On the way to Hermès, Sang Yu asked Liu Yue what bag she wanted to buy.
Liu Yue had done a bit of research, but not much. She had searched using the keyword “Hermès for commuting,” and the recommended results that came up were basically the Evelyn, the Herbag, the Picotin, and the Garden Party—what netizens jokingly called the “Four Treasures of the Poor.”
After reading through it, Sang Yu had a good idea of the situation.
“Then you should be able to buy one,” she said. “These bags are entry-level and easy to get, but you’ll most likely need to buy matching accessories. The Hermès scene in Shenzhen is way too competitive.”
“Horse farm”—what did that mean?
Liu Yue understood it literally as the circle of customers who buy Hermès?
“Pretty much.” Sang Yu nodded. “Hermès isn’t just a bag; it’s a stepping stone into social circles, and it can also serve as an investment product.”
At that point, Sang Yu went on to introduce her to the Hermès resale market and related information about second-hand luxury goods.
Hermès bags in the second-hand luxury market are generally well-maintained, and some are even brand new and never used. If Liu Yue wanted to buy a more advanced bag and wasn’t too fixated on the boutique experience, she could consider second-hand luxury items, which offer great value for money.
Liu Yue thought to herself that she didn’t mind second-hand items, but since she was spending the System’s money, there was no need to be so frugal—buying from the boutique was safer and more reassuring.
If it were her own money… she wouldn’t even consider buying Hermès in the first place. Bags costing a few dozen yuan on Taobao were perfectly fine to carry.
So Liu Yue didn’t continue the second-hand luxury topic. She was more interested in what she could buy as matching accessories.
Sang Yu thought for a moment. “That depends on what color you want, and what the sales associate is looking to push to customers lately. If you can help her hit her sales target, you’ll get twice the results with half the effort.”
Sang Yu went on to explain a whole lot more, and Liu Yue’s head was spinning.
“I really needed to bring you along,” she said, rubbing her temples. “Otherwise, I’d have no idea that just buying a bag could involve so much know-how.”
As they chatted, the two of them arrived at Hermès.
Maybe Liu Yue was lucky today—she had just mentioned wanting a Herbag in Glacier White, and the moment they walked in, she spotted it on the display shelf.
She had to admit, the bag looked even better in person than in the photos online. The color combination was incredibly soft and elegant.
Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, the sales associate closest to her immediately came over to assist, and quickly discerned from the different demeanor of Liu Yue and Sang Yu who the actual paying customer was.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
The sales associate attending to her had a very kind face. Liu Yue greeted her, and through their conversation, the associate confirmed that this was Liu Yue’s first time at Hermès with no prior purchase history.
Since the bag was already on the display shelf, there was no reason not to let the customer try it on. Once she held it, Liu Yue’s fondness for it skyrocketed.
She had always felt that the Herbag’s design leaned a bit toward a preppy academic style, but without looking too much like a student—perfect for her transitional phase as a recent graduate.
“This bag holds quite a lot,” Liu Yue said, examining its structure. “There’s a pocket inside, and pockets on the outside too.”
Sang Yu added, “The 31 size suits your height perfectly, and it can just fit a 13-inch laptop.”
Excellent—that gave Liu Yue one more reason to buy it.
However, Sang Yu also mentioned its drawbacks—some people found the Herbag’s clasp difficult to fasten, and the bag itself was quite heavy on its own. Add a laptop to it, and it became a workout accessory for the commute.
Liu Yue tried the clasp and found that it was indeed the case. Then she picked up the bag…
It wasn’t that bad? Perhaps all those heavy textbooks had built up her strength, so Liu Yue didn’t find it particularly heavy.
“There’s a solution too,” Sang Yu added. “I’ve seen Herbag clasp modifications online—adding a leather pin solves the problem. And if you find it too heavy, you can replace the metal bar inside with a silk scarf. It just depends on whether you’re okay with those tweaks.”
Wow—Liu Yue looked at Sang Yu with a completely new expression. How did she know everything?
To that, Sang Yu humbly said she just spent a lot of time online, and the algorithm fed her all this content.
Thanks to Sang Yu’s introduction, the pros and cons of the bag were crystal clear. Although the bag wasn’t perfect, it was absolutely beautiful. After considering it, Liu Yue decided to take it home.
Throughout the selection process, the sales associate attending to Liu Yue was like a ghost—she just stood there, maintaining a polite smile, without ever pushing a sale.
But once Liu Yue expressed her intention to buy, the associate hinted gently, “Is there anything else you like, ma’am?”
Liu Yue understood—this was the matching accessories requirement.
She looked at Sang Yu, who already knew Liu Yue didn’t have anything specific in mind for accessories, so she asked the associate, “Do you have any recommendations?”
“We’ve recently received new women’s ready-to-wear pieces at the store. Customers are very welcome to browse.”
Sang Yu roughly understood. She whispered to Liu Yue, “She might be looking for a 1:1 accessory ratio.”
The retail price for this bag is 27,000 yuan. If Liu Yue wanted to buy it here, she’d have to be mentally prepared to spend nearly 60,000 yuan.
Liu Yue didn’t quite understand and simply asked, “Is that normal?”
“It’s on the higher end for this series, but since you’re buying in Shenzhen and it’s a super popular color, it’s not unreasonable. If you don’t think it’s worth it, you could check the counter at Luohu, or there’s also Hermès in Guangzhou and Hong Kong—the matching ratio might be lower, but they might not have this color.”
Going elsewhere would be too troublesome. She still had a one-million-yuan spending task today and no time to run around.
Since buying in Shenzhen was within a reasonable range and the SA wasn’t deliberately ripping her off, Liu Yue nodded in agreement and followed along to look at women’s clothing.
With the SA’s recommendation, Liu Yue tried on a solid-colored cashmere cardigan. It was quite comfortable to wear.
She checked the price—23,600… a bit lower than Sang Yu had estimated.
While buying clothes, Liu Yue also asked the SA if the store had an Evelyne Mini, as she wanted to purchase one.
“I want it in Holy Grail Blue,” Liu Yue said.
Sang Yu had told Liu Yue that she had good taste, and since she’d picked another popular color, this one probably wouldn’t come with zero matching purchases either.
Sure enough, after the SA checked the inventory and came back carrying a box, she recommended Liu Yue buy a few silk scarves as well.
Liu Yue was about to agree, but Sang Yu spoke up: “Could you show us the actual color first? Let my friend try it on.”
Liu Yue didn’t think much of it at the time—until the SA opened the box and revealed the bag inside. She was instantly speechless.
It was indeed an Evelyne Mini, but she wanted Holy Grail Blue, and what the SA had brought her was North Blue.
No wonder Sang Yu had insisted on seeing the bag first. So this was how it worked?!
Both were blue, but the difference between them was significant. Moreover, North Blue was quite bright. On the way over, Liu Yue had heard Sang Yu mention that although the retail price was the same for every color, bright colors often had lower matching ratios, sometimes even zero.
…Although North Blue wasn’t really that bright, it was a completely different feel from the Holy Grail Blue she wanted!
“Actually, this bag really complements your skin tone.”
The SA, who had barely spoken before, now launched into a frenzy of sales pitches. She went on about how North Blue had more visual appeal, better highlighted the wearer’s personality, was perfect for summer, and was a bag that got better looking the more you looked at it…
To be honest, North Blue wasn’t ugly. If Liu Yue were choosing on her own, she might genuinely have considered it.
But this SA, knowing full well what she wanted, was still trying to force something else on her—that really rubbed Liu Yue the wrong way.
“I don’t want this one,” Liu Yue said firmly. “I want the Holy Grail Blue. Do you have it in stock at this store?”
Liu Yue thought she wouldn’t be able to buy the Evelyne Mini today, but to her surprise, after she spoke, the SA said she might not have looked carefully enough and would go search again.
She glanced at Sang Yu, who shrugged.
Liu Yue asked, “So was that a compliance test just now?”
“Very likely,” Sang Yu said. “Many SAs test where the customer’s bottom line is. If you’re afraid of being refused future purchases and choose to back down and compromise, then all the ugly bags the store can’t sell will be yours from now on.”
She paused, then added, “And you’d still have to buy the matching items.”
Liu Yue: …
What an eye-opener. Spending tens of thousands of yuan and still getting psychologically manipulated. Leave it to Hermès to treat customers like monkeys.
When the SA came back with the bag a second time, and Liu Yue confirmed it was the Holy Grail Blue she wanted, she agreed to buy a pair of sneakers priced at 10,250 yuan. The SA went to the register to ring her up.
Thank goodness for Sang Yu. Liu Yue felt that bringing her along today was absolutely the right decision. Without her standing her ground and going back and forth, she might have ended up buying those particularly ugly sandals.
The sneakers were a bit pricier, but at least she could wear them daily. The sandals would have been pure matching purchases with zero practical use.
Two bags, one piece of clothing, one pair of shoes—Liu Yue paid 79,950 yuan.
At that moment, Liu Yue had one thought: in Shenzhen, the System’s one-million-yuan spending task wasn’t hard at all. If she wanted to buy more bags, she could have completed the task at Hermès today.
But then again, Liu Yue wasn’t that obsessed with bags. There were plenty of other places to spend money.
Just after Liu Yue had finished paying, a woman rushed into the store in a hurry.
Seeing the Herbag 31 being wrapped up, she first gasped sharply, then hurriedly asked another SA, “Where’s the bag I wanted?”
“You’re too late—it’s already been purchased by another customer.”
Even though she’d already guessed the answer, hearing it confirmed still drained the color from her face.
She was furious. “I waited three months for that bag, and it’s just gone like that? You really only got one in Glacier White?”
“I’m very sorry, Ms. Zhou, but there was indeed only one.”
Liu Yue, who had gotten there first: …
How did she end up in this situation? How awkward.
Author’s Note: