Chapter Nine: The NT$70 Million Car Was Only Seven Days Away
The next day at noon, the first thing Chen Yichen did after waking up wasn't check his bank account.
It was check the message from the car dealer.
“Mr. Chen, we’ve reserved your three o’clock appointment today. The vehicle will be waiting in the private showroom area.”
A photo was attached below.
Dark gray body.
Carbon-fiber package.
The entire car was parked in a dim space, with only a few strips of white light shining down from the ceiling.
The photo didn’t show the price.
But Chen Yichen knew.
Over NT$70 million.
It was the most expensive car he’d seen so far.
If it had been ten days ago, that number would have been no different from NT$700 million to him.
Either way, it was something he couldn’t touch.
Now it was different.
NT$70 million meant seven days.
Not even seven days.
He already had over NT$50 million in his account.
Another ten million dollars tonight.
Another ten million dollars tomorrow night.
Barely two days.
Chen Yichen sat on the edge of the bed and suddenly felt that the world was becoming very strange.
In the past, whether something was expensive depended on its price.
Now, whether something was expensive depended on how many days he had to wait.
He opened his banking app.
NT$58,247,903.
Last night’s ten million dollars was still there.
After looking at it, he closed the app.
He didn’t take a screenshot.
He didn’t check it again.
It had already become a very ordinary action.
Just like checking the weather every morning used to be.
At 2:20 p.m., Chen Yichen didn’t drive himself.
The dealer sent a luxury sedan to pick him up.
The driver took him all the way to the back entrance of the showroom.
It wasn’t the main entrance where ordinary customers came and went.
There was a black glass door in the back.
When it opened, a salesperson was already waiting inside.
“Mr. Chen, right this way.”
“That car is in there?”
“That’s right.”
“Why isn’t it outside?”
“Because this specification isn’t on public display, and there’s only one allocation left in the country.”
The elevator descended underground.
When the doors opened, they revealed a completely different space.
There was none of the floor-to-ceiling glass found in ordinary showrooms.
No passersby.
Not even any other customers.
Only three cars were displayed in the entire space.
The one in the very center was the car from yesterday’s photo.
Chen Yichen slowed his steps.
The real thing was even more outrageous than the photo.
The front end was low.
The wheel arches nearly hugged the tires.
The rear wing was far larger than anything normally seen on public roads.
The interior looked nothing like that of an ordinary car, either.
Carbon fiber everywhere.
Almost no unnecessary decoration.
Even the door-handle placement was different from the car he drove now.
The salesperson walked over to it.
“With all the options, the current total is NT$76.8 million.”
Chen Yichen said nothing.
NT$76.8 million.
About seven and a half days.
He really had started converting prices that way.
“Why did the original customer pass on it?”
“Their financial arrangements changed unexpectedly.”
“Can I buy it outright?”
“Yes, but because this is a special allocation, we need confirmation today.”
“Today?”
“That’s right.”
Chen Yichen glanced at him.
In the past, hearing something like that would have made him think the salesperson was pressuring him into a purchase.
Now, he didn’t care.
Whether he bought it had nothing to do with pressure.
It only depended on whether he liked it.
“Can I sit in it?”
“Of course.”
The door opened.
Chen Yichen climbed inside.
The seat was hard.
The seating position was low.
It was completely different from the supercar he’d bought a few days ago.
This car didn’t have nearly as many comfortable features.
It was more like a race car that happened to be street-legal.
“Would driving this every day be exhausting?”
The salesperson smiled.
“If you commuted in it every day, it wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable.”
“Then what do people buy it for?”
“Collecting, mountain runs, the track, or simply because they like it.”
Simply because they like it.
Those four words made Chen Yichen pause.
In the past, whenever he bought something, he asked a lot of questions.
Was it practical?
Was it durable?
Would it hold its value?
Was the cost-performance ratio good?
Now he was gradually realizing that some things had never existed for the sake of practicality.
A car worth over NT$70 million was one of them.
If you were still asking about its fuel economy, you simply weren’t its customer.
Chen Yichen got out of the car.
He walked around it once.
“How much do I need to pay today?”
The salesperson immediately perked up.
“If you confirm the allocation, you can pay a ten percent deposit first.”
“No need.”
“Excuse me?”
“How much is the full amount?”
The salesperson visibly froze.
“Seventy-six point eight million.”
“I don’t have that much in my account right now.”
The salesperson’s expression shifted for an instant.
But Chen Yichen continued, “I can pay it in two days.”
The other man paused for half a second.
“Two days?”
“Yeah.”
“If you pay the deposit today, I can confirm with the company. Holding it for two days won’t be a problem.”
“Then I’ll pay ten million dollars first.”
The salesperson stared at him.
“A ten-million-dollar deposit?”
“That’s right.”
“Sure. Of course.”
Chen Yichen pulled out his phone.
Ten million dollars.
Bank transfer.
Successful.
A little over NT$48 million remained.
After the salesperson confirmed the deposit, his attitude was completely different from before.
“Mr. Chen, I’ll go ahead and prepare the rest of the delivery paperwork for you.”
“Okay.”
“There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“We’re holding a brand event soon, and it’s by invitation only for owners. If you’re interested, I can reserve a spot for you.”
“What kind of event?”
“A private track day.”
“Can I drive this?”
“Yes.”
Chen Yichen looked at the car.
That actually caught his interest.
“When is it?”
“Next month.”
“Save me a spot.”
“Will do.”
By the time he left the showroom, it was nearly five.
The driver took him home as usual.
Sitting in the back seat, Chen Yichen looked at his phone.
NT$48,247,903.
He’d just paid ten million dollars.
In the past, if he’d seen his account suddenly drop by ten million dollars, his mind might have gone blank.
Now he had only one thought.
It would be replenished tonight.
That was really all there was to it.
As soon as he got home, his dedicated private-banking advisor called again.
The man’s name was Huang Ziwei.
His voice was steady.
“Hello, Mr. Chen. I’m the advisor who’ll be handling your private-banking services from now on.”
“Yeah.”
“I’d like to schedule a time to meet with you, mainly to learn about your current asset-allocation needs.”
Chen Yichen sat down on the couch.
“I don’t have much allocated.”
“So most of your assets are currently held in cash?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we can actually do some basic planning. When the cash position is too high, the efficiency of your funds is relatively low.”
Chen Yichen almost laughed.
The efficiency of his funds.
If the man knew that his cash increased by ten million dollars on its own every day, he probably wouldn’t tell him to improve its efficiency.
“What I need right now is convenient payment access.”
“Payments?”
“Large payments.”
“Real estate?”
“Houses, cars, maybe other things in the future.”
The man paused.
“Then we can help you handle large transfers, fund allocation, and some exclusive credit limits.”
“How much can I transfer in one day?”
“If you apply in advance, the limit can be adjusted.”
“Even hundreds of millions?”
“If the account has sufficient funds and the purpose is confirmed in advance, we can generally arrange it.”
After hearing that, Chen Yichen only replied, “Good.”
What he needed now wasn’t a return on investment.
He needed to stop hitting transfer limits every time he bought something.
“Also, Mr. Chen, if you have any major-asset purchasing needs, such as overseas assets, a private jet, or a yacht, we have a specialized team that can assist you.”
At that, Chen Yichen sat up a little straighter.
“You handle private jets, too?”
“Not necessarily by providing them directly through the bank, but we can assist with cross-border payments, financing, insurance, and related advisory resources.”
This was the first time Chen Yichen realized that once money reached a certain level, the services a bank provided were no longer limited to issuing cards and accepting deposits.
Even if you wanted to buy a plane, someone could help you with it.
“Then prepare the information for me.”
“Which part?”
“Private jets.”
There was about a one-second pause on the other end of the phone.
“Are you planning to purchase one soon?”
“I’m just looking.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t make it too small.”
It was another sentence he would never have been able to say in the past.
Now it came naturally.
At seven that evening, Xu Mingjie messaged him again.
“There’s a get-together this Friday. A few people in branding, construction, and entertainment will be there. You free?”
Chen Yichen looked at the message.
In the past, when people said “some business owners will be there,” he might have thought it sounded impressive.
Now his first reaction was instead:
How rich are these people?
It wasn’t contempt.
He was simply curious.
Because the people he’d been meeting lately were increasingly different.
Car dealers.
Luxury-mansion real estate agents.
Private banking.
High-end luxury consultants.
The worlds that had once been far beyond his reach were drawing closer, layer by layer.
He replied:
“Sure.”
Xu Mingjie sent another message almost immediately.
“I’ll send you the address.”
Below it was the name of a private club.
Chen Yichen searched it.
There was no public reservation information.
Even the website was bare-bones.
He suddenly felt a little excited.
Not because he wanted to meet influencers.
He wanted to see whether gatherings of truly rich people were anything like what he’d imagined.
A little after nine that night, Zhang Jiahao called him after getting off work.
“What?”
“Just got off work. I’m dead tired.”
“You’re still working overtime?”
“No shit. How else am I supposed to make money?”
The moment he said that, both sides fell silent.
Chen Yichen suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
He used to say that every day.
Now it already sounded a little unfamiliar.
“What about you today?” Zhang Jiahao asked.
“Looking at cars.”
“Again?”
“Yeah.”
“How much?”
“Over seventy-six million.”
Zhang Jiahao didn’t curse right away.
Instead, he asked first, “You bought it?”
“Paid ten million up front.”
“Ten million dollars?”
“Yeah.”
“What about the rest?”
“I’ll pay it in two days.”
Zhang Jiahao was silent for several seconds.
“Yichen.”
“What?”
“Can you be honest with me?”
Chen Yichen said nothing.
“I seriously don’t understand the way you’re spending money now.”
“I know.”
“A few days ago, you were still making a little over forty thousand a month like me. Now you’re buying a car worth over seventy million.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you think this is insane?”
“I do.”
“Then how can you be so calm?”
The question made Chen Yichen pause.
He looked out at the night view beyond the living room.
“Because I know the money will come back.”
There was silence on the other end.
“You said that again.”
“Yeah.”
“How exactly does it come back?”
Chen Yichen took a deep breath.
He almost told him the truth right then.
But in the end, he held back.
“Wait until a month has passed.”
“Fuck, what kind of magic does this month have?”
“It’s not that the month has magic.”
“Then what?”
“I want to know whether it’ll stay the same for thirty days straight.”
Zhang Jiahao immediately pressed him. “What’ll stay the same?”
Chen Yichen smiled.
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
“Damn.”
Zhang Jiahao cursed several times on the other end of the phone.
They chatted a little longer before hanging up.
At 11:58 p.m., Chen Yichen sat in the living room.
Three sets of car keys lay on the table.
One belonged to the car that hadn’t been delivered yet, the one worth nearly NT$50 million.
The NT$76.8-million car was still only an order.
Looking at those things, Chen Yichen suddenly realized something.
How long had it even been?
He was already starting to lose track of how much he’d spent.
Over NT$4 million.
Over NT$14 million.
Over NT$48 million.
Another ten million dollars paid up front today.
Add in the watch, rent, furniture, restaurants, and offer deposit.
The total had long since passed NT$100 million.
A man who used to make NT$41,000 a month had spent over NT$100 million in less than half a month.
And he still hadn’t gone bankrupt.
In fact, in another minute, he would have another ten million dollars.
11:59.
He stared at his phone.
Midnight.
The screen lit up.
General Deposit: NT$10,000,000.
New balance:
NT$58,109,462.
Chen Yichen glanced at it once.
Then he opened the calculator.
NT$76.8 million.
Subtract the ten million dollars already paid.
NT$66.8 million still owed.
He had a little over NT$58 million now.
After midnight tomorrow, he’d have a little over NT$68 million.
Enough.
He suddenly smiled.
So he didn’t even need two days.
Just one more day.
A car worth over NT$70 million.
In the past, it had belonged to another universe.
Now it was something he could—
pay off after midnight tomorrow night.
Chen Yichen closed the calculator.
He sat silently on the couch for a while.
For the first time, he clearly felt that he was no longer “spending money he’d suddenly received.”
He was using a cash flow with no visible end.
And as long as that cash flow kept going, all those prices that had once represented class, status, and unreachable distance in this world—
would ultimately boil down to one question.
How many days would he have to wait?