"Thank you, big brother…"
Walking out of the cosmetics store, Lin Xiaoshuang clutched her shopping bag tightly to her chest and murmured softly to Bai Li.
Her eyes were red, glistening with unshed tears.
Growing up, no one outside of her parents had ever treated her this well.
"Don't mention it — I told you, it's an investment." Bai Li ruffled her hair, his tone easy and light.
"Big brother, don't worry! From now on, if anyone dares to say a single bad word about you, I'll be the first one to tear their mouth apart!" Chen Tingting thumped her chest in a solemn pledge, her eyes blazing with conviction.
Li Jiaxin said nothing, but she found herself drifting closer to Bai Li without even realizing it.
The three girls walked down the street with their brand-new cosmetics in hand, genuine smiles lighting up their faces, their steps noticeably lighter than before.
As they passed a bubble tea shop, Chen Tingting suggested:
"Big brother, let us treat you to bubble tea!"
"Yes, yes!" Lin Xiaoshuang nodded eagerly.
"Sure." Today's investment quota was already spent, so Bai Li had no reason to turn down such a small request.
The four of them stepped inside and each ordered a drink.
Chen Tingting rushed to pay — only a few dozen yuan, but the satisfied smile on her face made it look as though she had accomplished something monumental.
They found a window seat and settled in. Sunlight filtered through the glass and fell warmly across their shoulders.
The girls couldn't wait to pull out their newly bought cosmetics, spreading them across the table like treasures on display.
"Big brother, do you think this color looks good?" Lin Xiaoshuang held up the bean-paste-colored lip gloss, her face full of hopeful anticipation.
"It looks great — really suits you," Bai Li said sincerely.
The girl's cheeks flushed pink at the compliment, and she happily tucked the lip gloss back into her bag.
Bai Li watched them chatter away about their cosmetics, and a peculiar sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Polishing these dust-covered pearls with his own hands, little by little, letting them shine with their own natural brilliance — there was something captivating about nurturing that kind of transformation.
He was already turning over his next plan in his mind: it was time to get them some new outfits.
That whole wild girls look was doing nothing but burying their natural potential.
Just then, a woman's voice — tinged with uncertainty and surprise — drifted over from nearby.
"Bai Li?"
The hand holding Bai Li's bubble tea cup paused for a moment.
That voice… it was somewhat familiar.
He raised his head and looked toward the sound.
Standing at the entrance of the shop was a woman in a Chanel-style tweed jacket paired with a white pleated mini-skirt and ankle-high heeled boots.
Her makeup was immaculate, her chestnut hair falling in large, loose waves. Everything about her radiated a carefully cultivated air of refinement.
Xia Qing.
Bai Li's ex-girlfriend.
Bai Li's gaze remained calm and undisturbed. There was no ripple of emotion in his heart.
Back in university, he and Xia Qing had been the couple everyone envied — a perfect match by all accounts.
But after graduation, the pressures of real life came crashing in one after another, and they had broken up more than two and a half years ago.
He hadn't expected to run into her like this.
Xia Qing clearly hadn't expected to bump into Bai Li here either.
Her eyes were wide with surprise, but beneath it lay a look of cool, condescending appraisal.
She walked over quickly, her gaze lingering on Bai Li for a second before sliding to the three garishly dressed girls sitting across from him. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"It really is you, Bai Li." Xia Qing stopped at his table.
"I thought I was seeing things. What brings you back here?"
Her words sounded like concern, but the upward lilt in her tone betrayed her true thoughts.
In her mind, Bai Li returning to this small county town out of nowhere could only mean one thing — he hadn't made it out there.
"Just back to take care of some things," Bai Li replied flatly, without even making a move to stand up.
His indifference made Xia Qing's smile stiffen slightly.
The three girls at the table also sensed the shift in atmosphere — their big brother clearly had no fondness for this woman.
And the woman's tone was grating, carrying that unmistakable air of someone who thought herself above everyone else.
Chen Tingting stopped her banter with Li Jiaxin and asked quietly, "Big brother, who is this?"
After Bai Li murmured that it was his ex-girlfriend, Chen Tingting began sizing Xia Qing up from head to toe.
Sure, the woman in front of her looked polished enough — but their side was all eighteen-year-old girls in the prime of their youth!
Chen Tingting quickly figured out exactly how to get under Xia Qing's skin. With a deliberately provocative tone, she said:
"Ma'am, why are you just walking up and talking to people? Can't you see that big brother is ours?"
Sure enough, Xia Qing's expression darkened instantly.
Ma'am?
She was only twenty-four — how did that make her a "ma'am"?
But she was someone who had navigated the real world, and she immediately switched to a passive-aggressive mode.
She ignored Chen Tingting entirely and turned her gaze to Bai Li, her voice carrying a note of reproach:
"Bai Li, are all your friends this rude?"
"They're my little sisters," Bai Li said, taking a leisurely sip of his bubble tea. "I spoil them. Got a problem with that?"
Xia Qing was left completely speechless.
She drew a deep breath, forced down the irritation rising in her chest, and pulled an invitation card from her purse. She set it on the table and slid it toward Bai Li.
"I'm getting engaged next week. If you're free, come have a drink to celebrate."
"Oh, and my fiancé runs a liquor and tobacco wholesale business right here in town. He drives a Mercedes, you know."
The bragging in Xia Qing's words could not have been more obvious.
"I won't be free." Bai Li's reaction was as flat as ever — he didn't even glance at the invitation card.
His response left all the boastful words Xia Qing had prepared lodged in her throat, going neither up nor down, utterly suffocating.
She felt as though she had thrown a punch straight into a pile of cotton.