Chapter 2: Aren't We Friends Too?
“Don’t you think? One look and she’s obviously a gold digger. Watch your wallet.”
Shen Wang raised an eyebrow slightly, acting like he hadn’t heard a thing.
He had more money than he could ever spend. What was there to watch out for?
Shen Wang typed one-handed: 【You know what I mean.】
Wen Nianqi’s vision went black. As expected, Shen Wang wasn’t that easy to fool.
She had to try another approach.
【A guy called me ugly today. I’m not pretty… I don’t think I’m good enough for you. A sugar daddy like you, the women you keep are all beautiful. I…】
Wen Nianqi checked it several times, making sure every word dripped with pitiful vulnerability, before hitting send.
She waited anxiously for a reply.
The chat box showed the other person was typing…
Wen Nianqi’s heart leaped into her throat.
“Please don’t see through me. I’m begging you, God, let me live. In this life, my last life, and the life before that, I’ve never done anything evil.”
Ding—
Shen Yan: 【How ugly?】
Wen Nianqi flashed a standard, polite smile. “?”
You’re ugly. Your whole family is ugly.
I’m the campus beauty!
Wen Nianqi forced down the rage burning in her lungs.
【Even you despise me. Let’s just break up.】
Testing the waters first.
At least they weren’t meeting face-to-face right now. She wanted to see if she could break up without paying the money back.
She couldn’t bear to part with those bags and jewelry.
Shen Yan: 【Address. Say it to my face.】
Wen Nianqi: 【No no no… no breaking up. I was just joking. I’m already feeling so insecure, can’t you at least coax me?】
Forget it.
Saying it to his face would just end with her getting fucked to death.
They absolutely could not meet.
Before the timeline of her rebirth, they had already agreed to meet during National Day.
It had only been a month since school started. Counting the days, there were only a few months left!
All she could do was pray these things could be exchanged for a bit more cash.
Secondhand luxury shop.
Wen Nianqi had a lot to sell, so four or five people were inspecting the goods.
“Gently. That bag is a limited edition.”
Wen Nianqi’s heart ached. She forcibly pulled her gaze away. One more look and she wouldn’t be able to part with it.
The manager walked over. “Miss Wen, here’s the receipt we made for you. Check if anything’s missing. We have 21 items total, and the price for each is written next to it.”
“Are you sure you want to sell them all?”
Wen Nianqi nodded.
“Alright, we can give you our highest price. 320,000 total.”
“What!” Wen Nianqi shot to her feet.
That price was way off from what she’d expected.
She’d spent at least 1.2 million buying these things. Some of the bags were brand new releases, not to mention the classic styles held their value—you could even buy them at retail and sell them higher. And they were only offering 320,000!
“Sorry, that’s too far from what I expected. I’m not selling.”
There were too many of them. Worried they might snatch her stuff, Wen Nianqi shoved everything into the boxes in one go and walked straight out.
As someone who bought luxury goods year-round, Wen Nianqi knew the numbers.
Sold low, these things should fetch at least 800,000. Sold high, over a million.
This secondhand shop was clearly treating her like an idiot because she looked young.
Before leaving, Wen Nianqi snapped a photo and sent it to Shen Wang. No text.
She thought this trip would knock out forty percent of her debt. Instead, the bags didn’t sell, and she spent forty on cab fare round trip.
Adding frost to snow for an already poor household.
Ding—
Shen Yan: 【Transferred 52,000 yuan】
Seeing the transfer, Wen Nianqi’s eyes lit up on pure reflex.
So much money…
“I really want to accept it…”
“Actually, living for the moment isn’t so bad…”
These cowardly thoughts lasted exactly three seconds.
Wen Nianqi: 【?】
【Why did you suddenly send me money?】
Shen Yan: 【Wasn’t that what your picture meant?】
【Don’t buy secondhand. Go get a new one.】
She had to admit, if Shen Wang wasn’t a psycho, he’d actually be a perfectly qualified sugar daddy.
One picture, zero words, didn’t matter what she meant—just send the money.
Wen Nianqi tapped the transfer and ruthlessly hit ‘Refund’ in the bottom right corner.
【You misunderstood. I was just sharing with you. There are a few older bags I don’t like anymore. Throwing them away feels wasteful, so I figured I’d trade them in for some cash.】
【Aren’t I super frugal and good at managing a household?】
【Kitten asking for praise JPG./ᐠ ＞ ˕ ＜マ੭】
Shen Yan: 【Mm.】
Familiar tone. He didn’t question why she suddenly refused the money.
Wen Nianqi let out a long breath.
In the past, hesitating for even a second would’ve been disrespecting the money.
On the way back, she scrolled through info on other secondhand shops and found one with a small storefront but amazing reviews.
She checked the location. It was pretty far. Too late to go today, so it would have to be tomorrow.
……
Dorm room.
Wen Nianqi dragged her suitcase in and collapsed exhausted onto the sofa chair.
Ji Haitang, wearing light blue pajamas with a sheet mask on her face, looked over. “Where’d you go? Why are you back so late?”
“And why the suitcase?”
Wen Nianqi sighed. “Selling stuff.”
Hearing the noise, Jiang Yue and Su Qinghe both looked over.
Su Qinghe spotted the crushed crackers in her hand and gasped, “Niannian, that’s your dinner?”
Everyone studying at the art academy came from decent families.
Except Wen Nianqi. She earned her own money.
In their minds, Wen Nianqi was loaded. She treated them to milk tea every now and then, cared about her figure, ate diet meals daily, and would absolutely never touch unhealthy snacks.
Wen Nianqi scratched her head awkwardly. “I probably won’t be able to treat you guys to milk tea anymore. Something happened at home, and I’m really short on cash right now.”
“Niannian!” Jiang Yue puffed out her cheeks, annoyed. “What kind of people do you think we are?”
Su Qinghe chimed in, “Exactly. So that’s why you sold your favorite jewelry?”
She tilted her chin toward Wen Nianqi’s desk.
“Your desk got cleared out so fast, like it was looted. We thought a thief broke into the dorm. The dorm leader just went to ask the auntie to pull the security footage.”
“Thank you guys. Anyway, I’m really short on money right now…”
Ji Haitang stood behind her, placing both hands on her shoulders. “It’ll be fine. If you need help, just ask us. We can’t do anything huge, but we can lend a hand with the little things.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Like they’d reached a silent agreement, none of the three asked what happened at home.
Wen Nianqi covered her face, moved almost to tears. “Thank you.”
Ding-dong—
Her phone on the desk flashed.
It was from Shen Wang.
Shen Yan: 【Wanna play a game? A few friends are joining.】
At a time like this, how could Wen Nianqi care about gaming?
【I have a test tomorrow. Need to study tonight. ɵ̷﹏ɵ̷̥̥᷅】
Shen Yan: 【Mm.】
Ji Haitang gave her a meaningful look. “Message from your online boyfriend? Does he know about your family situation?”
Jiang Yue nodded. “Right, isn’t that online boyfriend of yours pretty rich?”
It was precisely because of him that she had to work even harder to make money.
In all her years, this was Wen Nianqi’s first relationship, her first online romance, and she ended up dating a living ancestor!
After a long pause, she sighed. “Telling him wouldn’t help. We’re just dating online. My family’s problems have nothing to do with him. It’s not like I’d make him take responsibility.”