“Why are you home, Lu Qin? Don’t you have something to do? Oh, this reminds me.”
Qin Xiaoyue walked to him quickly, a hand extending. “I need some money.”
Lu Qin took out his wallet and handed her a card.
Qin Xiaoyue pocketed it, intending to put it to use soon on a shopping trip.
“Spend it wisely,” said Lu Qin coolly.
“I know,” said Qin Xiaoyue, but in her heart, she was already thinking about what to buy later.
Exhausted, Lu Qin dragged his body back to the bedroom. He tore off his tie, but even then he felt as though a hand was around his neck, toying with his life like it’s nothing.
He suddenly slammed his hands on the frame of the bed, his fists clenched so hard that he could hear the sound of bones rubbing together.
“Not like this! Not like this!” Green veins bulged on his forehead, his neck, and his hands. He couldn’t let things go on like this. Not over his dead body.
He wasn’t born to be a complement to Lu Yi. Why was it that Lu Yi could marry Yan Huan, but not him? Why was Yan Huan willing to go to any lengths for Lu Yi? Why? Why?
Yan Huan was his prey, so why did she end up in Lu Yi’s tummy?
His heart thumped noisily as though it was about to jump out of his chest. His vexation was killing him.
Somewhere else, Qin Xiaoyue handed over a credit card confidently and waited for the bill to come. Unexpectedly, the cashier returned only to proffer her credit card.
“I’m sorry, Madam, but you have insufficient funds in your card.”
“Insufficient funds?
“How could that be?” hissed Qin Xiaoyue, nearly forgetting her status. Her son had given the card to her, and her son was Lu Qin. He was a member of the Lu Family. It wasn’t as though she didn’t know how much money an actor was capable of making. There had to be a mistake somewhere.
The cashier tried again, but the same thing happened.
Qin Xiaoyue was mortified at the realization that she couldn’t even buy herself a proper piece of jewelry. What kind of Lu Family member was she? No one ever paid her any respect ever since she entered it.
“This one’s good,” said Ye Shuyun, pointing at a longevity lock. “She’ll look good in this.”
“Agreed,” said Madam Lei. That was the one she thought best at first glance, and it seemed like Ye Shuyun had the same taste. If both of them agreed that it was good, it can’t possibly be anything but good.
“This one, please,” said Ye Shuyun, pointing at the longevity lock in the glass shelf.
“You have excellent taste, Madam. This is one of the best in our shop,” said the shop assistant smilingly. “It’s specially made for babies, smoothened at its sides to prevent any damage to the baby’s skin.”
“We’ll take it,” said Ye Shuyun, handing over a card without even asking for any prices. The diamond on her finger was as big as a pigeon egg, dazzling the shop assistant with its reflected light.
The shop assistant took the card and passed it to the cashier.
Another card? The sight of it gave the cashier headache. She glanced at the price. Holy moly, 380,000? Was there enough money in the card?
“Could it be another empty card?” whispered the cashier. “Did you see the woman just now? Funny how she thought she could buy something that expensive with her broke ass card.”
“This one’s different,” said the shop assistant, lowering her voice too. “You can tell she’s the real deal by the pigeon-egg sized diamond on her ring.”
“Diamond ring?” repeated the cashier skeptically. “Might be made of glass. Counterfeit jewelry is everywhere these days. Why not a ‘diamond’ ring?”
“How can it be glass? You think a jeweler like me can’t tell diamond from glass? Get to it, ” hurried the shop assistant, hoping to seal the deal quickly.
“Can’t you see I’m on it?” said the cashier, equally anxious. What should she do if it was another empty card?
Ding! The transaction was approved. The two of them heaved sighs of relief.
“What did I tell you?” said the shop assistant, flourishing the card in her hand. “Told you she’s loaded.”
The cashier gave a heh-heh laugh. “Fine, you win, but you can’t always judge a book by its cover, like the lady just now. She looked like a nouveau riche but turned out to be broke. Not just that, she went right for the most expensive one too. I don’t care which one she chooses, but pay up and don’t waste my time. With the time I spent on her, I could have served God twice. Telling us she had no money in the end, what was she trying to do? Waste our time?”
And what could the shop assistant say? She had seen too many of her kind and was used to them by now. Shrugging, she went off to return the card to her new ‘god’.
They didn’t realize Qin Xiaoyue was standing nearby eavesdropping every word they said, her face a dark gloom.
Holding the golden longevity lock in its bag, Ye Shuyun and Mdm. Lei set off to buy more stuff for the Lei Family’s precious soon-to-be-born child.
“I love your ring,” gushed Mdm. Lei, impressed by Ye Shuyun’s taste. “Your taste is getting better by the day. It fits you perfectly.”
“Oh, stop it you,” said Ye Shuyun, chuckling and cupping her mouth. “What do you mean my taste is getting better? It’s a gift from my Huanhuan. Remember that jewelry advertisement she shot lately? The company presented this to her as a gift, and she gave it to me knowing that I like jewelry.”
“Tsk, look at you,” said Mdm. Lei, amused and humorously annoyed. “It’s always Huanhuan here and Huanhuan there. You have been praising her since we met up today. Don’t you get tired of saying it?”
“Tired? Of course not!” said Ye Shuyun, twirling her ringed finger. “I can finally sleep at ease now that Lu Yi has found himself such an excellent wife. In the past, I always feared that he couldn’t find a wife, so I worked desperately hard and set aside my pride trying to find him a match, but things between them always went stale in just a few days. But look at him now? Found himself such a beautiful wife. Though I would expect no less from my own son. Capable and born with an eye for people.”
“You are so full of yourself,” chided Mdm. Lei. She held the golden lock in her hand and stroked it carefully. Of course, she was every bit as smug as Ye Shuyun. Her son was even better. Not only did he find himself a wife, but he would also soon be giving her a grandson.
A grandson was way more practical than jewelry. Plus, she never liked jewelry in the first place. A grandson was what she needed.
They were so busy congratulating each other that they never noticed the vicious gaze that followed them like a shadow.
