In the past, Chu Xiaoxiao and Little Li had a pretty good relationship. Little Li was an upperclassman from her high school, but after she got into college, Little Li graduated and went straight to work, so they lost contact.
Unexpectedly, they ran into each other here, and Little Li was now working as a sales assistant in a mall.
Little Li was aware of Chu Xiaoxiaoâs family situation, and she directly asked Chu Xiaoxiao why she came to buy clothes here.
Little Li remembered that Chu Xiaoxiao used to buy clothes from street vendors, which cost only about ten bucks.
But the clothes in this mall could easily cost several hundred.
Chu Xiaoxiao didnât know how to respond to Little Li, she couldnât exactly tell her she had just made 400,000 yuan.
Lin Fan said nonchalantly, "We might have come to the wrong place."
Little Li said, "I thought so, hey, Xiaoxiao, who is this, could he be your boyfriend?"
"No, heâs not!"
Chu Xiaoxiao blushed and quickly denied it. She was shy; she did want Lin Fan to be her boyfriend, but in fact, he wasnât.
Little Li laughed, "Whatâs the big deal about dating? Youâre in college now, after all. But..."
She scrutinized Lin Fan, dressed in cheap clothes from head to toe, and couldnât help but look down on him. Lin Fan was handsome, but he obviously looked poor. Handsomeness doesnât feed you, having money is more important.
She believed Lin Fan was Chu Xiaoxiaoâs boyfriend, but she looked down on poor people like him.
Lin Fan couldnât be bothered to explain and smiled, "Xiaoxiao, how about we check out other places? The clothes here are too cheap; Iâm afraid it wonât give you enough face wearing them tomorrow."
"What?"
Little Li was stunned.
Lin Fan just said they might have come to the wrong placeânot because it was expensive, but because he thought the clothes here were too cheap?
Chu Xiaoxiao, used to living a frugal life, had no idea about fashion. Hearing Lin Fan, she was left without a clue, "So where should we buy clothes then?"
Lin Fan replied, "At least we should look at world-famous brands, like Ancient Words or Chanel."
"Alright, sorry, Little Li, we have to go," Chu Xiaoxiao told Little Li.
Saying this, the two of them were about to leave.
Little Li, puzzled, grabbed Chu Xiaoxiao, "Wait a second, did I hear that right? Youâre going to buy Ancient Words or Chanel?"
Chu Xiaoxiao said, "I donât know either, Iâm just following his lead."
Little Li exclaimed, "What a joke! Xiaoxiao, itâs one thing if you donât know, but do you have any idea how expensive clothes from Ancient Words or Chanel are? I work here, earn almost 10,000 yuan a month, and I donât even dare to buy them. I know your situation, how much money do you have on you? Can you afford them?"
Lin Fan chuckled, "What does this have to do with you?"
Little Li instantly felt annoyed, "What are you acting all high and mighty for! Itâs obvious youâre poor. Talking about Ancient Words and Chanelâstop pretending in front of me! Iâm just saying, Xiaoxiao, if you find a boyfriend, find someone reliable. Whatâs the use in someone who just pretends to be something theyâre not!"
Chu Xiaoxiao blushed, "Little Li, please donât talk like that. Heâs really not my boyfriend."
Little Li added, "Heâs not your boyfriend? Then you should stay away from people like that, too flashy, not realistic at all. I have some discounted old-style clothes here. A few years old, but really cheap, just about a hundred yuan each. How much money do you have? Can you buy one?"
For the old Chu Xiaoxiao, clothes around a hundred yuan were indeed quite expensive; she couldnât afford them.
Chu Xiaoxiao said, "Thanks, but thereâs no need, Little Li."
She was only listening to Lin Fan, if Lin Fan said not to buy here, then she wouldnât.
Little Li thought she probably found them too pricey, so she said, "A hundred yuan is very cheap, but since weâre old classmates, I can make it even cheaper. You have fifty yuan on you, right? Donât tell me you donât even have fifty yuan? Then sorry, youâll have to try the street stalls."
This Little Li seemed all helpful, but in reality, looked down on Chu Xiaoxiao, with that haughty posture.
Even as naive as Chu Xiaoxiao was, she realized Little Li was clearly looking down on her.
Chu Xiaoxiao said, "I need to go somewhere tomorrow and need to dress a bit nicer, so street stall goods are out. Little Li, Iâll be going now."
With that said, Chu Xiaoxiao no longer wanted to converse with Little Li, and left with Lin Fan.
Little Li pursed her lips, disdainfully muttering, "Pretending, never thought Xiaoxiao learned to pretend too; she used to be so pure. Mustâve learned it from this poor boyfriend of hers. Birds of a feather flock together. But she has no choice, poor people like her can only be with other poor people, not like me."
Compared to Chu Xiaoxiao, Little Li suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of superiority.
She came out to work right after high school, found this sales job, and worked for two years, earning 10,000 yuan a month.
Though not comparable to the wealthy, she felt she was heads above Chu Xiaoxiao.
Chu Xiaoxiao didnât even carry fifty yuan!
For kids from poor backgrounds like Chu Xiaoxiao, compared to her, Little Li considered herself rich, an upstart.
Little Li figured Lin Fan and Chu Xiaoxiao were pretending they couldnât afford clothes here, so they said they would go to Ancient Words or Chanel to save face. She was sure once they left, they would head out of the mall to buy street clothes outside.
Little Li smirked, watching their backs, feeling everything was under her control.
Yet she saw Lin Fan and Chu Xiaoxiao didnât leave the mall; instead, they actually walked into the luxury Chanel store across from them.
Seeing this, Little Li was stunnedâno way, they really went into Chanel? They canât be pretending that much.
"Tsk, those deadbeat poor folks must be faking it, going in just to browse, and then theyâll leave," Little Li thought, feeling reassured that she was right, Little Li felt better.
However, after a while, Lin Fan and Chu Xiaoxiao still hadnât come out of the Chanel store!
"Those two deadbeats dare to stay inside for so long? Pretending to be rich, must be tiring to keep up the act!" Little Li sneered.
"You pretend to be rich while being poor, Iâm going over to expose you!"
Harboring ill thoughts, Little Li walked toward the Chanel store across the way.
Upon reaching the Chanel store entrance, Little Li was about to go in, she already prepared her words to expose them as poor and make them lose face publicly.
But she looked up to see Lin Fan and Chu Xiaoxiao standing by the cashier counter.
The Chanel store clerk, holding ready-packed bags, smiled, "Miss, your two pieces of clothing come to 29,999 yuan. Will you be paying by credit card or cash?"
Chu Xiaoxiao said, "Iâll use WeChat Pay."
Saying thus, Chu Xiaoxiao took out her phone and scanned to pay.
"Beep!"
"Payment successful!"
The Chanel clerk beamed, "Miss, here is your clothing, please take it."
Handing the clothes over to Chu Xiaoxiao.
"Thank you." Chu Xiaoxiao accepted the bag.
Witnessing this scene, Little Li was dumbstruck.