The young nobles of the Five Mausoleums, east of the Golden Market, on silver saddles and white horses, ride through the spring breeze. Chapter 101: The Soirée (3)

The salesclerk quickly brought over a long gown in a pale moon-white hue, stepping forward with a bright smile. “Mr. Fang, have a look. This is our newest style for this year, a mermaid gown from the 2006 collection. It suits this beautiful young lady perfectly.”

What girl does not love new clothes? Xia Churan let out a delighted cry and took the gown to study it closely. “Wow, this dress is gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Why not try it on?” he said with a smile, taking the shoulder bag from the girl.

Xia Churan obediently nodded and went into the fitting room with the clerk. Fang Yu lit a cigarette. This was VIP treatment; at once another clerk brought him an ashtray.

Ten minutes later, Xia Churan opened the fitting room door shyly and emerged in a pair of ten-centimeter heels, walking toward him with graceful steps.

Even Fang Yu’s eyes lit up. Xia Churan was one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, just enough to carry off the mermaid cut. Her long legs and delicate collarbones made a striking sight.

The girl’s frame was a little slight, lacking fuller curves, and so the gown gave her an almost otherworldly air.

“Does it look good?” Xia Churan asked timidly, turning a circle. The dress left a little of her back exposed; she would never normally dress so boldly.

“Mm, it looks good. I’ll take it, and a pair of shoes to match.” He nodded and stood up.

“Of course, of course. Please wait a moment, Mr. Fang. We’ll have the invoice ready right away.” The clerk beamed; the gown was far from cheap.

“Fang Yu, are you really buying it? Isn’t this way too expensive?” The girl was a little nervous. Though Fang Yu had money, the price of this gown was on a completely different level from a bracelet.

“If it looks good, that’s enough. It’s not every day you go onstage.” He studied Xia Churan’s collarbones carefully. Tsk, she really was a rare beauty of this world.

“Hmph, you pervert. Where are you looking?” The girl turned her head away as if offended, though inwardly she was quite pleased.

“Mr. Fang, the gown and shoes come to a total of 12,800 yuan. Would you like to pay by card or cash?”

“Card.” He handed over his bank card.

After they left the Cultural Mall, Xia Churan clutched the shopping bag as if it were a treasure, hugging it so carefully that even when they returned to the internet cafe she refused to let go, as though someone might snatch it away.

“Wow, Churan, that gown is beautiful!” In the cafe, Li Jing looked at Xia Churan hugging the bag and reached out for it. The girl found it hard to refuse and reluctantly handed it over.

“Here, be careful. Don’t get it dirty.”

“Hee hee, if our Churan wears this onstage, won’t she be enough to topple cities and nations?” Li Jing teased her playfully.

“Oh, you’re such a flirt, the price must be over ten thousand, right?” Zhao Bin was knowledgeable enough to tell at a glance that the dress was expensive.

“About that. A little over ten thousand.” Fang Yu lit another cigarette and shook his head.

With the gown in hand, the girl did not even stay at the internet cafe that evening. She carefully carried it back to her dormitory, likely eager to show it off to her roommates.

The internet cafe, at last, regained its rare quiet. He, Zhao Bin, and Cheng Chen sat in a booth, while Lu Zhen took the seat opposite them. Two regular customers who came by often squeezed in as well, and the six of them opened their computers and launched into a noisy game.

“Being reborn isn’t so bad after all, is it?” He smiled as he sipped the milk tea Zhao Bin had made for him. Outside, the north wind howled, but the internet cafe was warm and cozy, though the smell of smoke and sweat was unavoidable.

“What time does the gala start?” On the thirtieth, he glanced at Cheng Chen beside him.

“Seven in the evening. It’s still early.” Cheng Chen was busy adjusting his electric guitar.

“What, you have a performance too?”

“Yeah, I’m accompanying Li Jing and the others.”

“Oh. I’m stepping out for a bit. If Xia Churan comes, tell her I’ll be right back.” He nodded, picked up his car keys, and left the cafe.

Fang Yu drove to the neighboring town and found a flower shop. Last time Zhu Wei had brought a bouquet of roses over; if he did nothing in return, people would really look down on him.

“Excuse me, do you have nine hundred and ninety-nine roses?” He got out of the car and entered a flower shop that looked reasonably clean.

“Whoa, young man, you’re buying them for someone? Ninety-nine roses are easy enough, but nearly a thousand... wait here, I’ll make a call.” The owner did not want to lose the business and hurried to contact another florist.

Ten minutes later, the florist came out looking delighted. “Handsome, I’ve got nine hundred and ninety-nine roses, but at this time of year flowers aren’t cheap.”

“All right. How much?”

“Well then, I’ll give you a discount. Eight hundred and eighty-eight. How about that?” The owner gritted his teeth.

“Fine. Here.” He handed over a small stack of banknotes.

The florist was stunned. He had not expected Fang Yu to bargain at all.

“Oh my, you’re so generous, young man. We’ll deliver them free of charge. Just say the word—within thirty kilometers, I’ll get them to you.” The owner smiled broadly as he tucked the money into his pocket.

“Not that far. Just deliver them to Blue Sea Academy by seven tonight.”

“No problem, that’s close. I’ll write you a receipt, and someone can sign for it then.”

With the receipt in hand, he drove back to the internet cafe. By then Xia Churan and Li Jing had arrived as well, the two girls chattering away about the evening’s performance.

“Oh, Fang Yu, you’re back? Eek, will you give me flowers tonight?” The girl wrapped an arm around him with a grin.

“Flowers? What flowers?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“The student council is preparing them. There’ll be bouquets and things. You just need to come up and give them to me, okay?” Xia Churan pleaded coquettishly without letting up.

“Oh, is that so? All right, I understand.” He nodded with composure.

“Hee hee, I knew Fang Yu, you’re the best.”

After finally finishing dinner, Xia Churan and Li Jing both had performances, so they went early to the auditorium to prepare. Fang Yu and the others took their time getting into the car and drove all the way to the auditorium entrance, where quite a number of students had already taken their seats in the small hall.

Today, it seemed the microphones had been replaced with new ones, and there was no repeat of last time’s trouble. The two hosts delivered a long, tediously formal welcome before the choir performance began.

Fang Yu and the others sat in the front row, a spot Xia Churan had specifically reserved for him. The school belle naturally had that privilege.

“Next, please enjoy a solo female vocal performance by Xia Churan from the sophomore Foreign Languages Department: ‘The Lost Beautiful.’”

As the host announced the act, Xia Churan walked gracefully toward the stage in a white mermaid gown, instantly stunning every man and woman in the hall.

“Damn, this dress wasn’t provided by the school, was it? I saw Xia Churan at the rehearsal last time, and she wasn’t wearing this.”

“Exactly. This gown must have been bought. It’s so exquisite.”

“Where’s Fang Yu? This has to be another dress Fang Yu bought for her. Why does this woman have such luck?”

Just as the students were buzzing in discussion, Fang Yu quietly stood up and went outside the hall. The florist was already waiting at the entrance with a small delivery truck.

“Hey, handsome, you’re here. Come on, I’ll help you carry them in! Ah, what a thing to do, how embarrassing.” The florist eagerly accepted the cigarette Fang Yu handed him.