"You think I'm short of money?" Mu Yichuan's cold, deep voice was colder than a frozen lake.
Xin Yu shook her head frantically, she absolutely didn't mean that!
Who was Mu Yichuan? In the Qing Dynasty, he was second to none!
"Then you think I'm a gigolo? Need your money?" He raised an eyebrow, a hint of helplessness hidden in his indifferent eyes. This woman really dared to challenge his bottom line!
"I...I didn't!" Xin Yu was practically swearing an oath, "I just wanted to express my sincerity!"
Wasn't she forced into this? He didn't need her money! Did she want to use his?
"Sincerity?" Mu Yichuan stared at the flustered woman for a long time before whispering a few words in her ear, "It means you still can't bear to part with me!"
Gah...
Xin Yu's long eyelashes trembled. This guy had switched into narcissistic mode again! "The card I gave you has no spending limit, didn't you know?" Mu Yichuan's slender fingers lifted Xin Yu's chin, the coldness and anger in his dark eyes gradually subsiding.
"I...don't want to use it." Xin Yu said, enduring the pressure. Why should she use his money?!
"Don't want to use it? Why?" Mu Yichuan's grip on her chin tightened. This woman was so ungrateful!
She never understood her place!
"I..."
"Isn't it natural for a woman to spend a man's money?" Mu Yichuan completely failed to understand Xin Yu's thought process. How many women had approached him and the Mu family without being after money?
Xin Yu sighed inwardly. They were from completely different worlds!
"You're my wife, shouldn't you remember that?"
"I..." No! Xin Yu looked at Mu Yichuan, but didn't dare utter those two words. She exhaled a breath of stale air and continued—
"My mother has never spent my father's money," she murmured softly. For a long time, she felt sorry for her mother. She had married Xin Zhong; when they were poor, she hadn't spent any money on him, and now that they were rich, he cheated on her…
Mu Yichuan looked at the downcast woman, her eyes slightly red. He kissed her lips. "She is her, and you are you!"
Xin Yu pursed her lips, knowing further words were useless. At this moment, she only wanted to regain her freedom. She struggled slightly, looking at Mu Yichuan with a pleading expression.
He glanced at her, released her hand, and a layer of indifference and coldness enveloped him. "Old Zhou, go to Huangshidai."
Huangshidai?
Xin Yu frowned. What was this guy doing going to the biggest shopping mall in the capital so late? Never mind, she had no right to resist for the time being…
"Take it." Mu Yichuan shoved the envelope into Xin Yu's hand. "You have half an hour to spend the money here."
What!
Spend the money she earned in two hours in half an hour…
Xin Yu looked at the calm Mu Yichuan in surprise. His eyes were cold and arrogant, carrying an unyielding, emperor-like aura.
"What? Didn't you just say it was for me? Don't I have the right to dispose of it?"
"…" Xin Yu's hand, tightly gripping the envelope, trembled. She reluctantly got out of the car. Behind her was his cold voice, "Start the timer."
After entering the Royal Era shopping mall and visiting two or three stores, Xin Yu finally understood why Mu Yichuan had given her half an hour. Six hundred yuan couldn't buy anything here…
She couldn't even afford a small trinket! Clutching the money, Xin Yu walked aimlessly. Just a few steps, yet her heart was filled with turbulent emotions. How long ago was she a carefree little girl, showered with love and affection from her parents? How long ago was she aspiring to give her mother a life of unparalleled splendor!
Now, alone, she was almost lost in this luxurious high-end shopping mall, yet she felt an invisible thread pulling her back, reminding her of her past dreams…
A helpless, bitter smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Xin Yu clenched her fists, but instead of resentment towards Mu Yichuan, a complex and inexplicable emotion welled up within her.
"Just a reminder, ten minutes have passed."
"You… you're spying on me?" Holding her phone, Xin Yu quickly turned around, looking around, but Mu Yichuan was nowhere to be seen.
"Hmph," his voice tinged with a mocking laugh, "Six hundred yuan for something I'm satisfied with. If you don't have enough cash, you can use your card."
"..." She knew that was his intention. "Don't worry, Mr. Jiu."
Xin Yu slammed down the phone angrily. She refused to use it!
She went into several stores one after another, then came out again. Before Xin Yu could even give up, she heard an annoying voice while browsing through clothes—
"Oh, Xin Yu, it really is you!"
Gao Min!
"What a coincidence! You're shopping?" Gao Min teased sarcastically, raising an eyebrow and casually flipping through the dresses on the rack.
"It is a coincidence." Xin Yu herself felt their fate was incredibly strong!
"Isn't your sweetheart with you?"
Seeing that she kept bringing up this topic, Xin Yu didn't bother to reply and continued looking around.
"Waiter, you'd better take good care of my classmate. She's incredibly wealthy; everything she wears and uses is a limited edition from top international brands."
Upon hearing Gao Min say this, some waiters sized up Xin Yu, and two quick-witted ones darted to her side, launching into a flurry of introductions.
"Xin Yu, why aren't you using your Chanel bag today? Did you leave it in your Maybach in the parking lot?" Gao Min blinked, her sincerity captivating the waiters.
"Miss, look at this dress of ours, it's one of our main styles for this autumn..."
"Miss, look how well this bag matches this dress..."
"..."
Xin Yu stood up straight, glancing at the fawning saleswoman and the onlooker Gao Min, and calmly nodded. "It is indeed very nice, but—I came to buy men's clothing today."
With that, Xin Yu walked out of the store with a flourish, but her tagalong stuck to her. "Buying men's clothing? I didn't realize, Xin Yu, you're quite shameless! You lie without even blushing."
"Which eye of yours saw me lying? Does the owner of Royal Era rule that you can't shop in women's stores if you buy men's clothing?" Xin Yu turned into a cosmetics store.
"Honestly, your sweetheart dumped you, right? Did he take all your bags and clothes back?" Gao Min, like a gossip reporter, speculated. "Actually, so what if he dumped you? You have so many things in stock, just switch to something else."
"So which one are you using now?" Xin Yu glanced at Gao Min, thinking, "She's quite a pretty girl, but her words are so sarcastic."
"That's none of your business!" Gao Min said, a hint of arrogance in her voice. "You're buying cosmetics? Not for a guy with acne, are you?"
"No." Xin Yu turned and shoved a small bottle into Gao Min's hand. "I picked this out for you, for wrinkles. You—you're too nosy!"
"You!" Gao Min slammed the bottle on the counter, glaring angrily at Xin Yu.
"Not satisfied? Then this one is perfect for you," Xin Yu smiled sweetly, "It's for breast enhancement." She then glanced at Gao Min's chest, seemingly casually.
"You're the one who doesn't have breasts!" Gao Min slammed down, leaped in front of Xin Yu, hands on her hips, and instinctively puffed out her chest.
"Miss, our cosmetics are very expensive. If you don't want them, please be considerate," the saleswoman kindly reminded her.
"Who said I don't want them!" Gao Min was furious and incoherent. "I want something else!"
Having bought two eye creams, Gao Min clung to Xin Yu again, this time not alone, but accompanied by a "middle-aged man" who looked at her with obvious affection.
"I don't think we have anything left to say," Xin Yu said, slowly pacing between the shelves and coat racks, pondering what to buy for Mu Yichuan to shut him up... his gossip.
"We've finished talking, but we haven't finished introducing him. This is my boyfriend," Gao Min said, arm in arm with the man, showing off with great pride.
Xin Yu frowned slightly. This... was too... open! "Is this your classmate?" The chubby uncle looked rather simple-minded, carefully sizing up Xin Yu.
"Yes, uncle. If you have anyone suitable, you should introduce my classmate to someone. She..." Gao Min hesitated, looking utterly pitiful, "...just got dumped."
"..." Xin Yu exhaled a breath of stale air. "Your boyfriend must be very rich, right?"
Gao Min curled her brow in disdain. She knew Xin Yu would definitely be tempted. With her sixth sense, Xin Yu was definitely a woman who appeared innocent on the outside but was actually vain! "That's right!" Gao Min raised her chin, turned around and grabbed several pieces of clothing. "We'll buy all of these!"
She looked at Xin Yu defiantly…
"Then you shouldn't have had your boyfriend bring you here to shop. You should have gone to the sanatorium at the foot of Dongba Mountain."
Gao Min didn't immediately understand Xin Yu's meaning, but she absolutely wouldn't allow her newly gained momentum to be defeated by Xin Yu, so she automatically chimed in, "Of course we'll go!"
As soon as she said that, someone nearby burst out laughing, "I never thought anyone would be scrambling to go to a mental hospital."
Gao Min's face suddenly turned red, prompting the chubby uncle to urge her on, "Alright, alright, let's pick out a few more things!"
Xin Yu automatically ignored the two people constantly trying to get her attention, enjoying the peace and quiet while taking off a knee pad. She remembered this brand…
"You're not going to tell me you've spent most of Huangshidai shopping just to buy this one knee pad?" Gao Min's voice was loud and sarcastic, as she held seven or eight men's shirts and jackets in her arms.
"I wasn't planning on currying favor with the owner of Huangshidai," Xin Yu said, pulling out her money to pay. "You, on the other hand, keep it up."
Seeing Xin Yu leave the store unfazed, the chubby uncle weakly said, "Honey, should we buy less?"
Gao Min glared resentfully at the chubby uncle, threw down her clothes, and walked out as well.
Xin Yu held the knee pads in her hand, feeling a pang of pain. This small item had cost her eight hundred yuan. Her recent comfortable life had instantly turned her into a pauper, even her meal money gone…
"Ten and a half seconds overtime."
Xin Yu was startled by Mu Yichuan's sudden voice. She quickly looked up at the languid man by the railing. "Not counting the time limit, I still spent two hundred yuan more."
As she spoke, she handed the knee pads to Mu Yichuan, pouting slightly, and said with great determination—