Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Looking Down on My Bare Wrists?

Shanghai’s National Gold Center!

Su Chen swiftly parked his car in the garage and took the elevator straight to the first floor.

Su Chen’s objective was simple: Richard Mille and Patek Philippe. Both stores were on the first floor of the National Gold Center.

Richard Mille! The reason Su Chen made it his first choice was because he had looked them up online. He saw several designs that were very nice, fitting his aesthetic and personal style.

As soon as he walked into the Richard Mille boutique, a flash of surprise crossed Su Chen’s eyes.

He had expected the store to be filled with all kinds of Richard Mille watches. Instead... he walked in to find that the boutique was set up like a typical reception lounge, with only three or four scattered tables.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" A middle-aged man in a sharp suit came forward to greet him.

"I’m here to look at watches. But your store..." Su Chen glanced around, asking with some confusion.

The middle-aged man didn’t explain immediately. Instead, he sized up Su Chen’s attire and his empty wrists.

The man’s gaze made Su Chen’s brow furrow slightly. He got a strange feeling he couldn’t quite place.

"Excuse me, sir, but you’ve probably never been to a Richard Mille boutique before, have you?" The middle-aged man’s attitude seemed to have shifted slightly.

"Mmm, this is my first time."

Hearing this, the man didn’t say much. He led Su Chen to a table, grabbing a thick brochure along the way.

"If I may ask, sir, what is your price range?" the middle-aged man asked as soon as they were seated.

When Su Chen heard this, he couldn’t help but scoff internally. ’What the hell? I haven’t even seen what the watches look like and you’re already asking how much money I have?’

’Does he think I’m just here to browse and look around for fun?’

Su Chen wasn’t about to indulge this kind of prejudice. He stated directly, "Anything under one hundred million, I can accept."

The moment he said it, not only was the middle-aged man stunned, but even the other staff members chatting in the distance were dumbfounded.

’Under a hundred million? He really dares to say anything, what a braggart!’

Everyone thought Su Chen was just talking big. He must have done his homework beforehand and knew what the situation in their store was like.

"Heh heh... Sir, you must be joking," the middle-aged man said with a hollow laugh.

Seeing this, Su Chen didn’t bother to explain. If he did, it would seem like he was desperate to buy one of their watches.

Seeing Su Chen’s serious expression, the middle-aged man quickly opened the brochure in his hands and placed it in front of him.

"Sir, you can take a look. The watches in this brochure are what we currently have for sale. See if there are any styles you like."

Looking at the brochure, Su Chen didn’t dwell on the earlier matter and began flipping through it casually.

Generally speaking, Richard Mille watches came in two types. One was the square type, with a square-shaped watch face, usually priced from several hundred thousand to around a million.

The other type was the barrel-shaped one, which Su Chen preferred. The prices for these varied wildly, from one or two million for the cheaper ones to over twenty million for the expensive ones. The range was quite large.

"This RM 56-01, the sapphire crystal model, do you have it in stock?" Su Chen asked, pointing at a white watch priced at fifteen million in the brochure.

"In stock? I’m sorry, sir, but that watch is not currently in stock. If you really want it, you can fill out an application form, submit your information, and wait for a while."

Fill out a form and submit information?

Su Chen thought about it for a moment and understood. ’So it’s basically about proving my net worth.’

"How long is the wait?"

"If it’s fast, it could be just a few months. If it’s slow, it might be about a year," the middle-aged man answered truthfully.

In reality, there was nothing to be done about it. Richard Mille produced fewer than five thousand watches annually. Once those were distributed among the various models and sent to boutiques worldwide, a single store would be lucky to even have one piece.

"I have to wait that long?" Su Chen had never imagined that buying a watch could be so much trouble.

"Mmm, you could also look at other models. Like these few at the front, we have them in stock. No waiting required."

Su Chen looked at the watches worth several hundred thousand that the man was pointing to, but he couldn’t muster the slightest bit of interest.

"Do all the ones over two million require a wait?"

"Yes, sir."

Upon hearing this, Su Chen’s expression soured. ’So you’re telling me that even if I’m throwing money at you, it’s still not enough?’

He had the urge to slap his phone down in front of the middle-aged man and show him his balance of over one hundred million!

’But then again, forget it,’ he thought. ’Even if I showed him, they still don’t have the watch to sell me.’

Actually, as one of the shareholders of the Richemont Group, it would be quite simple for Su Chen to get a watch. For example, the Richemont Group owned Vacheron Constantin, a world-class luxury watch brand.

Su Chen had looked at Vacheron Constantin’s watches before, but he just hadn’t seen a style he liked.

"Alright then. Thanks for your time." Su Chen didn’t want to waste any more time. He gave the man a nod, stood up, and left.

After Su Chen left, a salesperson sidled up. "Brother Yang, what happened? Didn’t he say he could accept anything under a hundred million? How come he just left? Don’t tell me he was just another looky-loo."

The middle-aged man, Brother Yang, didn’t respond to the salesperson. Instead, he watched through the glass as Su Chen swaggered into the Patek Philippe store. A sudden pang of regret washed over him, as if he had just lost something important.

’Maybe I really did miss out on a billionaire!’ he thought, while also silently cursing, ’Why doesn’t Richard Mille just produce more damn watches?’

Meanwhile, the moment Su Chen walked into the Patek Philippe boutique, he received a warm welcome.

He didn’t know if they were always this enthusiastic... or if it was because they saw him coming from the Richard Mille boutique. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

But he was indeed enjoying VIP service. He had been led into the VIP room right after entering.

"Hello, sir. I’m the manager here, Mi Yang. It’s a pleasure to assist you."

"Manager Mi, hello."

This surprised Su Chen. ’What’s going on? The manager himself is personally attending to me?’

For a moment, Su Chen was a bit bewildered.

But his confusion was quickly cleared up. "Sir, I saw you were at Richard Mille for quite a while just now. Did you not see a watch you liked?"

Su Chen nodded thoughtfully. "It’s not that I didn’t find one I liked, but they didn’t have it in stock. They said I’d have to wait several months."

Hearing this, Mi Yang knew what was up. A watch that required a wait of several months would cost at least several million, or even tens of millions. It seemed this gentleman had the means.

"Sir, you can look through the catalogue first. If you find something you like, we can look at a sample."

Su Chen took the catalogue and began flipping through it. He quickly found one that was to his liking.

"This 6104G White Gold Blue Starry Sky, do you have it in stock?" Seeing the blue starry sky pattern on the watch face, Su Chen instantly decided to buy it.

"We do, sir. Please wait a moment." Mi Yang was seen walking briskly toward the counter.

In just a moment, he returned carrying a large black box.

Wearing a pair of white gloves, Mi Yang carefully took out the watch and placed it on top of the box.

Su Chen only gave it a couple of quick glances before nodding. "I’ll take this watch. How much?"

"Sir, the current list price for this watch is 2.93 million." Mi Yang was also quite surprised by Su Chen’s decisiveness.

"Just run the card." As he spoke, Su Chen took his bank card from his wallet and handed it to Mi Yang.

Mi Yang was a bit surprised to see Su Chen’s ordinary-looking card, but he took the POS machine and ran the card anyway.

When he heard the CLICK of the card machine, Mi Yang let out a sigh of relief.

After paying, Su Chen put the watch directly on his wrist. He admired it for a few moments; it was indeed very nice.

As for the watch’s boxes... things like the watch winder, warranty card, and so on were all packed into a bag, ready for him to carry out.

At the entrance of the Patek Philippe boutique!

"Sir, this is my business card. Please feel free to call me anytime you need to purchase a watch in the future," Mi Yang said, respectfully handing over his card.

"Alright." Su Chen took the card, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.

Mi Yang watched as Su Chen gradually walked away, a smile appearing on his face...