How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 548

Just as the world was buzzing about Yang Chen’s success, he was relaxing on the rooftop garden of his Tomson Riviera apartment, sipping red wine while Wang Qianni massaged his shoulders.

“So, how’s everything going with your studio, Qianni?” Yang Chen asked.

Wang Qianni giggled. “Hehe… thanks to your support, the future looks incredibly bright. I’ve got celebrities and even LV designers backing me. The CEO of LV even paid a visit! How could I not succeed? Thank you, darling. Here’s a reward for you. Anything you want. What do you say?”

Yang Chen raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure this is a reward for me, or for you?”

Wang Qianni playfully straddled Yang Chen’s lap. “We’re past that stage, aren’t we? Why are we still drawing lines between ‘you’ and ‘me’? Shouldn’t it be me *in* you, and you *in* me?”

Yang Chen was momentarily speechless.

*As expected of the most ruthless of all his confidantes,* he thought, *even her words are so direct.*

Yang Chen scooped Wang Qianni up in his arms and headed downstairs, wanting to avoid being seen on the rooftop.

Later that afternoon, Yang Chen decided to drive for ride-sharing to pass the time.

His first destination was the IFC [International Finance Center, a prominent shopping mall], and his female passenger immediately urged him to hurry. “Handsome, please drive faster! I’m in a rush to get in line for something.”

Yang Chen nodded. “Okay. What are you buying that requires queuing, Miss?”

Passenger: “LV’s new handbag.”

Yang Chen’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but ask, “LV’s new handbag? What kind of handbag is it?”

The female passenger showed Yang Chen a photo on her phone.

*Damn,* he thought. *Isn’t that the canvas bag I casually designed at Lou Wai Lou by West Lake [a famous restaurant and scenic spot in Hangzhou] when the LV’s eldest princess asked me to design something for middle-aged women to use when buying groceries?*

At the time, Yang Chen had felt obligated to accept the request from LV’s eldest princess, but he didn’t want to create new products that would exploit Chinese consumers, so he had come up with the design on the spot. He never imagined it would become popular.

Yang Chen asked, “Miss, are you sure you need to queue to buy that canvas bag?”

Passenger: “Yes! This canvas bag is super popular. You can’t get it without waiting in line. 588 yuan [approximately $80 USD] is a steal, especially since it’s an LV canvas bag. It’s quite respectable to carry around.”

Yang Chen countered, “But it’s just a canvas bag. The cost price is only a few yuan. Are you sure it’s worth spending 588 yuan to buy it?”

Passenger: “Haha… you don’t understand, do you? If it were just an ordinary canvas bag, it would only be worth a few yuan. But it’s an LV canvas bag! 588 is practically giving it away. It’s perfect for those who want to experience a touch of LV luxury without breaking the bank. Ah, of course, I’m not short of money to buy a better bag. I’m buying it for my mom to use when she goes grocery shopping.”

*Damn it,* Yang Chen thought, *who can understand this logic? My original intention in making such a design was to prevent LV from exploiting the intelligence and wealth of the Chinese people.*

After all, who in their right mind would spend 588 yuan on a canvas bag worth only a few yuan?

But Yang Chen had seriously underestimated the intelligence and vanity of the Chinese people. A canvas bag selling for 588 yuan was flying off the shelves, with people lining up to buy it. How could anyone make sense of that?

“Sigh… I’m disheartened,” Yang Chen muttered under his breath.

LV was making a fortune, and Yang Chen’s dividends would increase as a result, so he should be happy.

But seeing the intelligence and vanity of the Chinese people reaching such an outrageous level still broke his heart.

*When will things get back to normal?*

All the people queuing up to buy this canvas bag were, in a sense, poor.

Why?

Because the truly wealthy were VIPs. Whenever new products were released, the staff would notify them in advance. If VIP customers wanted something, the staff would deliver it to their door or arrange a private shopping experience. They would never need to queue.

The longer the line, the more it revealed the prevalence of vanity among those who couldn’t truly afford it.

How could Yang Chen not be sad?

He desperately wanted to earn respect for Dragon Country [a common, patriotic nickname for China] on the international stage, and he was unwilling to concede even the smallest advantage. He would rather risk his own reputation than let those international giants take advantage.

Why?

Beyond the money, it was about ensuring that the world didn’t dare to underestimate Dragon Country.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t overcome these “pig teammates” [a derogatory term for unhelpful or counterproductive people]. Wouldn’t this just give foreigners more ammunition to ridicule them after the foreign media exposed it?

“What are you sad about? Do you want to buy one too, but you’re hesitant to spend the money?” the passenger asked with a smile.

Yang Chen replied, “I’m sad that people are actually queuing up to spend 588 yuan on a canvas bag. I bet this news will be all over the internet soon, and netizens will definitely criticize it.”

Passenger: “Haha… that’s perfectly normal. Every time LV releases new products, the ‘poor people’ will complain. But what does it matter? We’ll still buy what we want, and LV will still sell what they want. They’re poor and can’t understand the lives of us ‘rich people’. For them, buying LV is about vanity and showing off, but for us, it’s just normal consumption. It’s like someone who earns a million yuan a month. They spend at least 100,000 or more on entertaining clients and other social activities. For them, it’s a normal business expense, not extravagance. But for some ‘poor people’, spending 100,000 a month on socializing is unimaginable. We live in different worlds, so it’s natural that they don’t understand. If we lived according to their consumption habits and aesthetics, what would be the point? They don’t deserve that. Don’t you think so?”

*Damn,* Yang Chen thought, *her words are flawless. I can’t find a single flaw in her argument.*

She had framed it as “normal consumption,” so what could he say?

Yang Chen smiled and nodded, saying, “You make a good point. But I still believe that when buying things, you should consider their actual value and avoid excessive extravagance.”

Passenger: “When you have money in the future, you’ll understand.”

*Have money?* Yang Chen scoffed inwardly.

When it came to personal wealth, who was richer than Yang Chen?

This wasn’t about how much money you had, but about your consumption values. Otherwise, Wang Nianming wouldn’t have uttered the classic line, “I have money, but I’m not sick.”

Shortly after, they arrived at the IFC.

Yang Chen parked the car and went inside to check out the queue.

Good heavens, there were already two long lines outside the LV store.

Yang Chen walked toward the entrance, and the female passenger, who was already in line, waved at him. “Handsome, are you here to watch the show?”

Yang Chen: “I’m here to see how popular this canvas bag really is.”

Female passenger: “Then you’ve seen it now, right? Is it popular?”

Yang Chen smiled and nodded. “It’s definitely more popular than I imagined. Come on, I’ll take you inside. No need to queue.”

Female passenger: “Haha… this is LV, not a supermarket. Only VIP customers can skip the line. Everyone else has to wait. Are you a VIP customer?”

Yang Chen shook his head. “Not really.”

Female passenger: “So, even if you’re not buying anything, you still have to queue just to take a look.”

Yang Chen: “I’m one of the owners of LV. I don’t need to queue. Let’s go, I’ll take you in.”

Female passenger: “Stop joking. I just took your ride-sharing car. How did you suddenly become the owner of LV?”

Yang Chen: “Driving a ride-sharing car is just a hobby for me. Are you coming in or not? If not, I’ll go in myself.”

With that, Yang Chen walked toward the store entrance.

The female passenger didn’t believe that Yang Chen was one of the owners of LV. She just smiled, not following him.

But when she saw the LV staff bowing respectfully to welcome Yang Chen into the store, her eyes widened in shock.

“Wow, he really is one of the owners of LV?” the female passenger muttered to herself, and she quickly sprinted toward the entrance.

“Handsome, handsome, wait a minute! Please take me in with you!” the female passenger shouted.

Yang Chen glanced back at her and said to the staff member beside him, “Let her in.”

The staff member nodded and quickly ushered the female passenger inside.

The people in line were not happy. They weren’t VIPs either, so why did she get to skip the line?

“What’s going on? I’ve been queuing for over half an hour. What do you mean by this? No need to queue?”

“I overheard him saying he wasn’t a VIP, that he was one of the owners of LV, and you let him in? I can say I’m one of the owners of LV too. Will you let me in as well?”

“Going through the back door, using connections, right? Then just tell us we can use connections, and we can find some too, so we don’t have to queue here.”

The staff member quickly explained, “He wasn’t lying. He really is one of our bosses. He’s Mr. Yang Chen, the second-largest shareholder of LVMH Group, and also the designer of the canvas bag. Therefore, he can enter the store at any time without having to queue like everyone else.”

The queuing customers instantly erupted, pulling out their phones to take pictures of Yang Chen.

“You’re Boss Yang? Wow, so young and handsome? I thought someone with this kind of ability would be an old man.”

“Boss Yang, you’re my idol! You forced Pfizer and Merck to withdraw from the Dragon Country market. You’re amazing!”

“I was wondering why I found this canvas bag so appealing. It turns out it was designed by Boss Yang. What does that mean? It means my taste aligns with Boss Yang’s!”

Yang Chen was speechless. If his taste was at this level, he’d be embarrassed to show his face.

“Thank you for your support. I really didn’t expect everyone to be so enthusiastic about buying it, because I thought 588 yuan for a canvas bag was too expensive, and not many people would be willing to pay for it. It seems I’m still too naive and underestimated everyone’s spending power,” Yang Chen said diplomatically.

“This isn’t just an ordinary canvas bag. It’s an LV canvas bag, and it was designed by Boss Yang. 588 yuan isn’t expensive at all. I even think it’s cheap. It should be priced at 5888 yuan [approximately $800 USD].”

“That’s right. If the price is too low, how can it reflect the prestige of LV?”

“Boss Yang, please come up with more designs in the future. I’ll definitely buy them.”

Yang Chen laughed and said, “No, no, I may have really underestimated your spending power, and I won’t be giving LV any more designs in the future.”

In reality, what Yang Chen meant was that he had overestimated these people’s intelligence. No matter how bizarre or ridiculous the designs were, as long as they bore the LV brand, these people would blindly buy them.

Yang Chen’s plan to prevent these people from being exploited through vulgar designs wouldn’t work, so he decided to let them be.

“Ah! Does that mean this canvas bag is a limited-edition design by Boss Yang?”

“Wow, Boss Yang’s swan song! I only wanted to buy one color, but now I have to buy all three colors. Otherwise, I won’t be able to buy Boss Yang’s designs in the future.”

“That makes sense. I have to get all three colors. I must support Boss Yang.”

Yang Chen was at a loss for words.

*Sigh…* he thought.

*They are beyond help.*

Yang Chen was too lazy to engage with them further. He turned around and went inside to pick out some gifts.

He was about to return to Beijing, so he should buy some gifts for his confidantes in Hai City.

The store manager personally approached Yang Chen and said, “Hello, Mr. Yang. What would you like to see?”

Yang Chen: “Ladies’ bags. New models.”

Store manager: “Okay, Mr. Yang, please follow me. These two just arrived. See if you like them.”

Yang Chen: “I think the styles are similar. There’s no big difference. Just these two. Take five of each.”

Wang Jiayi, Wang Qianni, Yuan Xiaozhao, Tang Xia, Chen Qingxia, Yu Shishi, Lin Yiren, Cheng Junjun, and he’d reward Jin Ming and his cousin Li Xiaofei with one each. Ten bags were just enough.

Store manager: “Okay.”

Yang Chen: “I’ll leave the addresses with you later, and you can have someone send them to me according to the address, one to each address.”

Store manager: “…”

Yang Chen: “Is there a problem?”

Store manager: “No, no.”

Clearly, the store manager was taken aback by Yang Chen’s words. One to each address? Did that mean there were ten?

*Sure enough, a man’s true colors,* the store manager thought.

The store manager led Yang Chen to the cashier, brought paper and pen, and handed them to Yang Chen.

Yang Chen wrote down the ten addresses and handed them to the store manager, instructing, “Just say it’s from me. Don’t say anything else.”

Store manager: “Understood!”

Yang Chen: “How much?”

Store manager: “A total of 1.28 million yuan [approximately $175,000 USD].”

Yang Chen took out his 畅购 [Chang Gou, a fictional high-end credit card] card, and the store manager quickly took it and swiped it.

After signing, the store manager quickly escorted Yang Chen out of the store with several staff members.

At that moment, the official media finally reported the news of people queuing to spend 588 yuan to buy LV canvas bags.

The official media’s evaluation was “Stupid and vain,” and Yang Chen could only smile helplessly at the assessment.

In the evening, the confidantes successively received the bags, and each sent messages or called to thank Yang Chen, also inviting him to come over that night.

Yang Chen wished he could be in multiple places at once to satisfy them all.

He decided to visit whoever he was closest to when he finished work that night.

At 10:30 PM, Yang Chen dropped off a passenger at their destination and was about to call it a night when a masked man jumped into the car and pointed something that looked like a gun at the back of his head.

“Drive! Hurry up!” the man demanded.

*Damn,* Yang Chen thought, *did I just encounter an escaped criminal or a robber?*

The bodyguards in the car behind him noticed something was wrong and quickly got out to investigate.

Yang Chen, worried that their presence would agitate the man behind him, quickly stepped on the gas and sped away.

“Brother, relax. I can’t see your face. Don’t kill me, okay? I’ll take you wherever you want to go. Okay?” Yang Chen pleaded.

The man sniffed and said, “Stop talking nonsense and just drive. I won’t hurt you. But if you try anything funny, my bullets won’t discriminate.”

Yang Chen: “Understood.”

Just then, the man’s phone rang.

He answered the phone and cursed, “Where the hell are you? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me outside in the car?”

Other party: “I was parked outside waiting for you, but a patrol car came by, and I was worried they’d get suspicious, so I drove off. When I came back, you were already gone. I heard police sirens. They must have called the police. Where are you now?”

Man: “I don’t know where I am. I’m not familiar with this place. I’m hanging up. I’ll contact you when I’m settled. Be careful not to get caught.”

Other party: “Okay, got it. How much did you get?”

Man: “I don’t know. In this kind of emergency, how can I count how much I robbed? Hanging up. I’m not saying anything else.”

The man hung up the phone and muttered, “Damn, unreliable! If I had relied on you to pick me up, I would have been caught by the police long ago. Anyway, you’re useless. Don’t blame me for being greedy. I’m not giving you a single cent.”

Yang Chen realized that the man had an accomplice who was supposed to pick him up but had been scared off by a police patrol car.

The man pressed the gun against the back of Yang Chen’s head again and said, “Log out of your Bilibili [a popular Chinese video-sharing website] account, turn off your phone, and turn off the in-car video and audio recording.”

Yang Chen: “Okay, I’ll do as you say. Brother, don’t get excited. I’m especially afraid that your hand will shake and give me a bullet.”

Man: “Haha… don’t worry. I still need you to take me out of Hai City. I definitely won’t hurt you. As long as you take me to Hangzhou, I’ll give you two gold bracelets and two gold necklaces. I definitely won’t treat you badly.”

Yang Chen: “Thank you, brother, but I don’t need it. I can’t take things you risked your life for.”

Man: “It’s okay. You’re also risking your life for these things now. If I give it to you, you have to take it.”

Yang Chen: “The main thing is that I don’t need it. For so little money, if I’m mistaken for your accomplice, I’d be wronged.”

The man laughed and said, “Wow, you’re quite the talker for a ride-sharing driver. Giving you a few bracelets and necklaces, worth at least 100,000 or 80,000 yuan [approximately $13,700 USD]. And you call that so little money?”

Yang Chen: “Ah? Only 100,000 or 80,000? Wow, I thought it would be worth a million or eighty million. I overestimated it. Then I can’t take it even more. If I’m mistaken for your accomplice for 100,000 yuan, my friends and relatives will laugh at me.”

These words made the man unhappy, and he said, “Why are you so good at bragging? How much money can a ride-sharing driver have? You don’t possibly want me to give you all of it, right?”

Yang Chen: “Then how much are these things worth in total?”

The man hadn’t counted carefully when he robbed the place, but when he went in to scout, he roughly estimated that the value of the goldware inside was about 8 to 10 million yuan [approximately $1.1 – 1.4 million USD].

“About 10 million,” the man said.

Yang Chen: “Wow, brother, not that I’m saying, but it’s not worth risking your life for a mere 10 million! You can earn 10 million doing anything. Why do you need to rob? This amount could get you life imprisonment, or even the death penalty. Did you kill anyone?”

Man: “I don’t know if he’s dead, but I gave him a shot in the stomach anyway.”

Yang Chen: “Then you’re definitely getting the death penalty. You say you risked your life for just 10 million. Is it really worth it?”

The reason Yang Chen dared to talk to the man like this was because he could see that he wouldn’t die within 24 hours [referencing Yang Chen’s ability to see people’s life expectancy].

And Yang Chen also had to find a way to save himself and couldn’t really become his hostage to escort him to Hangzhou.

The man was starting to doubt his life choices. “If I didn’t know you were a ride-sharing driver, listening to your tone, I would have thought your family owned a bank. You don’t even care about 10 million?”

Yang Chen: “Of course, I don’t care about it.”

Saying that, Yang Chen pulled the car over to the side of the road.

The man panicked and asked, “What are you doing? Who told you to stop the car?”

Yang Chen: “Don’t get excited, don’t get excited. Didn’t you tell me to turn off the video, audio, phone, etc.? How can I turn them off while driving?”

Man: “Give me the phone. I’ll turn it off for you. You turn off the others.”

Yang Chen nodded and handed the phone to the man.

At that moment, a bank in Switzerland sent a text message reminding Yang Chen that 500 million US dollars had been credited to his account, and the balance was more than 36 billion US dollars.

The robber stared at the two long numbers, falling into contemplation…