Naomi noticed that Culver was looking at her mischievously after she reprimanded him for overspending on a bottle of mineral water.
She felt a bit restless from his gaze so she asked, âWhat are you looking at?â
âIt turns out that you care so much about my money.â
Naomi was mystified.
She thought to herself, âI donât specifically care about your money. As long as itâs money, Iâll pay attention to it. My mother taught me that although money is indispensable in life, we shouldnât rely too much on it.â
If she were to adopt such a wasteful lifestyle, she wouldnât be able to survive the day she would lose all her money.
Therefore, she and Eddison had learnt the importance of being thrifty at a young age. After all, her day-to-day basic needs wouldnât cost too much. Usually, what she had was more than enough.
âYou donât have to feel sorry for me. I can make money, and Iâll let my wife live a wealthy life in the future. Plus, the price of an item is proportional to its quality. An expensive item wonât have bad quality!â
Naomi stared suspiciously at him, wondering why he had casted her a look when he had said âmy wifeâ just then.
Other than that, she was rather dubious about his remark regarding price and quality.
âSo, do you mean that cheap things are poorly made?â
âIsnât that so?â Obviously, that was what Culver thought. That was why he spent such a large amount of money on a bottle of mineral water.
His values really stunned her.
âThen, what about the poor?â
âNaturally, they will use cheaper things. Speaking of which, Olsen Group does a lot of philanthropic work every year to help them.â
His tone was solemn.
Naomi was rendered speechless.
She felt that it was necessary to let him know about the correct outlook on life.
âAre you hungry? Letâs go eat something!â
Culver nodded and the two of them walked out of the alley.
There was a street for foodies not far from them. Naomi had been there before.
It was incredibly famous. The food sold there might look ordinary, but they were truly palatable. In the past, when she was tired from her training, she would go to the street and treat herself to a feast. She would order something from all the stores and all the exhaustion of her body would dissipate.
As soon as they walked into the street, they smelled a strong aroma. It was the smell of corn dogs.
Naomi took a deep breath.
She heard Culverâs confused voice, âWhat is this smell?â
âIt smells good, doesnât it? Itâs from corn dogs!â
âThe smell is quite unpleasant.â
However, Naomi took no notice of his complaint because she had already rushed to a stall that was selling corn dogs.
She bought two sets. Only then did she realize that Culver had not followed her.
She held the food in her hand and went back along the same path, only to find that Culver was still standing at the same spot as before, with a look of disdain on his face.
âWhat are you doing here? Arenât you hungry?â
As she approached him, the smell of corn dogs in her hand spread out, and he took a step back in response to that.
âDonât come any closer!â
He stared uneasily at the corn dogs in her hand.
âAre you afraid of corn dogs?â
He feigned nonchalance while replying to her, âIâm afraid of nothing!â
âWhy donât you have a try?â
Naomi smiled, and raised the corn dog to his lips.
âItâs really delicious!â
âTake it away!â Culver looked at the food with contempt. He really could not understand why such a food would exist.
Being a person who was used to eating all kinds of sumptuous meals served in top-notch restaurants since he was young, corn dogs really seemed inedible to him.
âI guarantee that itâll be tasty. If you donât believe me, Iâll show you.â
After that, Naomi directly put a corn dog to her mouth. Culver wanted to stop her, but it was too late.
He looked nervously at Naomi, as if she would be poisoned to death in the next moment.
However, things didnât turn out as he had expected. Naomi ate the corn dog, and told him contentedly, âIt still tastes the same as last time when I was a child. Itâs really appetizing!â
Then, she took the other one and tried to make Culver have a bite again.
Culver closed his eyes and ate it, grimacing with dislike.
However, he soon opened his eyes and looked at the food in Naomiâs hands incredulously.
âIs this a corn dog?â
âYes! It tastes good, right? Here, this is for you!â
She gave him her share. âLetâs go!â she said.
Culver looked at the passersby and asked, âAre we going to eat like this?â
âOf course! Why canât we do that?â
To Culver, it was a little strange. It seemed that the upper-classâ etiquette taught by his parents did not exist in such a place at all.
All the people around them were disregarding table manners. They would just eat the food without using any cutlery.
Everyone was eating and chatting at the same time. It was so unbelievable to him because it contradicted the dining etiquette he had learned before.
Nonetheless, it felt heart-warming to look at them.
Not saying anything else, Culver followed Naomi and squeezed his way into the crowd.
Like other similar streets, the street they were on was small and crowded. Additionally, it was a bit filthy and messy due to the passage of time.
Naomi had initially thought that it would take a long time for a young man from a rich family like Culver to get used to the place. However, to her surprise, it only took him five minutes to completely grow accustomed to everything.
Moreover, he was more eager than her when ordering food.
Naomi deliberately asked him to pay for the food.
Soon, he came back, incredulous.
âWe ate so much just now, yet it only cost a few dollars?â
Naomi said, âAs I expected.â
âWhy is it so cheap?â asked Culver. Naomi felt that his outlook on life was experiencing a drastic change.
Naomi smiled and pointed at the crowd of people, saying, âFood here has always been so cheap. This is the life of ordinary people, or poor people in your words.â
Culver was deep in thought as he replied, âThey look really happy!â
Naomi laughed out loud and then said, âWhy do you think that poor people are not happy? Thereâs only a small portion of people who can make it to the top of the pyramid. Most of them remain at the bottom of the pyramid and live ordinary lives. Regardless of whether weâre rich or poor, we will all only live once. Besides, all of us are equal, and nobody is innately more noble than someone else. Our lives are so short, only lasting a few decades, so why donât we try our best to live a happy life?â
Culver was left dazed by her words. No one had ever spoken to him in that way before.
Ever since he was a child, everyone around him had been telling him that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and that he was meant to achieve something great.
His every word and action represented the Olsen family. He was entrusted with the responsibility of making his family proud. He had to excel in everything so that his life wouldnât be wasted.
On the contrary, Naomi had just told him that everyone was the same, and that they should all lead a happy life.
He reckoned that her words were true.
Seeing that he was in a daze, Naomi stretched her hand out and waved it in front of his eyes, saying, âWhatâs wrong? What are you thinking of? If you donât react soon, Iâm going to eat up all your share too!â
Culver came to his senses and grabbed hold of the hand in front of his eyes.
Her hand was tender and white. It covered his palm, as if filling up the small gap in his empty heart at the same time.
The atmosphere was suddenly tinged with pink. Culver wanted to say something, but in the next second, Naomi directly punched him.
âYou rogue! How dare you molest me?!â
Her actions rendered him speechless.