Xia Yingluo rolled her eyes at Ye Chen. "Did it feel amazing to be groped by a pretty girl?"
Ye Chen chuckled. "Not bad—moderately amazing."
"Hmph, don't you know men and women should keep their distance? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Xia Yingluo muttered, her little mouth pouting.
Ye Chen grinned. "What's wrong—are you jealous?"
"In your dreams. I'd never be jealous over you."
Seeing her pout, Ye Chen coaxed, "Alright, don't be mad. From now on I'll only let you touch me, okay?"
"That's more like it."
"Hold on—who wants to touch you?"
Xia Yingluo said, cheeks scarlet.
Just then, a Nurse stepped out.
"This young lady's skin is pretty good; she just lacks regular care and nutrition, so the roughness is mainly from dehydration."
"Oh, so she'll need the full treatment, right?" Ye Chen's eyes lit up.
The Nurse shook her head. "No, a simple routine will do for her condition."
Ye Chen felt deflated.
Simple care meant cheap.
When it came to spending on Xia Yingluo, he wanted nothing but the priciest.
At checkout he was still gloomy—the total was barely four hundred yuan.
While Yingluo had her treatment, Ye Chen chatted with the Nurse.
An hour later.
"Ye Chen!"
Xia Yingluo walked out of the treatment room.
Ye Chen looked up and froze.
She was breathtaking.
Her hair had been restyled; the once-dry strands now flowed in glossy waves over her shoulders.
He stared, transfixed.
He'd always known Xia Yingluo was beautiful—he'd seen her future self.
But only now did he realize how stunning she was at eighteen.
Pure and radiant, she brimmed with youthful vitality.
In her previous life, at eighteen she'd slogged away in restaurants, reeking of brine, too busy and timid to care for herself.
She'd rarely even looked in a mirror.
Perhaps she herself had never seen how lovely she could be.
But Ye Chen had changed that—turning the ugly duckling into a swan at eighteen.
Blushing, she asked nervously, "Do I look nice?"
He nodded emphatically. "Gorgeous. I'm so lucky to see the most beautiful eighteen-year-old you."
At that moment the System chimed in his head again.
"Congratulations, Host. For helping your investment target break free of her cocoon, you receive a Physique-Enhancement Capsule."
Physique-Enhancement Capsule: increases agility, strength, stamina, and flexibility.
In his past life Ye Chen had been frail; with this capsule, even if Li Sitong demanded "homework" every day he could handle it!
…Meanwhile, at Yida Plaza—
Li Sitong was shopping with her two best friends.
"Do I look good in this?" she asked, twirling in a blue tee.
"Pretty," Yu Weiwei said with a smile.
"It really suits you," Wu Mengmeng added.
"Si Tong, you're acting weird today—why drag us to buy clothes all of a sudden?" Yu Weiwei asked curiously.
"Can't I want new clothes?" Li Sitong's cheeks flushed faintly.
She was doing it for Ye Chen—his buying jianbing for Xia Yingluo had stirred a hint of sense of crisis.
So she wanted to look even prettier.
Seeing her friends approve, she said, "Then this set it is."
Wu Mengmeng picked another outfit. "I'll go try this one."
"Hey, Si Tong, what's with your deskmate Ye Chen today?" Yu Weiwei asked.
"What do you mean?" Li Sitong replied.
"Wasn't he crazy about Gao Qian? When did he switch affections?"
"Who says he switched? He's never liked anyone," Li Sitong said.
"What about you?" Yu Weiwei shot back.
"We're just desk mates," Li Sitong said, face reddening.
"Tsk, still pretending. Do you like Ye Chen?" Yu Weiwei teased.
"We're buddies," Li Sitong insisted.
Yu Weiwei patted her shoulder with a grin. "Si Tong, better make your move fast, or don't cry when your pig gets carried off by the cabbage."
Li Sitong's heart quivered at the words.
She recalled Ye Chen helping Xia Yingluo at the noodle shop and felt a pang.
Could Ye Chen really like Xia Yingluo?
Just then Wu Mengmem emerged in her new outfit.
In the end Li Sitong bought one set, Wu Mengmeng another.
Li Sitong stepped to the counter and handed her bank card to the cashier.
"Swipe it."
It was 2008; Alipay and WeChat Pay weren't common, so she paid by card.
The cashier soon handed the card back.
"Sorry, miss, insufficient balance."
"What? Insufficient?" Li Sitong froze.
"Yes, only a few yuan left."
Li Sitong was stunned. "That's impossible. I had over a million. Maybe your System's wrong—try again."
The cashier swiped once more and confirmed, "You have 8 yuan and change."
"How?" Li Sitong frowned.
"Si Tong, what's up?" Yu Weiwei and Wu Mengmeng came over.
"All my money's gone," Li Sitong said.
"What? Didn't you have over a million in allowance?" Yu Weiwei exclaimed.
"Check your texts—bank transfers always send alerts."
Li Sitong suddenly remembered.
She glanced at her phone and froze.
Ye Chen's one finger hadn't meant 100,000—it had meant one million.
He'd transferred away her entire million.
Yu Weiwei asked, "Si Tong, were you hacked?"
Li Sitong shook her head. "No, Ye Chen moved it. He said he's buying stocks tomorrow."
"What? You gave Ye Chen a million to play the stock market?"
"Si Tong, are you insane?"
"Yeah, the market's risky—my dad's friend lost everything and jumped off a building."
Li Sitong gave a wry smile. "I told him he could transfer whatever he wanted. I didn't expect he'd take it all and leave me 8 yuan."
Yu Weiwei and Wu Mengmeng exchanged glances.
"Si Tong, Ye Chen's not a con artist, is he?" Yu Weiwei asked cautiously.
Li Sitong shook her head. "No, I trust him—and he didn't hide it from me; I just misunderstood."
She took a deep breath. "So what if I lose it? I'm happy to spend money on him!"