The Young Lords of Wuling East of the Gold Market, Silver Saddles and White Horses Riding the Spring Breeze Chapter 106: New Clothes (3)

Fang Yu let out a long breath in the car, utterly exhausted from the day's toil. After driving back to his rented apartment, he still had a pile of clothes to put away in the wardrobe.

Emptying the shopping bags from the car, he glanced at the two sets of clothes and the shoulder bag on the back seat. These were mixed discreetly in Qin Lu’s shopping bags, gifts for Xia Churan.

“Fang Yu, you’re back?” The moment Xia Churan heard the familiar, impatient rumble at the door, she knew his 640 had arrived.

“Mm, where are Zhao Bin and the others?” He looked inside the internet cafe; only Shaonü and Li Jing sat at the cashier. Cheng Chen, Zhao Bin, and the rest were nowhere to be seen.

“Zhao Bin, Cheng Chen, and Lu Zhen all went to restock. They said they wanted to have everything ready before the holiday, or else the vendors would close down,” Shaonü explained.

He nodded in agreement; with the year’s end approaching, most wholesalers would soon be closing for the holiday.

“By the way, I went downtown today and brought you a gift.” He gestured toward the door.

“Huh? Weren’t you out with Qin Lu? How come you still thought of me?” Shaonü pretended to ask, a sweet smile blooming on her face.

“Went shopping for clothes. Take a look yourself. If you don’t like it, just exchange it.”

“Hmph, as long as it’s from you, I’ll like it.” Xia Churan could hardly contain her excitement, bounding out of the internet cafe to open the car door and pull out several shopping bags from the back seat.

“Is this… for me?” Xia Churan murmured, eyeing the tags on the garments.

“Ah, don’t you like it?”

“Mm, I do.” Her voice lowered softly.

“As long as you like it. I’m exhausted. What about dinner?”

“Fang Yu, this clothing is expensive, isn’t it?” Xia Churan pointed to the price tag.

“Ah, it’s okay. Not too pricey,” he waved off nonchalantly.

“Liar. You think I don’t recognize it? That jacket alone must have cost over three thousand, right?”

“Yeah, about that much. Why?”

“You’re seriously going to let me wear this home? If my mom sees it, she’ll think I’m up to no good!” The girl suddenly became coy.

Fang Yu slapped his forehead, nearly forgetting that Xia Churan’s family situation wasn’t comparable to Qin Lu or Lin Pin’s.

“Heh, then just wear it at school.”

“No way, I want to wear it home. Hehe, or else, will you give me a ride home?” Xia Churan suddenly grinned and linked her arm through his.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, I don’t even know where your home is,” Fang Yu said. In fact, he had never asked her all this time.

“Hmph, you don’t care about me at all. You’ve never asked where I come from,” the girl pouted, turning her head away in mock annoyance.

It was only today that Fang Yu learned Xia Churan was originally from SQ, about 400 kilometers from his hometown, roughly a two-hour drive from school.

“Ha, didn’t expect you to be a fellow squinty-eyed countryman,” he suddenly recalled Xu Hao.

“Huh? What squinty-eyed?” Xia Churan had no idea what he meant.

“Never mind, you wouldn’t know him anyway. Change into the clothes so I can see if they look good,” Fang Yu changed the subject.

“Hmph, I’m not going to model for you.” Though she protested with her words, she opened the shopping bags eagerly.

“Wow, Churan, this little trench coat looks gorgeous,” Li Jing complimented, knowing when to play the supportive sidekick.

“Hehe, have Cheng Chen buy one for you,” Xia Churan said proudly, carefully removing her jacket to put on the new garment.

As they say, fine clothes make the person, and a youthful, radiant young woman looks beautiful in anything—especially Xia Churan, the flower of the foreign languages department.

“Hehe, Fang Yu, do I look good?” Xia Churan spun around gracefully in front of him, drawing whistles from several students in the internet cafe.

“Not bad at all.” He smiled gently; beautiful girls were always a delight to behold.

“Hey, why didn’t you buy yourself anything? No money left?”

“I did. It’s at the apartment. I’ll change tomorrow.” He lounged back lazily.

“No way, I want to see you in your new clothes, come on, change now, please.” Xia Churan pleaded, shaking his arm.

“All right, all right, hold on.” Unable to resist her persistence, Fang Yu grumbled as he climbed into the 640, drove back to his apartment, and after some picking and choosing, changed into a khaki trench coat, swapped his pants, and put on the new leather boots. When he returned to the internet cafe, Xia Churan’s eyes lit up.

“Hehe, it looks really good. You’ve got that young general style now,” she said.

“Waaah, hubby, Churan’s got new clothes, but I don’t.” Li Jing seized the moment to coquettishly pester Cheng Chen.

“All right, all right, I’ll buy something for my wife tomorrow.” Cheng Chen doted on her.

Students surfing the internet glanced enviously at them, paying little mind to their game characters scrambling to avoid monsters on their screens.

Once online, Xia Churan sat rather glumly in his arms, watching an obscure movie.

“Fang Yu, you really won’t give me a ride home? Boo hoo, I have to walk twenty li to get there,” she suddenly nestled into his embrace.

“Twenty li? That far?” He was surprised.

“Yeah, the county bus only goes to the town; I still have to walk home. It’s so cold along the way,” her soft voice was achingly tender.

Fang Yu’s heart ached. As a grown man, walking ten kilometers in freezing weather was tough enough; for a young girl in her prime, it was even more unbearable.

“Hmm, I’ll be home on the 13th. If you leave earlier, maybe I can give you a ride,” he murmured. Two hours by car wasn’t far; a round trip in a day was feasible.

“Hehe, I knew you’d hate to see me go. After the party, I’ll leave—on the 11th. Promise me, you’ll take me home!” Xia Churan smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

University life was far more relaxed than high school. By January, many students had finished their final exams and were preparing to go home for the holidays.

Some students from remote areas didn’t return home for winter break; some worked near the snack street to earn pocket money, while others from well-off families lounged in internet cafes all day, regardless of gender.

Zhang Hao called him. “Are you full?” was already on track. Tianxing’s first batch of smart phones with pre-installed apps was officially mass-produced, with daily orders exceeding five thousand.

Moreover, Zhang Hao had already established branch offices in Nanwu and Tiandu, with a team of over two hundred.

Regarding “Qinglu,” Cheng Chen was a bit worried.

“Fang Yu, I’ve noticed many bubble tea shops have copied us. Won’t that affect our business?”

Cheng Chen was right. On the snack street alone, three new shops had opened. Although “Qinglu” was still bustling, competitors’ lower prices had taken some customers.

Fang Yu waved it off casually.

“No worries. Just watch me.”

The next day, Fang Yu recruited two employees to hire temporary workers through major job platforms. They would line up in front of their tea shop at ten yuan an hour, creating a hunger marketing effect—a tactic borrowed from a well-known bubble tea brand in the future.