Although Lin Yi was dressed in cheap, off-the-rack clothes and holding a low-cost milk tea, the Bulgari sales associate welcomed them inside with enthusiasm, drawn by the woman on his arm whose beauty easily rated a nine out of ten.
Liu Qing, a seasoned sales associate who had spent years in the industry, had long since learned her lesson. After several incidents where she had looked down on customers wearing common clothing—especially those in flip-flops—only to be humiliated by their subsequent displays of wealth, she rarely judged by appearances anymore. Many wealthy second-generation heirs enjoyed playing this game, waiting specifically for staff to judge them so they could execute a dramatic, high-profile reveal. She wasn't falling for that anymore. If someone wanted to put on a show, they had to start by making a purchase; she wouldn't provide them a free stage.
"You two are welcome to take a look around. If you see anything you like, I can bring it out for you to try on," Liu Qing said, wearing a textbook-perfect professional smile.
Lin Yi glanced briefly at the jewelry in the display cases. The pieces ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan—prices he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.
Keeping his expression neutral, Lin Yi said to Huang Yanxi, "Pick out whatever you like. Feel free to try them all on and see if there’s anything you don’t like."
Beside them, Liu Qing caught the nuance in his tone; it sounded as though this young man was preparing to put on a show of wealth. *I must play along with his performance and make sure I don't give him an excuse to humiliate me,* she cautioned herself.
Huang Yanxi had no objections. She tried them on one by one, without a hint of impatience. It had to be said that you truly got what you paid for with such high-end accessories. When Huang Yanxi’s delicate fingers gently lifted a shimmering necklace, the gems inlaid upon it caught the light, radiating a captivating glow. Each stone emitted a unique luster, perfectly complementing her youthful, radiant temperament. As the necklace touched her skin, it seemed to brighten the entire room, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze.
Although Huang Yanxi was materialistic, she certainly had the looks to justify it. Whether it was the necklaces, rings, or bracelets, she carried them off perfectly; it was hard to tell if the jewelry made her look beautiful or if she made the jewelry look beautiful. Liu Qing patiently explained the details of every piece, leaving no room for criticism. If anyone was looking for a chance to find fault and cause a scene, they wouldn't find it with her.
After watching for a while, Lin Yi lost interest and began scrolling through his phone in boredom. Just then, a familiar voice drifted from behind him.
"Brother Ze, you haven't bought me anything in such a long time. It’s an 18K rose gold bracelet, only thirty thousand yuan or so—just buy it for me, please?"
"Look how pretty it is! The red carnelian, lapis lazuli, malachite, and mother-of-pearl are all inlaid together. I love it so much."
"Brother Ze, I promise, if you buy this for me, tonight I’ll be yours to do with as you please."
She whispered the last sentence almost directly into Brother Ze's ear.
Lin Yi turned his head and saw that the woman was none other than Qin Yuyao—a woman he could never forget. Qin Yuyao was currently at a counter trying on bracelets and had not noticed Lin Yi. This gave Lin Yi a glimpse of a side of her he had never seen before. He had never seen Qin Yuyao act so servile; it really was true that a beautiful woman’s attitude toward you depended entirely on the thickness of your wallet.
"Yaoyao, didn't I buy you something just last week? How can you say it's been a long time? I’ll buy it for you next time, let's just make it next time, all right?"
This "Brother Ze" was the wealthy second-generation heir Qin Yuyao had hooked up with while Lin Yi was working as a delivery driver during summer break. Lin Yi had seen him in his past life, but this was the first time he had seen him since his rebirth. Drawing on his memories, Lin Yi knew that Liu Ze and Qin Yuyao had already been living together throughout the summer, only for Qin Yuyao to return to living on campus once the semester started.Otherwise, Lin Yi would still think Qin Yuyao was a pure and innocent maiden—the moonlight in his heart.
"Brother Yi, I’ll take this necklace. Look, how does it look?"
At that moment, Huang Yanxi had already fastened the necklace. She brushed her hair aside, presenting her perfect side to Lin Yi.
What Lin Yi didn’t expect was that the necklace Huang Yanxi had chosen was a pink circular one, costing just over thirty thousand. Though certainly not cheap, compared to the other jewelry in the store, it was only of average price and quite unremarkable.
Just then, hearing Huang Yanxi’s voice, Qin Yuyao noticed her and looked surprised.
"Huang Yanxi? Why are you here?"
As the school beauty, Huang Yanxi was naturally also the department belle of the School of Foreign Languages. Qin Yuyao knew her well enough; in fact, as two of the school's most notorious gold diggers, she kept a close eye on her.
Qin Yuyao considered herself not as good-looking as Huang Yanxi, but not by much—she felt they were basically on par. So why did Huang Yanxi have a mountain of "high-quality" men chasing after her, while she was stuck with only one shameless sycophant, turning her into the laughingstock of the School of Foreign Languages?
One was the "school beauty," the other was a "laughingstock."
Because of this, although she knew Huang Yanxi, they were merely nodding acquaintances, and deep down, Qin Yuyao was secretly jealous of her.
Huang Yanxi, who had been waiting for Lin Yi’s praise, saw that it was Qin Yuyao greeting her. She walked quickly to Lin Yi’s side, wrapping her arms tightly around his.
She said to Qin Yuyao with a playful tone, "Oh my, isn't this Qin Yuyao? My boyfriend is taking me shopping, aren't you, Brother Yi?"
She emphasized the name "Lin Yi" heavily.
Qin Yuyao looked at the somewhat familiar back, and as he slowly turned around, it really was that Lin Yi!"Lin Yi, it's you. How could you be hanging out with Huang Yanxi?"
Perhaps accustomed to her past attitude toward Lin Yi, Qin Yuyao hadn't shifted her tone even after they had just broken up, demanding an answer directly.
[Ding~ Simp action activated, simp relationship bound.]
[Qin Yuyao, 20 years old, attractiveness 8.3, favorability toward host: -40. Please work hard to turn the tables, host.]
Before Lin Yi could even open his mouth, he heard the System actively binding a simp relationship. How utterly repulsive—why did it have to bind Qin Yuyao?
Damn it!
Those two years of feelings really did go to waste. Qin Yuyao's favorability was actually minus forty points.
The ancients truly did not deceive us: deep affection has never been able to keep someone, while only schemes win people's hearts.
Facing Qin Yuyao, though she was still the same person, she was no longer the same person to him.
His response held neither joy nor sorrow, like that of a total stranger: "I don't need to report to you about what I do here. Can't my girlfriend accompany me?"
"Girlfriend?"
"Lin Yi, you scumbag! We broke up just yesterday, and today you already have a new girlfriend?"
"What, changed your routine now? Want to live off a woman?"
"I really didn't misjudge you. You're hopeless, and men are all pigs!"
Seeming to feel that her words might have collateral damage, Qin Yuyao pulled Liu Ze by the hand, putting on a sickeningly sweet expression: "Except for our Ze-ge, of course."
A huge question mark formed over Lin Yi's face. Why hadn't she realized this woman was such a piece of work before? Dragging the rich second-generationer she cheated with along, yet calling him a scumbag.
Adding in the memories of his past life, Lin Yi's hatred for Qin Yuyao could be said to be etched into his bones.
While he didn't plan or have the ability to take revenge on her just yet, disgusting her a little was still well within his reach.