Chapter 27: Money is for Women to See

"[Gongdi Bank] Your account ending in 0809 completed a transfer transaction of 420,000.00 RMB, balance..."

Xu Yunzhou, who hadn't left the company for long, was looking at the bank arrival SMS he just received on his phone screen.

His brows were tightly furrowed, and instead of joy, his heart was filled with doubts and unease.

Four hundred and twenty thousand! A whole year's salary!

He originally thought that getting the current month's salary settled according to the law and possibly a tiny bit of compensation would already be a great fortune, after all, he resigned voluntarily.

This large sum of money that appeared out of thin air not only didn't make him feel pleasantly surprised, but instead made him feel weird.

"This company... what the hell are they doing?"

He muttered to himself,

"Li Yuan's bowing and scraping appearance just now was already not right, and now giving so much money so readily... Could it be that some major incident is going to happen to the company, and they want to drag me into the water to be a scapegoat and take the blame?"

He hurriedly found the WeChat of Xiao Zhang, a colleague he had a decent relationship with and who was quite honest, and rapidly typed and sent:

"Xiao Zhang, I feel this company is very weird, there might be problems. If you have the chance, hurry up and find a next stop to resign, absolutely don't get trapped in it."

Not long after the message was sent, Xiao Zhang's voice reply popped up:

"Holy shit! Yunzhou! What... what exactly is your background? You hadn't even left for half an hour, and the company... the company sent a notice in the group, announcing bankruptcy! Directly liquidating and disbanding! Can you believe it?"

The company... went bankrupt?

Right after he resigned?

A brief, absurd association flashed through Xu Yunzhou's mind, but was immediately thrown away by him.

What inevitable connection could there be between the two?

He smiled self-mockingly; as an ordinary programmer, how could he have such immense energy?

Rather than tangling with this fog, it was better to solve the more practical problems before his eyes first.

He thought of his illusory figure in the game that always wore ridiculous dinosaur pajamas and was unkempt, and he frowned slightly.

Appearing every day with that "honorable visage" in front of little girls like Song Jiaru was truly somewhat... an eyesore, let alone guiding them to improve their aesthetics.

"It's time to change my way of living."

He muttered in a low voice, his tone carrying the decisiveness of destroying the old and establishing the new.

He went straight to the top shopping mall in the city center and walked into a store named "Aether."

This was a designer brand that had risen to fame in recent years, deeply pursued by the fashion circle and young elites.

Just as he stepped into the store, a shopping guide wearing the brand's iconic gray-white uniform with exquisite makeup smiled and greeted him:

"Xu Yunzhou, haven't been here in a long time!"

Xu Yunzhou also recognized the other party—Qiao Xi, a classmate from the same year in college.

Qiao Xi's smile was enthusiastic, her gaze habitually sizing up his whole body:

"Are you here to pick a gift for Su Qianran? We just got a batch of limited-edition silk scarves and handbags, she will definitely like them."

Xu Yunzhou shook his head, his tone calm yet affirmative:

"Not buying for her. For myself. Moreover, she and I have already broken up."

"Ah? Weren't you going to get mar..."

Qiao Xi was clearly stunned, her mouth slightly open, a trace of disbelief and... a trace of indescribable complex expression flashing through her eyes.

She quickly reined in her gaffe; after all, it involved a customer's privacy, making it inconvenient to pry too much.

"Is that so... Then, take a look at the men's section? Or we have many unisex styles, which actually fit your temperament very well too."

"Mhm,"

Xu Yunzhou nodded, his gaze sweeping over the store displays,

"Help me put together an outfit, from head to toe. No need to consider the budget, only one requirement—"

He looked at Qiao Xi, his eyes serious,

"As long as it can please women, it's fine."

There was no helping it; he had to create an initial, trustworthy aesthetic benchmark for those little girls in the game who needed "guidance."

Hearing this, Qiao Xi's eyes lit up slightly, and she re-evaluated Xu Yunzhou seriously.

Putting aside that overly ordinary outfit, she discovered that this old classmate had an excellent foundation—a tall, straight, and well-proportioned figure, a natural clothes hanger, with broad shoulders, long legs, and handsome features.

It was just that previously, a layer of exhaustion and accommodation from rushing about for a living always shrouded between his brows.

Now, that layer of haze seemed to have dissipated quite a bit, and his eyes had a few more points of detachment and... an indescribable, tranquil, and determined sense of power.

"Leave it to me!"

A few points of genuine interest and desire to show off were added to Qiao Xi's enthusiasm.

She shuttled nimbly through the store, her fingertips skimming over rows of clothing. She picked up several items and quickly compared them against his body, her brain rapidly combining them.

"Try this set? This kind of 'sapiosexual' style that's between formal and casual, plus a little bit of faintly discernible nobility, is basically a universal killer for women between twenty and forty. Guaranteed to give you a completely new look!"

Looking at himself in the mirror, Xu Yunzhou almost couldn't recognize himself.

Well-fitting clothes indeed could maximize a person's temperament.

The man in the mirror was steady yet fashionable, looking like a completely different person from his previous image of wearing dinosaur pajamas or cheap T-shirts.

"Alright, follow this style and put together a few more sets for me."

Xu Yunzhou's tone was casual.

Forcibly suppressing the excitement and ecstasy in her heart, Qiao Xi tried hard to maintain a professional smile, nimbly packing and calculating the five selected outfits, along with the matching shoes and accessories.

When the POS machine spat out the receipt with a "beep," she quickly glanced at the numbers on it, her heartbeat abruptly accelerating—218,000 RMB!

The handsome commission brought by this transaction was enough for her to easily win this month's sales champion!

She carefully sorted all the items into exquisite large paper bags printed with Aether's minimalist Logo. When she handed them over with both hands, her cheeks were slightly red:

"Old classmate, today really is... thank you so much for your patronage! This single order of yours simply saved my life, helping me resolve my performance pressure for more than half the month!"

Taking advantage of the momentum, she took half a step forward, looking up at him, carrying a trace of just-right shyness and expectation:

"Look... you helped me with such a big favor, I... let me treat you to a meal tonight, okay? I know a very good Japanese restaurant nearby, it's very hard to book a table, and I happen to be a VIP."

Back in college, she felt Xu Yunzhou had good conditions, it was just that back then his eyes only had Su Qianran.

Looking at it now... after breaking up, he seems to have become even more charming instead?

This confidence and composure emitted from the inside out was more attractive than any gorgeous clothes.

Xu Yunzhou took the heavy shopping bags, but his expression remained flat:

"Thank you, let's do it another day. I have matters tonight."

Heh, as expected.

This thing called money, is meant to be shown to women, not used on women.

In the past, he didn't understand this principle. He always thought giving his all and answering every request was true sincerity.

It was only after being slapped hard in the face by reality that he understood: when you reveal your bottom cards without reservation, what you get in return is often not cherishing, but taking for granted and ultimately contempt.

Now, he would not make the same mistake again.

A trace of obvious disappointment flashed through the depths of Qiao Xi's eyes, but she quickly covered it up with a smile:

"Alright~ Then we'll talk next time there's a chance. Let's keep in touch, I'll WeChat you immediately when there are new arrivals!"

Watching his back, Qiao Xi took out her phone and clicked open the private chat window with Su Qianran:

"Ranran, Xu Yunzhou came to Aether just now."

A reply came quickly:

"(Sneering emoji) He finally couldn't hold it in? Does he want to secretly buy me an apology gift? I knew he couldn't leave me! Help me keep an eye on what he bought, but I won't easily forgive him this time!"

Her words were full of certainty and a sense of superiority.

Looking at the screen, a meaningful arc arose at the corners of Qiao Xi's mouth.

She didn't reply, nor did she point out the truth.

And at this time, Xu Yunzhou returned as if he remembered something:

"Qiao Xi, help me pick a gift for a girl."