Li Yuanyuan remarked sarcastically, "Qianqian, you've gotten prettier again."

Jiang Zimu chimed in, "Well, you are in the beauty business; your skin just keeps improving."

"Can't help it, born this way," Zhao Yaqian said, flipping her wavy hair with a big smile.

"Yeah, right," her two old classmates sneered at the same time.

But "Beauty Zhao" was indeed Zhao Yaqian's nickname and was well-earned.

Back in high school, Zhao Yaqian wasn't good at studying, but she had great legs and was undeniably pretty, making her a bit of a school celebrity.

After sitting down across from them, Zhao Yaqian placed her bag in the middle of the table, blinking expectantly at them.

Li Yuanyuan, with her sharp eyes, quickly noticed something. She reached over to feel the tanned leather and eyed the prominent logo in astonishment. "Is this…LV?"

Jiang Zimu paused, taking a closer look, then asked, "Carryall? I think I've seen it online; it's a pretty popular bag."

"Yes!" Zhao Yaqian beamed. "It's the medium-sized LV Carryall. Isn’t it beautiful? It matches my height perfectly."

Li Yuanyuan covered her mouth, laughing, and then feigned amazement, "Wow! Qianqian, you actually have an LV bag! So impressive; I'm so jealous!"

"Hmph, jealousy won't help you. I’m not letting you borrow it," Zhao Yaqian grinned, revealing her perfectly white teeth.

Even though Li Yuanyuan was quite close with her, she sometimes couldn't help comparing. While she won in looks, she lagged behind in other areas and often got teased for it.

Zhao Yaqian had come here today just to enjoy seeing their shocked reactions.

"Pfft," Li Yuanyuan laughed, clutching her stomach. "Qianqian, you're something else! Hahaha! Carrying a high-quality fake is actually quite funny. Not only does it not look cool, but it could even be embarrassing. You might as well spend a thousand on a Coach bag!"

Jiang Zimu also looked amused at her old friend. This wasn’t the first time; back in high school, she often bought fake Adidas and Nike, which usually didn't last long.

Zhao Yaqian's face twitched, and she grabbed her beloved bag, protesting, "This is a genuine Carryall! I spent over twenty thousand on it, not some fake!"

"Sure, sure, we believe you," Li Yuanyuan nodded, trying to suppress her laughter. "Qianqian, you've really come up in the world. Now you can afford such an expensive bag."

Jiang Zimu smiled, "It does look good on you. I might get one online myself."

Li Yuanyuan opened her phone and searched on Pinduoduo. Showing the results to Zhao Yaqian, she teased, "See? Here’s the top-spec version with chip and crossbody strap for 298 yuan, free shipping."

"Believe it or not, it's authentic! Why would I lie?" Zhao Yaqian, red-faced, took out her new phone and placed it on the table. "See? My new phone—the 1TB version of the 14 Pro."

Li Yuanyuan was stunned, picked it up, and tried the camera. It was real.

"Finally raised your credit limit, huh?" she asked. Zhao Yaqian had always had a limit of 5,000 yuan, not enough for such a big purchase.

Jiang Zimu couldn't help but advise, "Qianqian, you were in debt for so long. Now that things are better, maybe avoid splurging so much?"

After her attempts to impress them failed twice, Zhao Yaqian ruffled her hair in frustration, feeling her image was getting tarnished in front of her old friends.

Stubbornly, she explained, "Both the bag and the phone were gifts from my boyfriend! You two are just short-sighted!"

"Boyfriend? You?"

"When did this happen? How come you never mentioned it?"

Li Yuanyuan and Jiang Zimu gawked at her, both startled.

Blushing, Zhao Yaqian replied, "We just made it official recently. We’re both busy with work, so I hadn’t had the chance to tell you."

Though he hadn't formally confessed, they'd kissed and held each other—so naturally, they were a couple.

Jiang Zimu blurted out, "Could it be that guy you went on that road trip with?"

This stood out to her because Zhang Wensheng often mentioned it. Back then, Zhao Yaqian had borrowed money from him but turned down his movie invite to go on a trip with another guy, which hit him hard and made him decide to buy a car.

"Yes, that's him!" Zhao Yaqian nodded, recalling their happy memories with a dreamy smile.

Jiang Zimu and Li Yuanyuan exchanged a surprised glance. They'd heard from Zhang Wensheng that the guy drove a Wuling Hongguang, not exactly a luxury car. From the photos, he was just moderately attractive.

Li Yuanyuan held back from pointing out that guys often bought fake designer bags to gift girls these days. But seeing Zhao Yaqian’s expression, she left it unsaid—after all, her 14 Pro was a genuine luxury item worth over ten thousand yuan.

Jiang Zimu glanced at the time and stood up. "Let's go; we can chat as we shop, and later we’ll grab a bite."

"Yes, I haven’t bought much for summer. Help me pick something out," Zhao Yaqian said, clutching her beloved bag, now cheered up again.

That was her personality—simple and direct. Though she'd felt wronged by her friends' misunderstanding, she brightened up at the thought of shopping.

The three linked arms, heading up the escalator to the second floor.

Along the way, Zhao Yaqian kept looking at other girls' outfits, seeking inspiration.

With the warm weather, most girls were dressed lightly; some even boldly paired crop tops with shorts, making her blush a bit. If she wore something like that to see Brother Song, he’d probably…

In the women's section, Zhao Yaqian finally found a dress she liked after nearly an hour. It resembled one Lin Muxue had worn before—a simple, flowy white dress with a snug fit, a stylish cut perfect for tall girls.

The brand, MSLAN, was moderately high-end, considered somewhat upscale.

After checking the price tag, Zhao Yaqian stuck out her tongue. Just one little dress was 800 yuan.

She hesitated but asked the sales assistant to get her the right size and went to try it on.

When she emerged from the fitting room, Zhao Yaqian looked herself over in the mirror, growing more and more satisfied. It was simple yet elegant, perfectly fitting.

She turned to her two friends and asked, "How does this look? Nice, right?"

Jiang Zimu nodded, "Very nice, suits your figure perfectly." Follow current novels on novęlfire.net

Li Yuanyuan remarked, "You're going for a mature look now, not quite your usual style."

Zhao Yaqian had a naturally striking figure—tall, with great proportions. Almost anything she tried on looked good on her.

"Well, I'm working now; I need to look the part," Zhao Yaqian explained, then handed her phone to Li Yuanyuan. "Could you take a photo for me?"

She posed, flashing an OK sign at Li Yuanyuan.

Click!

"Thanks, Yuanyuan!" She quickly grabbed her phone, pleased with the photo.

After a bit of touching up, she sent it to Tang Song with the caption, "New dress—how does it look?"

Putting her phone away, she gave the dress a little spin in the mirror and decided, "This is it; I'll take it!"

---

Yan City Industrial University.

After finishing an elective class, Zhang Wensheng rushed out of the building, heading to the parking lot.

Behind him, his dormmate Du Guangyin called after him, "Hey, bro! Take me with you!"

Zhang Wensheng grumbled, "I’m off to see my goddess. What are you tagging along for?"

"Same here!" Du Guangyin grinned, "Your freshman classmate Jiang Zimu—I like her. I figured I’d try getting her WeChat during dinner."

Zhang Wensheng promptly rejected, "No way; she’s my dear junior. I won’t let you mess with her."

Du Guangyin offered, "I’ll put a hundred yuan of gas in your car."

"Deal!"

The two raced to the parking lot, where Zhang Wensheng unlocked the car.

Beep!

Not far away, the lights of a white Dongnan LingShuai flashed.

Zhang Wensheng quickly hopped in, thrilled with his purchase. After finding out his goddess had gone on a road trip with another guy in a Wuling Hongguang, he decided to buy a car to look more impressive. Following online advice, he got this modified LingShuai that resembled a Mitsubishi Evo. He loved its "Initial D" vibe.

Equipped with a 4G18 1.6L engine, manual transmission, and a 12,000-yuan price tag, it was a steal.

The engine roared to life, headlights glowing as the white LingShuai smoothly pulled out of Yan Industrial University’s gates.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Zhang Wensheng's face was flushed with excitement, looking forward to dinner with his goddess and her reaction to his beloved car.