"How many times of hard labor does it take to afford a bag like that? Aren't you tired of it?"
"You must have been busy all through summer break."
"Lin Yi, what do you mean by that? Spell it out!" Qin Yuyao instantly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Her only reply was a cold sneer from Lin Yi.
Liu Ze, the rich second-generation heir standing next to Qin Yuyao, stepped forward at that moment and looked at Lin Yi with utter disdain. "Chasing girls costs money. Food delivery drivers don't get to have love."
"Haven't you heard the saying? I'd rather cry in a BMW than laugh on an e-bike."
"Stay away from my girlfriend from now on. She is the out-of-reach moonlight to you." As he spoke, he couldn't help stealing glances at Huang Yanxi.
He thought to himself how this punk managed to become a kept man with Huang Yanxi. Wouldn't it be better to go for a high-rolling, handsome rich guy like him?
If he weren't already with Qin Yuyao and worried about losing face, he would have whipped his phone out of his pants long ago.
Huang Yanxi was clearly out of Qin Yuyao's league, several notches higher. To think Zijin University had such a stunning rare beauty—how did she end up hanging out with this punk?
Could he really be living off a woman?
The kid did have undeniably good-looking facial features. It was possible some wealthy heiresses liked that type.
Though he couldn't ask for Huang Yanxi's contact information directly, if he displayed a bit of wealth, perhaps this beauty would take the initiative to ask him for his WeChat.
Should she find it hard to resist, exchanging information reluctantly under the circumstances would be understandable, right?
At this thought, Liu Ze lifted his chin. "Yaoyao, didn't you want that bracelet? Such a cheap little thing, buying it every week is no pressure at all."
"Buy it!"
"Kid, see that? This is just big brother's daily pocket money. Ever seen anything like it?"
Though he was speaking to Lin Yi, his peripheral vision remained fixed on Huang Yanxi, wanting to see her reaction.
Unfortunately, Huang Yanxi showed zero reaction.
As gold-digging as Huang Yanxi might be, she wasn't completely devoid of principles.
She roughly knew about the bad blood between Lin Yi and the other two; how could she possibly do anything to make Lin Yi lose face at a time like this?
Amidst Lin Yi's look of treating them like utter morons, she watched Liu Ze pay the bill.
Though his mouth was full of smug nonchalance, the way his fingers clenched tightly around his phone clearly betrayed how much it hurt his wallet.
The investment in Qin Yuyao was turning out to be a bit more than he had anticipated.
Since he had already talked a big game, this jerk had to grit his teeth and carry the act through to the end.
Watching them put on a performance like a pair of jesters, they still lingered there after paying, eager to see Lin Yi make a fool of himself.
No matter whether Lin Yi and his companion bought anything next, they were bound to face a round of mockery.
If they didn't buy anything, it would be the ultimate face-slap—bringing such a gorgeous girlfriend all the way inside just to browse without buying a thing.
Could there be anything more humiliating than that?
And if they did buy jewelry, it would undoubtedly be paid for by Huang Yanxi, which would solidify Lin Yi's status as a kept man living off a woman.
Liu Qing watched all of this clearly from the side, sighing inwardly. The young fellow called Brother Ze was still too young; he hadn't mastered the true essence of flexing.
It seemed he was willingly sticking his neck out to be slapped across the face. What followed next would be a classic plotline of failing to flex and getting wrecked instead.
She, on the other hand, was as steady as they come and would never give anyone a chance to slap her in the face.
Sure enough, living up to Liu Qing's expectations, Lin Yi spoke up beside them. "Yanxi, look at this one, that one, and this one too. I felt like you didn't seem to care much for them just now."
"Here it comes, here it comes. The kept man is starting to make excuses not to buy. Let me guess—didn't bring enough money? Or are none of them to her liking?"
"In a store this big, if you're going to resort to excuses like that, I'd be embarrassed for you."
Qin Yuyao curled her lip with a look of I-knew-it.
"Oh, Brother Yi is so attentive! A boyfriend this great is hard to find even with a lantern, yet I actually managed to run into one."
"Those really weren't quite to my taste. Why don't we come back and take another look next time?"
Paying no attention whatsoever to Qin Yuyao's mockery on the sidelines, Lin Yi turned to the sales associate and said, "Beauty, aside from the few I just pointed out, wrap up every single piece we tried on earlier. I want the whole lot."
As his words fell, everyone—from the store clerks to Liu Ze, Qin Yuyao, and Huang Yanxi standing nearby—turned completely to stone.
Even the worldly-wise Liu Qing, who figured this young man might play dirty, never expected him to be quite so utterly unhinged.
When had she ever witnessed a scene like this?
"All of them? Are you certain?"
"Positive. Since my girlfriend likes them, why leave them here instead of buying them home? Are we supposed to wait until next time?" Lin Yi said with pointed implication.
At this moment, even Huang Yanxi's delicate hand gave a vigorous tug at the hem of Lin Yi's shirt. Pressing close to his chest, she whispered in a voice audible only to the two of them, "Brother Yi, let's forget it. Just picking one necklace is enough. So many are way too expensive, and besides, there are too many for me to ever wear them all."
As if any girl could ever run out of jewelry to wear or clothes to put on!
Yet the items Lin Yi requested roughly added up to several dozen pieces at a glance, with a retail value no lower than one million.
Gold-digger though she was, Huang Yanxi hadn't intended to burn through this much of Lin Yi's money.
Without missing a beat, Lin Yi patted Huang Yanxi's curvaceous rear. "It's fine. If you can't wear them all, you can just take them out to look at, or wear one and throw one away. We've got the means."
With that, ignoring the dumbstruck crowd frozen in place, Lin Yi grabbed the still-stupefied sales associate and went to pay.
It was only when Lin Yi walked back holding the receipt that everyone realized his previous words had been no joke.
"Lin Yi! Where on earth did you get this much money? Why didn't you tell me you had so much money?!"
Qin Yuyao suddenly became somewhat hysterical, still finding it hard to believe even now.
If iron-clad facts weren't staring her right in the face, she would rather believe the sun would rise from the west tomorrow.
"Haha, well, I have yesterday to thank for that. Yesterday was a good day—right after we broke up, I won a two-and-a-half-hundred-million grand prize."
"Tell me, how is anyone supposed to be this lucky?"
You're lying to ghosts.
Huang Yanxi muttered inwardly.
Even with the lottery drawing yesterday, a prize of over two hundred million couldn't possibly be processed in such a short time.
Normally, news like that would make the headlines, yet she hadn't seen a trace of it on the trending searches.
"How is that even possible? I broke up with you and you won the lottery—did I hold back your luck or something?"
Onlookers see things clearly, but Qin Yuyao, caught in the thick of it, believed it implicitly and plunged into a deep spiral of doubt. What had she missed out on?
She had missed out on two hundred and fifty million!
If she hadn't broken up with Lin Yi yesterday, given Lin Yi's simping tendencies, wouldn't all that money have ended up in her hands?
Why bother latching onto a rich second-generation heir? She could have become upper-class royalty all on her own.
As for the rich second-generation heir Liu Ze, he remained half-doubtful. Seeing his girlfriend's mind seemingly broken by shock, he grabbed Qin Yuyao and started pulling her toward the exit.
"Yaoyao, don't believe his BS. It must be that wealthy woman next to him trying to help him save face by showing off in front of you. The rich woman probably paid for it all along."
"Trash like him has no class; the moment he latches onto a sugar mommy he starts acting high and mighty. Sooner or later, he'll be exposed for what he really is."
Despite Liu Ze's attempts at persuasion, Qin Yuyao left Bvlgari in a daze, completely out of it.
For she knew deep down that Huang Yanxi was likely no sugar mommy—there had to be some misunderstanding here.
[Qin Yuyao's favorability +30, current favorability -10 points]
[Qin Yuyao's favorability +30, current favorability 20 points]
[Qin Yuyao's favorability +20, current favorability 40 points]
Ironic as it was, the System's favorability ratings never lied, no matter how much disbelief Qin Yuyao put on display.
Her favorability rating had skyrocketed wildly.
So poverty truly was the original sin for a loser; genuine sincerity couldn't buy you a meal.
Meanwhile, Liu Qing instructed the other store staff to help pack up all the jewelry before walking over to Lin Yi.
The look in her eyes as she gazed at Lin Yi truly contained a thousand unspoken words.
With her eyebrows arched upward, she found Lin Yi's maneuvers nothing short of god-tier.