Chapter 38: Guard Against Fire and Theft
Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Guard Against Fire and Theft
"I’m so mad!"
Chi Xinyue, who had just returned to her shared apartment, was startled by her best friend Xiaoyan’s wail. Poking her head in, she saw her best friend taking her anger out on a sofa pillow with her fists and feet.
Their other two roommates had already returned to their hometowns. Chi Xinyue stayed behind because she needed to find an opportunity to resolve her current predicament as soon as possible. Xiaoyan, on the other hand, stayed purely to escape the heat of her hometown. After all, Meng City was located in the Northeast, making its summers relatively more bearable. Although global warming had made the city slightly less of a summer retreat in recent years, it was still vastly better than her home in the south.
"Yanyan, what’s wrong? I come home and you’re already throwing a fit," Chi Xinyue asked.
"It’s about that part-time job from last time!
"That damn editor-in-chief from whatever magazine has been asking me out for the past two days, saying he wants to ’privately discuss’ the quota issue.
"He even had the nerve to say that if we ’cooperate well,’ I can become a signed model for them right after graduation!
"Any idiot can see what he’s really after!"
Setting her shopping bags aside, Chi Xinyue walked over to the full-length mirror, eager to continue admiring her new outfit. She had already changed into the white vest and white jeans while at the store, and she was wearing the Small Waist necklace around her neck. Looking at her reflection, she grew fonder of the look by the second.
"Just ignore him. We don’t need to make that money. Are you really going to sacrifice yourself for a little bit of cash?"
"Of course not, I know where to draw the line. A woman’s first time is precious; we can’t just give it away so casually.
"It’s just that I’ve been seeing people showing off the LV Capucines bag with the white and gold hardware on Little Red Book lately, and I absolutely love it!
"But even a secondhand one costs over thirty thousand, and you still have to watch out for fakes. I was just trying to save up some money... Ah!!!"
Chi Xinyue, busy admiring her new clothes, jumped at the sudden scream. "Yanyan, what are you freaking out about now?!"
By then, Xiaoyan had already pounced. She scooped up the white bag Chi Xinyue had placed on the table, cradling it in her hands and examining it closely, utterly captivated.
"Yuyu, is this yours?"
Chi Xinyue found it slightly amusing. "We’re the only two left in this apartment. If it’s not yours, of course it’s mine."
"No wonder you’ve been saving up lately, it was to buy this! You’re so lucky, I heard this one is super hard to get!"
At the mention of saving money, the smile on Chi Xinyue’s face faded slightly, though she quickly suppressed her emotions. "No, an upperclassman gave it to me."
"What? How is that possible! You’ve only known each other for a few days... Yuyu, is this new outfit from him too?"
Only then did Xiaoyan finally shift her gaze to her best friend, subsequently noticing the shopping bags set aside. Walking over out of curiosity, she dug out a few freshly removed tags from the bags. "Oh my god, these are all LV! And this, this is the Bulgari Small Waist necklace, and it’s the fully diamond-encrusted version!"
Xiaoyan’s mind was in turmoil. She knew Chi Xinyue’s family wasn’t well-off. In the past, it was always Chi Xinyue who looked at her various entry-level and mid-tier luxury items with awe and envy. Now that the tables were completely turned, a wave of inexplicable discomfort washed over her.
Then, a thought struck her: her best friend hadn’t come home last night. Could it be that she had given herself to him?
With that assumption, Xiaoyan felt slightly better. Leaning close to her best friend with a gossipy expression, Xiaoyan whispered, "Yuyu, did you and Zhang Yan... do it last night? You’ve only known him for a hot minute. You really went all out, huh? No wonder he bought you so many things."
"What are you thinking? He took me out to the suburbs to stargaze yesterday. We stayed out late, so we just spent the night there. Nothing happened between us."
Saying "nothing happened" made Chi Xinyue feel a bit guilty. After all, strictly speaking, going all the way was the only thing that hadn’t happened.
"How is that possible! All these things together must be nearly a hundred thousand yuan. You didn’t even give him your body, and he bought all this for you?"
Xiaoyan remembered their first meeting. Zhang Yan had been dressed so ordinarily, without a hint of wealth, completely overshadowed by Si Mingcheng beside him. She found it hard to believe.
Chi Xinyue had already carefully memorized the exact value of Zhang Yan’s gifts, so she immediately replied with a blissful expression, "It was 137,282 yuan. Two tops, a pair of jeans, and a bag, all from LV, plus a Bulgari necklace.
"He wanted to buy me even more, but I felt like it was just too much. It took a lot of convincing to stop him."
Xiaoyan was left speechless. She was on the verge of selling herself out, having saved up for an eternity just to buy that dream bag. Yet her best friend—whose family was worse off, who earned less from part-time jobs, and who didn’t work nearly as hard (or so Xiaoyan thought)—had simply gone on a date and returned with everything Xiaoyan had ever dreamed of.
She had often heard the online saying, "Choice is greater than effort." It wasn’t until today that she truly felt the weight of those words. If only she had acted like her best friend, or even taken the initiative to date Zhang Yan before she did...
She secretly shook off her jealousy, though her tone couldn’t help but carry a hint of sourness. "Yuyu, you’re so lucky."
"Yeah, I think so too!"
Seeing her best friend’s blissful expression made Xiaoyan’s stomach churn with bitterness.
Returning to her own room, Xiaoyan still couldn’t calm down. Why? Where did she fall short?!
She pulled out her phone and tapped into her chat with Zhang Yan. The only history between them was a single, mutual exchange of greetings.
Xiaoyan had never reached out to him. She had even hidden her Friends Circle from him, having deemed the upperclassman to lack any real potential. She hadn’t wanted to waste her energy dealing with him. Sure, Zhang Yan was somewhat handsome, but good looks couldn’t put food on the table these days.
Xiaoyan was no longer a naive, sheltered little girl. Having worked numerous part-time jobs, she knew all too well how hard it was to make money. Even while cashing in on the dividends of her youth and beauty, she was only managing to live slightly comfortably.
She had, however, privately contacted Si Mingcheng. She was far more interested in the upperclassman who practically oozed low-key luxury. She had opened her Friends Circle to him and had recently uploaded plenty of photos showing off her graceful figure. Yet, for some reason, his responses remained lukewarm.
Typing and deleting repeatedly in the chat box, she ultimately couldn’t send a single message to try and break the ice. She was too proud to swallow her ego.
After much deliberation, she quietly granted Zhang Yan access to her Friends Circle. Then, she selected a rather seductive artistic photo, set it so that only he could see it, and posted it.
After doing so, Xiaoyan’s heart went THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, like a little girl who had just sneaked around to do something bad.
She reassured herself, "I just posted to my Friends Circle. I haven’t actually done anything."