Gu Huo asked knowingly, “This jacket isn’t cheap, is it? Where did you get the money?”
For some reason, Qiao Sheng didn’t want him to know she had spent three days handing out flyers.
It was too embarrassing.
She hadn’t bought him the jacket expecting gratitude or to make him remember her kindness, nor had she done it to get closer to him.
Everyone has a heart of flesh and blood—she simply felt sorry for him, nothing more.
She blinked her eyes. “Did you forget? I returned a package earlier.”
To convince Gu Huo, she lied, “This jacket was really cheap! After the discount, it was only eighty!”
Without batting an eye, Qiao Sheng chopped off the leftmost digit of the price tag, leaving only the two digits on the right.
Gu Huo: “…”
Eighty?
Nowadays, you can’t even buy much at a street stall for eighty!
Although he hadn’t bought new clothes in years, he still had some idea about the basic prices of daily necessities.
This was thanks to the two mothers among his colleagues at the convenience store.
In their free time, they liked to gather and discuss their children’s grades, chat about family matters, share shopping tips, and complain about prices.
Unconsciously, the high schooler had absorbed a wealth of information: kindergarten tuition had gone up, extracurricular classes were outrageously expensive, and even a toddler’s undershirt cost dozens… Based on the fabric and craftsmanship of the jacket, Gu Huo roughly calculated and deduced a “sky-high price” that made his heart ache.
He didn’t care much about clothes—as long as they were clean and tidy, it was fine.
He didn’t feel wronged at all.
Compared to real grievances, material deprivation was nothing.
For no reason, a desolate morning scene flashed in Gu Huo’s mind: the girl standing alone, holding a thick stack of flyers, staring boredly at an advertisement board.
He told himself not to dwell on it.
Even if it really was a gift she had prepared for Zhou Zixiao, so what?
For the past few years, aside from his school uniform and underwear, hadn’t all his clothes been secondhand from kind-hearted people?
Gu Huo frustratingly realized he was petty. He had thought he was somewhat carefree in certain aspects, but in reality, he was petty.
He didn’t care about the jacket’s final price.
Even if it really was an eighty-yuan street stall find.
As long as it was prepared specifically for him.
He hesitated, “Today is your classmate’s birthday. I heard almost everyone in your class went. You… didn’t go because of what happened last time?”
Gu Huo had originally wanted to ask directly why she hadn’t gone but felt it was too blunt. At the last moment, he switched to a more tactful phrasing.
Then he tried to infer the truth behind her absence from Zhou Zixiao’s birthday celebration tonight from Qiao Sheng’s reaction.
He still vividly remembered last year, when Zhou Zixiao celebrated his birthday, how she had been devastated and furious at not being invited.
Qiao Sheng reacted slowly with an “Ah?” before replying matter-of-factly, “Yeah, I’m not that clueless. Knowing full well they don’t like me, why would I eagerly go looking for trouble?”
She wasn’t that pathetic.
Unlike the original owner…
Now that she was the original owner, she had to set things right and start anew.
Gu Huo couldn’t suppress his shock—she had never intended to celebrate Zhou Zixiao’s birthday from the start. That meant the jacket wasn’t a rejected birthday gift for Zhou Zixiao but rather…
Gu Huo carefully chose his words, “I think Zhou Zixiao and we aren’t from the same world. Besides, he might still hold a grudge over last time’s unpleasantness, so Qiao Sheng, you…”
Recalling the original host’s shameless, bottomless groveling and fawning over Zhou Zixiao, Young Master Zhou, Qiao Sheng felt a wave of vicarious embarrassment wash over her, her toes curling instinctively.
Afraid that Gu Huo might not see her determination to thoroughly reform, she nodded emphatically: “I know! I just realized that although he looks decent on the surface, he’s actually quite awful. My brain must have been crushed by a door before, thinking he was different from others. Now that I think about it, aside from being born into a good family, there’s nothing remarkable about him.”
After careful and meticulous observation, Gu Huo noticed that when Qiao Sheng mentioned that Young Master Zhou, her expression held only disdain, not admiration, and he felt reassured.
In his opinion, that Young Master Zhou was not worthy of Qiao Sheng—though, of course, he had to add, the current Qiao Sheng.
The birthday banquet for the son of S City’s wealthiest family was in full swing at a five-star hotel owned by his family.
Inside the exquisitely decorated and luxurious banquet hall, birthday wishes and congratulations buzzed incessantly, like frogs croaking in a pond after rain.
By eight in the evening, no guests had arrived through the main entrance for twenty minutes, meaning all invited guests who could come had arrived, and those who couldn’t had made sure to explain their situations through various channels, while also wishing Zhou Zixiao a happy birthday.
The scale of Zhou Zixiao’s birthday banquet was unprecedentedly grand, with a fairly well-known band specially invited to warm up the atmosphere. Many felt smug about being able to attend this birthday celebration, and aside from a few who genuinely couldn’t make it, almost everyone who could come had shown up.
The bustling banquet hall was filled with laughter, fine wine, and delicious food.
Zhou Zixiao stood in a corner, slowly sipping a glass of red wine, his gaze unconsciously wandering across the vast banquet hall as if searching for someone in the crowd.
To his left, Tang Lize swayed along with the band on stage, thoroughly enjoying himself.
To his right, two girls with immaculate makeup held slices of delicious cake, whispering to each other while occasionally glancing toward Zhou Zixiao, their admiration barely concealed.
Zhou Zixiao was wealthy and handsome, and tonight, he looked exceptionally dashing.
The perfectly tailored, high-end custom beige suit accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs, giving him an air of elegance.
His hair, meticulously styled with hair wax, highlighted his handsome features, making him appear more mature and distinguished than the familiar image he presented at school. He could have stepped straight into the set of a “CEO Falls in Love with Me” drama as the male lead, so handsome it made hearts flutter.
However, at his own event, the “CEO” seemed to be in a less-than-pleasant mood.
Zhou Zixiao discreetly scanned the crowd once more but didn’t see the figure he was hoping to find. A slight frown creased his brow, and he felt restless.
Thinking he was bored, Tang Lize smiled and suggested to Zhou Zixiao, “Young Master Zhou, how about we play a game later?”
Zhou Zixiao brought the wine glass to his lips, showing little interest. “What game?”
“Truth or Dare.”
“Isn’t that childish?”
Tang Lize, expecting this response, flashed a mischievous grin. “Young Master Zhou, don’t you want to get even? We can drag that dead girl surnamed Qiao into the game…”
Zhou Zixiao’s heart skipped a beat.
After all, everyone here was on their side.
With inside and outside cooperation, whoever they wanted to lose would lose.
If Qiao Sheng chose Dare, they would give her a task guaranteed to embarrass her in front of everyone. If she chose Truth, they would ask her who she had a crush on—and she would inevitably tell the truth. At that point, all Zhou Zixiao needed to say was, “Sorry, but unfortunately I don’t like you,” and she would be completely crushed.