In the high-end clothing store, when Lin Xu came out of the fitting room wearing the tenth outfit and spun around in front of Ji Tingyang to ask for his opinion, he was already beginning to regret his impulsive decision.
The interval had been too long, and he had forgotten just how enthusiastic Lin Xu was when shopping for clothes. Every time they went out to look at the latest seasonâs offerings, she would try on clothes for half a day before buying everything.
When he was a child, he could sit and wait while playing with toys, but now it seemed his patience was running thin.
Seeing Lin Xu brimming with excitement, with no sign of finishing any time soon, Ji Tingyang took out his phone to look over a document sent by his secretary during the spare moment.
Before long, he heard a commotion nearby.
âWhatâs wrong with your staff? I already told you to reserve this dress for me. Why did you sell it to her?â A woman with short hair scolded the store employees in a fit of anger.
The staff member wore a troubled expression, âMiss Xu, our staff already explained to you earlier that our store does not offer reservation services, purchases can only be made on the spot.â
The woman with short hair knew the storeâs rules, so she had hurried over as soon as she heard the skirt had arrived, but to her dismay, someone else had gotten to it first.
Thinking of how the skirt was a limited edition, and the only one in the country, her anger surged, âI spend millions in your store every year. Is this how you treat your customers?â
Without caring for more, the short-haired woman snatched the desired dress from the pile of clothes Lin Xu was waiting to check out and tossed it to the clerk, âHurry up and process the payment for me.â
Lin Xu was stunned by the womanâs audacity.
The employee hesitated, âThis miss was about to buy thatâ¦â
âLook at her, dressed all shabby. Everything on her isâ¦â The short-haired woman scrutinized Lin Xu, her tone laced with disdain, âTwenty-year-old outdated designs. Can she even afford it?â
Lin Xu didnât really care for the skirt. She would have been willing to let her have it if she had spoken politely, but the woman was utterly lacking in manners.
Lin Xu tugged at the corner of her mouth and pulled the skirt back towards her, pointing to the pile of clothes in front of her, âIâll take all of these. Charge it to my card.â
She handed over her Black Card from her purse.
The employeeâs face lit up with delight; selling all these clothes would take care of her sales targets for the month. She eagerly reached out to take it.
The short-haired woman froze for a moment. This bank card seemed all too familiar⦠As she thought this, she had already snatched the card to examine it closely.
Credit cards usually bear the ownerâs name, and she immediately looked at the name, which was spelt in the Roman alphabet as Ji Tingyangâs.
She remembered, she had seen the card in Wen Liâs hands before.
âI was wondering how a pauper like you could afford these clothes. It turns out youâve stolen someone elseâs credit card.â
âCredit card fraud is illegal.â The short-haired woman sneered contemptuously, glancing at the nearby employee, âWhat are you waiting for? Call the police, now!â
âWhat?â The employee, looking between the composed Lin Xu and the arrogant woman, was quite baffled for a moment.
Lin Xu tucked her hair behind her ear, remaining serene, âThis card is indeed mine.â
The short-haired woman seemed to hear a hilarious joke, âThe name on it clearly reads Ji Tingyang.â
Lin Xu, âThatâs right, Ji Tingyang gave it to me.â
âThat card was obviously given to Wen Li by Ji Tingyang!â The woman exclaimed while pulling out her phone, ready to call the authorities.
Seeing her causing trouble, Lin Xuâs expression showed her annoyance, and just as she was about to retort, a voice from behind her preempted.
âWhatâs going on?â
Ji Tingyang came up beside Lin Xu and noticed her frowning, seemingly in a bad mood.
Thinking she might have encountered some trouble.
âNothing, just ran into someone causing a disturbance.â Lin Xu snatched the bank card back from the short-haired woman and handed it to the clerk again, âGo ahead and check out.â
The clerk snapped out of it and nodded repeatedly, âRight away, Iâll go get it!â
As she passed by the short-haired woman, the clerk glanced at her disdainfully.
What stealing a bank card, that man was none other than President Ji himself! Utter nonsense, she almost lost such a big sale because of it.
When Ji Tingyang appeared, the short-haired woman just froze in place until the clerk had left before she came back to her senses.
She smoothed her hair and greeted him with a smile, âPresident Ji, so you are here.â
Lin Xu looked at Ji Tingyang and raised an eyebrow, âYou know her?â
If such an uncultured individual was a friend of her son, she would definitely have to educate him on the basic principles of making friends.
Ji Tingyang just glanced at her and quickly looked away, saying coldly, âI donât know her.â
Lin Xu saved herself a lecture.
The smile on the short-haired womanâs face fell, and she hurriedly tried to salvage the situation, âPresident Ji, I am friends with Wen Li, weâve met before at the club.â
At the mention of Wen Li, Ji Tingyangâs movements froze for a moment, and he looked at her again.
The short-haired woman felt a surge of joy, thinking he had remembered her, but before she could speak, Ji Tingyang simply uttered a faint âOh,â and ignored her.
The clerk was very efficient at checking out, and in no time, all the clothes were neatly packed.
Dozens of bags, arranged neatly on the table.
Lin Xu tilted her chin, motioning for Ji Tingyang to take them and walked out ahead of him.
Ji Tingyang seemed experienced, giving the clerk the address to deliver everything to the villa, then strutted his long legs to catch up with Lin Xu.
âThe club she just mentioned, it wouldnât happen to be a nightclub, would it?â
âItâs a leisure club opened by a friend.â
âThatâs a relief, if you dare go to a nightclub and get into trouble, donât expect to come back home.â
ââ¦I wouldnât go.â
Their casual conversation drifted away as they left, and it was only then that the short-haired woman came to her senses, quickly pulling out her phone to make a call.
The phone was quickly answered, and a sweet voice said, âHello?â
âWen Li, I just saw Ji Tingyang at the mall, and guess what, he was actually shopping for clothes with another woman. Whatâs with him, isnât he supposed to be head over heels for you? Isnât he supposed to do as you say?â
Another woman?
The first person Wen Li thought of was Lin Xu, and she felt a bit surprised.
She knew Ji Tingyang was extremely busy with work every day, and yet, this busy Ji Tingyang actually took time off work to go shopping with Lin Xu?
While Wen Li was still in shock, the short-haired woman continued, âDidnât Ji Tingyang give you a Black Card before? How come it ended up in that womanâs hands?â
Wen Li subconsciously replied, âI gave it back to him.â
She didnât want to use Ji Tingyangâs money.
Then, the short-haired womanâs voice exploded through the phone like fireworks, âYou gave it back to him?! Are you crazy? Heâs willing to spend money on you and you refuse it, are you still hung up on that poor guy?â
âHe canât even afford a bouquet of flowers, what kind of life can he give you? A love without material aspects is like sand falling through fingers, donât you understand that?â