Ning Qian indeed has the capital to look down on her peers.
She hurriedly stopped at the hotel entrance, slightly out of breath, her chest rising and falling continuously, her little face covered in blush: "Class monitor, my dad wants to personally thank you and invite you to dinner at our house."
Baiyu was taken aback.
It seems like Ning Qian’s family is the local wealthy gentry.
However, Zenith City is a provincial capital, teeming with powerful figures and local tyrants, the waters run deep enough to drown a whale.
Although the silly woman is clumsy in her studies, she is not genuinely foolish. If I refuse, she will definitely be upset. But her chest is full of contours, and quite deep, so she shouldn’t be too concerned over such matters.
Still, it’s not good.
Moreover, I’m unfamiliar with the surroundings in Zenith City.
Meeting with the local wealthy gentry isn’t necessarily a bad idea. I still need to go to the market for shopping, and getting more familiar won’t hurt.
Ning Qian’s home is in the Inner City District.
The buildings in Zenith City are like nesting dolls within nesting dolls.
It’s divided into the core area, the Inner City District, the Outer City District, and the surrounding district.
The core area is the key administrative area, filled with official organizations like the Martial Arts School Alliance branch, the City Lord’s Mansion, the Armed Department, the Anomaly Bureau, the Garrison Headquarters, etc., all located in the core area.
The Inner City District is the residence of dignitaries and nobility.
The Church, Bounty Hunter Association, and similar organizations are all in the Inner City District.
The East Prosperity Imperial is built on martial arts and simultaneously believes in the Holy Light Church and the Church of the God of Steam and Mechanics, allowing both factions to preach.
Though the scale of both factions is massive, they have yet to reach the level of a National Church.
The two major churches compete and restrict each other while being constrained by the Imperial forces, they must unite to resist the encroachment of other sects, and must also eliminate secretive organizations and cultists within East Prosperity Imperial, resolve mutation incidents, and so on.
It’s truly a complex web of relationships.
This is also why East Prosperity Imperial allows churches to preach.
Where there is gain, naturally there must be sacrifice.
Most of the upper echelons of the Imperial are from the iron-blood faction; after reaching the Grandmaster level in Martial Dao, their wills are as firm as iron, and the True Martial Intent is robust and complete, making them unlikely to suddenly believe in deities.
The Inner City District is quite spacious.
Those who live there are either extremely wealthy or of high nobility; perhaps there are some relatives and lovers of bigwigs, some High Tier martial artists, as well as some professors and researchers from Wuda.
Baiyu does not have an entry pass for the Inner City District.
But the guards clearly watched the broadcast of the martial exam in the morning.
So when Baiyu presented his identification, along with Ning Qian’s sponsorship, the two Tier Nine Martial Artists readily let Baiyu into the city.
The entire layout of the Inner City District is completely different from the Outer City District.
The first impression comes from the streets.
Spacious, clean, perfectly green; this is the first impression it gives people.
Next is the orderly manner.
Whether pedestrians or vehicles, they seem to be well-arranged.
The main avenue is at least forty meters wide, which is Baiyu’s initial estimation.
On both sides of the street mostly stand high-end entertainment and consumption venues, with many elegantly dressed men and women coming and going, their lives comfortable and leisurely.
"Baiyu, do you want to try the dumplings? They are stuffed with meat from the Exotic Beast, Sky Eagle Caracara!"
"This is Fire Milk, a significant supplement for martial artists."
"Deep Sea Giant Clam Pearl Milk Tea, the pearls inside are real pearls and are edible!"
Ning Qian’s big eyes sparkled with little stars.
The spirit of a food lover burned in her heart.
Along the way, she was practically eating non-stop. Whenever there was something tasty, she was sure to partake.
Having walked only a few hundred meters, she had already spent tens of thousands of dollars.
Baiyu’s envious eyes reddened.
"Is this the joy of the wealthy? Three thousand for a cup of pearl milk tea, eight thousand for a basket of Exotic Beast dumplings."
Baiyu cursed inwardly.
This woman spends without feeling the slightest pain.
No wonder her development is so good; eating every day, how could she not develop well?
Mind you, ordinary pork is just over twenty yuan per pound.
For a single dumpling, you could buy a whole pig.
"Aren’t you going to eat?"
Baiyu refused to live off a woman.
"But I’ve already bought it, and it would be such a waste to throw it away. You wouldn’t be the type to waste food, would you? Would you, would you?" Ning Qian fluttered her big eyes, revealing a pleased smile.
In her heart, this is their first time strolling the streets, their first date alone.
Naturally, she was overjoyed.
"When you put it that way, true, wasting food is disgraceful."
Baiyu comfortably reaches for two deep-fried giant black fish balls and crunched them, juice bursting in his mouth.
Indeed, food made with Exotic Beast ingredients tastes far better than regular meat.
After that, the two ate their way from south to north, dining until dusk, finally reaching the entrance of an upscale villa community.
This is the name of the residential area.
Inside are all standalone villas, one next to the other, evidently homes only for the wealthiest among the wealthy.
Just by looking at the security guards at the entrance, one could tell it’s not ordinary.
The security booth at the garden’s entrance is guarded by two Tier Nine Martial Artists.
The patrolling security team inside the garden mostly consists of Tier Nine Martial Artists, and every ten steps would have a Mechanical Patrol, achieving an over-the-top level of security.
Baiyu and Ning Qian stopped in front of Villa No. 007.
The door was opened by a middle-aged man, with a bulging belly and a hairline that was perilously low, anytime facing the crisis of a bald middle-age.
"Daughter, you’re finally back."
"Not bad, not bad, you didn’t disgrace your dad in this exam. Our Ning Family lacks martial artists, and your focus on this path will make it easier to inherit the family assets in the future."
The man smiled broadly, giving Ning Qian a thumbs-up.
One of the five elders in the Zenith Chamber of Commerce, controlling various clothing factories and processing factories in Zenith City. In the rich circles of Maple Leaf County, he stands at the pinnacle.
Ning Qian’s face was somewhat red.
Even without speaking, just by looking at Ning Fugui’s attire, exudes a nouveau riche aura.
Ning Qian was a bit worried.
Would Baiyu dislike a family as vulgar and ordinary as hers?
However, what happened next made her breathe a sigh of relief.
She saw two men embraced warmly, offering a hug as warmly as old friends meeting again, then walked side by side into the villa.
"Baiyu, the decor here might be somewhat tacky, another day I’ll take you to Qingya Pavilion for tea, we’ll truly get to know each other."
"Uncle, you’re too modest, this taste is unique, fresh and refined, having an uncommon charm."
"Hahaha, you’re too kind, too kind."
Their unexpectedly harmonious interaction made Ning Qian somewhat stunned.
She came to her senses, immediately overwhelmed with a strong sense of happiness.
"Surely Baiyu truly likes me, he’s not bothered by my vulgar, ordinary, and simple family, so happy (*^▽^*)."
She lowered her head, trying hard to keep her smile unnoticed.
The Ning Family’s house is indeed very large.
It has four floors, with an open-air swimming pool on the top floor.
Each floor is decorated like a palace, with precious Exotic Beast horns used as decorations, famous paintings, and antiques visible everywhere.
Only then did Baiyu realize.
A single building can’t even buy the first floor of someone’s villa.