Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Along the Pedestrian Shopping Street. Inside one of the malls.
Xue Meining was showing the true meaning of extravagant spending.
“Hmm… this, this and this pink one, give me one of each!” Xue Meining exclaimed. Engrossed in her shopping, she had long forgotten about the time as she dived from one branded shop to another. As for Ling Yun, he had long become a human trolley, with both hands and arms piled up with shopping bags. The only seemingly free space left for one to hang the next shopping bag on was his neck. His expression was as agonized as one could be. Were it not for the extraordinary spirit he had honed in his quest for divinity, his tears would be filling the mall now!
Having chosen a black, a white, and a pink colored short skirt of the same kind, Xue Meining squeezed them into Ling Yun’s grasp before dashing towards a shoe shop.
“Uhm… Ms. Xue, it’s already 5:20…” Ling Yun reminded her with a miserable look on his face.
“What? It’s only 5:20? Looks like we’ve still got plenty time before they close for the day! Don’t worry, this mall closes at ten o’clock!” the surprised Xue Meining replied with a puzzled look.
“What I mean is…your appointment with Uncle Wang…” Ling Yun continued with a bitter smile.
“What uncle… Oh god, I almost forgot, the shopping’s on hold. Let’s go now!” Xue Meining exclaimed in a panic. Ling Yun had jolted her memory of the appointment to collect her caller IDs. Seeing that the shopaholic had finally stopped her shopping spree, Ling Yun let out a sigh of relief. He was eternally grateful to this Uncle Wang. Once Xue Meining set her mind to it, things were done with haste. Thus, in a matter of minutes, they were out of the shopping mall and at the carpark.
In a single motion, Ling Yun threw all the shopping bags into the Ferrari, feeling as if a huge burden had been removed from him. That was because the two small sandbags were still on his legs!
“Ling Yun let’s go over there. It’s just in front of the cross junction.” Xue Meining said
Ling Yun followed obediently. He did not have any qualms about doing anything so long as it was not shopping with her. As the two hurried along, it took no more than a few minutes for them to reach their destination. Being in a rush to get back to school before all lessons ended, Ling Yun decided to stay at the entrance while Xue Meining entered the office to get the numbers. Within ten minutes, she was done and left the office. It seemed this person called uncle Wang had prepared everything well in advance.
“Here! These four sim cards are for you, I will be keeping one for myself. Another fifty thousand dollars gone!” Xue Meining uttered as she pushed four of the sim cards into Ling Yun’s palm. Ling Yun scratched his head and glanced at Xue Meining with a baffled look.
“Weren’t these numbers given to you by Uncle Wang? Why did you still end up paying?”
Xue Meining rolled her eyes before speaking in a slightly irritated tone, “Are you dumb or what? This type of numbers is normally unobtainable. In addition, whatever number it is requires a call charge fee when used. And since they went so far as to give us all these numbers, there’s no way they are gonna pay our call charge fee as well, right?”
Ling Yun finally realized what was going on. A favor is a favor, a system is a system and business is business. Everything was in black and white, there was no gray area.
“Of course, usually, such numbers are reserved for the rich. Thus, these ten or twenty thousand dollars worth of call charge fee is nothing to such people. In fact, Uncle Wang was kind enough to accept just ten thousand dollars for each card, which is, of course, doing a big favor to us.” Xue Meining explained to Ling Yun as they walked.
Ling Yun nodded his head in silence and was grateful to this lady for teaching him this lesson. If he had not known, he would have ended up being taken advantage of by Tang Meng. Now, it was his turn to take a huge bite out of Tang Meng’s wallet!
“Hey Ling Yun, that mall looks not bad. It has a couple of international brands on display. Let’s go in for some shopping…”
Ling Yun was in the midst of thinking how he should butcher Tang Meng but the moment he heard the word ‘shopping’, he was jolted from his thoughts. It was as if he had been petrified as he stood dead in his tracks!
*Cough cough* “Hey Meining, I have already skipped the afternoon lessons. For a studious and serious student like me to do anymore is unforgivable!” Ling Yun frantically replied in hopes of persuading Xue Meining.
With a valid reason at hand, Ling Yun pushed on, “Today’s Saturday. After school, I still gotta get back home, so let’s continue this another time…”
Xue Meining stared at Ling Yun before letting out a snort and in seconds, she was bursting with laughter. Her body rocked back and forth as she tried to hold back her laughter.
“You? Studious and serious? Hahahaha…this is killing me…” Xue Meining struggled to speak in between her laughter. It was so intense that her stomach was starting to hurt! After all, to be able to praise oneself without a shred of self-awareness was only possible for the thick-skinned Ling Yun!
Having finally managed to stop her laughter, she wiped away the tears in her eyes before exclaiming, “Ling Yun my dear, you can stop with the lies, you’re infamous in Qingshui High after all. Alright, since I have held you back for so long, I guess it’s time I send you back.”
Seeing that Xue Meining had finally relented, Ling Yun immediately hooked his arm around hers as if fearing she might go back on her words. Together, they walked towards where they parked the car.
It was 6:20 as Xue Meining pulled the car over at a secluded spot roughly 200 meters away from Qingshui High.
“I don’t want to let those students spread any baseless rumors so I’ll be stopping here instead, okay? Oh and remember to take the sandalwood case at the back of the car.”
“Oh yeah, also remember to use that…20999999 number okay? Promise me okay? I’ll be calling you tomorrow!”
Xue Meining did not know why she had said that and the more she thought about it, the redder her face turned. For herself, she took the phone number: 21999999.
As for Ling Yun, who was busy packing his stuff, he couldn’t care less about what number to use. Weren’t they all the same anyway? Nevertheless, he still nodded his head obediently.
“Ling Yun, I… Just one more question.” the little lady stuttered incoherently. Her hesitation was obvious to all.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Ling Yun prompted.
“During the accident, before performing acupuncture on the old man, why did you beat up Sun Xing?”
Xue Meining could feel her face getting hotter as she tried her best to remain calm. Behind her big round eyes, she was filled with anticipation as she looked at Ling Yun, awaiting his answer.
Without stopping to think, Ling Yun merely smiled and replied, “I didn’t care what he does to Zhuang Meifeng but he shouldn’t have pushed you.”
At that moment, Xue Meining’s pretty face was filled with pleasant surprise, the kind which was hard to conceal.
With school having ended long ago, Xue Meining was determined not to attract any unnecessary attention from possible students remaining in the vicinity. Thus, once Ling Yun had picked up all his items, she gave him one last smile and a wave before speeding off in her Ferrari.
Ling Yun watched as the Ferrari sped off into the distance, his gaze changing ever so slightly while his expression looked slightly perplexed. So this is the life of those living at the top in this world, huh? Ling Yun thought to himself. To live in a large villa with an amazing view and to drive a limited edition race car. To be able to pull a policeman’s uniform without worrying about the consequences and to be able to get such good numbers with just a call. To spend ten to twenty thousands of dollars on shopping within just a few hours without batting an eyelid. To be able to spend money as easy as unwinding the tap. This was the life of those at the top!
Only after Xue Meining’s Ferrari had disappeared completely from his view did Ling Yun regain his senses. With a firm gaze and a confident smile, Ling Yun started walking towards the school entrance.
“Hey, look. Isn’t that Ling Yun? Why is he carrying so many items?”
“Versace! Boss! Nike! iPhone 5!… He’s carrying so many branded items…”
“Where the hell did he get all those from? Where did the money come from? Those at least cost forty to fifty thousand dollars!”
“What’s that in his hands? Isn’t that a sandalwood box? That looks pretty unusual!”
There was chatter everywhere as the grade 12 students leaving the school watched as Ling Yun walked towards the entrance with numerous shopping bags. Many students’ eyes were wide with disbelief when they saw all the branded items Ling Yun had on hand. They were especially curious about the interesting antique box Ling Yun was carrying.
As for Ling Yun, he was unfazed by the whispers and gazes of the onlookers as he strutted proudly. This was what he would call walking with grandeur!
“Hah, if only you guys knew about my mobile number, I bet your heart would drop!” Ling Yun muttered under his breath with a proud smile. In this technologically advanced era, information was everything. Thus, the most impressive thing may not be branded items but perhaps a single string of numbers.
Along the corridor outside the grade 12 classrooms.
“Quick, look! Isn’t that Ling Yun? Look at all those bags he’s carrying.”
“It’s really him, look at that… isn’t that Versace…?” a sharp-eyed girl exclaimed in shock as she observed the bags swaying in Ling Yun’s hands as he walked with vigor in the distance.
In the blink of an eye, various students from class 1 to class 6 of grade 12 who were still in school were all looking out of the windows at Ling Yun.
It was not a shock to see a student holding onto a branded item in this day and age. However, it was a different story if Ling Yun was the one holding the branded items. The whole grade 12 corridor was now in an uproar.
Ning Lingyu, who was waiting patiently for her brother in her class, was shaken by the sudden commotion. She then rushed out to see what was going on.
In Class 3 of grade 12.
“Shanshan, Shanshan, come on out. Ling Yun’s really back!” Zhang Ling shouted as she ran into the classroom, waving her hands frantically.
Cao Shanshan, who was sure that Ling Yun had been avoiding her for the day, was fuming with anger as she packed her bag and prepared to return home. However, upon hearing from Zhang Ling that Ling Yun was back in school, she immediately ran out of the class.
“Where?!” Cao Shanshan yelled.
“Look, he’s over there, walking towards the dorm entrance! Look at that fella carrying all that branded goods!” Zhang Ling replied as she pointed her finger in the direction of the dorm.
As Cao Shanshan’s eyes followed the direction of Zhang Ling’s finger, she almost exploded from the rage. With her sharp eyes, she could clearly see Ling Yun’s chubby figure walking, with numerous branded goods in his hands and arms. Those were the most expensive brands!
Didn’t Zhang Ling say that the two of us were worlds apart? That was why I decided to throw away my quiet yet lavish lifestyle. I decided to wear the most ordinary clothing and the most ordinary purse and bags. All this was just so that I could become someone you could relate and feel comfortable with! To change the way you see me! Yet now, not only did you skip lessons without a word, you even dare to come back with all those branded goods?! What is it you’re trying to do? To show off? Or… are you trying to relate to me? To conform to my lifestyle?
Cao Shanshan frown as her head filled with different thoughts and emotions. She was unable to understand the reason behind Ling Yun’s actions. That being said, she was determined to find out by hook or by crook!
“Come on, let’s wait for him at the entrance!” Cao Shanshan said to Zhang Ling.
Cao Shanshan stretched her legs and with a twist of her petite waist, she sprinted down the stairs with Zhang Ling in tow.
