Sensitive Maiden's Heart

When Xia Yuqing offered to recommend places to buy clothes, An Wuyang directly declined.

This was because their spending habits differed, and their preferences in clothing were also not the same.

If An Wuyang let Xia Yuqing recommend a place, then went there only to express dissatisfaction and end up choosing a shopping spot based on his own habits, it would definitely make Xia Yuqing feel bad.

Through his brief interactions with Xia Yuqing, An Wuyang had already noticed that she was starved for affection and quite sensitive inside.

Even though Xia Yuqing appeared cheerful on the surface and showed a pleasant personality, it was actually a facade—a typical disguise of someone lacking love.

So An Wuyang rejected her recommendation from the start, to avoid hurting her later.

After all, an initial rejection might bring disappointment, but without hope, there's no letdown.

"Since my work requires it, I need to buy a suit. I have a brand I like," An Wuyang said, trying to tactfully turn down Xia Yuqing's kindness.

He added, "You can help me pick out the color and style later, and I'll treat you to milk tea."

An Wuyang deliberately brought up treating her to milk tea to soften the disappointment of rejecting her suggestion.

Earlier, Xia Yuqing had mentioned controlling her weight, so when he offered milk tea, it would give her something to respond to, maybe even change the subject.

And that's exactly what happened.

"I can't have milk tea. I need to watch my weight," Xia Yuqing said with a soft huff.

"It's just one cup of milk tea. You can just practice an extra hour to burn it off?" An Wuyang joked.

Xia Yuqing shot him a look. "Do you even know how exhausting dance practice is?"

"Honestly? No idea." An Wuyang grinned mischievously.

"You—" Xia Yuqing was at a loss.

An Wuyang continued, "They have sugar-free options, and even freshly brewed tea choices."

"But is that still milk tea?" Xia Yuqing countered.

"Good point!" An Wuyang pretended to realize. "Then how about we just indulge a little?"

"Since we already ate, might as well have some milk tea and go all out today!" he tempted her like a devil.

Xia Yuqing was a bit tempted but ultimately shook her head.

"No, no. I have to report my weight tomorrow morning. I need to stay disciplined today," she said, struggling to hold herself back.

An Wuyang didn't push further. "Then let's go?"

"Okay." Xia Yuqing followed him as they stood up and left.

They returned to the car, and this time Xia Yuqing buckled her own seatbelt. After successfully clicking it in, she flashed a peace sign at An Wuyang.

Her adorable gesture filled An Wuyang with emotion. After all, in his circle, where would he find such a carefree and innocent girl?

Was this the charm of a pure, unadorned white gardenia?

About half an hour later, An Wuyang drove to the commercial center of Beijiang District, the largest business hub in Shengqing. It included several shopping malls, such as Darong City, Tianjie, and Starlight Plaza.

These malls together formed the biggest commercial center in the northwestern region of the Xia Kingdom.

The Bixihui-colored, big-nosed BMW M3 parked in the underground garage of Starlight Plaza, because that's where An Wuyang planned to shop. He really did intend to buy a suit.

Since An Huchun decided to put An Wuyang in charge of Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group's sales operations, An Wuyang thought he should buy a suit and comb his hair like an adult. Then he'd probably look like the young and capable Domineering CEO from those TV dramas.

After all, wasn't the head of sales for Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group practically a CEO?

An Wuyang took Xia Yuqing up the elevator into Starlight Plaza, and he noticed she seemed a bit tense.

That was normal, really. Starlight Plaza housed flagship stores of various luxury brands, and most ordinary people did feel a bit intimidated walking past them.

Xia Yuqing recognized these Luxury Brands, not because she was vain, but because it was 2021, and mobile internet was incredibly widespread.

Shengqing was consistently ranked among the top three new first-tier cities, and Xia Yuqing was on the art student track. With apps like Xiaohongshu and Doule spreading knowledge online, what was wrong with her knowing about luxury brands?

As the old saying goes: Even if you've never eaten pork, you've seen a pig run.

If you can't afford luxury brands, aren't you allowed to recognize them?

At least knowing them could save you some embarrassment.

For example, when buying hair clips, you'd definitely want to avoid brands like 'MinMin'.

Because the manufacturer did the copying, but the embarrassment of buying a 'MinMin' clip fell on the consumer—especially since 'MinMin' almost perfectly replicated 'MiuMiu' clips!

Xia Yuqing stayed close to An Wuyang, cautiously eyeing the luxury brand stores around them, and lowered her voice to ask, "An classmate, you want to buy a suit here?"

An Wuyang confirmed, "Yeah."

"My family didn't go bankrupt, and our company is doing fine. You can listen to rumors, but don't believe everything," he explained proactively.

"Ah?" Xia Yuqing was briefly stunned, then actually showed a hint of disappointment.

If An Wuyang's family hadn't gone bankrupt and his company was fine, how far apart were they really?

She had thought he'd fallen from the clouds down to earth, and she could finally get closer to him.

But the rumor turned out to be false? This...

Xia Yuqing's mood was complicated, which was why she felt a faint sense of disappointment.

An Wuyang noticed the disappointment on Xia Yuqing's face, but he didn't know how to handle it, because he had more or less guessed the reason.

However, this kind of thing was really hard to deal with, after all, it involved human nature.

And human nature was complicated!

For example, could a rich girl and a poor boy end up together?

The answer was yes!

And then?

Fast-forward to marriage?

That's where the problems came in!

Love was sweet, but marriage wasn't.

Marriage was the merging of two families, involving the redistribution of both sides' assets, and the potential issue of betrayal.

That was why we saw more and more news of powerful alliances, like the marriage between the second son of the famous Seven Wolves clothing brand and the little princess of X Step—a perfect example.

From the perspective of love, their union was definitely not the best outcome.

But from the perspective of marriage, it was the best outcome!

That was precisely why An Wuyang noticed Xia Yuqing's faintly disappointed expression, but didn't know what to say, let alone how to comfort her.

After all, in such a situation, no matter what he said or how he tried to comfort her, it would be a mistake.

As the Buddha said: "Do not speak, do not speak; to speak is to err."

In truth, An Wuyang had already shown his utmost sincerity. He had honestly explained his family situation, at least not pretending to be bankrupt to deceive Xia Yuqing and win the girl's affections!