F1: In Ferrari, Schumacher at the start.

In mid-May, the Mediterranean sun was so bright that it was hard to open your eyes.

Monaco, a tiny country with an area of ​​just over two square kilometers, exudes the scent of money in almost every inch of its land.

The port is filled with superyachts, and there are more luxury stores than convenience stores lining the streets.

Lin Feng and Gu Ailing stood at the entrance of the Monte Carlo Mitage Hotel wearing sunglasses. Gu Ailing was wearing a simple white fitted short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, carrying a canvas bag, while Lin Feng was dressed casually in a black short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

The two of them standing together looked exactly like a young couple on their honeymoon.

"Is Charles reliable or not? He said he'd pick us up at 10 o'clock, and it's already 10:15." Lin Feng glanced at his watch and couldn't help but complain.

As soon as he finished speaking, an extravagantly designed, bright red SUV, accompanied by a deep engine roar, stopped at the bottom of the hotel steps.

The car window rolled down, and Charles Leclerc, wearing a pair of reflective sunglasses, whistled at the two men while holding the steering wheel with one hand.

His girlfriend, Alexandra, was sitting in the passenger seat, smiling and waving to Okiya Eiryo.

"Lin, get in the car!" Leclerc patted the car door.

Lin Feng opened the back door, helped Gu Ailing into the car, and then climbed in himself.

"Charles, as a local of Monaco, how can you be late?" Lin Feng leaned back comfortably in the leather seat without any politeness. "And you actually drive an SUV? I thought you Ferrari people only drove those sports cars with the chassis practically touching the ground."

"That's a Ferrari Purosangue, a work of art!" Leclerc retorted loudly like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "And I was late because I got stuck in traffic on the casino square! This is Monaco, all of Europe's richest people drive their sports cars around here, what could I do?"

"Okay, okay, it's a work of art." Lin Feng casually knocked on the interior of the car door. "The space is quite large, but there isn't even a small table in the back. Thumbs down, buying this car is a complete waste of money."

Leclerc was so angry at Lin Feng's sarcastic comments that he rolled his eyes and decided to ignore him, stepping on the gas.

Alexandra, who was in the front row, turned around and handed two bottles of mineral water to Gu Ailing.

"Ailing, ignore them. Charles was so excited last night, insisting on personally picking the most professional real estate agent for you," Alexandra said with a smile. "Our first stop today is the Fontvieille district. It's reclaimed land, the scenery is beautiful, and it's very quiet."

"Thank you so much. Lin Feng complains about the rain every day in England, saying that it's making him feel like he's going to grow mushrooms. If I don't bring him here to get some sun, I'm afraid he'll get moldy." Gu Ailing unscrewed the cap and took a sip of water.

A red Ferrari navigates the narrow, winding streets.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a modern-looking high-rise luxury apartment building.

A middle-aged man in a gray tailored suit with slicked-back hair had been waiting at the door for some time. Upon seeing Leclerc get out of the car, he immediately greeted him with a broad smile.

"Charles! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The middle-aged man hugged Leclerc, then immediately turned his gaze to Lin Feng and Gu Ailing.

"This must be Mr. Lin and Ms. Gu. I'm Antonio, a real estate agent. I handled the case of the house in Charles." Antonio took out his business card and handed it to Lin Feng, his attitude very enthusiastic.

"Hello, Antonio, thank you for your help." Lin Feng took the business card, glanced at it, and casually put it in his pocket.

"No trouble at all! It's my pleasure to serve you both. Please follow me; this apartment will absolutely meet all your expectations."

The group followed Antonio into the magnificent lobby and took the elevator directly to the top floor.

The elevator doors opened, and Antonio skillfully entered the password and pushed open the double doors.

A super-large single-level apartment with an area of ​​over 300 square meters and a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows is presented to everyone, with the boundless Mediterranean Sea and a harbor full of luxury yachts outside the window.

"Wow!" Gu Ailing and Alexandra exclaimed simultaneously, and the two girls immediately linked arms and rushed towards the ridiculously large walk-in closet and the ocean-view balcony.

"Mr. Lin, look at this living room space. It's entirely covered in marble. Not only does it have a top-notch soundproofing system, but it also comes with 24-hour private butler service," Antonio began his enthusiastic introduction.

Lin Feng walked to the leather sofa, plopped down on it, and pressed down hard.

"The sofa is alright, it's quite soft." Lin Feng nodded, then turned to Leclerc, "Charles, is the soundproofing of the walls here really as good as he says? I'm a light sleeper, and I don't want to hear the noise of the neighbors having a party in the middle of the night."

"Don't worry, the soundproofing in Monaco's top-tier apartments is excellent." Leclerc walked to the bar, poured two glasses of water, and handed one to Lin Feng. "Even if you're fighting in your room, no one outside can hear you."

"That's good." Lin Feng took the water glass, took a sip, and looked at Antonio. "How much did this house cost?"

Antonio straightened his suit and tie, a professional smile spreading across his face.

"This is a great deal, Mr. Lin. The seller is in a hurry to sell; the current asking price is 28 million euros."

"puff--"

Lin Feng almost spat the mouthful of water he had just drunk onto Leclerc's face.

"Twenty-eight million? Euros?!" Lin Feng's eyes widened, his voice rising an octave. "Antonio, is this house built with gold bricks? Over twenty million Euros! I could buy an entire villa complex in China with that money!"

Leclerc wiped the water droplets off his face with disgust and rolled his eyes.

"Lin, do you have some misunderstanding about Monaco's housing prices? This is the place with the highest housing prices in the world. This house has a private pool and an unbeatable sea view, and 28 million is already a very reasonable price."

Lin Feng quickly calculated the exchange rate in his mind.

Although he recently signed several endorsement contracts worth tens of millions of RMB, even if he spent all his salary and bonuses this year, it wouldn't be enough to buy this house.

Capitalist prices are truly ruthless and exploitative.

Just as Lin Feng was secretly heartbroken over the money, Gu Ailing and Alexandra came out of the master bedroom.

"Lin Feng, the natural light in this master bedroom is amazing! And the bathtub in the bathroom has a direct view of the sea! I love this design so much." Gu Ailing said excitedly.

Seeing his girlfriend's happy expression, Lin Feng swallowed hard, forcibly maintaining his calm and composed persona.

"If you like it, that's fine. But Antonio, this is just the first set. Let's look at a few more options." Lin Feng waved to his agent.

Over the next two hours, Antonio led the four men through several popular areas of Monaco.

From ocean-view apartments near Lavoto Beach to upscale apartments close to the Monte Carlo casino, each one is more luxurious than the last, and the prices are more outrageous than the last.

Gu Ailing and Alexandra chatted enthusiastically the whole way, from the color of the curtains to where the Pilates equipment would be placed. Lin Feng and Leclerc couldn't get a word in edgewise and could only follow behind like two heartless lackeys.

After viewing the third house, it was already past 1 p.m.

"Antonio, stop watching for now. Everyone must be hungry. Let's find a place to eat something and rest." Lin Feng rubbed his sore calves.

"No problem, there's a really nice open-air seafood restaurant nearby, I'll make a reservation for everyone." Antonio very tactfully slipped out to make the call.

Ten minutes later, the four of them sat under a parasol at a restaurant. The table was laden with fresh oysters, lobsters, and various snacks.

Lin Feng had just picked up a piece of bread and was about to put it in his mouth when he heard a familiar and irritating voice behind him.

"Good heavens, did I forget to check the almanac before going out today? Why do I keep running into people I don't want to see wherever I go?"

All four turned their heads at the same time.

Mercedes heir George Russell was dressed in a pure white linen shirt, light khaki slim-fit shorts, and loafers. He looked like a male model going to shoot a fashion magazine cover.

Standing next to him is his girlfriend, Carmen Montero Monte.

Carmen, dressed in a floral maxi dress, exuded elegance and smiled as she nodded to them.

"George? Are you dressed like that for a fashion show at the beach?" Leclerc joked with a laugh.

Lin Feng put down the bread he was holding and leaned back in his chair: "George, what are you doing in Monaco instead of getting moldy in England? Did you come here to escape the rain too?"

Russell pulled out an empty chair next to Lin Feng and sat down, while Carmen sat down next to Gu Ailing and Alexandra. The three girls immediately began to chat warmly.

"Monaco is my second home, I have a house here, okay?" Russell rolled his eyes, picked up the ice water on the table and poured himself a glass. "But you, Lin, I heard you were looking at houses with a real estate agent today. What, fed up with the British weather, planning to move here and be our neighbors?"

"Still under consideration, the houses here are practically robbery," Lin Feng complained.

Russell laughed and said, "You'll get used to it. But if you do move here, I have a little suggestion."

Russell leaned closer to Lin Feng mysteriously and lowered his voice.

"Never buy the house downstairs from Charles. Whenever that guy has a holiday, he stays up all night playing the piano in the living room. He plays so terribly that I've been woken up several times in the middle of the night thinking there was a funeral going on upstairs."

Upon hearing this, Leclerc, who was sitting opposite, slammed his fork onto the plate.

"George, what nonsense are you talking about! That's classical music! It's artistic creation! Besides, my apartment is very soundproof, how could you, who lives two blocks away, possibly hear it!" Leclerc protested loudly.

"Stop making excuses, Charles. Lando heard it when he visited me last time. He said your piano playing sounded like a cat in heat howling on the roof." Russell mercilessly exposed his weakness.

Lin Feng listened from the side and couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you hear that, Charles? That's why I'm not buying a house near you. I don't want to get up in the middle of the night every day to listen to your concerts," Lin Feng added sarcastically.

Leclerc was so angry at being harassed by the two that he drank ice water and decided to ignore them.

A group of young people sat together, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant. It was impossible to tell that these same people on the track would have been desperate to knock each other off the track for a fraction of a second.

Carmen and Gu Ailing got along very well.

Carmen works in the financial sector and greatly admires Gu Ailing for balancing her studies with so many commercial endorsements.

"Ailing, if Lin Feng really moves here, it will be much more convenient for you to come to Europe in the future. The security here is excellent, and you won't have to worry about being mobbed by reporters when you go out," Carmen enthusiastically suggested.

"Yes, and the weather here is so much better than in England," Alexandra chimed in.

Gu Ailing nodded, then turned to Lin Feng: "So, Boss Lin, after seeing so much today, have you made a decision?"

Lin Feng swallowed the oyster in his mouth and wiped his hands with a napkin.

He glanced at the people at the table, cleared his throat, and his expression became somewhat serious.

"Actually, I just did some calculations. We race car drivers spend almost 300 days a year in hotels all over the world. The remaining few dozen days of vacation, I also need to go back to China to visit my parents, or go to Los Angeles to see you. The actual time I spend in Monaco is probably only about one month a year in total."

Lin Feng turned to look at Leclerc and Russell.

"Spending nearly 30 million euros to buy a house that I only live in for one month a year. This means I have to use all my salary from the past few years as a down payment, and then pay a large sum of money to the housekeeper every month for property management fees."

Lin Feng shrugged.

"I'm not some sucker. So, I made a very rational decision that is in line with economic principles."

Everyone was staring at him.

"I've decided to rent it first."

The desktop fell silent for a moment.

Russell was the first to react, giving a thumbs up: "Lin, you're amazing. You can make being stingy sound so elegant and refined; there's no one else like you in the entire paddock."

"How is this stingy?" Lin Feng retorted confidently. "This is called allocating assets wisely! We can rent a place and move in right away, and if we don't like it, we can move it anytime. Wouldn't it be better to use the extra money to take Ailing on a trip?"

Gu Ailing was laughing so hard she was doubled over. She didn't really care about buying or renting. She was already happy that Lin Feng could accompany her everywhere.

Leclerc couldn't help but laugh: "Alright. Antonio can arrange the rental too. Which one are you planning to rent?"

"The Fontevier set. Nice scenery, and it's far enough away from you that I can't hear you playing the piano." Lin Feng casually stepped on Leclerc's foot again.

Lunch ended amidst the noise of the crowd.

After dinner, Antonio came running over with the lease agreement.

Lin Feng didn't even look at it closely before signing his name with a flourish. Although the annual rent of over 500,000 euros wasn't cheap, compared to the huge sum of money spent on buying the house, Lin Feng didn't feel the pinch at all.

With the house settled, everyone felt much more relaxed.

"How about we go to the casino for a couple of rounds tonight?" Russell suggested. "It's rare for everyone to be here, let's relax a bit."

"No way." Lin Feng refused decisively. "I've already saved up enough money to buy a house. You expect me to go to the casino and give money to Monaco? Dream on."

"How about we have a barbecue at my place?" Leclerc pointed in the direction of his house. "I just bought a new grill yesterday. I promise I won't play the piano."

"That's a good idea," Lin Feng immediately agreed. Why not take advantage of a free dinner?

As dusk falls, the port of Monaco is bathed in a golden-red hue by the setting sun.

The group of six walked leisurely towards Leclerc's apartment. The sea breeze on their faces brought a rare sense of comfort.

Lin Feng walked behind, holding Gu Ailing's hand.

He looked at Leclerc, who was arguing with Russell about who should start the fire, and suddenly realized that having a few friends who, although they competed with each other at work, could joke around without any reservations in private was actually not a bad feeling.