An Unexpected Encounter with My Cousin?

If An Wuyang were a scumbag, with Xia Yuqing's favorability rating toward him as high as 90 points, he'd have ten thousand ways to make her willingly give herself to him.

But An Wuyang is not a scumbag!

The education he received since childhood, his outlook on life and values, and the pride ingrained in his bones all told him not to obtain this pure white gardenia through deception.

Maybe some people think such an attitude is hypocritical, but so what?

Everyone has their own principles and bottom lines.

If some people have low bottom lines, does that mean An Wuyang should learn from their low-standard ways?

Then what about those who commit crimes?

An Wuyang honestly clarified that the rumors Sun Zhiming had spread were just rumors—his family hadn't gone bankrupt, and the company was doing fine. That in itself was a display of sincerity.

"Qingqing!" A female voice called out.

Xia Yuqing followed the sound and couldn't help frowning slightly.

An Wuyang also looked over. The one calling Xia Yuqing was a heavily made-up girl, about 1.6 meters tall, with an average build. An Wuyang guessed she weighed around 100 jin or so?

Beside that girl stood a middle-aged man who had lost all trace of youthfulness. He looked to be around thirty, dressed in a very mature style—a Crocodile Polo Shirt, a pair of unknown-brand knee-length shorts, and Doudou Shoes on his feet.

That outfit was exactly what An Wuyang hated most, especially the Doudou Shoes!

The heavily made-up girl led the Doudou Shoes man over, and as they approached, she kept sizing up An Wuyang. The Doudou Shoes man did the same.

"Qingqing, you're shopping here too?" The heavily made-up girl asked deliberately, but her tone carried a sickening edge.

What did she mean by "you're shopping here too"?

Wasn't the subtext mocking Xia Yuqing for not being able to afford anything in this place?

In fact, Starlight Plaza wasn't just full of Luxury Brands boutiques. There were also plenty of other affordable luxury brands, cosmetics stores, and mass-market consumer brands.

If you couldn't afford a two- or three-hundred-thousand high-end brand outfit or bag, couldn't you still buy a two- or three-hundred lipstick?

Not to mention the mass-market brands.

So this heavily made-up girl was deliberately trying to be nasty!

Xia Yuqing frowned slightly and answered honestly, "Cousin, I'm here with a classmate to buy clothes."

After replying, Xia Yuqing introduced him. "This is my cousin, Xu Zixuan."

"And this is my classmate, An Wuyang." Xia Yuqing then introduced him to Xu Zixuan.

Xu Zixuan looked at An Wuyang. She thought he was quite handsome, especially that youthful vibe her boyfriend could never have. If her boyfriend weren't right there, she might have even wanted to add An Wuyang on WeChat.

Xu Zixuan took the initiative to speak. "Hello, An classmate. I'm Qingqing's cousin, and this is my boyfriend, Niu Fenjin."

'Liu' or 'Niu' Fenjin?

Great name!

Although 'Fenjin' was a good word, it didn't seem to match the surname 'Liu' or 'Niu', did it?

An Wuyang didn't know whether Niu Fenjin was actually 'Niu Fenjin' or 'Liu Fenjin', because the mainstream dialect in Shengqing didn't distinguish between 'L' and 'N'. A simple tongue twister like 'Grandma Liu' could drive a Shengqing native crazy.

Also, Shengqing people couldn't distinguish between 'Si' and 'Shi'. Sometimes, when they needed to express '4 and 10', they'd even resort to frantic hand gestures.

After Xu Zixuan introduced him, Niu Fenjin immediately spoke up. "Hello, An classmate. I'm Niu Fenjin—Niu as in 'bullish and soaring'."

As he introduced himself, he kept glancing at Xia Yuqing out of the corner of his eye.

He had gone back to Xu Zixuan's hometown for the New Year before and been stunned by Xia Yuqing's beauty at first sight. Unfortunately, he was Xu Zixuan's boyfriend. Though he secretly wanted to get close to Xia Yuqing, she had never given him any response.

Now he saw Xia Yuqing again, and at Starlight Plaza no less. He figured she must be a vain girl.

If she was vain, then it was simple!

As long as she was vain, he could solve the problem by spending money.

Any problem that could be solved with money was a small problem—it was just a matter of how much.

The real problem was what money couldn't solve.

For example, immortality.

How much money would it take to live forever?

Although some people in the field of life sciences had invested in longevity technology, the results weren't good.

So far, humanity hadn't even truly figured out what mechanism caused aging.

Even the famous Hayflick Limit Theory was just an analysis of one aging mechanism—it hadn't been one hundred percent confirmed as the cause of human aging.

When Niu Fenjin emphasized his surname during his self-introduction, An Wuyang smiled and replied, "Great name!"

Though it was a compliment, Xia Yuqing burst out laughing on the spot.

Because the two of them had had a similar conversation in the car earlier, and An Wuyang had expressed praise then too, but Xia Yuqing knew he was being sarcastic.

Hearing Xia Yuqing's laughter, Niu Fenjin didn't realize anything was wrong. Instead, he thought her laugh was beautiful, and the idiom 'pearls falling on a jade plate' even popped into his head.

Xu Zixuan looked at An Wuyang and asked proactively, "An classmate, what kind of clothes are you looking to buy?"

Before An Wuyang could answer, she added, "I know Starlight Plaza really well. Tell me what you need, and I can give you some recommendations."

Xia Yuqing looked at her cousin and furrowed her brow slightly—she felt her cousin was being a little too enthusiastic!

Based on Xia Yuqing's understanding of Xu Zixuan, she knew Xu Zixuan was someone who wouldn't lift a finger without a payoff. For Xu Zixuan to be so warm toward An Wuyang, there must be some motive, right?

So before An Wuyang could answer, Xia Yuqing shot back, "Cousin, why are you two here?"

Faced with Xia Yuqing's question, Niu Fenjin jumped in first. "Your cousin said she wanted to buy a lipstick. Since I had the day off, we came to check out Chanel's new arrivals."

Niu Fenjin stressed the word "Chanel," thinking he might buy one for Xia Yuqing too.

If he used Xu Zixuan as an excuse, could he then justify buying a lipstick for her cousin as well?

An Wuyang had already noticed Niu Fenjin's odd behavior—after all, this kind of peacock strutting was obvious to any guy. At the very least, An Wuyang could tell Niu Fenjin was trying to catch Xia Yuqing's attention.

Xu Zixuan, however, didn't pick up on Niu Fenjin's intentions. She thought he was just showing off for her sake!

So she chimed in, "I really did want a lipstick. I would've just grabbed some cheap one for a few dozen bucks—they're all pretty much the same—but he insisted on bringing me to Chanel, saying big-brand lipsticks are healthier."

Hearing Xu Zixuan's clumsy attempt at showing off, An Wuyang almost burst out laughing!