Chapter 18: Reunion 1

Qin Ruyan and Zhang Qiyao sat in the coffee shop for another ten minutes. Zhang Qiyao suggested going shopping.

“Yanyan, let’s go shopping? My brother’s birthday is coming up, and I want to buy him a gift.”

Qin Ruyan took a sip of her milk tea and pursed her lips.

She had planned to spend the day out today, and now that she had taken care of the next step, she had nothing else to do and still had time.

Besides, she had just returned to China, and many places had changed. She hadn’t had a chance to explore properly. It was a good opportunity to go shopping with Zhang Qiyao.

“Okay, where do you want to go? Just a heads-up, I’m not familiar with Beijing at all.”

Eight years had passed, and Beijing airport had expanded four or five times in size. She was stunned when she got off the plane that day.

Zhang Qiyao reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a smile playing on her lips.

“Don’t worry about that, I can take you anywhere you want to go.”

The two left the coffee shop, and the commercial street was right next to it.

Zhang Qiyao headed straight for the mall. Every year, she chose watches and ties for her brother’s birthday gifts. Her brother’s birthday gifts for her were simple and straightforward: a direct bank transfer.

Qin Ruyan and Zhang Qiyao walked into a men’s clothing store, a luxury brand.

They looked around the store. Qin Ruyan’s eyes lit up when she saw a navy blue suit.

She checked her brother’s card the other day, and it had seven million yuan on it. She transferred some of it to her studio account for licensing and other expenses, but she hadn’t touched the rest.

Qin Ruyan walked over and picked up the suit. As soon as her hand touched the fabric, before she could even lift it, someone pressed down on her hand.

Qin Ruyan raised her eyes slightly and gave the person in front of her a cool glance. She was about to let go and look at other styles when the person in front of her seemed to recognize her.

“Qin Ruyan?”

Qin Ruyan thought for a moment, but she didn’t seem to recognize the person in front of her. She let go of the suit and said calmly,

“Do we know each other?”

The person in front of her was stunned for a moment, her voice raising two octaves, “I’m Bai Xue from Class Four, we were in the same high school!!”

Qin Ruyan suddenly understood, “Oh, right. I only studied at Experimental High School until the second year of high school before transferring. And as for girls, I only know people from our class.”

After Zhang Qiyao ordered a pair of cufflinks for her brother, she turned around and couldn’t find Qin Ruyan. The store was quite large, and it took her almost two minutes to find Qin Ruyan.

“What’s wrong, Yanyan?”

Qin Ruyan heard her voice, turned around, and walked towards Zhang Qiyao. “It’s nothing, I just liked a suit, and someone wanted to fight over it. She said she knew me, so we chatted for a bit.”

Following Qin Ruyan’s words, Zhang Qiyao looked over and saw Bai Xue. She smiled.

She leaned closer to Qin Ruyan and said a few words.

“Yanyan, Bai Xue was in the same grade as us, but in a different class. Before you transferred, didn’t you host all the school events? After you left, she got the chance. To be honest, her hosting skills were really stomach-churning.”

Zhang Qiyao’s words were a bit exaggerated. She had a filter for Qin Ruyan, and in her eyes, anyone compared to Qin Ruyan would be inferior.

However, Qin Ruyan’s hosting skills were indeed strong. She had excellent improvisation skills and was also talented. If there was an unexpected situation at the event, she might be able to handle it.

Qin Ruyan nodded and replied honestly, “I don’t remember her.”

Zhang Qiyao burst out laughing.

Bai Xue’s face turned pale.

Although Qin Ruyan and Zhang Qiyao spoke in low voices, she could still hear the gist of it. She was a little unconvinced, but she also knew Zhang Qiyao’s family background and couldn’t afford to offend her.

She turned her head and looked at Qin Ruyan, who was dressed simply and didn’t look like she was wearing designer clothes. Moreover, the whole school knew about Qin Ruyan’s transfer, and her parents had already passed away. At this moment, Bai Xue thought, even if she was just a daughter of the Bai family, she couldn’t be overshadowed by an orphan with no father or mother.

Bai Xue straightened her back, pointed at the set of clothes Qin Ruyan had initially chosen, and said to the clerk, “I’ll take this set of clothes, wrap it up for me!”

Bai Xue’s thoughts were simple. Firstly, her boyfriend’s birthday was coming up, and this was a perfect gift. Secondly, snatching this set of clothes from Qin Ruyan would definitely make her uncomfortable, and Qin Ruyan’s discomfort would make her happy.

Qin Ruyan frowned, “Miss Bai, this set of clothes, I saw it first.”

Qin Ruyan wasn’t a pushover. She just habitually liked to be defensive, habitually closing herself off. But that didn’t mean she was easy to bully.

From the moment Bai Xue entered and spoke her first words, all her actions had been arrogant and condescending.

Qin Ruyan had indeed taken a liking to this set of clothes. If Bai Xue hadn’t suddenly appeared, Qin Ruyan would have already paid for it.

“You saw it first? You saw it first, can you even afford it? This set of clothes is 600,000.”

There were quite a few customers coming and going in the store at this time, and they all started whispering when they heard this.

Qin Ruyan only noticed at this moment that Bai Xue had a female companion with her.

The clerk felt a bit awkward at this scene. Logically speaking, first come, first served, but Qin Ruyan hadn’t told them she wanted this set, and the clerk was now standing there in a daze.

Qin Ruyan smiled, “I have eyes, I can see the price tag.” Then she turned to the clerk and said calmly,

“Just this set, please wrap it up for me, I’ll pay by card.”

Qin Ruyan slowly took a card out of her pocket, not the one Qin Shi gave her, nor the one Zhang Qiyao invested in for her.

Zhang Qiyao was about to say she would pay, but seeing Qin Ruyan’s aura, she couldn’t help but feel excited. She walked forward and grabbed Qin Ruyan’s sleeve.

“Yanyan, you’re actually a little rich girl!” Zhang Qiyao muttered softly. She wasn’t sure about Qin Ruyan’s situation and didn’t dare to speak loudly, afraid that if something unexpected happened, it would hurt her friend’s face.

Qin Ruyan smiled and pinched Zhang Qiyao’s face, “Participating in a large-scale fashion design competition abroad and getting top three, the minimum prize money is 50,000 US dollars.”

Although Qin Ruyan didn’t participate in the competition for the money, since she won, she might as well take it.

Zhang Qiyao silently gave a thumbs up, her best friend was really awesome!

The clerk looked at the two of them, walked forward and took the card from Qin Ruyan. In terms of temperament and upbringing, she preferred Qin Ruyan. Although she spoke to them coldly and calmly, her words showed that she was still polite to them.

Unlike that Bai Xue, who walked with her neck stretched to the sky, did she think she was a giraffe?

Bai Xue saw Qin Ruyan take out her card and her face turned green with anger. She couldn’t pretend anymore and revealed her mean and spiteful true nature.

“I’m saying, Qin Ruyan, don’t pretend to be rich, how many years do you have to work to earn 600,000?”

Qin Ruyan glanced at her and didn’t say anything. Zhang Qiyao was about to speak when a familiar figure walked in from outside. She held Qin Ruyan’s hand with one hand and waved with the other, greeting her.

“Brother!”

Lu Jingchen had just finished a meeting and was going to eat at a restaurant next door. He was truly just passing by. He wasn’t a gossip, but he seemed to have heard Zhang Qiyao’s voice, and there was a woman calling Qin Ruyan’s name. He paused for a moment, changed direction, and walked over.