At five in the afternoon, the LV store in the International Gold Center was a little less crowded.
The evening shift sales associates also began their handover.
Qi Sheng walked into the store and greeted the sales associates, who he was already quite familiar with.
He made himself comfortable in the lounge area and started playing on his phone.
No one paid him much mind; they all knew Qi Sheng was waiting for Tan Hua to get off work.
Tan Hua, who had been on her feet all day, changed out of her LV uniform.
Her delicate face showed a hint of fatigue, making her seem a bit frail and vulnerable.
However, seeing Qi Sheng there to pick her up,
a blissful smile instantly appeared on Tan Hua's face.
Having a boyfriend pick her up from work was a scene she had often daydreamed about.
"Off work?"
Seeing Tan Hua walk over, Qi Sheng got up from the sofa.
He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's slender waist and picked up the Apple shopping bag from the table.
"I passed by the Apple store and bought you a new phone. Want to swap your SIM card over?"
Tan Hua shot Qi Sheng a playful glare. "You're spending money recklessly again. I just bought my phone the year before last. Why don't you return this?"
"Returning it is not an option. My girlfriend can't be using a model that's several years old. The new iPhone isn't out for a while, or else I would've bought you the latest one."
Allowing no room for argument, Qi Sheng opened the iPhone box and took out the silver iPhone X inside.
Then, he took out the SIM ejector tool and helped Tan Hua transfer her contacts.
Using the store's Wi-Fi, he downloaded some of her commonly used apps.
"All set!"
Qi Sheng handed the iPhone X to Tan Hua and put her old iPhone 7 into the new box.
"Huahua, you got a new phone?"
Xu Ying, who had just finished changing, walked over. She was a little surprised to see the iPhone X in Tan Hua's hand.
"Mhm, my boyfriend bought it for me."
Tan Hua glanced at Qi Sheng, acknowledging him as her boyfriend for the first time.
"Wow, is that the top-spec model?"
Xu Ying had bought an iPhone X last year when it was released.
She had felt a little smug seeing Tan Hua still using an iPhone 7.
She never expected that Tan Hua's boyfriend would be so awesome and get her a new iPhone too.
"Um... I think it's the 256GB one."
Tan Hua had just glanced at the storage capacity.
Compared to Xu Ying's 64GB version, the difference was huge.
"Huahua, your Qi Sheng is just too good to you.
This top-spec model costs 9,699.
I had to grit my teeth several times back then and still couldn't bring myself to buy it, so I got the low-spec one.
Your top-spec phone, plus earphones and a case, must have cost over ten thousand!"
As a chic young woman, Xu Ying had been completely won over by the new iPhone's looks when it came out, gritting her teeth and buying the low-spec version.
But then she looked at Tan Hua, whose boyfriend had just gifted her the top-spec model. The gap was so wide it was disheartening.
"Hey, Handsome Qi, did you buy a watch?"
Xu Ying inadvertently spotted the black-strapped Daytona on Qi Sheng's wrist and felt another small jolt of shock.
"Yeah, I bought it while I was wandering around after dropping off your food. Not expensive, only 230,000."
Wearing a watch in the middle of summer is pretty conspicuous.
Xu Ying had found it a bit strange that Qi Sheng's wrist was bare before.
Turns out he was truly rich—rich enough to casually buy a 230,000 yuan Rolex while strolling around.
As an LV sales associate, she was naturally well-versed in watch brands and their prices.
It was an essential skill for gauging a customer's spending power.
"Wow, the Yu Wenle model. That's a highly sought-after piece."
Xu Ying had high emotional intelligence; she knew exactly how to stroke a man's ego.
A watch that was hard for others to get, Qi Sheng had bought with ease.
Wasn't that impressive?
As for how he got it, he obviously paid a premium.
"We need to buy some daily necessities today. You guys have the weekend off, so let's all get together for a meal."
Qi Sheng glanced at his watch. He planned to take Tan Hua on a major shopping trip first. He couldn't just leave the apartment empty, after all.
Compared to his apartment at National Gold Mansion, Tan Hua's place was pitifully small.
"Okay, I won't disturb you two then. See you tomorrow."
Xu Ying also waved with a smile, slung her bag over her shoulder, and left to squeeze onto the subway.
Despite looking glamorous in the store, they still had to squeeze onto the subway or take a Didi.
Buying a house was even more unrealistic.
Their income was considered quite high, easily exceeding ten thousand a month, but they couldn't save much.
What's more, being a sales associate was a job that relied on youth.
What brand-name store would have a 40-something "auntie" greeting customers?
Therefore, their only way out was to find a well-off man to marry while they were still young.
Hardly any sales associates who married into a good family were willing to continue doing such a difficult job.
...
「In the underground garage.」
Qi Sheng started the car, his heart aching a little as he looked at Tan Hua's tired expression.
"Recline your seat a bit. You can take a nap on the way."
"Mhm."
In front of Qi Sheng, Tan Hua didn't need to keep up her "goddess" facade.
She could show her true self.
Qi Sheng drove very smoothly, with no sudden stops or starts.
Soft music played inside the car.
The temperature from the air conditioner was just right.
It took almost an hour to get to Sam's Supermarket on the North Third Ring Road.
The traffic was terrible, but thankfully, Qi Sheng was in a relaxed mood.
This kind of calm and unhurried demeanor was something he could never have possessed back when he was a corporate drone.
"Mmm... are we here?"
When Tan Hua groggily woke up, she found the car had been parked in the Sam's Supermarket lot for a while.
She checked her phone. An hour and a half had passed since they left.
One could imagine that after arriving, Qi Sheng hadn't had the heart to wake her and had quietly waited for her to wake up on her own.
Tan Hua couldn't suppress the wave of emotion in her heart.
After unbuckling her seatbelt, she proactively wrapped her fair, slender arms around Qi Sheng's neck and offered him a kiss.
When their lips parted, a flirtatious look appeared in Tan Hua's eyes, causing Qi Sheng's desire to flare up.
Tan Hua realized she had started a fire, and she snuck a peek at the "tent" in his lap.
Her face flushed crimson with shyness, and she quickly pulled away.
"Shall we go shopping?"
Without waiting for Qi Sheng's response, Tan Hua scrambled out of the car.
If she stayed in the car any longer, she was afraid Qi Sheng would devour her whole.
...
A few minutes passed before Qi Sheng finally managed to calm himself and get out of the car.
'If I don't conquer Tan Hua tonight, I'll livestream myself fucking a five-speed fan!'
Qi Sheng really couldn't stand this vixen's wicked habit of starting a fire and not putting it out. He had to deliver a strong condemnation and punishment.
Sam's Supermarket was huge, and there were a lot of people shopping there.
The crowd was generally made up of young people and urban white-collar workers, with a fair number of respectably dressed middle-class folks as well.
An elevator went directly from the parking garage to the store. The two of them went up to the third floor.
They grabbed two shopping carts, as they had a lot to buy.
The third floor was mainly home appliances, toys, daily necessities, alcohol, and condiments—all things on their shopping list.
Dyson hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, and lamps.
Qi Sheng didn't even look at the prices, tossing them directly into the cart.
'A hair dryer that costs a few dozen yuan can still dry your hair, sure. But who could blame him? He was going to conquer Tan Hua tonight, which would immediately launch him into the ranks of the wealthy who earn millions a month. When money's no object, why not use something of better quality?'