Chapter 026: Fair Skin, Beautiful Face, and Long Legs
That afternoon.
The luxurious villa area in Gubei New Area, Shanghai.
Zhou Residence Villa.
"Lin Lang, you're here, why did you buy so many things?" Motorcycle Goddess Zhou Mengyao greeted Lin Lang with a smile as he entered.
Zhou Mengyao had long hair that reached her waist, a fair, delicate face that was unbelievably beautiful, exquisite features like a painting, a noble and elegant demeanor, fair skin, a beautiful face, long legs, a slender waist, and a shapely, proud figure. Her appearance was stunning, her beauty striking the soul.
AI-generated beautiful image of school beauty Zhou Mengyao
Lin Lang, dressed in a white double-breasted suit, replied with a smile, "It's my first visit, so of course, I must prepare a small gift to show my sincerity."
A maid, Aunt Mei, took the gifts from Lin Lang's hand and politely said, "Mr. Lin, please come in. I will inform the master and madam of your arrival."
Lin Lang replied with a single word, "Good!"
Zhou Mengyao praised, "Old classmate, your outfit today is very handsome!"
Lin Lang replied with a smile, "Your everyday white attire, as beautiful as snow, and your aura as a beautiful school flower, still make it difficult for people to look away."
"Lin Lang, when you were in high school, you were not good with words, melancholic and introverted. Your mouth wasn't as sweet as it is now."
"Mengyao, when you were in high school, your figure wasn't as perfectly developed. The places that should protrude protrude, and the places that should curve curve. I didn't even dare to look directly at you, afraid I'd get a nosebleed by accident."
"Haha..."
Zhou Mengyao said sweetly, "You've become humorous now, much more interesting than when you were in high school."
Lin Lang shrugged and said, "As the saying goes, money is a hero's courage, and gold is a man's waist. When I was studying, my family was ordinary. Studying in an aristocratic high school, I kept my distance from the children of wealthy families, so it was inevitable that I would be a bit of an outcast."
Zhou Mengyao replied after hearing, "Wealth is a demon-revealing mirror, silver is a heart-measuring ruler. In prosperity, one knows people's hearts; in poverty, one sees human nature."
"Lin Lang, your eyes are still as clear as they were in high school, humble and polite, without the arrogance and ostentation of a nouveau riche. You are still that introverted and cool youth."
Lin Lang sighed, "Only after entering society did I understand the beauty of campus life. Those fleeting moments of studying at the same desk with you often appear in my mind. That must be our youth that we can't go back to."
Zhou Mengyao smiled after hearing, "Time has never been gentle, which is why there is youth."
"Times have changed, no need for many words. My youth was also spent with you, my deskmate. We were once poles apart, not bothering each other, but now we have intersected again. I hope this time our classmate bond will no longer be separated or estranged."
As if plucking something from thin air, Lin Lang took out a bouquet of colorful zinnia flowers from his personal space and presented them to the beautiful high school school flower, Zhou Mengyao.
"Ta-da!"
"Transform..."
"I give this bouquet of flowers to you, my deskmate. May our youth never end, and our friendship never close!"
Zhou Mengyao took the fragrant zinnias, sniffed their fresh scent, and exclaimed with unconcealed delight, "Old classmate, you've even learned magic to make girls happy!"
"Thank you for the surprise!"
"The language of zinnias is missing distant friends, and eternity. So, I wish our classmate bond can be enduring, always like new, poetic and picturesque!"
Lin Lang smiled warmly after hearing.
AI-generated beautiful image of school beauty Zhou Mengyao
Zhou Mengyao said happily with a smile, "I'll give you a quick tour of our home. Old classmate, would you like tea, coffee, or juice? I'll tell the maid to get it for you."
"Coffee is fine."
Lin Lang followed Zhou Mengyao's steps, strolling through the spacious and luxurious Zhou Residence Villa, admiring the antique porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings displayed indoors.
As soon as Lin Lang entered the villa's living room, what caught his eye was a complete set of Huanghuali furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Appraisal prompt showed it had a history of over three hundred years and was worth tens of millions of chinese yuan.
"Wow!"
"Your esteemed father is indeed a great collector. Just this complete set of Huanghuali furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties displayed in the living room is worth tens of millions of chinese yuan."
"Mengyao, you truly are a second-generation rich kid, born with a silver spoon in your mouth."
"Lin Lang, you just glanced at it and could tell that this antique furniture set is from the Ming and Qing dynasties and is worth tens of millions. It seems you're not simple either!"
In the living room of the Zhou Residence Villa, a group of vases and porcelain was particularly striking, consisting of a Qianlong period imitation cloisonné appreciation vase and two Kangxi period blue and white porcelain general jars, all of which were priceless.
On the living room wall, a framed authentic work by the grandmaster Qi Baishi hung, also of immeasurable value.
The Zhou Residence Villa was filled with famous paintings and calligraphy, and antique treasures were displayed in every room, a dazzling array that made Lin Lang's eyes swim.
Lin Lang exclaimed, "Although this is your Zhou Family's private residence, the collection inside is comparable to a museum. You can see authentic works of famous people everywhere. Your esteemed father's collection is truly astonishing."
"The Zhou Residence is full of antiques, visibly worth tens of billions, it's simply too extravagant!"
Zhou Mengyao replied, "Old classmate, you don't know, but I'm actually not a second-generation rich kid, but a fourth-generation rich kid of the old Shanghai Zhou Family. Many of the tens of billions of antique collections in the Zhou Residence Villa were left by my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun."
Lin Lang was shocked upon hearing this, "Mengyao, your grandfather is the real estate tycoon Zhou Xiangyun of old Shanghai?!"
Zhou Mengyao replied, "That's right!"
"Speaking of my grandfather, the real estate tycoon Zhou Xiangyun, I have to start with my great-grandfather."
"My great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, was a carpenter by trade. He came to old Shanghai with the refugee tide from Ningbo, without any relatives. He worked as a small laborer on the construction site of Sassoon House."
"My great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, was not content with being a small laborer on a construction site. That year, he spent two months' wages to buy a copy of 'English Annotation' and taught himself pidgin English."
"After learning basic spoken English, my great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, quickly joined Sassoon House and became a 'running floor' agent, entering and exiting various teahouses on Nanjing Road daily to introduce and promote properties to clients."
"In just a few years, my great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, prospered and earned a large sum of silver."
"Immediately after, my great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, registered and established a real estate rental company under the name 'Zhou Lian Ji' with the Municipal Council. This was the first rental agency established in China during the old Shanghai period."
"The main business of the rental agency was to fully represent real estate developers in selling or leasing commercial properties, extracting a commission of 5% to 10% from it."
"Because renting required little capital, my great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, used his savings to purchase properties inside and outside the concession, becoming a real estate magnate among Chinese merchants in Shanghai in the 19th century."
Lin Lang exclaimed upon hearing, "I didn't expect Mengyao, that your great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, was the earliest pioneer of real estate agencies in China during the old Shanghai period."
"It was only after your great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, became the real estate magnate of his time that the profession of real estate agent emerged in our China. Your Zhou Family ancestors truly pioneered the real estate industry!"
Zhou Mengyao smiled proudly, then continued, "After my great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian, left behind many legends as a real estate magnate and passed away after successfully building his business, he left behind his wife, Shui Chunlan, and two underage sons."
"My great-grandmother, Shui Chunlan, known as Madam Shui on Shanghai, after experiencing the grief of losing her husband, began to manage the vast family business and raised my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, and great-uncle, Zhou Chunqing, to adulthood."
"My great-grandmother, Shui Chunlan, was also an extraordinary person, showing her remarkable abilities from the very beginning. Not only did she manage the industry left by my great-grandfather in an orderly manner, but she also cultivated my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, and great-uncle, Zhou Chunqing, into top business experts in old Shanghai."
"From my great-grandfather, Zhou Zilian's arduous entrepreneurship, through my great-grandmother, Shui Chunlan's continued expansion, and then to my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, taking over the family business as a second-generation tycoon, our Zhou Family had already become the foremost wealthy merchant among Ningbo people living in Shanghai during the old Shanghai period."
"After my great-grandmother, Shui Chunlan, passed away, since my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, was the eldest, out of respect for seniority, my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, inherited the Zhou Family's real estate business."
"My grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, was cautious and conservative. Although he did not make greater strides in the Zhou Family's real estate business, he had good luck that all businessmen in old Shanghai envied, encountering several rare opportunities when land prices in the concession soared."
"Before and after the Xinhai Revolution, the population in the Shanghai concession greatly increased, and real estate prices consequently soared."
"In 1924, during the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War, refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang fled, again causing land prices in the concession to skyrocket."
"During the Anti-Japanese War, refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, wealthy households from the Beijing-Tianjin area, and wealthy officials from the late Qing dynasty and Beiyang warlord period all desperately squeezed into the concession, making Shanghai's real estate incredibly hot."
"And our Zhou Family's real estate was all in the International Settlement, so my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, made a fortune from it, becoming one of the few real estate tycoons in old Shanghai."
"A solid family fortune, coupled with a strong interest, made my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, a great collector in old Shanghai."
"Now, the most prized treasures of the Shanghai Museum, Huaisu's 'Kusun Tie' and Mi Youren's 'Xiaoxiang Tu,' were once my grandfather's collection."
"My father being able to become a Master of Appraisal, and his lifelong love for collecting antique porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings, has a great deal to do with my grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun's, artistic nurturing of my father from a young age."
Lin Lang exclaimed upon hearing, "Your grandfather, Zhou Xiangyun, as a second-generation real estate tycoon, had all the advantages of time and place in old Shanghai. As a collector, in that special era of war and chaos, he was fortunate enough to admire authentic works and pass them down to future generations. He truly lived a life without regrets!"
"I didn't expect your esteemed father to be a third-generation rich, and Mengyao, you are actually a fourth-generation rich, a prominent young lady from a distinguished Shanghai family!"
"No wonder Mengyao, your temperament is outstanding, every gesture and smile exudes elegance. It turns out your Zhou Family has always been part of the upper class, a powerful and influential family on Shanghai."
Zhou Mengyao said with a smile, "Actually, it's nothing!"
"After all, I am the only daughter of the Zhou Family. In the future, whoever marries me, the tens of billions worth of antique treasures in the Zhou Residence Villa, plus our Zhou Family's inheritance, will all go to an outsider."
Lin Lang teased with a smile, "It seems whoever marries you, my deskmate, will not only marry a beautiful, rich woman, but also inherit the Zhou Family's inheritance and social connections, and from then on, will reach the peak of life."
Zhou Mengyao lifted her beautiful face and said jokingly, "Are you tempted to marry me and become a son-in-law of our prestigious Zhou Family?"