“This… we will definitely reprimand and educate her,” the male store manager stammered, trying to laugh it off. “Young gentleman, please follow me upstairs. We have a private VIP fitting room on the second floor, and we’d be happy to provide you with complimentary tea and refreshments.”
“Fire her.”
Young Master Gu didn’t care for pleasantries. His tone was absolute.
“If she can treat me with such disrespect, she can do the exact same thing to any other customer who looks like me. Does your store believe that younger customers don’t deserve respect?”
The manager frantically shook his head. “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant at all…”
“Then fire her.”
Gu Congjue cut him off sharply, refusing to waste another glance on the snobbish saleswoman.
“I want to buy a gift for my mother. What do you recommend?”
Though the VIP looked young no more than fourteen to sixteen years old based on his face and height his demeanor, sharp logic, and imposing presence carried an immense gravity. It was the kind of overwhelming aura that could easily intimidate a grown adult.
The store manager swallowed hard, his mind racing. Which wealthy family does this young master belong to? To cultivate such an extraordinary air, his family must have poured a staggering amount of care and fortune into raising him.
“R-Right away.” Realizing he couldn’t protect the snobbish employee, the manager shot her a look that said ‘you’re on your own,’ before quickly snapping to attention to serve his VIP. “Do you happen to know your mother’s preferences?”
“He is male and prefers an elegant, high-fashion aesthetic. Where are your bags and leather goods? He doesn’t lack clothes, so he’d probably prefer leather.”
Flanked by a small entourage of sales associates, Gu Congjue walked deeper into the boutique. The staff eagerly brought out their rarest, most exclusive leather handbags for the young master to review.
After browsing through a dazzling array of options, Gu Congjue finally settled on a structured, square-shaped camel handbag made of exotic leather. The price tag read 150,000 yuan.
Just like his decisive payment at the Western restaurant earlier, Gu Congjue swiped the card without a second thought. It was a supplementary card linked to Gu Pingyue’s account anyway his dad would be the one foot-ing the bill, so there was absolutely nothing for him to pinch pennies over.
Spending his dad’s money, using his own name, to buy his mom a gift. Anyone looking at this operation would have to call him a financial genius.
Gu Congjue picked up the beautifully wrapped gift bag and turned to leave.
The boutique’s general manager rushed over, quickly handing him a small box containing a wrapped necklace. “We are deeply sorry, young gentleman. The employee who offended you at the door has already been terminated. Please accept this small token of appreciation from our store. We truly hope you won’t let today’s unpleasantness sour your impression of us.”
Gu Congjue glanced at it, stuffed the box into his shopping bag, and left in a hurry.
The shopping mall wasn’t far from home, just a twenty-minute taxi ride. The moment Gu Congjue stepped through the front door, he could feel a thick, tense anxiety hanging in the air.
“Young master!” Nanny Rong, who loved the boy unconditionally, hurried over to tip him off the moment she saw him. “The young mistress is up in the second-floor study. He’s been waiting for you for a long time. Make sure you explain what happened this afternoon properly, don’t—”
“Sister Rong.”
Xiang Yuyan’s voice drifted down from the second floor.
“You always spoil him too much, which is exactly why he acts so utterly reckless! Don’t coddle him. Tell him to get up here right now. I need to teach him a lesson.”
Xiang Yuyan let out a cold snort and retreated back into the study. The implication was crystal clear: I’m waiting for you in the study. Whether you dare to walk in is up to you, you brat.
Gu Congjue did feel a rare prickle of fear. In his past life, he had never lived with parents, so he had no idea how to play the role of a good son. Furthermore, he hadn’t caused any trouble since growing up in this life; this was the first time he had seen Xiang Yuyan this angry.
Nanny Rong offered a comforting, protective pat. “The young mistress has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. It’s fine. Don’t be scared.”
Gu Congjue gave a quiet murmur of assent and carried the large gift bag up the stairs. Only then did Nanny Rong notice the massive shopping bag trailing behind the young master.
He had assumed only Xiang Yuyan would be in the study, but to his surprise, his mother’s manager, assistant, makeup artist, stylist, and social media manager were all gathered inside. The group seemed to be holding an emergency meeting. When Gu Congjue pushed the door open, they were just wrapping up, stepping aside to give the family some privacy.
“Mom?”
“Yes. Come stand over here.” Xiang Yuyan was fully made up and styled, likely because he had another scheduled appearance to catch later. “First, tell me: what exactly did you do this afternoon?”
Surprisingly, Xiang Yuyan spoke in a calm, level tone. There was no shouting, no explosive interrogation.
For an artist like Xiang Yuyan, who was hyper-sensitive to the camera, he spent most of his time in a highly performative “alert” state, instinctively reacting with dramatic flair. Having grown used to his mother’s theatrical, over-the-top personality, seeing this solemn, serious side felt incredibly jarring to Gu Congjue.
“I had afternoon tea with a classmate.” Avoiding his mother’s piercing gaze, Gu Congjue fed him the excuse he had prepared in advance. “The set was too boring, and Dad takes forever to finish his makeup. A classmate happened to reach out, so I…”
Gu Congjue rarely lied. He hadn’t needed to do it much in his past life, and it was even less necessary in this one. He was slightly worried that Xiang Yuyan would see right through him and dig deeper into his whereabouts.
He didn’t want to expose his meeting with He Xiangu.
“Gu Congjue, you can’t do this,” Xiang Yuyan said, not seeing through the lie but speaking with a heavy, helpless sigh. “If you want to go out and play, you can just tell us directly. Do you honestly think we wouldn’t let you go? Your dad and I only have one son! If you were to get kidnapped, what would your dad and I do? Who am I supposed to cry to?”
Gu Congjue muttered, “I’m fifteen.”
In terms of his psychological age, he was far older than fifteen.
“So what if you’re fifteen?”
That line finally sparked a flicker of irritation in Xiang Yuyan. He reached out with a long arm, pulling his son close to vigorously rub his face and pinch his ears.
“Even if you’re thirty-five, you’re still a child in front of your father and me! Do you dare sneak out like that again, huh? Answer me!”
“N-No, I won’t,” Gu Congjue stammered, breaking free and smoothing down his rumpled hair. “I won’t do it again.”
“You better mean it. I really ought to buy you a few more insurance policies just to save you from getting any more wild ideas about running off!” Xiang Yuyan’s eyes flicked to the large bag behind his son. “You went shopping?”
Gu Congjue held out the large gift bag. “Yeah. For you.”
“For me?” Xiang Yuyan looked surprised and delighted. “A handbag? Did you pick it out yourself, or did the sales staff recommend it?”
“Me.”
“Not bad at all.” The veteran idol, who already possessed an endless mountain of designer clothes and bags, beamed as he examined the gift. “The little slacker’s taste is actually good for once. You managed to pick a new arrival that completely hits my sweet spot!”
Xiang Yuyan loved it so much he immediately started transferring items from his current bag into the new one.
His quiet, aloof son had never given them much besides the mandatory flowers and little handmade keychains required by his teachers on Mother’s and Father’s Day. With his son suddenly showing such thoughtfulness today, Xiang Yuyan was naturally overjoyed. What parent wouldn’t treasure a gift from their child?
“It’s perfect. I’m heading out to meet an old friend tonight, so I’ll carry this bag! Huh? What’s this smaller box?” Xiang Yuyan discovered the bracelet.
Gu Congjue answered honestly, “It was a complimentary gift. I didn’t buy it.”
“I figured you wouldn’t be that thoughtful to buy a bracelet right after a handbag.” Xiang Yuyan opened the dust bag to take a look. “Lucky you didn’t buy it, because I wouldn’t be able to wear it anyway.”
Gu Congjue was confused. “Because it’s a women’s style?”
“No. I just signed a global ambassadorship for a high jewelry brand last month. Wearing this would count as supporting a competitor.” Xiang Yuyan thought about it for a moment, put the bracelet back into its original box, and slipped it into the handbag. “It’s fine. I’ll just give it to my friend. The dinner was arranged so suddenly that I didn’t have time to prepare a gift for her.”
Xiang Yuyan’s schedule for the evening was packed. After meeting his friend, he had to head straight to the television station for a variety show rehearsal. If it weren’t for Gu Congjue’s little stunt, he wouldn’t have come home at all.
“I’m out of time, I have to run. Your dad and I won’t be home tonight, so you stay put and behave yourself. Do you hear me?” Before stepping out, Xiang Yuyan didn’t forget to shout, “Sister Rong, keep a close eye on that brat for me I’m leaving!”
Standing in the second-floor corridor, Gu Congjue watched Xiang Yuyan leave with his massive entourage. Only then did he let out a long, exhausted sigh. Scratching the back of his head, he walked back to his bedroom, locked the door, and pulled out his secret little wooden box.
Excellent. It was time to continue updating his Shen Yanxing notebook.
After leaving the first store due to the snobbish clerk, Shen Yanxing had stumbled into a different luxury boutique.
Compared to the first place, the sales associate here treated him with a warmth that felt like a breath of fresh spring air. Not only did she refrain from judging him by his appearance, but she also patiently guided him through the new collections and introduced pieces that fit his budget.
Under the gentle guidance of the kind sales lady, Shen Yanxing completely forgot about the unfair treatment he had suffered earlier. On the spot, he chose a gold necklace featuring an eight-pointed star pendant and the brand’s signature logo.
When checking out, Shen Yanxing paid 5,800 yuan. The sales lady even gifted him a pair of small hair clips, sweetly saying, “We look forward to your next visit!”
That simple phrase filled Shen Yanxing with an immense surge of confidence.
Clutching the bright orange gift bag printed with the large brand logo, his mood lifted so much that his footsteps quickened. Humming a little tune on the way home, he rewarded himself by buying a 48-yuan eel bento and a box of cherries for 39 yuan.
By the time he casually made his way back to his apartment in the Huaiyun District, it was already past seven-thirty.
Heating up the eel bento, boiling a bowl of egg noodles loaded with ham, fresh greens, and lean pork, washing the cherries, and tossing together a fruit salad with mayonnaise from the fridge he had managed to put together a quite exquisite and thoughtful dinner for himself.
Auntie Mei had mentioned she was meeting an old friend she hadn’t seen in years for dinner tonight and would likely be back very late. Because of this, Shen Yanxing didn’t rush to ask where she was. Instead, after enjoying his solitary dinner, he took the initiative to clean and tidy their modest 40-square-meter home.
He tucked the necklace, along with its gift bag and box, right into Auntie Mei’s bedsheets. Imagining how surprised and delighted she would be later made his heart swell with joy; even the fruit salad tasted remarkably sweeter.
“She’s definitely going to ask me where I got the money to buy a necklace,” Shen Yanxing said to himself, opening Weibo for some entertainment and smiling at the screen.
Coincidentally, the app’s splash screen advertisement happened to be for the exact same brand as the necklace he had just bought.
Last month, the brand had officially announced Xiang Yuyan, the legendary “元祖偶像” (original idol), as the global ambassador for their jewelry line, pouring massive amounts of capital into these unskippable splash ads.
Shen Yanxing had scrolled past it a few times before without paying much attention. But since he had purchased a product from the same brand today, he took a few extra moments to look, even clicking through to the campaign page.
“So beautiful…”
The beautifully composed, sweeping banners on the details page made Shen Yanxing murmur in involuntary awe.
“So dazzling. If you’re a global ambassador, do you get everything for free? Can you just have whatever jewelry you want?”
Just as Shen Yanxing was letting his imagination wander, dreaming an impossible dream of stardom, the chime of a new notification snapped him right back to reality.
Tapping into WeChat from the notification bar, he saw that Sister Fan had sent another gig his way.
[There’s an opening for a usher/hospitality gentleman at a fashion gala. Do you want to take it?]
[The hourly rate is very high, but there are strict requirements for appearance and image.]