Leon thought it over carefully. The other party had made huge financial concessions for him and even flew in a day early.
If he couldn't satisfy even this small request from a lady, it wouldn't be very gentlemanly.
Resigned, he immediately set off for Manhattan, specifically New York's Fifth Avenue, also known as Dream Street.
Since crossing over, this was his first time here. Even though he had accumulated some wealth now, he was still reluctant to cross the Brooklyn Bridge lightly.
There wasn't any special reason, really. In front of Manhattan's skyscrapers piercing the clouds, one inevitably feels small. The confidence built up by increased wealth vanishes instantly upon arrival.
The Empire State Building, New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Central Park—world-class landmarks were all located here.
Luxury goods here were like daily necessities; everyone had them. Even an ordinary office worker's outfit cost at least a few thousand dollars.
Almost all the world's luxury brands gathered here. According to consulting agencies, Fifth Avenue had the most expensive retail rent in the world, bar none.
Leon looked up at the towering Empire State Building and spat lightly. "You only realize you're a small fry when you get to Hollywood, and you only realize you're broke when you get to Manhattan."
He dialed Robbie's number. "Miss Robbie, I'm on Fifth Avenue."
"That was fast~ I'm waiting for you right by the Museum of the City of New York."
Heading north along Park Avenue, passing through the Upper East Side—the world's most famous wealthy neighborhood—Leon arrived near the museum.
Scanning the area, he didn't see Robbie in front of the museum.
He picked up the phone again. "Robbie, are you inside the museum?"
"No! Look nearby, there's a very conspicuous pink sign. You should be able to spot it easily!"
Pink sign?
Leon wandered around the museum and saw a huge pink sign around the corner.
"Victoria's Secret... What secret did Queen Victoria have?"
"Does starving tens of millions of people in India during her reign count as a secret?"
Accustomed to being a bottom-feeder, Leon had no concept of VS, the world's most famous high-end lingerie brand.
Plus, this PINK store was right next to the Museum of the City of New York, so he mistook it for a memorial exhibition for the victims of Queen Victoria's reign...
Watching the fashion-forward beauties going in and out of the store, Leon couldn't help but sigh. "As expected of Manhattan... the girls here really have a thirst for knowledge."
"Hey! Leon! I see you! Come over here!"
Leon looked toward the voice. Robbie was leaning halfway out of the store's giant glass doors.
Today, Robbie was as radiant as ever. She wore a pink spaghetti-strap crop top and denim hot pants that exposed half her ass cheeks.
Leon looked at the beautiful flesh spilling out of the denim and almost blurted out: What's the difference between this and underwear? Do you really need to buy underwear specifically?
But even an outfit like this didn't stand out here. Girls all over New York dressed like this in the summer.
What truly made Robbie stand out from the crowd was her sweet, human-Barbie smile.
Leon blurted out, "Didn't you say you wanted to buy underwear? Coming here right off the plane... you really love learning."
"Learning?" Robbie looked confused for a moment, then grinned mischievously after realizing his misunderstanding. "Sexiness is a process of exploration. Girls can spend a lifetime learning it."
Now it was Leon's turn to be confused. Did Queen Victoria's bloated body have anything to do with the word "sexy"?
Before he could figure it out, Robbie grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the store.
Suddenly, Leon's vision was filled with colorful women's lingerie.
Lace, sheer, G-strings, pearl-embellished...
"WTF..."
Leon acted like a Texas redneck who had never seen the world, marveling at human imagination as he looked around.
It wasn't just about the lack of fabric. Bonnie wore G-strings year-round, so Leon was used to that.
The issue was, designing so many variations for such a tiny piece of cloth must have drained the designers' brain cells.
But no matter how varied the styles, they all shared one common characteristic—very little fabric.
At this moment, it finally dawned on him what Victoria's Secret actually was.
"Does this suit me?" Robbie held up a pink sports bra.
Leon scrutinized it carefully, then said with a serious face, "No."
"Why? I like pink~"
"It has nothing to do with the color... mainly, there's too much fabric. It'll be hot wearing this in this weather."
"No way..." Robbie looked at the bra closely.
This can barely cover anything, and you say it's too much fabric?
She threw Leon a coquettish eye roll, turned to the rack, and picked out one of the same color but with significantly less fabric.
"Do you like this one?"
"Perfect."
Knowing Leon's taste, Robbie went on a spree, buying over a dozen sets.
Surprisingly, at the checkout, Leon proactively stood at the counter and pulled out his bank card to pay.
In his mind, how much could this pile of rags that covered nothing possibly cost?
The number flashing on the register screen made Leon click his tongue. This pile of rags was worth over $1,000!
"WTF, this world has gone crazy." He grumbled as he swiped his card.
For the same style of underwear, Bonnie only paid ten bucks in Brownsville. If she went to Asian district in Brooklyn, it would be even cheaper.
Those imported products not only had better quality but also more imaginative designs.
Wearing those, women could transform into nurses, flight attendants, hot teachers, or even cartoon characters at will.
The biggest difference between them and the products in the Victoria's Secret store was just the lack of a pretentious brand label.
Leon's keen business sense immediately realized this was a massively profitable business.
From raw material to finished product in a VS store, the price multiplied dozens of times.
Considering the decline of the US textile industry, production had long shifted to Asian and Latin American countries where material and labor costs were much lower.
That meant the actual profit margin could be even higher!
The more Leon thought about it, the funnier it seemed. Mexicans risked getting shot to smuggle cocaine from Colombia to the US, yet their actual profit margin was far lower than a lingerie brand.
Celebrities launching their own personal brands was already a trend. He had reason to believe that if superstars like Beyoncé or Rihanna launched their own lingerie lines, they would sell like hotcakes.
At this moment, a vague business plan for creating a personal brand began to form in his mind.