Chapter 26: The Birthday Banquet

As Lin Yiwei stepped out of the convenience store, a light drizzle was falling from the sky.

Autumn and winter in Qinggang City are often rainy. In this kind of persistent, overcast weather, the wind feels like needle points, boring directly into the pores of one’s skin with a bone-chilling cold.

A black SUV was parked at the entrance. Even though Lin Yiwei knew nothing about luxury car brands, she recognized this vehicle at a glance.

She recognized it because she had chosen it herself. In Xie Bo’s underground garage, which resembled a motor show, amidst a sea of extravagant racing cars and supercars, she had picked out this seemingly understated SUV.

Xie Bo always drove this car to pick her up, to the point where she not only recognized its emblem but would conjure up images of him whenever she saw a similar model on the street.

There is a concept in psychology called the "anchoring effect." It suggests that when one person continuously deepens another's impression of a certain object, an anchor is established. Upon seeing that object, one immediately thinks of the person associated with it.

Repeated often enough, this can even create the illusion of falling in love with that person.

She felt that Xie Bo was intentionally or unintentionally planting these anchors for her.

Holding her umbrella, she walked straight past the car.

After she had walked ten meters away, the SUV’s engine started, following slowly behind her. It wasn't in a hurry, as if it were simply keeping her company on a stroll.

Lin Yiwei finally couldn't take it anymore. She stopped and said, "Master Bo, what can I do for you?"

The ink-black window slowly rolled down.

The man’s profile was sharp. He rested one hand on the steering wheel, his fingertips tapping rhythmically. "Waiting for you. To pick you up."

He was unusually dressed in a shirt and black trousers, the collar left casually open, revealing his slender neck. He was even wearing those moonlight-silver rimless glasses.

These glasses had also become an anchor Xie Bo had planted for Lin Yiwei. So much so that whenever she saw a boy on the street wearing the same type, she would unconsciously compare him to Xie Bo. Regrettably, no boy of that type had yet been able to surpass his aura of a refined degenerate.

Lin Yiwei must have had a mental lapse back then to have mistaken him for a gentle, obedient "little puppy."

"Get in," Xie Bo said, simple and direct, with no wasted words.

Lin Yiwei replied, "I need to go back to school. I have club activities later."

"If you don't want me to splash water all over you, get in the car."

"..."

Perhaps to match his cool, refined attire today, even his tone of voice was airy and light, though what he said was hardly human.

Lin Yiwei looked down at the white dress she was wearing and decided to be obedient and get in.

Once inside, Xie Bo leaned over to fasten her seatbelt and noticed a faint bite mark on her earlobe. "How long has it been? It still hasn't healed."

"So, do you have any idea how much force you used?"

Xie Bo knew her constitution was like this—incredibly delicate. He had a wicked urge to plant a hickey on her neck again, but after Lin Yiwei gave him a firm slap, he stopped, though he still looked unsatisfied.

Without further ado, he drove her straight to the SKP.

The semi-open, park-style sunken TOD shopping district was home to many high-end luxury boutiques.

"Why are we here?"

Xie Bo didn't answer. After parking the car, he led her into MSKU.

The staff at such luxury stores were well-trained. They could identify the sons and daughters of the top families in Qinggang City, linking names to faces to ensure they felt right at home.

Xie Bo didn't often visit such women’s luxury boutiques, but the clerk recognized him instantly and approached with a warm, spring-like smile. "Young Master Xie, you've arrived. We just received a batch of new autumn and winter items. Would you like to take a look?"

Xie Bo took Lin Yiwei’s wrist and pulled her into the store. The girl frowned and struggled a few times, but couldn't break free, so she had to let him lead her.

"Which one did she pick out last time?"

The clerk’s expression shifted slightly upon seeing Lin Yiwei. Luxury stores of this caliber didn't actually receive many guests, and Lin Yiwei’s striking beauty meant the clerk remembered her well. At the time, the clerk had ignored her because a single glance was enough to see that the girl’s spending level didn't fall within the store’s target demographic.

The clerk never expected to see her again, walking alongside the third young master of the Xie family, the richest in Qinggang City.

Terrified and annoyed, and fearing that the young master might cause trouble, the clerk quickly retrieved the small, Chanel-style tweed set Lin Yiwei had inquired about and presented it eagerly. "It was this one."

Xie Bo held the dress up, looking at it from front to back, and frowned with disdain. "What kind of terrible taste is this? How could this kind of tweed look good? It’s tacky as hell."

Lin Yiwei: ...

She hadn't intended to buy it anyway, and she couldn't afford it either. Besides, what was wrong with tweed? She thought the cut was nice; it made her look like a well-behaved girl from a good family. Kind and pure.

Xie Bo didn't like it, tossed it back to the clerk, and went to the display shelves to pick out a few pieces that suited his own taste.

There were sets, coats, and individual dresses... He held them up against Lin Yiwei. "Go try them on."

"No," Lin Yiwei stubbornly refused. "I’m not your Barbie doll. You say try, I try? Where would I put my dignity?"

Xie Bo knew she wouldn't listen, so he reached around and pinned her neck, pulled out his phone, and took a photo of them together in the mirror. "You want dignity, right? Believe it or not, I’ll post this on WeChat Moments right now and announce you’re my girlfriend."

Lin Yiwei: ...

Seeing the wicked, upturned brows of the man, she rushed forward to grab the phone. "Xie Bo! You... how dare you!"

Xie Bo tossed the clothes at her, his eyes narrowing with a look of pure threat.

Lin Yiwei, frustrated, had no choice but to take the clothes and follow the clerk to the fitting room, trying on the outfits he had selected one by one.

Xie Bo’s taste was truly demanding. Dresses of various styles were dismissed by him. After trying on who knows how many, he finally found one he was slightly satisfied with.

"Not bad. It’s barely passable."

Lin Yiwei: ...

Could this man’s aesthetic be any more simple and crude?

He’d eliminated so many dresses she thought were fine, only to be satisfied with this black, sexy, low-cut, cleavage-baring, tight-fitting short skirt!

"I’m not wearing this. Not even if I die," Lin Yiwei told him. "Keep dreaming."

"It’s true, it’s not really appropriate to wear out," Xie Bo said, his burning gaze sweeping across the girl’s alluring figure without restraint. "Buy it and wear it at home."

"I told you, I’m not your Barbie doll!"

He held his phone between his fingertips and smiled faintly. "It seems you’re impatient to make our relationship public."

"Fine, buy, buy, buy!" She changed out of that dress and threw it to the clerk. "Pack up all the ones I tried on earlier. I want them all."

Although Xie Bo didn't particularly like the earlier pieces, he would buy whatever she wanted. It wasn't just the clothes and dresses; he even had the matching shoes and bags prepared for her.

Lin Yiwei had a great figure and looked good in anything. With a little styling, Xie Bo couldn't find a single flaw in her appearance. He was such a fastidious person, yet she hit every one of his preferences.

A crush, coming on like a tidal wave.

Xie Bo really wanted her again. Unable to achieve that, he could only vent the restless energy in his body by buying her things.

Lin Yiwei carried the bags behind him. Xie Bo was a "hands-off" manager and didn't think to help her. He simply didn't have that habit.

It wasn't until a sweet couple walked past, holding hands, that the boyfriend not only carried the girl's shopping bags but even held her small handbag for her.

Xie Bo only then realized something. He turned back to look at Lin Yiwei, who was "struggling under the weight." "Sweetheart, is it heavy?"

Lin Yiwei: "It's a sweet burden."

Xie Bo took her fluffy rabbit-themed handbag and carried it for her, signaling that he, too, could be a competent partner.

She mocked, "I’m just so touched."

"Don't mention it."

"Do you want to pick out some more?"

Xie Bo hung her small bag up and scanned the bags in her hands, seemingly choosing in earnest.

Lin Yiwei simply held out her hands and passed all the bags to him. "Adults don't choose; I want them all."

"Makes sense." After saying that, Xie Bo simply swept her up into his arms in a princess carry, holding her—along with all the shopping bags—steadily in his arms.

Lin Yiwei: ...

Feeling the stares of the people around them—"pretending not to see, but glancing a thousand times"—she lowered her voice and said urgently, "Put me down! This is so embarrassing!"

"No."

Xie Bo carried her through the entire SKP. Lin Yiwei felt her social life had ended; she slumped in his arms and pretended to faint.

...

The next day, in the secondhand trading section of the campus forum, a batch of genuine, reasonably priced MSKU dresses and high heels appeared.

They were brand new, with tags still attached and original invoices included, triggering a shopping frenzy among the girls.

When Li Du sent the post to Xie Bo’s phone, he was in class and glanced at the screen nonchalantly.

She had listed all the clothes he bought for her online; she hadn't kept a single one. This wasn't the first time—the beret incident... Xie Bo had been furious. But this time, he was used to it.

It wasn't just him intentionally planting anchors for Lin Yiwei; invisibly, Lin Yiwei was also raising his threshold for patience.

If she wanted to sell them, she could sell them. As long as he felt good in the moment he was spending the money, it didn't matter.

Xie Bo had bought her at least a dozen dresses and coats. Lin Yiwei sold them at half price and made a tidy sum. She would, of course, accept the money; otherwise, how could she justify the man’s "good intentions"?

Lin Yiwei spent a few thousand on a modest, everyday-style small dress. While it didn't meet the standards of Chi Xiyu’s banquet, wearing something too expensive would look suspicious for her income level. She didn't mind being mocked by the socialites; this dress was perfectly appropriate.

The rest of the money, Lin Yiwei saved up for her living expenses over the next few years of college, and... if there was an opportunity in the future to study at the Royal College of Art in London, she wanted to prepare a study fund for herself.

Lin Yiwei didn't want to spend her whole life in such poverty and distress. She, too, wanted to work hard to trek toward that distant and sacred snow-capped mountain.

...

On the day of the birthday, Lin Yiwei rode in Xu Qianxi’s car to Chi Xiyu’s home.

Xu Qianxi was delighted to show off the affluent lifestyle of their social class, introducing how extravagant and wasteful the mid-mountain Chinese-style courtyard where Chi Xiyu lived was.

In truth, she didn't need to "introduce" it like a show-off. Lin Yiwei had eyes; she could see how magnificent and luxurious this Chinese-style villa, with its water-corridor courtyard at the entrance, was.

The corridors were surrounded by water and pine, filled with atmospheric mist, possessing a sense of Zen.

Passing through the winding, exquisite covered walkways toward the entrance, there were double-armored mansion doors. Inside, a massive landscape stone greeted them, and further in were scattered garden paths.

The main house was a three-story above-ground, two-story underground sunken Chinese-style courtyard.

In a residence like this, if one wanted to hide a person... Lin Yiwei felt there was more than enough room. In such a layered, staggered mansion, one could hide a mountain of gold without anyone noticing.

The courtyard was lively, and the sound of laughter and clinking glasses could be heard from afar.

The young masters and ladies of the upper circle were gathered on the garden lawn, accompanying the birthday girl—Chi Xiyu.

She was wearing a massive, multi-layered, fluffy cake dress. Her long hair was pinned into an exquisite, cute bun, with a few strands curled by her temples.

Standing next to a magnificent three-tier cake, she made Lin Yiwei feel as if a princess from a fairy tale had stepped out of a book.

Yes, living in such a mansion, in such a garden—what else could it be but the treatment and enjoyment of a princess?

It was impossible not to be envious. No one present was not envious of Chi Xiyu; even Xu Qianxi, who also came from the upper circle, looked at her with longing.

A famous pianist was playing world-renowned classics on a white Steinway piano in the garden.

Chi Xiyu received Lin Yiwei, took her to visit everywhere, and introduced her to everyone, even using the term "best sister" to describe her.

Chi Xiyu’s friends were all as sharp-eyed as vipers; how could they not see that Lin Yiwei came from the lower class? Through Lin Yiwei, Chi Xiyu was showing off one thing: that she didn't mind the wealth gap, and didn't mind being friends with girls of a lower social standing.

Lin Yiwei didn't mind becoming Chi Xiyu’s exhibit; she played her part in this performance with a beaming smile.

Chi Xicheng was playing games in the second-floor gaming room. Hearing the commotion from the garden, which even his headphones couldn't block, he frowned in irritation.

He truly hated his sister throwing parties at home.

Inviting a bunch of boring young masters and ladies to crowd around her, saying flattering and sycophantic things, and playing the role of a princess.

What was the point?

In any case, he had no interest in participating in her "princess game."

Yawning, Chi Xicheng walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, stretched, and looked down at the back garden.

With one glance, he saw the girl Chi Xiyu was holding...

She had been carefully styled, wearing light makeup; she no longer looked as plain as she had in the past. Strands of hair hung by her temples, her face was oval-shaped, her cheeks were full, her skin was as white as porcelain and seemed as if it could be pinched to reveal water, and the beauty mark on her forehead was both cold and alluring.

It was her?

Chi Xicheng saw his jealous sister actually holding her hand and introducing her to her friends.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

"That's fucking interesting."

...

Lin Yiwei had been "on display" by Chi Xiyu for over half an hour. She whispered to her, "Xixi, I’d like to look around your house, is that okay? I’ve never seen such a big, luxurious house before."

Chi Xiyu glanced at her, her tone full of pride. "What’s there to look at? This house... I’m already sick of living in it."

Before she could finish, Chi Xicheng walked over lazily. "Sis, you have such a pretty friend? When did you make friends with her?"

Lin Yiwei was shocked; she hadn't expected Chi Xicheng to be home! She had heard from Xu Qianxi that when she threw a party, her brother usually hid away!

She subconsciously hid behind Chi Xiyu.

Chi Xiyu knew what kind of scum her brother was, so she said, "Brother, you can't have any ideas about Weiwei. She’s my best friend."

"Best friend? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Chi Xicheng knew what a jealous person his sister was. He squinted at the guarded Lin Yiwei and asked, "Do you know that she has something going on with Xie Bo?"