Chapter 23: My Girlfriend’s Best Friend

Taikoo Li in Shu Capital, a magical hotspot for internet celebrities.

Many incidents have unfolded here, but none more famous than the “Hand-in-Hand Scandal.”

It was midsummer. On the streets of Taikoo Li, countless social media beauties posed for photos. There were also plenty of flamboyant male influencers—some in high heels, some in stockings, some striking seductive poses, some with delicate orchid fingers, acting coy.

Lin Ran and Jiang Shuyao, both locals, had grown used to the scene.

The two walked amidst the crowd, sipping milk tea.

“Hmm… let me think…” Jiang Shuyao paused, milk tea in hand. “Oh! Vivian loves guitars. She once saw a guitar costing over seven thousand, too expensive, so she couldn’t bring herself to buy it.”

“I’ll have a custom guitar made for her later. Today, I want to get her something she can use every day, something that shows my feelings. Whenever she sees it, she’ll think of me.”

“Ran, are you serious?” Jiang Shuyao leaned back theatrically, staring blankly at Lin Ran.

“I’m very devoted.”

“Say no more, cheers to you.” Jiang Shuyao raised her milk tea and clinked it with Lin Ran’s.

She thought to herself, Vivian’s luck was really something. She claimed she wouldn’t date until after college, and the first boyfriend she got was rich, handsome, and genuinely committed.

Dear heavens, could you spare a little luck for me? Let me find such a devoted man too.

It was a must—today’s girls’ day, they were playing for keeps.

“You said you want her to think of you every time she sees it, so it should be something that’s always with her. How about a watch? What’s your budget?”

“What’s a budget?”

“Rich people, aren’t you something.” Jiang Shuyao shot a resentful glance at this wealthy man and strode ahead, her pale legs exposed beneath her flip-flops, glowing pink under the sun, as if they’d yield water with a pinch.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Let’s check out Cartier.”

“OK.”

They entered the Cartier boutique.

“Welcome to Cartier. How can I help you?” The sales associate recited her scripted greeting.

As a luxury sales associate, especially at Cartier, she was used to women who only looked and never bought. From the pair’s attire, only the handsome man wore a Rolex—who knew if it was real? The woman’s outfit didn’t add up to more than two hundred yuan. So from the moment they entered, the sales associate pegged them as lookers, not buyers. If they wanted to buy, they’d try it on and then get a knockoff through a reseller.

“I’d like to see the Cartier Ballon Bleu women’s watch,” Jiang Shuyao said.

Go ahead and look, try it on, then buy a fake from a reseller—the usual routine. The sales associate hated serving such customers, wasting time and lowering her monthly KPI.

But she had to serve them.

“Which model?” she asked, slow and indifferent.

“Just the basic one,” Jiang Shuyao replied, measured—Cartier’s basic models still cost ten or twenty thousand.

“All these are basic models,” the associate said, leading them to the women’s section and leaning on the counter, too lazy to introduce, letting them browse themselves.

“Lin Ran, does this one look nice?”

“It’s in the case—I can’t see it clearly.”

“Miss, could you please take it out for us?”

The associate handed over the watch.

“Be careful. If you break it, you’ll have to pay,” she said deliberately, annoyed. Once she decided they were wasting her time, she’d rather they got mad and left than take up her time she could spend with real customers.

“If it breaks, I’ll just buy it. What’s your attitude?” Jiang Shuyao retorted.

The associate didn’t bother arguing.

Lin Ran wasn’t interested in the sales associate’s attitude; he was curious about Jiang Shuyao’s confidence today.

“Shuyao, last time we went to Rolex, you were timid. Now you come dressed like this to Cartier and seem unfazed. Where’s your confidence coming from?”

“From you.”

“Me?”

“Last time, it was Zeng Wei, Lu Man’s boyfriend, buying a watch. We were just tagging along. This time, it’s my best friend’s boyfriend buying a watch. You’re so rich, why would I feel out of place?”

“Uh… I don’t really get the complicated relationships between girls.”

“Lu Man and I are friends, but not as close as Vivian and I. So Zeng Wei is an outsider, while you’re Vivian’s boyfriend, and we’re all one of us—got it?”

“Oh, I see. You, me, Vivian—we’re a team. From now on, the three of us will live well together.”

Lin Ran patted Jiang Shuyao’s shoulder, his gaze resolute.

“I’ll smack you! Always talking nonsense,” Jiang Shuyao threatened, fist ra