Chapter 85: The Wrong Way to Open It

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Wrong Way to Open It

At the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique.

A few minutes ago, after seeing a message from a client on Little Blue Book, Bella had adjusted her uniform and stepped out to the floor with eager anticipation.

The economy was in a downturn, and sales were terrible. Her performance this month had been particularly dismal, and she desperately needed a commission to save her wounded soul.

The store manager had previously suggested experimenting with new media channels, so she had posted on Xiaohongshu just to test the waters. To her surprise, she had actually found a client. She just didn’t know if this lead was genuinely reliable.

Soon enough, she spotted a somewhat familiar-looking man approaching the store. He was accompanied by a beautiful, highly elegant woman who looked a little stiff.

As they drew closer and she got a clear look at his face, she froze.

She thought, "Isn’t this Mei Na’s ex-boyfriend, Su Yunzhou? Wait. It can’t be such a coincidence! Is he the client from Little Blue Book?"

Her suspicions were confirmed when the man called out her tacky real name. "Zhang Juhua, it really is you?"

Bella offered a forced smile. She thought, "Oh boy, there goes my sales commission for today."

"Su Yunzhou, I never expected it to be you either," she replied.

"I heard you were working in luxury goods, but I didn’t expect you to be here," Su Yunzhou continued. "If I had known, I would have just come straight to you."

Bella maintained her textbook six-tooth customer service smile, but inwardly she scoffed. She thought, "Knowing wouldn’t change a thing. It’s not like you can afford anything here. Did you forget what your ex-girlfriend used to call you? Broke Su."

After recognizing him, Bella’s initial excitement plummeted. However, as a luxury sales associate, she remained perfectly polite—though her courtesy now carried a distinct "let’s get this over with" vibe.

Listening to their exchange, Liu Yiyi found the dynamic a bit odd. She furrowed her brow and asked, "Aren’t you going to introduce us?"

"This is Zhang Juhua," Su Yunzhou said. "My ex-girlfriend’s sort-of bestie."

"Oh~" Liu Yiyi glanced at the saleswoman, surprised to run into this kind of "acquaintance."

Bella’s face twisted into an expression of utter resignation. She desperately wanted to ask him to use her fancy English name instead. Besides, even though she and Mei Na weren’t extremely close, there was no need to introduce her like that. The man couldn’t read the room at all; no wonder he got dumped.

Judging by the other woman’s questioning attitude, Bella had already guessed their relationship. It made perfect sense. Su Yunzhou might be poor, but he had a pretty good face. Women sought out sugar daddies, and men sought out sugar mamas. In a way, it was simply the natural order of things.

Still, to actually bring his sugar mama here to pick out her own gift... he really had no shame. Ha! But since she was already hosting a "client," she had to go through the motions.

"You mentioned on Little Blue Book that you wanted to see the Alhambra clover collection?" she asked.

"That’s right! I have a soft spot for this specific collection!" he replied.

Bella thought, "Soft spot, my foot! Do you even know how much it costs?" However, she kept her expression neutral. "Please follow me. I’ll show you the physical pieces."

Walking further into the boutique, Su Yunzhou was greeted by an overwhelming sense of high-end, elegant luxury. The entire store featured an avant-garde design, with bold color palettes and beautiful lighting that perfectly complemented the exquisite display cabinets.

No woman could look at Van Cleef & Arpels without feeling a thrill of excitement. However, amid her excitement, Liu Yiyi also felt a twinge of annoyance. Earlier, he had mentioned wanting to buy a gift. Then he brought her to Van Cleef & Arpels and explicitly asked for the Clover Series.

She thought, "Ugh, of all the things I expected, I never imagined his childhood friend would be a woman! And he actually dragged me along to help him pick it out. This is so annoying." She continued to grumble endlessly in her mind.

The three of them stopped in front of a gorgeous display case. Under the soft lighting, jewelry of various shapes emanated a mesmerizing brilliance. Even a man like Su Yunzhou had to admit the designs were stunning.

Bella stood by and delivered a completely emotionless pitch. "Since 1968, the Alhambra clover motif has been a signature aesthetic design of Van Cleef & Arpels. Inspired by the elegant shape of the four-leaf clover..."

Su Yunzhou interrupted her with a smile, "Bring out the red and green ones for me to see."

His breezy, nonchalant tone only deepened Bella’s inner contempt. He didn’t even know the proper names of the pieces, yet here he was putting on airs. She wondered how she hadn’t noticed his knack for posturing back in the day.

Bella retrieved the two bracelets from the cabinet and carefully placed them on a velvet tray. Her voice remained flat, though it carried a distinct hint of correction. "The Alhambra clover collection is our star line. This carnelian and this malachite bracelet..."

Ignoring her entirely, Su Yunzhou picked them up and turned to Liu Yiyi. "Want to try them on?"

Liu Yiyi was still a bit disgruntled, but as a seasoned HR director, she had already pieced together the underlying context. Su Yunzhou was buying a gift for a female childhood friend, and—whether by sheer coincidence or deliberate planning—had ended up at the store of his ex-girlfriend’s bestie. It was highly likely they all knew each other, and Su Yunzhou was using this purchase to deliver a resounding slap in the face to the ex who had dumped him for being poor. What a classic wish-fulfillment novel plot! It was just a shame that she had been roped in as a mere prop.

If Su Yunzhou knew that Liu Yiyi had managed to mentally draft an entire melodrama in a split second, he would have been absolutely blown away. With a brain wired like that, it was a tragedy she didn’t write romance novels.

Hands were a woman’s second face, and the bourgeois-minded Liu Yiyi naturally took excellent care of hers. Her slender wristbones were beautiful, and paired with the enchanting glow of the carnelian and malachite, the sight rivaled any hand model featured in a promotional catalog.

Su Yunzhou nodded slightly. Looking at the bracelets on Liu Yiyi’s wrist, he marveled at how excellent both his and the system’s tastes were. "Do you like them?" he asked.

"I love them!" Liu Yiyi blurted out instinctively.

"Heh! That’s good," he smiled. "I was wondering if you would actually like this gift. Zhang Juhua, I’ll take both of these. Since we’re old acquaintances, do I get some sort of employee discount?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bella’s bewildered voice rang out. "Ah... what?"

Su Yunzhou joked, "What’s wrong? Can’t bear to give me a discount?"

Seeing his completely serious expression, Bella suddenly couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation. She shook her overheating brain and quickly tried to process the facts. Broke Su had made an appointment online to see some bracelets, brought a sugar mama into the store, looked at them for barely two minutes, and now wanted to buy both pieces... to give to the very same sugar mama who currently looked just as dumbfounded? What kind of absurd plot twist was this? Was she hallucinating?

Beside him, the expression on Liu Yiyi’s delicate face transitioned from shock, to joy, and finally settled on pure disbelief, showcasing a textbook emotional shift worthy of a veteran actress. Her taut features revealed the complex mental gymnastics she was undergoing.

"These two bracelets are for me?"

"Huh?" Su Yunzhou rubbed his nose. "What do you mean? Didn’t you just say you liked this collection?"

"I do like it!" Liu Yiyi said hurriedly. "But weren’t you buying a gift for your female childhood friend? Why are you giving it to..."

Hearing this, a handsome smile curved on Su Yunzhou’s lips. He reached out and felt Liu Yiyi’s forehead. "You don’t have a fever! Why are you talking nonsense? My childhood friend is a grown-ass man. You think I’d gift him a four-leaf clover? Hahaha! I can’t believe you came up with that!"

Liu Yiyi’s pretty face flushed crimson. She suddenly realized that he had never actually specified he was buying a gift for his childhood friend; he had merely said he needed to buy a gift. She had completely fabricated all those internal dramas herself, resulting in a massive, embarrassing mix-up.

Meanwhile, Bella had finally snapped out of her daze. She still didn’t understand exactly what was going on, but based on his words, it sounded like he genuinely intended to buy them. She didn’t care who was footing the bill; as long as she could close the sale, she had no complaints. Without even realizing it, her form of address had respectfully upgraded.

"Mr. Su, are you certain you want both of these Alhambra clover bracelets?"