C50 Looking at Your Posturing

Pei Qiuyu and Lin Xuan completed their statements at the police station and stepped outside.

"I don't feel happy about Pei Jinzheng's arrest," Pei Qiuyu confessed.

Lin Xuan gazed at her adoringly. "Honey, your heart is just too big. You harbor no ill will toward anyone. You're truly an angel."

"Really? Don't say that. I can be quite selfish, and I have plenty of faults," Pei Qiuyu replied.

Lin Xuan chuckled. "Loving someone means embracing all of them, faults included."

"Moreover, all I see in you right now are virtues. I honestly can't spot a single flaw."

Pei Qiuyu laughed, playfully retorting, "Oh, you're quite the charmer."

Her spirits lifted slightly, dispelling some of the gloom.

Just then, Pei Qiuyu's phone buzzed. It was Shih Manli calling. She answered.

Shih Manli's voice bubbled with excitement. "Where are you? I've got great news! Our dear college friend Xu Wanhua is back. She's a big shot in international business now, even snagged herself a foreign husband. Impressive, right? We should all go welcome her at the airport."

"I'm not too keen on going," Pei Qiuyu admitted.

Shih Manli sounded displeased. "What? Why not? She specifically asked for you. I can't face her if you don't show."

"Fine, who else will be there?" Pei Qiuyu inquired.

"That's the spirit! Su Jiaying will be there too. Okay, meet me at the airport at three."

Shih Manli ended the call.

Turning to Lin Xuan, Pei Qiuyu explained, "She was close to me in college, but we haven't kept in touch much since. She and Shih Manli were actually best friends."

"Still, she's back and wants to meet. I can't just snub her, can I?"

"I'll accompany you," Lin Xuan offered with a smile.

Pei Qiuyu gave Lin Xuan a once-over and realized it was time to get him some proper attire.

Dressing too casually or cheaply would only invite ridicule from his classmates.

So, she took Lin Xuan to the International Plaza to pick out a suit for him.

After shelling out over a thousand yuan for a Baixihe suit, they were ready to head home when they walked past a luxury watch store and ran into a man and a woman.

"Qiuyu, I was just thinking of calling you."

The speaker was Su Jiaying, Pei Qiuyu's college friend.

"Oh, Jiaying! It's you."

Pei Qiuyu greeted her with a warm smile.

"By the way, I wanted to introduce you to my new boyfriend, Xue Nan. He's the deputy general manager at the International Trading Company, with an annual salary of a million."

Su Jiaying introduced him with evident pride.

"Nice to meet you," Pei Qiuyu responded with a polite smile, though without much warmth.

Given her own husband's situation, she wasn't keen on others flaunting their boyfriends or fiancés to her.

"Miss Qiuyu, hello."

Xue Nan, looking sharp in his suit, reached out for a handshake.

"Hello." Lin Xuan beat her to it, firmly grasping Xue Nan's hand.

Lin Xuan had noticed the lecherous way Xue Nan was eyeing Pei Qiuyu.

"And who might this be?" Xue Nan asked, eyeing Lin Xuan with a hint of displeasure.

Before Pei Qiuyu could reply, Su Jiaying chimed in with a laugh, "This is Qiuyu's husband. He used to be a bit slow, but he's much better now, isn't he?"

"Oh," Xue Nan feigned a realization, "I would never have guessed that Miss Pei, as lovely as she is, would choose a husband who's... well, not quite on the ball."

Pei Qiuyu corrected him, "He's not slow. Lin Xuan has always been the one to take care of things around the house."

Xue Nan asked pointedly, "So, Mr. Lin Xuan, what's your current occupation?"

"I'm currently between jobs," Lin Xuan answered. "I take care of the cooking and cleaning at home."

"A male housekeeper, then?"

Xue Nan's smugness was palpable as he snickered, "So you're saying, no matter how hard you work, you'll never amount to much? You couldn't even earn a fraction of my salary in your lifetime!"

Pei Qiuyu's face soured in an instant.

That was a low blow if there ever was one!

Lin Xuan finally spoke up, "Someone like you, a petty upstart who's content with a dead-end job and a fixed salary, dares to strut around in front of me? You think you can compete with me? I could knock you down a peg so hard you'd lose all your confidence—believe it or not."

"Oh wow, aren't you impressive!" Xue Nan mocked, his hands dramatically covering his mouth. "You're going to knock me down until I lose confidence? You're really something! I never knew someone could be so clueless yet so funny. You're killing me with laughter, hahaha!"

Xue Nan and Su Jiaying were laughing so hard they were in tears.

Su Jiaying's laughter abruptly ceased as she brandished her wrist, "What's with the act? You think I don't know what's up with you?"

"See this? This is the Bulgari watch Xue Nan got me, worth over sixty thousand yuan."

"If you're so capable, why don't you buy Qiuyu a decent watch? If you can't afford it, stop trying to show off. It just makes me respect you less."

Lin Xuan retorted, "Alright then, we've been married for three years and I've yet to buy Qiuyu something nice. Let's choose a watch she likes right here."

Pei Qiuyu rolled her eyes in disbelief.

What's with the boasting? Can't you see we're in a Bulgari store?

Even their cheapest watch is over thirty thousand yuan. How do you plan to pay for it?

Feeling humiliated, Pei Qiuyu pleaded, "Lin Xuan, can we just leave? Let's not get into a spat here."

But Lin Xuan insisted, "Honey, I'm not arguing. I genuinely want to buy you a watch."

"Besides, you say the cheapest watch here is just thirty thousand yuan. I don't think that's too pricey."

"What? Bulgari isn't high-end now?" Pei Qiuyu was so exasperated with Lin Xuan she nearly burst into laughter.

Su Jiaying shook her head, "Such big talk! You know you can't afford it, so you're just going to inflate your ego instead?"

Xue Nan looked on with scorn, "What's in your bag, a bunch of congratulatory cranes? Strutting around in a domestic brand suit that costs a few hundred yuan, you still want to put on airs with me?"

"Handing you an electronic watch, you'd be over the moon with it. And you're talking to me about class? You don't exactly scream 'high-end.'"

"Hahaha!"

Su Jiaying couldn't help but double over with laughter.

"Are you coming or not? If you're not, I'm out of here!"

Pei Qiuyu couldn't stand the thought of losing face in front of him, so she grabbed her shopping bags and headed straight for the parking lot.

"Hey, Qiuyu, wait up!" Su Jiaying called out, still chuckling.

"Honey, just head to the car and wait for me. I've got a surprise for you in just a sec."

With that, Lin Xuan turned on his heel and strode into another luxury boutique.

Su Jiaying's jaw dropped as he walked in.

The sign was unmistakable: Patek Philippe.

She wouldn't normally dream of setting foot in there, where watches cost a small fortune.

Xue Nan never even considered buying her one.

"Wow, when someone loses their senses, there's no telling what they'll do next."

Su Jiaying shook her head and remarked, "Seems like a nasty case of medication after-effects to me."

Xue Nan chuckled and suggested, "Let's go see this trainwreck for ourselves."

"Absolutely."

With that, the pair, hand in hand, trailed behind Lin Xuan into the store.