Beautiful women were the best liars

Yu Xiuyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This kid was far too clever for his age. "Don't call me that. I'm not your lifesaver. Your brother would've found you soon even without my help. As for my contact details..."

"Miss Yu," Qiu Ziye interrupted, perhaps sensing his refusal. "If it's all right, could I add you on WeChat? You did look after Tongtong for me, after all. Next time... next time, Tongtong and I could treat you to a meal to thank you."

His voice held both anticipation and nervousness. He was quite innocent, too. What a shame. What a sin.

Yu Xiuyuan spread his hands. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring my phone. You really don't need to make such a fuss. I hardly did anything. I have somewhere to be, so I'll head off now. Maybe we'll meet again."

Yu Xiuyuan spun around and hurried away. Better make this quick. He really thinks I'm a woman.

[See? Beautiful women really are the best liars. Yu Beauty, your phone's right there with the cameraman.]

[Poor guy. The person you've fallen for is a man, too.]

[This guy's so handsome, too.]

[His clothes are couture, and his watch is a limited edition. He's worth a fortune.]

[I really want to see his face when he finds out Yu Beauty is a man.]

Only after rounding a corner did Yu Xiuyuan slow down and wait for the cameraman to catch up.

He picked a gold jewelry store at random and called over a sales assistant. "Where's your simplest gold jewelry under ten thousand? The simpler, the better. Ideally, a gold bar."

He had reached the age where only gold could stir his desire to own something.

The young sales assistant had never heard a request like that before and stared at his face, momentarily dazed.

"You don't have any?" Yu Xiuyuan asked.

"Um, no. But other stores don't carry gold bars either. If you want something simple, miss, you could take a look at this lucky bead. It's our simplest design, and it's exactly ten thousand."

"I'll take it, then. Wrap it up."

"Of course. Just a moment."

Something suddenly occurred to Yu Xiuyuan. "Do you offer any freebies?"

"We can give you a red cord to replace the one on the lucky bead. Would you like me to change it for you?"

"No, just pack it separately."

With his gift bought in a matter of minutes, Yu Xiuyuan returned to the bus, satisfied, and found that none of the others were back yet.

He settled comfortably into his seat and took out his phone. Thinking he was about to watch the livestream and interact with them again, the viewers erupted into excited squeals.

Instead, he simply opened a Sudoku game and started playing.

The live chat raged helplessly.

Inside the mall, Yun Chuan had also reached the jewelry section.

He hadn't gone to much effort to disguise himself, merely changing into more casual clothes and putting on a cap and mask.

He was tall and stood out in the crowd, but his demeanor was so icy that nobody dared approach him. Even if someone recognized him, they probably wouldn't dare strike up a conversation.

He browsed for quite a while without finding anything he liked. Everything seemed to fall just a little short.

Just as he was thinking of looking at watches instead, he spotted a chain. Several small red gemstones caught the eye, and the silver chain gleamed.

Up close, it really did suit him. Yun Chuan raised a hand to summon a sales assistant and pointed at it. "Wrap up this bracelet."

The young sales assistant was very enthusiastic. "Sir, this isn't a brace-"

"Wrap it up, please."

Cut off, the sales assistant fell silent under his gaze and quickly wrapped it up. "That's eighty-six thousand for the chain, sir."

Yun Chuan paid and walked away without looking back, not caring whether the cameraman could keep up.

[God Yun is a boss. Eighty-six thousand without batting an eye.]

[What was the sales assistant trying to say? Not a brace?]

[Aaaaaah! That's not a bracelet! It's an anklet!]

[I know! It's an anklet from Kunning's Blossoms Collection! It symbolizes "being with you through every step of your life"!]

[Aaaaaah, does God Yun know it's an anklet? Did he deliberately stop her from finishing?!!]

[God Yun is a boss! He's actually giving him an anklet? Go for it! Go all out!]

[How would God Yun know about that stuff? What ordinary guy can tell an anklet from a bracelet?]

[I don't care. Everyone, ship them with me.]

Within an hour, everyone returned one after another.

Fang Yi had dressed up as a delinquent biker and somehow managed to avoid recognition.

The others had all been recognized by fans and had to pay for their gifts themselves.

The director reimbursed those who hadn't been recognized, but when it was Yun Chuan's turn, he shook his head and declined.

Yu Xiuyuan marveled inwardly. As expected of a tycoon's son, he couldn't even be bothered to claim ten thousand back.

By the time the bus swayed its way back to the villa, it was already noon.

The director announced that they could eat once they had exchanged gifts.

Fang Yi stepped forward first, eager to change back into his own clothes.

He had chosen two gifts, a tie clip and a silk scarf, which he gave to his two temporary teammates respectively.

Su Ziming paused when he saw the tie clip, then gave Fang Yi an identical one in return. For Lin Qingnuan, he had bought a pair of pearl earrings.

Hoping to attract some attention with her gifts, Lin Qingnuan had taken a different approach and picked out two women's necklaces, saying they were for the men's mothers. She had thought this would keep them from riding on her popularity while earning praise from viewers for her sense of boundaries.

Who would have thought the two identical tie clips would steal the spotlight?

Fang Yi and Su Ziming didn't react to the necklaces as she had expected, either. They merely thanked her politely, leaving Lin Qingnuan even more displeased.

What she didn't know was that, for Fang Yi, his mother would never wear such a cheap necklace.

As for Su Ziming... he didn't have a mother.

After exchanging gifts, Fang Yi hurried off to change.

Seeing that they could change after exchanging their gifts, Yu Xiuyuan grew impatient, too.

Yun Chuan noticed his eagerness. He stared at his wrist and hesitated for a few seconds before slowly reaching out and taking hold of it.

Yu Xiuyuan tried to pull away but failed. He looked at Yun Chuan in confusion, his eyes asking, What are you doing?

Yun Chuan didn't answer. He simply took out the chain, carefully wrapped it around Yu Xiuyuan's wrist, and fastened the clasp himself.

The rubies made that delicate wrist look even more beautifully porcelain-white. Unable to resist stroking it a few times, he said in a low, unhurried voice, "It really does suit you. It's just a shame... the chain's a little too long."

For some reason, Yu Xiuyuan's heart began beating faster. Perhaps the chain was so cold that the shock had even quickened his breathing.

"It's fine if it's a little long. I can put it on myse-ow, that hurts..." In his nervousness, he had forgotten that Yun Chuan had never heard his feminine voice before.

Yun Chuan immediately loosened his grip. "Sorry. I hurt you."

Then he couldn't help asking, "Why does your voice..." Only after speaking did he realize how hoarse his own voice had become.

Hearing something off in his voice, Yu Xiuyuan looked up, only to find Yun Chuan staring at him without blinking.

Yu Xiuyuan quickly lowered his head and answered in the same feminine voice. "It's a voice imitation. You know what that is, right? It would be weird to use a man's voice while dressed as a woman."

Yun Chuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he tore his gaze away from Yu Xiuyuan's moving lips.

He took hold of his wrist again and gently rubbed it. "It's a little red. Does it still hurt? Sorry, I didn't control my strength just now."

Yu Xiuyuan felt that this conversation sounded rather wrong and had no idea how to respond. Just then, the sound of a plate shattering came from beside them.

Li Rou had knocked a plate onto the floor and broken it.

She seemed not to notice, staring at Yu Xiuyuan with shining eyes. "Was that you speaking? Say something else. Could you say something else?"

Freed from the awkward atmosphere, Yu Xiuyuan exhaled, winked at her, and teased, "You said you'd introduce me to a good man if you met one, sis. So, have you found one?"