Luck
Quan Ling took meticulous care of her skin and consciously helped Su Yuning with skincare routines as well. No girl disliked looking beautiful, so Su Yuning accepted her help somewhat sheepishly.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt as if her complexion had brightened a little and her skin had become smoother.
Quan Ling stood behind her, also gazing at her reflection in the mirror, and smiled in agreement. “Of course, doing these things will show results. Ningning, come with me for a spa treatment tomorrow.”
Su Yuning hesitated. “Won’t that be expensive?”
“It won’t. Because I’m a VIP at the salon, they gave me a few complimentary sessions. I can’t use them all by myself, and besides, you can keep me company—it’s boring going alone. Tomorrow is Saturday, and after the spa, we can go shopping.”
“Sure, sure.”
Su Yuning happily agreed.
Coated in fragrant lotions, Su Yuning, exhausted from the day, fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, not even hearing her phone ring a few times.
Weekends at the Aristocratic Academy were the busiest times for luxury cars, and the gate to the underground parking lot never seemed to close.
Waking up naturally in the morning, she checked her phone for the time and realized she had received a pile of messages the night before.
Lu Ji: Are you okay, Su? Did he do anything to you? I’m sorry, I couldn’t catch up with you two.
Lu Ji: Are you back at school? Rest early once you’re in the dorm. Good night.
Zuo Xingyan: What time did you get back today? Did you leave work early? I didn’t see you come back.
Zuo Xingyan: I saw your lights were off. Are you asleep?
Zuo Xingyan: I called Quan Ling, and she said you were asleep. I won’t disturb you. You must be tired. I’ll take you out for something delicious tomorrow.
Meng Zhizhuo: Do you have plans tomorrow, sweetheart?
Meng Zhizhuo: Sweetheart, you’re ignoring me. (sad emoji)
Meng Zhizhuo: Sweetheart, baby, please talk to me?
Shen Xiuhuai: I covered the half hour of work you missed.
Lin Shuiqing: Good morning… My breakfast today is (picture). I ordered too much. Do you want to join me?
There were so many messages—more than she had received in the entire previous year combined.
She replied to each one:
To Lu Ji: I’m fine, alive and kicking, all limbs intact.
To Zuo Xingyan: The boss let me leave early to rest. I fell asleep and didn’t hear your messages. I’m going out with Lingling tomorrow, so you can eat by yourself.
To Meng Zhizhuo: Hmph.
To Shen Xiuhuai: Okay, thanks. I’ll cover half an hour for you tonight.
To Lin Shuiqing: (flattered) Thank you, thank you, but no need. I’m going out with a friend today~
As she typed away, Quan Ling came over with some clothes. “Ningning, I don’t want these two outfits anymore. Do you want to wear them?”
The so-called “unwanted” clothes in Quan Ling’s hands were brand new. She said with a troubled expression, “I really liked them when I bought them, but once I got them, I didn’t feel like wearing them anymore. It’s a shame to throw them away. Ningning, would you mind wearing them? If you do, I’ll just toss them…”
Su Yuning shook her head. “I don’t mind.” Her own cheap, worn-out clothes were fine for work, but she’d feel embarrassed wearing them out shopping.
Besides, she had experienced the same feeling before—liking something when buying it but losing interest once she brought it home. Unfortunately, her financial situation didn’t allow for such whims. Seeing how nice the clothes in Quan Ling’s hands were, she felt quite pleased.
She didn’t have that strong of a sense of pride, nor did she feel embarrassed about wearing her best friend’s clothes. Happily putting them on, she exclaimed in surprise, “Lingling, look! They fit me perfectly!”
Quan Ling also smiled, “Yeah! They really do.”
Wearing that light blue suit dress, Su Yuning gleefully admired herself in the mirror from every angle.
If she dressed up nicely, she could probably be considered a little beauty too, right?
Anyway, she felt this outfit looked especially good on her—the fabric was just different from what she bought on Pinduoduo.
Hand in hand with her best friend, they left the dorm. Quan Ling drove again, first having breakfast, then heading to the beauty salon for a full-body relaxation treatment that refreshed both body and mind.
When Su Yuning came out, she felt light as a feather—she had never felt so comfortable in her life.
Especially after hearing they were going shopping afterward, the beauty salon even considerately applied light makeup for them. The makeup artist’s hands seemed to work magic, and Su Yuning couldn’t help constantly glancing at her transformed reflection in the mirror, instinctively turning to look at any reflective surface she passed.
Quan Ling held her hand, laughing all the while. Before leaving, the receptionist stopped Su Yuning and said, “Congratulations, you are our 9,999th customer and will receive a prize draw opportunity.”
The beauty salon even had prize draws? Su Yuning, feeling a bit dazed, followed along. Looking back, she saw Quan Ling cheering her on. She followed the receptionist’s instructions to draw a prize, not seeing what she had won but hearing the other person cheer, “Congratulations! You’ve won the grand prize—lifetime unlimited full-body treatments for free.”
Winning a prize for the first time in her life, Su Yuning looked down at her hands. Are you this amazing?
The beauty salon gave her a card—with it, she could come anytime, at any branch or main store, in any city, all valid. And absolutely no additional fees.
Su Yuning was overjoyed, feeling like she was on cloud nine. She thought today was just too wonderful! She decided to mark today as her lucky day!
Spotting a milk tea shop, she happily ran over, “Lingling, I’ll treat you to milk tea! To celebrate my good luck today!”
Quan Ling shared her excitement, “Sure!”
Splurging on luxurious extra-large cups with their favorite toppings, each holding a milk tea, they strolled around while sipping.
Her phone kept buzzing nonstop, the flood of messages becoming a bit annoying.
Su Yuning picked and replied to a few, ignoring the rest.
They also ate lunch out, at a local high-end restaurant.
While Su Yuning was calculating how much money she had left in her thin wallet, Quan Ling magically produced two discount coupons from her bag, “Look what these are.”
Su Yuning leaned in to look, “Special offer coupons… everything free?! Oh my god, really free? Where did you get these?”
Quan Ling waved them, “Won them in a bet. Come on, let’s go eat them out of business.”
“Lingling, do you have a grudge against this person?”
Quan Ling sneered, “Yes.”
Su Yuning immediately felt motivated, clenching her fist, “Okay, Lingling, don’t worry! I’ll definitely eat a ton! Let’s order the expensive stuff!”
Right then, she even stopped drinking her milk tea. While waiting to order, Su Y Ning stood up and paced back and forth, hoping to work up an appetite to eat even more.
Quan Ling rested her chin on her hand, watching her with a smile that crinkled her eyes.
No wonder they say high-end restaurants are different. Su Yuning finally understood what it meant when people said: the prosperity of big cities has nothing to do with ordinary people.
Since arriving in the capital city A, aside from marveling at its advanced technology and sky-high prices, her life hadn’t changed much from before, and she hadn’t experienced the true charm of a prosperous city.
Only now, standing in this restaurant, did she catch a faint glimpse of it.
The towering top-floor building, with its massive floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the entire city—Su Yuning glanced down just once, and her legs went weak.
Couldn’t look at it, really couldn’t look at it.
If she looked any longer, she’d start feeling inferior and socially anxious.