Hearing Chu Lian’s words, everyone’s eyes lit up, and immediately each person called the server to order a small cake.
“You get what you pay for,” they said, and indeed, it was true.
As everyone took the first bite, they were both satisfied and pleasantly surprised.
“So good!”
“Thank you, Chu Lian! Letting us eat such delicious cake!”
“Who in school even dared to say Chu Lian isn’t a rich girl? She treats everyone to such expensive desserts just like that! If she’s not a wealthy girl, then who is?”
Zhang Lu took out her phone, snapping pictures of the cake, and added, “Just a bunch of idiots. Xiao Lian already said it was a misunderstanding caused by her dad’s assistant. That careless assistant definitely should be fired!”
The girls beside her nodded indignantly. “I’ll post online when I get home, slap those rumor-mongers right in the face!”
Chu Lian’s eyes flickered with a shadow of thought.
She had done this kind of treat before, always paying generously, which solidified her wealthy-girl image.
She hadn’t expected Shu Lingchen’s house to have been repossessed, causing her such embarrassment over the weekend.
She had deliberately brought people here today to treat them—it was necessary to restore her image.
Chu Lian pinched the small silver spoon while opening her phone to see if Shu Lingchen had transferred money yet.
She used the same excuse as before:
“Ah Chen, what do you think of these new shoes? I really like this fresh color~”
Within twenty seconds, her phone vibrated.
Chu Lian’s lips curved slightly. She was about to open the chat to receive the transfer, but then she saw the reply:
“Looks great! Chu Chu has good taste.”
…That’s it?
Chu Lian froze.
Just one reply? Where’s the money?
She stayed on the chat screen, waiting a while, but no transfer came.
Biting her lip, she typed skillfully: “Too expensive, I can’t afford it [crying.jpg].”
Normally, as soon as she sent this, Shu Lingchen would immediately transfer money without hesitation.
Sure enough, the next second, a transfer notification popped up.
Chu Lian’s smile was about to return—but then she froze at the number.
“Shu Lingchen transferred 200 yuan to you.”
Two hundred???
Every time Shu Lingchen had transferred before, it started at 666. When had he ever sent such a small amount?!
What’s going on?!
While Chu Lian was still in shock, Zhang Lu suddenly called out:
“Shu Lingchen?”
Chu Lian looked up.
Indeed, she saw Shu Lingchen carrying multiple small paper boxes. She was a bit surprised to see him here.
Shu Lingchen also saw Chu Lian.
For a moment, his face lit up with delight, but seeing Chu Lian surrounded by classmates, he immediately suppressed it.
“Shu Lingchen, why are you here?” Zhang Lu stood up, blocking Chu Lian, her expression indignant. “Are you stalking Xiao Lian?! Aren’t you ashamed? Xiao Lian has already rejected you so many times!”
Shu Lingchen had heard “shameless” comments enough times to get used to them.
He frowned and explained, “I’m not stalking her.”
Zhang Lu sneered, her eyes full of disdain. “Still pretending. The stuff in this store isn’t cheap. How could a poor delinquent like you afford it? If you’re not stalking her, how are you here?!”
Shu Lingchen didn’t bother arguing with a girl, especially one of Chu Lian’s friends. He always chose to yield. Just as he decided not to argue further,
a lazy female voice came: “What, did you take over the whole shop? You can come, but others can’t?”
Shu Shu walked over.
Zhang Lu froze.
Shu Shu curved her lips. “Oh, it’s you, student. By the way, did you fulfill your promise about eating poop?”
Zhang Lu: “…”
The other girls exchanged glances. They were usually surfers, and last weekend their forum post had gone viral.
The new transfer student, Shu Shu, came from a super-rich family, living in a 600+ square meter flat in Yu Jing Yuan.
Even richer than the school beauty Chu Lian’s family!
And now Zhang Lu’s boastful comment was brought up:
—If Shu Shu were a 1,600-unit property owner, she’d eat poop!
Faced with Shu Shu’s question, Zhang Lu’s eyes flickered, avoiding contact. “I—I was joking, why do I have to fulfill it? Why do you always hold this against me?!”
Shu Shu nodded calmly. “Oh, I thought maybe you secretly did it behind people’s backs. Otherwise, why would your mouth be so foul?”
“You!”
Zhang Lu’s face flushed dark red, ready to retort.
Shu Shu raised a hand, pinching her nose, frowning as if Zhang Lu’s words really stank.
Zhang Lu got even angrier!
Shu Shu raised her other hand and grabbed Shu Lingchen by the collar.
“Let’s go.”
With two schoolbags on his back and both hands full of packed cake boxes, Shu Lingchen was carried off by Shu Shu.
Only then did everyone realize:
Shu Lingchen wasn’t stalking Chu Lian. He had come with Shu Shu.
After they left, the table erupted in discussion.
“I’ve never seen Shu Lingchen so close with another girl.”
“What’s their relationship? Going to a dessert shop together… Shu Lingchen seems to listen to that transfer student a lot…”
Everyone instinctively looked at Chu Lian’s expression.
But Chu Lian had no time to care!
She had expected Shu Lingchen to transfer at least two or three thousand yuan, but he had only sent two hundred.
How was she supposed to pay for the treat now?!
Chu Lian never saved money. She always spent whatever Shu Lingchen transferred to her. After all, he had a monthly allowance of 50,000 yuan—why would she save?
At this moment, her total balance was only a few dozen yuan.
The bill on the table showed seven desserts for seven people, totaling over nine hundred yuan!
Chu Lian’s heart tightened.
She hurriedly messaged Shu Lingchen again: “Ah Chen, these shoes are expensive… two hundred yuan… not enough to buy them.”
The hint was clear enough.
Yet, she waited… but still no reply.
Chu Lian started to panic.
Soon, everyone finished the cake and prepared to leave. Everyone sat patiently, waiting for Chu Lian to pay.
“….”
Chu Lian had no choice but to reluctantly get up and go to the register. She first took Shu Lingchen’s 200 yuan, then hesitantly asked the server in a low voice if she could use Huabei (a credit feature).
“Of course, you can use Huabei.”
The server’s normal-volume response made Chu Lian’s heart race. She was afraid nearby classmates would hear.
Finally, like a thief, she scanned the QR code with her phone to pay over nine hundred yuan using Huabei. It was the first time she felt such a painful sting from paying.
Shu Lingchen still hadn’t replied.
What on earth was he doing?!
Yu Jing Yuan, Apartment 1600.
Shu Shu curled up on the sofa, playing a matching game, Shu Lingchen’s phone on the coffee table.
It was an old-fashioned model, with a physical button below the screen.
If Shu Shu hadn’t misseen earlier at the dessert shop, Chu Lian’s phone was the latest model, just like hers.
Meanwhile, Shu Lingchen’s phone kept lighting up. Shu Shu didn’t even need to guess who was sending messages or why—she ignored it.
In the kitchen, Shu Lingchen arranged the desserts he had brought home into the fridge.
When he picked up the last box, at the bottom he found a pink heart-shaped sticky note with neat, feminine handwriting:
“Thank you for the mousse~”
“Mom, what’s this?”
Shu Shu turned her head to look back: “The girl we met at the dessert shop wrote it when she left. She even paid for the bill herself.”
Shu Shu had been surprised when the server told her about it.
What a kind little girl.
But she had only given them a piece of mousse.
For some reason, Shu Shu’s mind again wandered to those beautiful peach blossom eyes, and her heart inexplicably softened.