"No one helps me achieve my lofty ambitions, so I’ll climb to the mountain peak on my own!"
The voice rang out before the person appeared.
Long Aotian, who was eating a boxed meal, paused for a moment and couldn’t help but look up.
Meanwhile, Hu Yuying, who was standing with her back to Long Aotian, was feeling irritated and didn’t even bother acknowledging the voice.
Soon, a figure with one hand in his pocket appeared in front of Long Aotian’s stall.
It was none other than Ye Liangchen.
At this moment, he had styled his hair to look mature, wearing a white shirt, black skinny jeans, and a wristwatch, exuding the aura of a successful man.
Ye Liangchen looked at Long Aotian and Hu Yuying, a faint smile on his lips. He subtly twisted the watch on his wrist, showcasing his sophistication, maturity, and uniqueness.
"Hello, didn’t expect to see you again," Ye Liangchen said, maintaining a calm smile on his face.
From the inside out, he radiated an overwhelming sense of superiority.
This was all because Long Aotian and Hu Yuying were selling clothes at a street stall.
The contrast was indescribable, and it was starkly evident between the front and back of the stall.
Ye Liangchen stood in front of the stall—he was the customer, and the customer was king.
Long Aotian and Hu Yuying stood behind the stall, making him their king!
Hu Yuying glanced at him and immediately looked away. She had no desire to engage with him whatsoever.
Noticing Hu Yuying’s gaze, Ye Liangchen’s eyes flickered slightly. For this once-treasured girl, he now felt nothing but endless regret.
Was she so insecure now that she couldn’t even look at him properly?
Heh, if she had chosen him back then, she wouldn’t have fallen to such a state.
Eating boxed meals, running a street stall, and scraping together pitiful amounts of money by catering to others.
The ridiculous part was that she didn’t even realize what she had lost, and it was all Long Aotian’s fault!
Thinking of this, Ye Liangchen clenched his fist secretly.
"How much are these clothes?"
Long Aotian looked up at Ye Liangchen: "Do you have money?"
Ye Liangchen frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "This guy is really crude, always talking about money."
Of course, he didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he smiled faintly and replied, "Of course."
"The top is 99, the pants are 100. I’ll give you a discount—200 yuan for both," Long Aotian said as he packed the clothes and handed them over to Ye Liangchen.
Looking at the clothes Long Aotian was handing him, Ye Liangchen was torn.
If he took them, it would mean Long Aotian was ripping him off like a fool.
If he didn’t take them, it would make his earlier act of playing the successful man look utterly ridiculous.
For a moment, Ye Liangchen’s mouth twitched. "Didn’t I hear the loudspeaker say 19 yuan per piece?"
"Tch!" Long Aotian scoffed disdainfully. "No money, yet trying to act all high and mighty. Shameless, aren’t you?"
Pfft—
Hearing this, Hu Yuying couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing!
Though she didn’t say a word, it felt as if a thousand words had been conveyed in that single laugh.
That laugh deeply wounded Ye Liangchen’s fragile ego.
"Who… who said I don’t have money?"
Ye Liangchen slammed 300 yuan onto Long Aotian’s small table.
Long Aotian glanced at it and casually added a T-shirt to Ye Liangchen’s purchase.
Seeing Long Aotian’s move, Ye Liangchen wanted to protest, but for the sake of maintaining his successful persona, he gritted his teeth and stayed silent.
He kept telling himself internally that it was just 300 yuan. In the future, he’d easily make 3 million. This 300 yuan was just charity for a beggar.
Long Aotian raised an eyebrow and looked Ye Liangchen up and down. "You’re not feeling stingy, are you?"
"Of course not. It’s just the cost of a haircut at my usual salon," Ye Liangchen replied with a nonchalant smile.
Long Aotian handed the 300 yuan to Hu Yuying. "Give him one yuan back."
Hu Yuying, who had been a little upset with Long Aotian earlier, couldn’t help but smile brightly at him when she saw the 300 yuan in front of her.
Three hundred yuan! That was more than they’d make selling many pieces of clothing.
She became even more convinced that Ye Liangchen wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
She put the money into her small bag, took out one yuan, and handed it to Long Aotian.
She had no intention of dealing with Ye Liangchen.
"Here’s your change."
Looking at the one yuan in front of him, Ye Liangchen’s eye twitched. Three hundred yuan! That was three hundred yuan!
He wanted so badly to grab that one yuan and throw it in Long Aotian’s face, shouting, "Do I look like I need this one yuan?"
But the reality was that he still needed to take the bus home later.
Without a word, he pocketed the one yuan.
Then, as if struck by inspiration, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Excuse me, I’d like to have a smoke."
He put a cigarette in his mouth, tilted his head slightly, and as he lit it, he made sure to showcase his sharp jawline.
In the eyes of many girls, smoking was a cool and mature thing to do.
He took a deep drag, tilted his head at a 45-degree angle, closed his eyes slowly, and exhaled with a look of pure satisfaction.
At least when it came to style, Ye Liangchen always had it down to a science.
He held the cigarette between his fingers. "I hope this doesn’t bother you."
Though he was speaking to Long Aotian, his eyes were fixed on Hu Yuying.
He wondered if Hu Yuying was mesmerized by his smoking.
In his dreams, every time he smoked, his treasure girl, his white moonlight, his childhood sweetheart—they would all worry and ask if something was troubling him...
Hu Yuying lowered her gaze slightly. Ye Liangchen’s pretentious act and the way he looked at her made her feel nauseous.
"Your gaze is disgusting," Long Aotian said. He knew Hu Yuying too well. He could read her expressions.
If there were things she couldn’t say, he, as her big brother, would say them for her.
The cigarette in Ye Liangchen’s fingers trembled slightly. He knew Long Aotian was crude, but he hadn’t expected him to be this crude.
Even though he had just spent 300 yuan at his stall, regardless of his intentions, Long Aotian shouldn’t have said something so bluntly to his face.
People like him deserved to stay poor forever.
Long Aotian didn’t care what Ye Liangchen thought. All he knew was that his sweet little follower disliked and despised him, and that was enough.
"Ye Liangchen, right? I’m a petty guy with a bad temper, and I’m especially protective of my own. If you don’t want to get beaten up, keep your eyes to yourself. You’re creepy and repulsive."
Hearing this, Ye Liangchen’s face turned red with anger. This was outright humiliation, a direct personal attack!
Was Long Aotian afraid?
Did he feel threatened by Ye Liangchen’s presence?
Was he scared that Ye Liangchen would appear in front of Hu Yuying and catch her attention? Was that why he was lashing out so aggressively?
Thinking this, Ye Liangchen smiled.
Long Aotian was panicking.
The more Long Aotian panicked, the more Ye Liangchen needed to remain composed. That way, the contrast between them would be even more striking in Hu Yuying’s eyes.
"I know there’s some misunderstanding between us, but I..." Ye Liangchen didn’t finish his sentence. He turned and ran.
Because he saw Long Aotian pick up a stool, and it looked like if he dared to say one more word, Long Aotian would smash it over his head!
[Please support by sending power stones, leaving a five-star review, and adding this to your bookshelf. Thank you so much!]