A Chilly Welcome and a Provocative Shopping Spree

The plane touched down at Beicheng International Airport. Xiang Qing followed Gu Wei out of the terminal, where a biting north wind immediately assailed her, making her shiver. ‘Damn, it’s freezing!’ It was a stark contrast to the city she had just left; truly two different seasons!

Beicheng, the most prosperous super-first-tier metropolis in the north, boasted a skyline of towering skyscrapers, its streets a constant deluge of traffic, and the very air hummed with the scent of wealth and a relentless pace.

Xiang Qing pulled her thin jacket tighter around her, her mind a mix of grumbling complaints and a flicker of excitement.

‘Regardless, she had finally escaped Shen Lanzhi’s suffocating battleground!’

‘Gu Wei: My savior! My second parent! My living Bodhisattva of the internet! Though this living Bodhisattva’s intentions might not be entirely pure…’

A black business van was already waiting by the roadside, its driver respectfully opening the door.

“CEO Gu.”

Gu Wei hummed in acknowledgment, her long legs striding into the vehicle. Xiang Qing quickly followed suit.

“Let’s eat first.” Gu Wei leaned back into the seat, removing her sunglasses and massaging her temples.

The car smoothly drove into the city center, eventually pulling up to the entrance of a private kitchen restaurant that exuded exorbitant expense.

Xiang Qing followed behind Gu Wei, her gaze fixed on the antique-style façade, her legs feeling a little weak.

‘This meal alone might cost a regular person a year’s salary, wouldn’t it? As expected of a rich woman, her spending habits are truly on another level.’

Gu Wei was led with familiar ease into an elegant private room. Without even glancing at the menu, she rattled off several dish names, all of them expensive, spicy, and substantial.

Xiang Qing sat opposite her, gazing at Gu Wei’s beautiful face, her heart a tumultuous mess of nerves.

“Eat more.” Gu Wei lifted her chin, gesturing for Xiang Qing to pick up her chopsticks. “You’re so thin, you’d feel bony even to hug.”

Xiang Qing: ‘Sister, can we please not use such suggestive language!’

She buried her head in her food, transforming all her nervousness and apprehension into appetite.

‘Honestly, expensive food really does taste better! Every bite tasted of money! Delicious!’

Halfway through the meal, Xiang Qing couldn’t help but shiver again.

The private room was amply heated, yet she felt a chill deep in her bones.

Gu Wei noticed immediately. She put down her chopsticks, her brow arching slightly.

“Cold?”

Xiang Qing nodded, a little embarrassed, “Perhaps… I didn’t wear enough.”

“Heh.” Gu Wei let out a scoff, her tone implying, ‘You’re so useless.’

She pulled out her phone, looking at something unknown.

Xiang Qing thought Gu Wei was going to order clothes online for her, and was internally debating between a down jacket or a padded coat.

However, Gu Wei finished her last bite, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and stood up.

“Come on, let’s go buy clothes.”

Xiang Qing was momentarily stunned, then quickly followed.

The two women headed straight for Beicheng’s most exclusive luxury shopping mall.

The moment they stepped inside, the opulent, gold-adorned decor, and the sales associates in their exquisite uniforms, smiling sweeter than flowers, made Xiang Qing’s eyes ache.

‘Was this a place for a pauper like her?’

Gu Wei, however, moved as if she were in her own backyard, leading Xiang Qing directly into a top-tier brand store she had only ever seen in magazines.

“Bring out all your new arrivals this season, in her size.” Gu Wei waved her hand, radiating an aura of absolute authority.

The sales associate’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Gu Wei’s imposing demeanor and the Patek Philippe watch on her wrist. Instantly invigorated, she eagerly presented rows of clothes.

“This one, this one, and that one over there… take them all to try on.” Gu Wei pointed casually, as if she were picking cabbages at a market.

Xiang Qing stared at the string of zeros on the price tags, her heart threatening to stop.

‘One jacket alone was enough to buy a toilet back in her hometown!’

“CEO Gu… this, this is far too expensive…” Xiang Qing mumbled softly.

“I’m paying, why are you talking nonsense?” Gu Wei shot her a glance. “Go inside.”

Xiang Qing was practically pushed into the fitting room, which was so spacious one could perform calisthenics inside.

She had just taken off her own jacket and was about to try on what appeared to be the thickest cashmere coat, when the fitting room curtain was swept aside, and Gu Wei walked in.

Xiang Qing gasped in surprise, instinctively covering her body, which was clad only in a white shirt.

“CEO Gu! Why did you come in?!”

“I’m here to see if it fits you.” Gu Wei stated matter-of-factly, casually closing the door and locking it.

The fitting room instantly felt smaller and charged with an ambiguous tension.

Xiang Qing felt her heart pounding in her throat.

Stiffly, she pulled on the off-white cashmere coat, feeling as though she was enveloped in a soft, warm cloud.

“Turn around.” Gu Wei commanded.

Xiang Qing obediently turned.

Gu Wei stepped closer, extending a hand, and began to adjust her collar.

Her fingertips were icy cold, gliding intentionally, yet seemingly casually, across Xiang Qing’s neck, sending a shiver through her.

“It’s alright.” Gu Wei’s voice was very close, right by her ear.

Her hand slid down from the collar, resting on Xiang Qing’s waist and giving it a light, yet deliberate, squeeze.

“Your waist is too slender.”

Xiang Qing froze completely, barely daring to breathe.

‘Help me! The script wasn’t supposed to go like this! This is developing far too quickly! She felt like a fish on a cutting board, and Gu Wei was the chef, knife in hand, ready to strike at any moment.’

“CEO Gu…”

“Don’t move.” Gu Wei’s arms encircled her from behind, drawing her fully into an embrace.

She guided Xiang Qing to face the large dressing mirror together.

In the mirror, Xiang Qing’s face was as red as a tomato, while Gu Wei wore an expression of playful amusement and undeniable aggression.

Her gaze, glowing green, was like a wolf spotting a lamb.

“This one doesn’t look good,” Gu Wei said, though her words contradicted her actions. Her hands began to brazenly unbutton Xiang Qing’s white shirt. “The color is too plain.”

“…”

Xiang Qing was utterly dumbfounded.

“CEO Gu, what are you doing unbuttoning my shirt?!”

“What do you want?!”

“CEO Gu! Stop! I’ll take it off myself!” She was on the verge of tears, quickly seizing Gu Wei’s mischievous hand.

‘If she kept unbuttoning, it would be like being in the botanical garden all over again! No! It would be even worse than that time! This was a fitting room!’

“Why the rush?” Gu Wei chuckled softly, her hot breath caressing Xiang Qing’s ear. “I’m not going to eat you.”

“You’re more terrifying like this than if you actually were going to eat me!”

Gu Wei released her, picked up a pink silk slip dress from a nearby hanger, and held it out to her.

The dress was pitifully scant, clearly not meant for serious wear.

“Try this on.”

Xiang Qing shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum. “No, no, no! I can’t wear this! I’ll freeze to death in this weather!”

“Wear it underneath.” Gu Wei raised an eyebrow, her tone brooking no refusal. “Hurry up, I’m waiting to see.”

She tucked the flimsy dress into Xiang Qing’s arms, her fingers deliberately brushing lightly across Xiang Qing’s chest.

Xiang Qing felt a jolt of electricity where she was touched, leaving her entirely numb.

‘Damn it.’

She looked at Gu Wei’s triumphant smile, then at the flimsy “battle robe” in her hands, and a profound sense of impending doom enveloped her.

‘This wasn’t a trip at all! This was clearly a lamb walking into a tiger’s den!’

Yet, under Gu Wei’s oppressive gaze, Xiang Qing ultimately yielded.

Resignedly, she changed into the pink silk slip dress, as thin as a cicada’s wing, then donned the off-white cashmere coat over it.

As she hesitantly pulled open the fitting room curtain, even she sensed that something was amiss.

‘It was too… too provocative!’

The loose, thick cashmere coat enveloped her entirely, making her appear warm and innocent.

Yet, at the neckline, those two delicate pink straps were conspicuously visible. Against the backdrop of the coat, the expanse of her fair skin was dazzling.

As she moved, the hem of the coat occasionally parted, subtly revealing the outline of the dress clinging tightly to her thighs.

‘Pure allure style? Isn’t this just pure allure, straight up?!’

Xiang Qing ranted internally, ‘Which genius came up with this damn combination?’

Gu Wei leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, surveying Xiang Qing from head to toe.

“Mmm, not bad.”

Gu Wei finally nodded in satisfaction, walked over to her, and reached out to tuck one of the straps further in. The icy touch of her fingertips sent a jolt through Xiang Qing.

“Wear it just like this.”

She tossed out the words, then waved a hand at the sales associate who was staring in a daze.

“Besides this outfit she’s wearing, pack up everything else she tried on. And those few racks over there, I’ll take all the sizes that fit her.”

The sales associate’s breath hitched, her voice trembling with excitement: “Yes… yes! Just a moment, please!”