessories.

Zhou Ziyang replied that he did not and left.

On the very day he obtained the card, Zhou Ziyang booked a room at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn. July and August were the peak tourism seasons, and the Garden series hotels within the Hilton Group did not belong to the ultra-luxury tier; they could only be considered mid-range quality, so quite a few middle-class travelers stayed there.

The lines at the service desks were long, and since Zhou Ziyang had never used a Black Gold Card before, he simply queued up with the rest. When his turn finally came, he handed over his ID card.

The young receptionist with her hair coiled in a bun, who had been bowing continuously while registering previous guests, checked Zhou Ziyang’s information, straightened her posture slightly, and said respectfully:

"Hello, Mr. Zhou. We see that your profile is linked to the American Express Centurion Black Card. Welcome to the Hilton Hotel."

To be honest, this was the first time Zhou Ziyang had ever experienced such service. He watched as the young woman recited a string of rehearsed pleasantries.

For instance, Zhou Ziyang had booked a standard room.

The receptionist informed him that his room had already been upgraded for free to a business suite, accompanied by a complimentary breakfast, an afternoon tea set, and a basket of welcome fruits.

"Mr. Zhou, please follow me this way."

After completing the check-in procedures for Zhou Ziyang, the receptionist stepped out from behind the counter and personally guided him to the elevators.

Truth be told, Zhou Ziyang had never experienced such treatment before.

Nearby, a family was waiting in line—a couple with a nine-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy in their arms. While the receptionist had been speaking earlier, the little boy kept staring at her, probably unable to understand why the young lady suddenly started chattering away in such a formal manner.

Curious, he asked his mother, who was holding him, "What is a Centurion Black Card?"

Hearing the question, Zhou Ziyang glanced over at them. The little boy’s mother didn't know how to explain it. Catching Zhou Ziyang's gaze, she offered an apologetic smile.

Zhou Ziyang didn't mind and followed the receptionist to the elevator lobby.

The young receptionist escorted Zhou Ziyang all the way into his room and introduced the various functional areas: the bathroom, the terrace, the reception area, and the bedroom sleeping area.

The room was equipped with a smart toilet and a Gaggenau mini-fridge. Inside the fridge were four tall cans of Coca-Cola and two cans of Sprite.

The receptionist introduced that all these beverages were complimentary.

"Mr. Zhou, do you have any other questions?"

Zhou Ziyang indicated he had none, whereupon the receptionist respectfully backed out of the room.

Once the receptionist departed, Zhou Ziyang retrieved a can of cola from the fridge, popped it open, and walked over to the terrace, gazing out at the colorful night view of Nanjing city.

For a moment, he found himself lost in thought.

In his past life, Zhou Ziyang had spent six years in Nanjing. Recalling it now, aside from endless food delivery and endless subway rides, he had never imagined that Nanjing possessed such a breathtakingly beautiful side.

After spending the night at the Hilton, Zhou Ziyang went to the auto mall the next day to look at cars.

Before going, Zhou Ziyang hadn't decided on any particular brand, so he browsed the Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW 4S dealerships.

Because the sales representative at the BMW dealership was the most attentive to him—a young woman who didn't look very old, yet showed no disdain for his youth, even going so far as to half-squat in her black silk skirt and short dress to patiently explain the car's features to him—Zhou Ziyang decided to skip the test drive altogether. He pulled out his Black Gold Card on the spot and ordered a 335Li, long-wheelbase version, equipped with the luxury package, with a total on-the-road price of around four hundred and sixty thousand yuan.

Sales representatives at BMW 4S dealerships certainly never lacked for customers, but a customer as decisive as Zhou Ziyang was not something they saw every day. His casual flick of the card to pay definitely shocked quite a few people. Several female sales reps in long-legged black silk stockings were whispering behind the scenes about his bank card, claiming it was a Black Gold Card with a limit of twenty million yuan.

When the young woman who had attended to Zhou Ziyang overheard this, she was startled, thinking to herself that she had originally taken him on just to practice her sales skills, only to realize he was actually a major tycoon.

True to its reputation, the city of Nanjing was crouching with hidden tigers and lurking dragons.

Zhou Ziyang signed the contract and paid a deposit of twenty thousand yuan. The dealership didn't have the car in stock at the moment and required him to wait a day.

Zhou Ziyang had no objections. At worst, he could just lie around in the hotel for another day, take the opportunity to look around for a nice apartment, and buy a place.