Chapter 40: Shopping

When Chen Jin received a call from Yang Qian inviting her to go shopping, she was stunned for a long time: Is this person really wanting to go shopping with her?!

After getting an affirmative response from Chen Jin, Yang Qian arranged everything. “I’ll drive to the entrance of your community to pick you up. When can you come out?”

“I’ll be ready in half an hour, so you can leave based on the estimated travel time.”

After hanging up, Chen Jin leisurely got up to wash her face and change clothes. Since they had agreed to go to Sister Jiang’s cosmetics store, Chen Jin didn’t consider putting on makeup. Thinking about how Yang Qian was taller than her and loved to wear high heels, Chen Jin chose a pair of shoes with a slight heel. She just needed to make sure she didn’t have to look up too much; it was impossible to be taller than Yang Qian.

With her small backpack swaying, she strolled out. She ran into Li Xingyi and Bai Ling, who were coming toward her with a gift box. It seemed like it had been a while since she had seen these two. Looking down at the gift box they brought, it was all nutritional supplements for the elderly.

There was no need to guess; they were definitely going to Professor Song’s house.

However, Professor Song and Dean Xi had gone out, and Aunt He had gone along with them. Chen Jin smiled as she walked over, not bothering to remind them, letting them make a fruitless trip.

It’s that woman again; why does she look like she’s seen a rival every time she sees her? This person really has a problem. Even if she didn’t know that Li Xingyi hadn’t broken up when she was with him, her anger should have been directed at Li Xingyi. Why does she always give her such a hard time? What a nuisance!

Seeing that Chen Jin completely ignored them and walked past with a casual glance, her smile seemed to mock them. Bai Ling’s eyes were nearly red with anger as she pressed her voice and said, “It’s all my cousin’s fault. It was such a simple request, but he wouldn’t help me. Am I going to have to see her at school in the future?”

In the past, Chen Jin’s classmates weren’t very familiar with her. After all, she rarely appeared in the Physics Department, and everyone only knew that Li Xingyi had a girlfriend. However, this semester, someone with a big mouth spread the rumor that Li Xingyi’s ex was extremely wealthy, claiming that Li Xingyi had been foolish to cheat on her and comparing Chen Jin to her…

She knew that someone was definitely stirring the pot behind the scenes. Even if ordinary students knew that Li Xingyi’s ex had good conditions, they would only say a few things in private and move on. How could it become common knowledge and be openly discussed now?

The thought that Chen Jin would have to stay at the school to become a teacher made her feel uncomfortable.

Li Xingyi impatiently comforted her, saying, “The Liberal Arts College and the Physics College aren’t close. She’s only responsible for matters in the Liberal Arts College as a counselor, and we won’t have any interactions with her. So don’t think too much about it.”

Bai Ling shot him a glare and angrily quickened her pace ahead.

As soon as Chen Jin got into Yang Qian’s car, she heard Yang Qian say, “I just saw your ex going into the community.”

Chen Jin was surprised, “You actually know who my ex is?”

“Who in the class doesn’t know? Even the teachers probably know. That girl made such a scene after the teacher’s class that the teacher, out of respect for the deputy dean, pretended not to see it. Everyone just didn’t bring it up.” Yang Qian scoffed lightly, “You know her uncle is the deputy dean, right? She even tried to have the deputy dean block your application, but she got scolded by him.”

“Wow, you know so much? It’s not Qin Xuemei who told you, right?”

“Not her, it was Chen Lu. She heard that girl talking to the deputy dean while she was submitting materials at the college.”

Chen Jin sighed, “When someone wants to do something bad, they really need to be careful; the walls have ears.”

But Bai Ling probably wouldn’t think that much; otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to trouble Chen Jin in her class.

“Don’t you have time to go out on a date with Zhuo Ran? I heard he’s going abroad.”

Yang Qian shrugged nonchalantly, “He thinks everywhere abroad is great, and whether he comes back is hard to say, so we broke up.”

Chen Jin replied with an “Oh,” and after thinking for a while, she finally said, “That’s good; you can find someone else.”

Yang Qian laughed, “Exactly. Our families are supposed to have a marriage alliance; I think his cousin is nice, and his uncle has better conditions.”

“……” Is this something she should know?

Seeing Zhuo Ran and Yang Qian together made Chen Jin a bit envious at first. She thought they were well-matched, a couple of talents, a dashing young man and a beautiful woman—it looked very pleasant.

Who would have thought it would just end like that? So disappointing.

However, Yang Qian’s open-minded attitude was very appealing to her.

Chen Jin took Yang Qian through her usual shopping route, especially to a minimalist women’s clothing store that she adored and had to recommend!

When they were leaving, Chen Jin slipped a handful of flyers into Yang Qian’s bag, saying, “Introduce it to your friends when you go back, okay?”

Yang Qian noticed that Chen Jin hadn’t bought anything, while she had bought a bunch of clothes and even received a membership card and a small stack of flyers. Looking at Chen Jin and then at the shop manager, who was smiling brightly at Chen Jin, she couldn’t help but ask, “Chen Jin, is this your family’s store? Are you bringing me here to boost sales?”

Chen Jin rolled her eyes. However, Yang Qian’s words reminded her, “This isn’t mine. When my aunt’s shop opens, I’ll bring you there to boost sales.”

At the later visit to Sister Jiang’s shop, there was no need for the staff to promote; Chen Jin eagerly shared all the benefits of the membership card. As a result, Yang Qian ended up with new membership cards for a hair salon, a makeup store, and a beauty clinic. As the impulse for shopping gradually faded, Yang Qian looked at Chen Jin, who was empty-handed yet chatting happily with the boss, and found it hard not to doubt.

“Hey, Xiao Chen, long time no see.”

After finishing their treatments at the beauty clinic, they were having complimentary afternoon tea in the lounge when Sister Zhao and a few of her friends walked over and spotted Chen Jin.

“Sister Zhao, you’re here for skincare too?”

Sister Zhao glanced at Chen Jin and then at Yang Qian, surprised for a moment, “Xiaoxi, you know Xiao Chen?”

Yang Qian felt a mix of emotions but still stood up obediently and replied, “Hello, Aunt Zhao. I’m in the same class as Chen Jin.”

“Oh, what a coincidence.” Sister Zhao only knew that Chen Jin was a student at NTU but had never asked what her major was. She didn’t expect everyone in their small circle to know each other.

“You all chat; we have an appointment for a treatment, so we’ll go first.”

After they left, Chen Jin scooped a small spoonful of cake and asked, “Is Sister Zhao your relative?”

Yang Qian was almost speechless. “Why do you call her Aunt Zhao? She’s old enough to be your mother!”

“I took a makeup training class before. The ladies in the class ranged from their thirties to forties, so calling them ‘sister’ works fine, treating everyone equally. But I’m not close to Sister Zhao; we just attended a few classes together and shared some meals afterward. I haven’t seen her since the course ended. By the way, is Sister Zhao your relative?”

“She’s a friend of my aunt. I know her.” Yang Qian felt a headache from Chen Jin calling her ‘sister’ and decided not to mention it again. However, she gained new insight into these shops; how come she didn’t know that Rong City had these stores? Even Sister Zhao had become a regular customer there.

“Aren’t you worried about your figure with all this food?” Yang Qian was lost in thought for a moment, and when she looked up again, she saw Chen Jin had finished a small cake and half a cup of milk tea.

Chen Jin was very satisfied. Last time, Shen Baichuan brought her a slice of cake, and she hadn’t been able to find the shop in Rong City, but she didn’t expect to eat it at Sister Jiang’s beauty salon during afternoon tea.

She heard that the shop was an old establishment; the owner was a local from Rong City who used to run the business in Taiwan. This year, the young owner returned to Rong City and opened a shop in Dongcheng.

So it was a new store! No wonder such delicious cake hadn’t spread widely.

“I’m not worried. I’ll think about it when I gain some weight.” She was slightly underweight; if it weren’t for her height and proportion being decent, buying clothes would be difficult.

“Hey, why do you like being a counselor so much?”

“I don’t really like it; I’m just looking for something to do. The school environment is pretty comfortable. I’d rather be an administrative teacher or even a librarian in the school, but that’s a good position; it’s not for me.”

“Since you’re staying at school, wouldn’t it be better to pursue a master’s degree?”

Chen Jin looked up at her, “I’m not sure if pursuing a master’s is better; it’s just that writing papers isn’t very pleasant. Speaking of which, have you finished your graduation thesis?”

Yang Qian regretted asking that unnecessary question. Feeling frustrated, she picked up her spoon and ate several bites of cake in a row. The cake wasn’t large, and after a few bites, she had already devoured half.

Dinner was also at a restaurant chosen by Chen Jin, and the food suited Yang Qian’s taste.

On the way to drop Chen Jin home, Yang Qian felt quite cheerful and said to Chen Jin, “Shopping with you is really enjoyable; let’s do it more often in the future.”

Going shopping with Chen Jin didn’t feel like shopping with her other girlfriends. When trying on clothes, if something didn’t look good, Chen Jin would say it directly without trying to spare her feelings by saying, “It looks good.” Of course, if something did look good, Chen Jin would also give positive feedback and praise how it suited her.

Moreover, Chen Jin didn’t mind being straightforward; even if the salesperson praised an item to the skies, if she thought it was inappropriate, she’d just say she wasn’t buying it. Seeing Yang Qian hesitating, she’d urge her, “Not good, doesn’t suit you, let’s move on to the next place.”

Although Chen Jin’s occasional remarks make her feel depressed, this person is genuinely worth getting to know.

“I used to think you were pretty fierce; I didn’t expect you to be nice in private.”

Chen Jin smiled, found a comfortable position to lean back, and lazily said, “I thought you seemed unapproachable too; I didn’t expect you to be okay in private.”

She said she was nice, and the best she could get was “okay”?

Yang Qian felt depressed again.

Chen Jin suddenly became curious. “Did Qin Xuemei say anything bad about me?”

“I’m not blind or deaf, and I have a brain. I can judge how true or false what others say is. But you really are pretty good at arguing.” In her life, she had never seen anyone as good at scolding as Chen Jin. In her limited time living in the dormitory, she had witnessed Qin Xuemei getting scolded to tears by her several times.

After all, Chen Jin’s catchphrase “crazy woman” could dominate the entire room.

Yang Qian didn’t drive into the community. After parking the car, she said, “Next time, I’ll bring a few friends to hang out with you.”

Chen Jin seemed to think of something and suddenly her eyes sparkled with amusement. She giggled twice and answered in a roundabout way, “Does that mean when you see me at school in the future, you have to call me ‘teacher’?”

“……” Yang Qian let out a heavy sigh; she had never felt this frustrated even after breaking up with Zhuo Ran. “Your home is here; hurry and get out of the car.”

“Oh, oh, see you another day, Yang Qian.”

Chen Jin walked into the community, turned around to glance at the white Audi driving away along Wutong Road, and happily hummed a song from the animated series she had recently rewatched:

“Shuke Shuke Shuke, flying a plane, Shuke~”