Chapter 2: Anything Else You Want?

"Little Zheng, where are you going?"

As he headed downstairs, Zheng Qian ran into Manager Li Tao.

"Nothing much, Brother Tao."

"How about we grab a drink tonight?" Manager Li Tao was Zheng Qian's mentor and, in a way, his guide; he had always looked out for Zheng Qian at the company, and the two had a very good relationship.

"Uh... I'm a bit busy, I have plans with someone." Zheng Qian pointed toward Qin Xueli, who had already stepped out the door.

Manager Li Tao smiled, didn't say anything, just nodded. "Alright, go ahead then."

After leaving, Zheng Qian thought he would test this system first, so he ran to a nearby milk tea shop and bought two cups of Nayuki—one for Qin Xueli and one for her best friend.

[Spent 74 yuan, system cash back 740 yuan, payment received.]

Ding, a text message like this suddenly appeared on Zheng Qian's phone.

That settled it!

"Here, I bought you a drink." Zheng Qian handed the drink to Qin Xueli. "This cup is for your best friend; give it to her when she arrives."

"She won't be here for a while, you can drink it first."

"Oh, okay."

The two took a taxi to Joy City.

After scanning the code to pay the fare, Zheng Qian received another system notification: [Spent 40 yuan, system cash back 400 yuan, payment received.]

Awesome!

His monthly salary was 6,000 yuan, and in just this short while, he had already earned 1,140 yuan.

After getting out of the car, Qin Xueli walked to the entrance of Joy City, held up the cup of Nayuki, and took a photo first.

Hmm... a classic move for a player; there wouldn't be any trace of a man in her social media posts.

But Zheng Qian didn't care. He came here just to use Qin Xueli as a tool to farm money; only Qin Xueli thought this was a date.

In this game, she was on the first floor, while Zheng Qian was standing on the fifth.

"Let's go."

The customer base at Joy City consisted of the elite among the masses, featuring traditional luxury brands like LV, BV, and Balenciaga, as well as high-end trendy labels like Purple Label North Face, Descente, White Mountaineering, and high-end European and American brands like Arc'teryx and Haglöfs.

Brands like Nike or Adidas simply didn't make the cut.

Just picking any item from those brands would cost tens of thousands of yuan.

In Qin Xueli's eyes, Zheng Qian didn't have the financial capability for this kind of consumption; just being able to treat her to a meal here was already quite impressive.

"Let's just walk around for a bit first," Zheng Qian suggested.

"Oh, okay." Qin Xueli didn't refuse. It was only around three o'clock, so it was still early for dinner.

But in her heart, she felt a bit of disdain—what was the point of walking around just looking without buying anything?

In Qin Xueli's eyes, Zheng Qian was not on her level at all. The reason she came out shopping with him today was that the simps around her had all disappeared recently, leaving many spots open.

If Zheng Qian was willing to be her simp, she wouldn't mind having a bit of ambiguity with him, but only up to that point.

As a female player, she had to control the boundaries well. Not refusing, not initiating, and not taking responsibility were the most basic principles for all players.

She had to give people the feeling that they were almost about to succeed, just making him feel that with a little more effort, they could become a couple.

So this shopping trip today could be considered a date.

Since Zheng Qian dared to bring her to a place like this, he obviously had a little money in his pocket, so Qin Xueli prepared to test him.

"My lipstick just ran out, let's go check out this shop."

The two walked into a lipstick shop.

This store was a YSL counter, where a set of lipsticks cost over a thousand yuan.

A thousand-yuan gift was only considered a very ordinary gift for Qin Xueli.

Since starting university, she had never received a gift worth less than a thousand yuan.

If Zheng Qian wasn't even willing to spend a thousand yuan on her, then there was no need to develop anything further; they would just eat and then part ways.

Qin Xueli picked out a set of lipsticks and tried on the colors several times, sending a clear signal to Zheng Qian.

Zheng Qian still had two thousand yuan in his card for rent, plus the thousand-plus yuan the system had just returned; it was definitely enough.

"Do you want to buy it? I'll get it for you."

"Maybe not. The shades released this year are all very ordinary, not as good as last year's."

Qin Xueli refused Zheng Qian. Although she was a materialistic girl herself, if she accepted immediately, it would make her seem too materialistic.

Judging people by their appearance is not advisable, but who can really avoid it?

The sales associate at the YSL counter had noticed Zheng Qian the moment they walked in. He was dressed shabbily, wearing a no-name T-shirt that probably cost a dozen yuan online from some generic shop; someone like him standing next to Qin Xueli just didn't match at all, right?

She had already figured out that Zheng Qian was just a simp boyfriend, and not a very wealthy one at that, so she didn't put much effort into introducing products.

"If you like it, just buy it. How much could a lipstick cost?" Zheng Qian asked the sales associate.

After Zheng Qian said this, the sales associate became even more certain of her thoughts: not only was Zheng Qian broke, but he also liked to act cool. What did he mean by "how much could a lipstick cost"? Did he not know what kind of store this was?

"Hello, sir. This is a new release from our store this year, 1,499 yuan."

"This set of shades really suits your girlfriend's temperament..." The sales associate rambled on and on.

So you like to act cool, huh? Then I'll definitely make you bleed a little, the sales associate thought, recommending it very enthusiastically.

If you buy it, it costs over a thousand yuan, which is completely out of your price range.

If you don't buy it, you'll look very stingy and lose face in front of your girlfriend.

Two paths—pick one, kid.

Most people would choose the former, puffing themselves up to look bigger than they are, unable to lose face in front of a woman, but that would be exactly what the sales associate wanted.

"Only a thousand-something yuan? Too cheap. Lili, this set of lipsticks doesn't match your temperament."

Too cheap?

Qin Xueli and the sales associate were both a bit surprised.

In their view, Zheng Qian was just using "too cheap" as an excuse not to buy it.

Qin Xueli was surprised because she usually saw Zheng Qian as honest and simple; why was he acting all high and mighty now?

It didn't matter to her whether he bought it or not; she didn't lack lipsticks, she just wanted to test Zheng Qian.

"Sir, if you think it's too cheap, we have other models in the store. Let me introduce them to you..."

The sales associate was now determined to challenge Zheng Qian; she was dead set on making him lose face and putting him in an awkward spot.

"I don't need you to introduce them."

"You, come over here and introduce them to me."

Zheng Qian pointed at a girl nearby who looked like a newcomer to the store, an honest-looking young woman.

The girl pointed at herself: "Me?"

"Yes, that's right, you. Come on over," Zheng Qian called out.

In counters like this, every set sold counts toward performance targets.

Zheng Qian had some money now, but he didn't want to give that snob any commission.

Xiao Liu was indeed a newcomer to the store, but because the senior sales associate suppressed her, she only got to serve a few customers when the store was very busy.

"Xiao Liu, they're calling you. Go introduce our big customer to our products." The sales associate naturally wasn't convinced—fine, don't give her the commission, it's not like you can afford anything that expensive anyway.

Xiao Liu walked over to Zheng Qian and gave a very detailed and patient introduction to several sets of lipsticks.

In the end, Zheng Qian chose a set for 3,099 yuan.

"Lili, do you like this set?"

"It's alright."

"Then I'll pay for it."

[Spent 3,099 yuan, system cash back 30,990 yuan, payment received.]

After receiving the system cash back, Zheng Qian straightened his back and asked boldly:

"Lili, see if there's anything else you want?"