Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

"Those are the cultural and creative souvenirs sold at the tourist attraction?"

“That’s not right either.” Liu Miaomiao shook her head again. “But I’ve already bought some cultural and creative souvenirs. I can give them to you later if you want.”

It wasn't food, nor a souvenir; even Lu Mingfei was a little surprised.

Lu Mingfei held up his hand and made a "very little" gesture, "Could you give me a hint?"

"A hint?" Liu Miaomiao looked to the side, swayed slightly, then stood still and smiled. "Guess the biggest one."

"To guess on a larger scale?"

"Yes, guess something a little more expensive."

Liu Miaomiao blinked her eyes, which were as bright as stars.

"Things that are a little more expensive..."

Lu Mingfei was taken aback, as if he had suddenly thought of something.

He asked cautiously, almost tentatively, "It's not a cell phone, is it?"

"Ta-da! You guessed it! Here's your prize."

Liu Miaomiao took out what she had hidden behind her back and handed it to Lu Mingfei.

“I noticed you haven’t had a cell phone, so it’s inconvenient to call you sometimes. Luckily, I went to Shanghai with my dad this time, so I bought you a cell phone. It’s a brand new one, too.”

Lu Mingfei took it and saw that it really was a new model.

Nokia N73, black.

Looking at the brand-new phone box in his hand, still wrapped in plastic, Lu Mingfei didn't know whether to be happy or to force a bitter smile.

I've never seen two people so in sync in my past life.

However, in front of Liu Miaomiao, Lu Mingfei still put on a surprised expression.

"Do you like it?" Liu Miaomiao asked.

His tone was full of anticipation.

"I like it, thank you Liu Miaomiao." Lu Mingfei said, handing the phone back to Liu Miaomiao, "But I can't accept such an expensive gift."

In Lu Mingfei's mind, accepting Su Xiaoqiang's phone was acceptable; but accepting Liu Miaomiao's phone was not.

The main reason is that Su Xiaoqiang is a buddy, and it doesn't matter if a buddy takes a little advantage.

But Liu Miaomiao was the girl he was in a flirtatious relationship with.

Although he always joked about wanting a rich woman to take care of him, it was just a joke in his mind. If he were to actually take advantage of Liu Miaomiao, Lu Mingfei would still feel guilty.

"Why not?" Liu Miaomiao pouted. "I gave it to you, so just accept it."

"No, that won't do. The phone is too expensive."

The Nokia N73 is not a phone that costs a few hundred yuan; even the most basic version had an initial price of over 4000 yuan.

In 2006, housing prices in many first-tier cities were still less than 4000 yuan per square meter, which was no small sum.

“Okay then,” Liu Miaomiao said, “Last time it was your birthday, I only bought you a birthday cake and didn’t give you a gift. Consider this phone my belated birthday present. When it’s my birthday next year, you can give me one that’s about the same price.”

"Can……"

"No buts, it's decided!"

Liu Miaomiao shoved the phone back into Lu Mingfei's arms with a decisive motion.

Then I took out a written sticky note from my bag and stuck it on the top of the phone box.

"This is my phone number. If you want to thank me, please save my number as soon as you get back."

As Liu Miaomiao spoke, she paused, and then her voice suddenly softened.

"Then give me a call..."

Before Lu Mingfei could say anything more, Liu Miaomiao waved and ran towards her BMW, her ponytail, adorned with a Hello Kitty hair clip, swaying behind her head.

Like a fox's tail, it hooks into people's hearts again and again.

The car lights suddenly turned on; it was already night, and the lights were even brighter than before when dusk was falling.

As the car turned around in front of the door, Liu Miaomiao said goodbye through the window.

"See you at the beginning of school."

"See you when school starts." Lu Mingfei nodded in reply.

The BMW sped away into the night, and Lu Mingfei watched the red taillights slowly disappear into the distance until they were completely gone.

As I was about to turn around, another car came with its lights on.

The glaring light forced Lu Mingfei to shield his eyes with his hand and squint slightly.

However, a person cannot keep their eyes closed forever.

Lu Mingfei knew that one day he would need to look ahead.

Chapter 82 Reencounter with the White Moonlight

With only two days left before the start of the new semester, Lu Mingfei took some time to go to the largest computer mall in the area to buy a computer.

Actually, buying a computer at this time isn't a very good choice, because August is usually the peak season for computer sales.

Many college-bound students who have just finished the college entrance examination and are about to enter university will buy a new computer at this time.

Therefore, July and August are generally the months when computer parts prices rise slightly.

Computer mall owners, with the mentality of ripping off as many customers as possible, post signs in front of their stores advertising so-called "affordable office configurations" and "ultimate gaming configurations".

They advertise processors with multiple cores and threads, and motherboards that are aerospace or military grade. The prefixes sound amazing, but it's all just a way to clear out inventory at inflated prices.

However, since Lu Mingfei was indeed short of a computer and online shopping wasn't as developed these days, he had no choice but to come to the computer mall.

There's no need to look at the shops on the first floor of the computer mall.

Firstly, the rent for storefronts here is generally ridiculously high, so the prices will naturally be higher than those on the second or third floor. Secondly, there are students and parents buying computers everywhere these days, so they don't have to worry about not having business. If they see that you know what you're doing, they definitely won't want to do business with you.

If you want to find a less rip-off place, you have to look upstairs.

Compared to the bustling first floor, the second floor had fewer customers. However, there were still quite a few people.

Lu Mingfei first tried asking at several places, and the prices they gave were all quite outrageous, with the cheapest one being more than double the original price. This made Lu Mingfei click his tongue in astonishment.

Therefore, it is reasonable to say that some industries are declining.

By the time Lu Mingfei went to university, business in the computer mall had declined significantly. Many merchants blamed the impact of e-commerce platforms on brick-and-mortar businesses, saying it was making them unable to make a living.

But they never considered how they cheated and swindled people before the prices of goods became opaque.

Merchants exploit information asymmetry, deceiving and bluffing consumers to make money. Over time, consumers will naturally lose trust in these merchants.

After all, nobody's money falls from the sky.

I asked several vendors, and all of them gave roughly the same price. It seems that most of the vendors in this computer mall have some kind of collusion, and they have a common bargaining chip.

"Forget it, I'll ask my senior and Lao Lei if they know anyone who sells computers."

Lu Mingfei sighed and temporarily gave up on his plan to build a computer.

Anyway, if it's just logging into QQ, modern mobile phones can actually do that.

He originally planned to spend four or five thousand yuan to buy a computer with an E6300 + 7600GT configuration, and he would accept a price premium of up to 10%.

Looking at it now, even a 50% markup can be considered a conscientious business.

Lu Mingfei was about to take the elevator downstairs when he suddenly saw a familiar face.

Lu Mingfei was stunned.

It's Chen Wenwen.

Lu Mingfei wondered if every girl he knew had her own unique wardrobe, filled with clothes that matched her style.

Otherwise, why would they always have a different filter every time they appear?

Take Su Xiaoqiang, for example. She is of mixed race and has a rather aggressive appearance, with a style that is bright and striking, like a gun. So every time she appears, her clothes are as visually impactful as she is, sharp and awe-inspiring, as if she can outshine everything around her.

Take, for example, the well-behaved Liu Miaomiao. Although she never wears the same clothes twice when we meet, they all perfectly highlight her docility and cleverness. She is quiet and unassuming, never competing or vying for attention, yet she still manages to attract others' attention. She follows a different path from Su Xiaoqiang, a path of overcoming strength with gentleness.

Chen Wenwen is like everyone's first love in their fantasies; her clothing style is almost always white, and she rarely changes her style.

Even though she was dressed so simply, she always managed to stand out in a crowd.

It was like a beam of white moonlight suddenly shining down.

Although this "white moonlight" comes from Lu Mingfei's previous life, the "white moonlight" always has a certain power to attract men.

Lu Mingfei put his hands in his pockets and continued walking forward, while keeping an eye on Chen Wenwen's direction out of the corner of his eye.

Chen Wenwen stood in front of a counter where she had just asked about prices, holding a white laptop.

Standing behind the counter was a middle-aged man in his forties, who was the owner of the shop.

"Is Chen Wenwen going to buy a computer?" Lu Mingfei wondered.

Actually, Lu Mingfei really wanted to tell Chen Wenwen that the items sold at this store were a rip-off.

He just asked how much the E6300 chip cost, and the other party quoted him 3000.

However, this thought only flashed through Lu Mingfei's mind for a moment.

The main issue is that he's not actually very familiar with Chen Wenwen; they've only met once at Open Mind. He doesn't really have much standing to interfere with Chen Wenwen's affairs.

Furthermore, the fact that Chen Wenwen came to buy a laptop indicates that she probably needs one now.

In Lu Mingfei's memory, Chen Wenwen's family was actually quite well-off, but she never flaunted her spending, which showed that she was a girl who was frugal with her money.

As Lu Mingfei moved closer to Chen Wenwen, he heard everything the computer store owner said clearly:

"The entire product line is now upgraded and discounted, and is currently on sale. You can also participate in various promotional activities if you buy now."

Special offers?

This is actually a sales tactic. They start by using the promise of a promotion to attract customers. Usually, these promotions involve giving away an office mouse and a membrane keyboard, which only cost a few dollars, making you feel like you're getting a good deal.

Lu Mingfei unconsciously stopped behind Chen Wenwen, listening to his boss's nonsense.