Their heated exchange was interrupted by a loud ding.
Li Yundong turned his head to the side and glanced towards the entrance. The saleswoman stepped into the store, followed by Su Chan who was now wearing the purple formal dress they’d been checking out earlier.
Li Yundong’s feet moved on their own accord. Everything else in the store seemed to fade away. It was like he had some kind of tunnel vision; all he could see was Su Chan.
Su Chan’s sweet scent assaulted his nose the moment he stopped in front of her, and his jaw went slack as he drank in her appearance.
If he wasn’t a half-broke student, he would give the saleswoman a generous tip right about now for her good tastes and her impeccable eye for detail. Because that dress right there? It hugged Su Chan’s body in all the right ways, ways that would make even the strongest men go weak at the knees. A good half of Su Chan’s chest was left bare due to the dress’ strapless design. A diamond necklace hung elegantly from her neck. The necklace pendant rested just below her exposed collarbone, sparkling amidst the backdrop of her white skin. Below the necklace, Su Chan’s ample bosom pushed tightly against the dress’ bodice, giving him a generous view of her cleavage. Further down her torso, along her sides, the silk fabric clung to Su Chan like a second skin, accentuating every inch of her hourglass figure. Below the waist, the fluffy folds of the skirt looked like a bunch of overlapping clouds.
At that moment, Li Yundong thought Su Chan was the closest thing to Aphrodite he had ever seen, and he wanted to drop to his knees and worship her like the goddess she was.
Heck, she even did her hair, which was now pulled into an elegant French twist.
“Wow… You look…” Li Yundong trailed off.
No words could do her beauty justice.
The saleswoman cleared her throat. “Um… my apologies, sir,” she said. “You were gone for too long, so I brought your girlfriend to the shoe store next door…”
Li Yundong glanced down. A pair of black, open-toe high heels adorned Su Chan’s feet. Can’t believe I missed those, he thought. Wait a minute, who paid for it?
Li Yundong’s head shot up in alarm as he gave the saleswoman an incredulous look.
“They just let her walk out of the store with the shoes?”
The saleswoman smiled at him kindly. “Pretty much,” she said. “The owner wants your girlfriend to become their shoe model. So he gave her the shoes as a gift.”
Li Yundong looked at Su Chan in surprise. “And you agreed?”
Su Chan beamed at him. “Hehe… Nope!”
Li Yundong’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Then how come you still have the shoes?”
“Well, It’s like this, sir,” the saleswoman jumped in to explain. “Your girlfriend denied the request, true. But the owner decided to give her the shoes anyway. All he asked for in return is that your girlfriend would recommend his store to her friends…”
Huh. He supposed it made sense. Su Chan totally rocked those heels, which meant she would draw a lot of attention whenever she wore them. People were definitely going to ask her where she bought them. She was literally a walking billboard for the store.
“But, of course, the offer to become their shoe model still stands.” The saleswoman eyed Su Chan enviously. “She can get any product in the shoe store for free as long as she becomes their shoe model…”
Li Yundong nodded. “What about the necklace?”
“Oh, the necklace is ours,” the saleswoman said. “It was meant to match the dress, actually. But if you prefer to buy just the dress, that’s fine too.”
“Okay… What about the hair? How did that happen?”
The saleswoman chuckled. “Well, I must say that your girlfriend’s beauty had caused quite a ruckus around here. The owner of the salon next door just happened to be inside the shoe store when we were there. She offered to do your girlfriend’s hair for free. And… there you have it.”
Li Yundong stared at the elegant French twist on top of Su Chan’s head.
The saleswoman sighed dreamily. “She looks perfect, don’t you think?”
Li Yundong’s eyes traveled down Su Chan’s curves. Yeah… Guess that makes two of us.
***
Shen Hui couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the girl in the purple dress. Never in her life had she met any woman so gorgeous. Never. Shen Hui herself was a rare beauty. She knew that for a fact and had taken pride in it since she was just a little girl. Her good looks had fueled her hubris for years and, in some cases, served as a valuable tool to get what she wanted in life.
Even so, Shen Hui had to admit that this girl’s beauty completely and utterly outclassed her own. With that dress and the diamond necklace, this girl could put international models to shame. What vexed Shen Hui the most, however, wasn’t even the fact that her own beauty was overshadowed. It was the fact that this bombshell of a girl was that sick, perverted, sex maniac’s girlfriend!
Impossible! I don’t buy it!
Shen Hui shook her head as though this was some kind of dream that she could just shake off. No way. No way in hell that a girl as beautiful as that would date such a shameless man.
However, what Shen Hui saw a moment later made her wish she never came to this store today.
***
The waving of Su Chan’s hand in front of his face interrupted Li Yundong’s geometrical analysis of Su Chan’s cleavage.
“What’s the matter? Can’t recognize your own woman anymore?”
A surge of heat shot through Li Yundong at Su Chan’s sultry voice.
Li Yundong swallowed hard.
“Y- you look so beautiful…” Li Yundong cleared his throat. “I mean… I- I could barely recognize you.”
“Hehe! I’ll always be your woman no matter how beautiful I become!”
A wave of affection and joy flooded Li Yundong’s heart, causing him to chuckle. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how he got so lucky as to have Su Chan as his girlfriend. Speaking of his girlfriend…
Li Yundong looked towards the fitting room. The obnoxious woman who had accused him of being a perverted sex maniac earlier was now shaking her head forcefully. Li Yundong smirked and wrapped an arm around Su Chan’s waist, pulling her tight against him.
Li Yundong nearly laughed when he saw the woman reaching for the fitting room’s door jamb for support. She looked so pale that it was as though she’d seen a ghost. Moments later, the woman’s face flushed with anger.
“Ahem! Sir?”
Li Yundong turned away from the fitting room and looked at the saleswoman.
“Do you want to try something on as well?” the saleswoman asked hopefully. “I mean, your girlfriend is all dolled up and…”
And I’d just taint her beauty if I stand beside her looking like a beggar? Is that so? he thought, smirking at the saleswoman. More business for you, I suppose.
“Sure. What do you have for me?” Li Yundong said.
The saleswoman perked up instantly.
“Wonderful, sir! The men’s section is on the east side of our store…”
She hesitated for a moment.
“Or would you like me to pick out a few outfits for you?”
Hell, yeah. He couldn’t even remember the last time he went shopping for clothes, so he had no idea what he was doing. The saleswoman hurried to the men’s section after receiving the go-ahead from Li Yundong.
The saleswoman returned with a black suit a while later.
Li Yundong took the hangers and stared at the clothes for a moment. Then, he made his way towards the fitting room to get changed.
Here goes nothing…
The door of the fitting room slammed shut.
***
The moment Li Yundong stepped out of the fitting room, he decided that trying on the suit was the right decision. Even if he didn’t buy the suit, he got to see the slack-jawed expressions on Su Chan, the saleswoman, the cashier, and yes, even the obnoxious bitch.
Li Yundong stood in front of the full-length mirror outside the fitting room and studied his own reflection. The suit added a layer of maturity on top of his masculine appearance. For once in his life, Li Yundong could honestly acknowledge that he looked… handsome.
Then, Su Chan came up to him, leaning into his side with her arm resting on the crook of his shoulder.
Li Yundong studied their reflections again, noting how matching they were when standing next to each other. His lips curved into a satisfied grin.
“Well, what do you know. I think we match pretty well, don’t you think?”
“Of course!” Su Chan said, her face lighting up with joy.
When Li Yundong turned away from the mirror, he found that Su Chan was looking at him as well.
A second later, sounds of their laughter filled the entire store.
Oh, yeah. He was definitely buying the suit.
***
Then came the hard part.
Li Yundong walked up to the payment counter after the saleswoman had packaged their purchases into bags.
“How much in total?” Li Yundong said, pulling out his bank card. By his estimation, all this would cost at least… 20 thousand yuan?
The cashier’s fingers flew across her keyboard, before she hit the enter key with a loud tap.
“Sir, that would be 98,030 yuan.”
Li Yundong nearly dropped his bank card.
“C- c- come again?”
“That would be 98,030 yuan in total,” said the cashier. “But only 71 thousand yuan after the discount.”
Holy f*cking shit!
That was all his savings gone in a single day!
“S- so much?”
“Of course, you pervert,” the Miss Obnoxious said with a smirk. “That diamond necklace alone costs over 40 thousand.”
Li Yundong froze. Maybe we should forget about the necklace—
“Do yourself a favor and don’t shop in a high-end store if you’re poor,” Miss Obnoxious continued. “People like you should just buy clothes from the night market.”
Redness crept up Li Yundong’s neck into his cheeks.
“Who told you I can’t afford it!” Li Yundong slammed his bank card onto the countertop. “Here!”
When the cashier took the card, Li Yundong felt a gentle tug on his hand.
“I… I don’t want the necklace,” Su Chan whispered. “We… we’ll be broke, won’t we?”
Li Yundong nearly laughed at Su Chan’s not-very-convincing attempt to dissuade him. It might have worked if she wasn’t clinging onto the necklace like a lifeline.
He smiled and said, “We’ve already bought a horse, so we might as well buy the saddle too. Don’t worry, I can afford it!”
He couldn’t afford shit. In fact, he just went bankrupt because of a diamond…
Good thing his bank account allowed overdrafts. Otherwise…
Su Chan tugged his hand again.
“W- we shouldn’t,” she said, shaking her head, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth adorably. “We’ll really end up on the streets…”
Li Yundong burst into laughter.
“Don’t worry! As a man, it is my responsibility to pleasure… ahem! I mean… Th-the point! The point is… I’ll do anything for you.”
By the time he and Su Chan left the store, all the female staff at the store were still giggling because of his Freudian slip.
So many firsts. First time shopping with his girl. First time wearing a suit. First time facing bankruptcy.
