Gu Bai felt he needed a moment to process that.
So... his friends usually looked at him with pity because he didn't have a girlfriend?
"But it's genuinely rare for someone as rich as you not to have a girlfriend," Shen Zhizhi added.
"You know I'm rich?" Gu Bai glanced at his clothes. The labels were all on the inside, so most people couldn't recognize them.
Unless...
"Who wanders around in handmade, custom-tailored Bally? And you're wearing it from head to toe. Even that drawing board you're carrying was custom-made by Velo artisans. As for the camera, that goes without saying. There's only one of those, and you could only get it at auction," Shen Zhizhi rattled off effortlessly.
And she was right about everything...
Gu Bai slowly took a breath. Since she could recognize all of it, she clearly knew her stuff, which meant her own background was far from ordinary.
"Being rich doesn't guarantee you a girlfriend. If you haven't met the right person, you can be perfectly happy staying single," Gu Bai explained.
Shen Zhizhi considered that. "You've really found a great excuse for all the single people in the world."
"Thank you," Gu Bai replied, rather politely.
"Do you have time?" Gu Bai continued.
"For a meal, yes. For a hotel, no," Shen Zhizhi said playfully.
Gu Bai said, "I meant to look at your other work."
Shen Zhizhi: ???
"And have lunch together afterward."
Shen Zhizhi: !!!
"You must've done pretty well in language class."
"Hm?" Gu Bai was a little puzzled.
"You've mastered the art of rising and falling intonation. I could really learn a thing or two from you," Shen Zhizhi said with complete seriousness.
Gu Bai laughed. "You're pretty entertaining."
"It depends on the person. Whatever they're like, that's what I'm like.