Su Ying walked around the furniture showroom for less than an hour, bought ten pieces of furniture, and splashed out 80,000 yuan.
As her mobile payment code was scanned, there was a ‘beep’, and the 80,000 yuan simply ‘whoosh’—vanished.
It would be a lie to say Su Ying didn’t feel a twinge of regret; 80,000 yuan, after all, was more than she could earn by working without eating or drinking for over two years.
But as she pictured the furniture arranged in her home, she instantly felt it was money well spent.
She’d be using it for the rest of her life anyway, so what if it was a bit pricey? When you break it down, it wasn’t that much per day.
To Su Ying’s surprise, she received a call from the delivery team the very next day, informing her that the furniture had arrived and asking if it was convenient to arrange installation.
Of course, the answer was yes.
Watching the delivery team carry the furniture into the house piece by piece and set about assembling it with such efficiency, Su Ying, who had been standing by the whole time acting as a ‘supervisor’, felt thoroughly out of her depth.
She immediately popped down to the little supermarket at the estate entrance to buy a bag of Red Bull, which she brought back up and handed out to the workers before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Su Ying wasn’t sure if this was what they called a ‘people-pleaser’ personality.
Once the furniture was in place, the master bedroom finally began to look a bit like a home, though she had to admit that a room full of black walnut furniture did feel a bit… oppressive.
Su Ying sat on the bed base—and it was indeed just a base, because she’d forgotten to buy a mattress.
Once the bed was assembled, she hurriedly searched for “Simmons” on Taobao. It was rather amusing, really; in Su Ying’s mind, all spring mattresses were simply called “Simmons”. She’d even thought that once she’d made her fortune, she’d buy one and never sleep on a straw mat or a cotton-padded mattress again.
It wasn’t until she searched on Taobao that she realised ‘Simmons’ was actually a brand name, and a rather expensive one at that; even a basic model cost around ten thousand yuan.
Su Ying left that shop and looked up the prices of ordinary mattresses; even some well-known domestic brands could be bought for just a thousand or two.
Su Ying hesitated.
It’s just a mattress—is it really worth spending so much? Her money didn’t just blow in on the wind, after all.
But when she looked at the room full of North American black walnut furniture, for some reason, a thought inexplicably arose in her mind: only a Simmons mattress costing over 10,000 yuan would be worthy of this room’s furnishings.
Almost without hesitation, Su Ying clicked ‘Buy’.
After making the purchase, she felt a twinge of regret, though it was only a slight one.
Su Ying patted her chest and reassured herself: ‘You get what you pay for; a mattress costing over ten thousand is bound to be more comfortable than one for a thousand or two. It’s a place where I’ll spend at least eight hours a day, so spending ten thousand on comfort is money well spent.’
As for the bed canopy, she’d already bought that too—a princess-style canopy in a shade of pink with orange undertones, more for show than practical use.
Now that the mattress was sorted, what about the bedding set? And the duvet cover and sheets?
Su Ying tapped her forehead with the palm of her hand; there was simply too much to buy. Shopping really was hard work.
Without hesitation, Su Ying bought a down duvet and a cotton mattress topper first. Sleeping directly on the mattress in winter would certainly be cold, so she needed to lay down an extra layer of padding. The down duvet, meanwhile, was something she’d been longing to buy for the past few days.
She then stood up and walked around the bedroom, which was filled with black walnut furniture, before purchasing a pale pink and khaki-coloured all-cotton brushed four-piece set featuring a vine and small flower pattern, and a white-based set with wisteria flowers paired with a solid purple sheet.
The brushed fabric’s weight and thickness were perfect for autumn and winter; she would buy two sets of high-count, double-threaded, 100% cotton satin bedding sets once spring arrived.
To Su Ying, a woman who wore nothing but polyester from head to toe, 100% cotton was simply the finest fabric in the world. It had never occurred to her, nor did she realise, that when it came to summer, silk bedding was actually more comfortable.
Su Ying’s gaze swept across her computer desk. The spacious surface would look rather sparse with just a laptop on it. Never mind, that computer had been in use for over six years anyway; it was time to retire it. She’d get a desktop instead!
Su Ying logged onto a social media app, picked a graphics card reviewer at random, and followed their guide to copy the 4090 graphics card setup step by step—saving time and effort.
Speaking of computers, Su Ying recalled a lady she’d previously followed who made custom keycaps. She went straight to the lady’s Taobao shop and bought a set of keycaps themed after a gaming faction.
Speaking of gaming, she’d need to buy an ergonomic chair too. Su Ying didn’t really know much about them, but adhering to the principle that you get what you pay for, she chose one from a well-known Taobao shop for around 2,000 yuan.
Having bought the chair, perhaps she should get a magic carpet to place underneath it…
A magic carpet… or maybe a magic circle wireless charger…
…
Su Ying had become numb from typing in her PIN so many times. Her payment app had repeatedly reminded her that she could set up facial recognition for password-free payments, but Su Ying still diligently insisted on entering her PIN herself.
No other reason—she was simply worried about unauthorised transactions.
By the end, Su Ying knelt directly on the floor. She set her phone down and clasped her hands together in a bow.
She said to herself, “Please, stop buying. Su Ying, you’ve only won 5.04 million, not 54 million! If you carry on like this, will you even be alive tomorrow?”
When Su Ying looked up after speaking, she found herself facing the balcony. Between the master bedroom and the balcony stood a sliding door made of coloured enamel glass, arched in shape—a vintage and attractive design.
The previous owner had even removed the curtains, so the space felt rather bare when the sliding door was open.
For some reason, Su Ying suddenly thought of Scarlett from ‘Gone with the Wind’. She immediately picked up her phone from the floor and ordered a pair of heavy, textured, dark green curtains with gold tassels to block out the light, to be complemented by a light, sheer white lace curtain for decoration.
……
Su Ying gave herself a light slap on the cheek. Why on earth was she still shopping when she was already on her knees!
Oh, it was because although her legs were on the floor, her hands were still free, so of course she could carry on typing in her password and buying things!
She tucked her phone away and practically fled from the master bedroom; she really couldn’t bear to stay there a moment longer. If she stayed any longer, she had no idea how much more she’d end up buying!
However, as she passed the dining room, she caught a glimpse of the empty dining table and sideboard, and a voice inside her said: ‘Oh right, I haven’t bought the appliances yet.’
Don’t buy any more!
Su Ying felt a twinge of regret. She shouldn’t have let the previous owner take all the furniture and appliances away; at the very least, they could have left her the appliances.
That would have saved her from having to buy them.
Su Ying sat obediently on the dining room’s only chair and began to shop for the household appliances.
Perhaps it was because she’d just spent so much in the master bedroom that she subconsciously wanted to save money, or perhaps it was because competition in the appliance industry was so fierce at the moment, but the prices actually seemed surprisingly affordable to her.
A Hisense double-door fridge for just over 4,000, a Fotile dishwasher for just over 3,000, a Tiengo washer-dryer combo for just over 2,000, and other small appliances costing only a hundred or two, or two or three hundred each. A frying pan, an electric pressure cooker, a microwave and an air fryer came to just over a thousand in total.
Of course, Su Ying wasn’t buying the top-of-the-range models from these household brands, but neither were they the cheapest in their respective categories. If she’d wanted to go for the cheapest options, she could have haggled the price down by half.
She was taken aback. In other words, if she’d prioritised value for money, she could have sorted out all the appliances for the entire house—excluding the air conditioner—for just 10,000 yuan.
The entire house’s appliances!
Then what about her mobile phone, which cost nearly 10,000, and her mattress, which was over 10,000…
Su Ying truly felt the pinch.
She’d spent over 80,000 at the furniture shop yesterday, and today she’d splashed out another three or four thousand at home.
Would the money left over really be enough to let her live comfortably?
She’d always been so thrifty before—why, the moment the prize money landed in her hands, could she not stop spending?
Could it really be true, as the saying goes, that you don’t feel the pain unless you’ve earned it through hard work?
But right now, it wasn’t just a ache—it felt like her heart was bleeding!
The comments from social media began to flash through Su Ying’s mind: “You want to lie low with 5 million?” “It’s not like it’s 50 billion!” One after another, they crashed down upon her with spectacular special effects.
They left her reeling.
Su Ying sat in the dining room with her face in her hands for a long while. She looked up and surveyed the house that had cost her over 600,000 yuan in less than 24 hours.
The house was vast and empty, and it would take even more money to fill it.
Did she really need to buy this house? Did she really need to spend so much money on all this clutter?
But when her hand brushed against the black walnut dining table, and she imagined herself sitting with her legs up, scrolling through her phone whilst eating at a table piled high with her own things, it all seemed worth it again.
It was bought now; what was the point of regretting it?
Rather than dwelling on regrets, she might as well enjoy life.
Su Ying’s tense mood gradually eased. She took a deep breath and decided not to dwell on these negative feelings any longer; she planned to head back to her rented flat to play some games and relax.
The house wasn’t ready to move into just yet. Although the furniture had arrived, the appliances and soft furnishings hadn’t been installed, and the solid wood furniture needed time to air out. Soft furnishings like curtains, in particular, were major sources of formaldehyde, so it would be at least two or three months before she could move in.
What’s more, she’d just paid three months’ rent in advance; she couldn’t let it go to waste. All things considered, waiting until the lease expired before moving in would be just right.
Before leaving, Su Ying cast a glance at the empty spare bedroom.
She’d think about it when her clothes really did outgrow the wardrobe in the master bedroom.
Su Ying returned to her own rented flat and immediately booted up her computer to log into the game. For her, gaming was the one activity in the world that didn’t require spending a penny.
She’d been playing Blades of Jianghu for six years; apart from spending over fifty thousand on an account a few days ago, she hadn’t spent a single penny.
The moment she logged in, she received a private message:
[Fa Cai Cai: Ying Ying, fancy a dungeon run? I’m super high-level!]
Ever since Su Jiayu had given those people a proper telling-off in the family and friends group chat, no one had come looking for Su Ying—except for this ‘Fa Cai Cai’, who tirelessly sent her private messages every day, asking her to run dungeons.
‘Raid’ refers to players forming a party to enter an instance, working together to defeat monsters and earn rewards.
Most gear in the game must be obtained through raiding; if one truly wishes to make money in Blade of Jianghu, raiding is a better option than mining. However, as Su Ying had limited time, average skills, and a history of being shouted at until she cried during raids, she still preferred to follow Su Jiayu and mine.
As for the gear on Su Ying’s character, it was all obtained by Su Jiayu through dungeon runs.
Su Ying felt a bit torn: [Sorry, I’m still going mining with my senior brother tonight.]
[Fa Cai Cai: No problem! If you want to run a dungeon next time, just give me a shout. I’m online every evening. Love you, muah.]
Su Ying’s face flushed as she read his reply. She knew that in the game, some more outgoing players would call everyone “darling” and ask others to call them “wifey” or give them “kisses” just to round off a sentence. But she had almost no friends or family in the game, and even her senior brother spoke to her in a very serious manner. To be honest, Su Ying had never encountered anyone like this before, which made her feel a bit of an indescribable shyness.
She had already turned Fa Cai Cai down many times, yet she couldn’t fathom why he was so persistent in asking her to run dungeons with him.
Unable to figure it out, Su Ying decided to ask outright:
【Su Yingying: Why do you keep asking me to run dungeons?】
Fa Cai Cai’s reply popped up instantly:
【Fa Cai Cai: Because I’m your long-lost other half!】