An Yang's endurance far exceeded that of ordinary people, but Xiao You and Xiao Xueer were merely soft and delicate young girls. Having walked for so long, they were tired and suggested finding a cold drink shop to sit down and have a glass of water.
An Yang asked for a glass of ice water, Xiao You ordered a glass of iced lemonade, and Xiao Xueer requested a glass of watermelon juice. The three sat down and drank, but none of them spoke. Xiao You and Xiao Xueer, who had been chattering along the way earlier, also fell silent because they were sitting with An Yang.
Xiao You suddenly raised her head, calmly gazing at An Yang, and said, "You lost your job, didn't you?"
An Yang was startled, lifted his head, and said, "How do you know? Did Ji Weiwei tell you?"
Xiao You lowered her head to take a sip of water, then stirred the lemon slices inside with her straw. Without even raising her head, she said, "I guessed it."
An Yang chuckled bitterly, staring at the straw head that had been chewed out of shape by her, and said, "When did you start caring about me like this? It's really not easy."
Xiao You raised her head to look at him, her gaze somewhat dismissive: "I'm not stupid. If you hadn't lost your job, how could you possibly have the time to brazenly come out shopping with us?"
—Brazenly?!
An Yang was somewhat speechless and simply stopped making a sound.
As for Xiao Xueer, she had remained completely silent from beginning to end.
After finishing her water, Xiao Xueer put down her cup and finally spoke, saying to Xiao You, "It's so hot walking outside, Xiao You, didn't you want to buy clothes? Why don't we go look around Aier Mall? There's central air conditioning inside."
Xiao You gave An Yang a somewhat awkward look, a trace of embarrassment appearing on her face as she softly said, "The clothes inside Aier Mall are so expensive. We'd better just look around outside."
Girls of this age are mostly not very good at hiding their inner thoughts, liking to show off and compete, and lacking an understanding of how to care for others' feelings. Xiao Xueer had some understanding of Xiao You's family background, and naturally possessed a bit of superiority in this regard.
"It's fine, we're just looking anyway. Since you didn't buy anything while walking outside, we might as well find a place with air conditioning to browse."
Xiao You hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Walking inside Aier Mall, most of the clothing stores Xiao Xueer lingered in were international designer brands, and the places she brought Xiao You to were also exclusive zones for international labels, which made An Yang mentally raise his evaluation of her family background by another notch.
At this moment, the three were in the Chanel flagship store, with An Yang still lagging behind Xiao You and Xiao Xueer.
International luxury brands naturally have their reasons for existing; high prices can guarantee sales volume, which in itself is proof of quality. Coupled with the meticulous designs of renowned designers, materials far exceeding ordinary clothing, and tailoring, it made almost every woman unable to take her eyes off them.
Xiao You had never been to such an expensive store before, but she naturally liked the clothes here very much, and many even made her feel amazed. However, prices starting at a minimum of several thousand to tens of thousands made her shrink back in hesitation.
An Yang stood right beside them, watching as Xiao You stroked a white dress, only to turn pale upon opening the price tag, clearly frightened quite a bit. Meanwhile, Xiao Xueer very naturally took the clothing and headed into the fitting room.
Xiao Xueer walked out wearing a black dress. The dress was very short, perfectly accentuating her youthful and fiery figure, with a pair of fair and slender legs exposed below, making her look even more eye-catching.
Xiao Xueer spun around in front of the mirror a few times, clearly very satisfied with her own condition, and said to Xiao You in a show-off manner, "Xiao You, do you think I look good in this?"
Xiao You maintained her composure, nodded, and said, "It looks good."
Xiao Xueer turned her head to look at An Yang as well, seemingly wanting to ask for his opinion too, but hesitated for a moment before turning her head back, gazing at herself in the mirror with what looked like a very good mood.
At school, everyone wore uniforms and ate at the cafeteria. The advantages of her figure and family background could not be experienced at all, and coupled with her grades not being as exceptional as Xiao You's, she was suppressed by Xiao You everywhere. Once graduation arrived, she could finally hold her head high and let out a breath of relief.
Of course, this was just a young girl's competitive spirit, having nothing to do with character, nor would it affect her friendship with Xiao You.
Not long after, Xiao Xueer walked over, looking at Xiao You with great concern, and said, "Xiao You, why are you just looking? Go in and try it on."
Xiao You shook her head, glanced at Xiao Xueer, and said, "No need, there's nothing that catches my eye."
Hearing these words, a young married woman nearby smiled knowingly, shook her head, and said nothing. Generally speaking, people with better living conditions tend to have higher qualities, and people who launch into ridicule just upon hearing something—like in novels—are, after all, a minority.
Xiao Xueer glared at the young woman, lowered her head, and said, "How could that be? This is the Chanel flagship store, after all. Hey, I think the one you're holding in your hand is quite nice."
Xiao You's cheeks burned red, and she hurriedly hung the dress in her hand back on the rack, saying, "It's not all that, I don't really like the style."
Seeing Xiao Xueer's appearance, it didn't look like she was just browsing at all; she clearly didn't care about the prices here at all. She had long known that Xiao Xueer's family was wealthy, but she hadn't expected them to be wealthy to this extent.
The cheapest piece of clothing here was equivalent to half a year or even a full year of her living expenses in high school, higher than the combined monthly salaries of Dad An and An's mother. She felt that her pride vanished into thin air here.
An Yang walked over, gazed at her calmly, and said, "If you like it, just try it on. You don't necessarily have to buy it—you'll only know if it looks pretty once you wear it."
Xiao You bit her lip, glared at him, and turned to walk away. She knew her own personality; if she tried it on, she would find it even harder to part with.
An Yang curled his lip behind her and said indifferently, "Still the same as when you were little, not even daring to try on clothes."
Xiao Xueer covered her mouth with a light chuckle, ran up to grab Xiao You, and said, "Oh, actually your brother is right. Just try it on, you don't necessarily have to buy it. I'm just trying mine on, too."
After a long while, Xiao You finally mustered up her courage, picked up the dress worth tens of thousands, and walked into the fitting room.
An Yang stood outside, smiling knowingly.
When Xiao You came out, she was already wearing that white dress. The size and length were just right, as if tailor-made for her. She was naturally very fair-skinned, and wearing this dress made her look even more like a porcelain doll, making people want to pinch her delicate face. Even the sales clerk at Chanel couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
Xiao You spun around near the mirror, her skin made even fairer by the dress, dazzling the eyes. Sure enough, she found it even harder to take off.
"This little sister, to be honest, this dress just happens to match your temperament. Wearing it gives off a very princess-like vibe. If you feel there's any part that doesn't fit right in size, we can alter it for you."
Xiao You shook her head, feeling a sense of timidity for the first time, and softly said, "There's nothing that doesn't fit."
She truly felt that this dress was tailor-made for her, and the sales clerk's words had also struck a chord in her heart. But so what? She wasn't a second-generation rich kid; how could she afford such expensive clothes?
Yet the moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had spoken wrongly.
Sure enough—
"Alright then, since it fits..."
Xiao You's face became even more awkward. She could almost anticipate what the sales clerk was going to say next, and for a moment she had an urge to bolt out the door.
Everything was as she had imagined. The saleswoman turned to An Yang and asked softly, "Sir, would you like to pay by cash or card?"
This sales clerk was very perceptive and skilled at selling; she didn't even ask whether Xiao You was satisfied, going straight to asking how to pay.
A layer of fine sweat broke out on Xiao You's face. She could guess what would happen next without even thinking. She had prepared herself—this had to be the most embarrassing moment in her history.
Dammit, she had clearly seen the price, so why did she have to try this dress on? Knowing it was so expensive, why did she agree to come to Aier Mall? Knowing she wouldn't buy it, why did she step in here in the first place...
Thinking thus, she simply lowered her head and marched blindly into the fitting room.
Watching Xiao You's figure disappear, An Yang pulled a card from his body and said calmly, "Just swipe the card. I didn't bring that much cash."
Xiao Xueer froze, looking at An Yang in disbelief.
...Isn't her family a family of teachers? Didn't she say she and her brother had a bad relationship? Didn't she say her brother wasn't rich? Didn't she say her brother was very low-class? How could this be...
When Xiao You came out again, she had folded the dress neatly, handed it to the saleswoman, and walked straight out without a word, her face red down to the root of her neck.
After walking a few steps, she noticed that neither Xiao Xueer nor An Yang had followed. Turning her head again, she saw that the clerk was already beginning to pack up that dress, and the invoice-printing machine was making buzzing noises.
Xiao You instantly felt at a complete loss, her usual composure in front of An Yang having vanished God knows where.
"Um... miss, you might have misunderstood, we didn't say we were buying it..."
The sales clerk deftly finished everything, handed the packaged dress to her, pointed at An Yang, and said, "Hello, this is your dress. This gentleman has already paid."
Xiao You froze, numbly taking the shopping bag and looking at An Yang in disbelief, only to see a face that looked thoroughly punchable in her eyes.
Is the price on the tag fake...
In a daze, she followed Xiao Xueer into the women's clothing section of the Versace flagship store, dazedly tried on a shirt and a pair of jeans, and when she came out, she found they had inexplicably been paid for.
Xiao Xueer patiently explained the origin of Chanel to her nearby and the reasons why it sold so expensively—in short, how wonderful Chanel clothes were—but she hadn't listened to a single word, feeling as though she had been walking in a daze all afternoon.
By the time she reacted, she no longer knew how to face An Yang.
Although she had only bought a dress, a shirt, and a pair of jeans today, it had cost nearly twenty thousand. She certainly wouldn't believe that her mom and dad had given her twenty thousand yuan to buy clothes.
Logically speaking, she usually looked down quite a bit on An Yang, a view thanks to the impression he left her with before going to university: not only lacking drive, but also constantly hiding all sorts of messy things under his bed, looking thoroughly disgusting.
Before you continue