The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 163: The Girl in the Luxury Car
“Why the rush?” the girl asked curiously as soon as she got into the car. They had only just finished lunch when William’s car stopped downstairs.
In a neighborhood like this, people’s understanding of luxury cars basically still came from television or auto shows. They had never seen one from such a close distance.
Some children even wanted to step forward and touch the mirror-like bodywork that could reflect a person’s silhouette, only to be grabbed at once by the adults behind them.
God knew how much money they would have to pay if they left a mark on the body of a car like this. Weren’t there always stories about someone doing some insignificant little thing and then being tormented half to death by capitalists?
They did not want their children to ruin the whole family because of one itchy hand. They could only stand off to the side and watch, curious and jealous.
All of this reached its peak when Eleanor arrived. In this era, never mind neighbors door to door, even people on the same street could be called neighbors, because they really knew one another.
When they watched Eleanor, someone they all knew, stuff her suitcase into the luggage compartment behind the spare tire of that luxury car, then watched her step into the car, their mouths nearly failed to close.
It had to be said that even Eleanor had a little vanity in her. Especially when she sat in the car under people’s envious, jealous gazes, and under those looks full of malicious speculation, she felt very happy.
This was not a mistake, much less a sin. People were born with these things in their bones: vanity.
William had once had it too. Only after he finally saw through people and life did that most primitive need gradually fade.
The scenery around them began to move. The car soon disappeared from this ordinary neighborhood. But very soon, some people began visiting Eleanor’s mother. Perhaps, as neighbors, they might also be able to gain some benefit from this matter.
After the car started, she asked with great curiosity. He had called in the morning, and by noon they were leaving. This did not quite resemble the lives of upper-class people on television. Those people always arranged every day of the next half month in advance.
Every day, they only had to do things according to the times recorded in their little notebooks. Rarely would something happen like today, as if it were an emergency.
William explained briefly. “My branch in Currilan will hold its first consignment auction on Friday night. It’s critical. I have to see it with my own eyes before I can feel at ease.”
Eleanor knew what he meant by “the consignment auction.” During this period, television and newspapers had mentioned it almost constantly. It was also one of the main policies being pushed by the local mayor.
From Eleanor’s point of view, this was indeed a good thing. Spending less money to satisfy necessary daily consumption reduced expenses and eased the pressure of life for families already in straitened circumstances.
Her father had even attended the consignment auction and brought back a belt and a baking pan, though that baking pan had been used only once, right after it was bought, and only that once.
The reason William valued the Currilan consignment auction was that this auction would determine the investors’ final attitude. If Currilan City’s consignment auction succeeded, it would prove that the picture William had painted for them earlier was not false. It was real and could be achieved.
Facts would break through their hesitation and make them transfer money into William’s account as quickly as possible, as a fact of cooperation. Otherwise, it would not be long before they might not even get a sip of soup.
Sometimes people really did hate proxies like Mark, but more often, they represented a kind of investment weather vane. Any business they interfered with was difficult to lose money on, at least while they held shares.
Eleanor only knew the surface of these things and did not know much about the deeper layers. She merely gave a casual response, then quickly turned her attention to the books she had brought with her about how to adapt to university life.
Yes, How to Quickly Break Into the University Social Scene was a bestseller. The author was a member of the Sacred Harmony Society, and also a very famous queen of the social scene. Her book had practically become an essential volume owned by most students who had decided to attend university.
It described in detail how “an ordinary girl” transformed herself during university and ultimately became a star of upper society. It also introduced certain matters one needed to pay attention to in the social circuit, as well as methods for opening up a situation.
Whether or not this author had hidden in the book her identity as the daughter of a certain magnate-director, or hidden the fact that her mother belonged to the senior leadership of a certain bank, there were at least some social decorum and contents in it that were not wrong.
Eleanor read with great focus. She longed deeply for university life. Girls her age, including the previous William, were in fact all full of yearning for university.
It was not only a temple of knowledge, but a place capable of remaking one’s life. Unfortunately, some people could never go back.
William glanced at the girl’s profile, then turned his attention to the scenery outside the window.
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