"In a location this good, with a space this big... It might be hot for a little while, but then people will stop coming. It’s doubtful they’ll even make their money back."
"I wouldn’t know about that."
Since Zhu Xiaopeng was the principal’s nephew, Xu Xinrui didn’t want to argue with him too much; after all, she still worked for the school.
But inwardly, she couldn’t stop complaining.
’If you’ve got the guts, go say that to Xiaoqi. What’s so special about putting her down in front of me?’
Soon, the group arrived at the bookstore.
Jiang Xiaoqi led Lin Jiang straight to the children’s book section.
They had to choose books for students from first to fifth grade, so while it seemed like a simple task, the workload was actually quite substantial.
While they were picking out books, Xu Xinrui came over to join them. The three of them stood together, looking at the books on the shelves and whispering as they discussed their selections. Zhu Xiaopeng was completely left out. He stood behind them, wanting to chime in but unable to find an opening.
"Teacher Jiang, you all go ahead and pick. I’ll go talk to the owner in a bit. We can set up a promotion; any parent who comes here to buy books can get a discount," Zhu Xiaopeng said, trying to make himself relevant.
"Teacher Zhu, you know the owner of the bookstore?"
"I don’t, but the logistics department is also responsible for purchasing books. Once the owner knows I’m from the school, he’ll be accommodating, more or less."
"Absolutely not!" Jiang Xiaoqi immediately rejected the idea.
"That could be seen as pressuring parents to buy. If one of them reported us, we’d have a hard time explaining ourselves. So, we only recommend books. Where they buy them—or if they buy them at all—is entirely up to the parents."
"Then I guess we’ll have to forget it."
Zhu Xiaopeng had tried to look impressive, but it fell flat. He then realized he was still the one being left out.
Before they knew it, almost an hour had passed.
The three of them picked out over thirty books. Jiang Xiaoqi took photos of all of them; once she got back and organized the list, she could send it out to the parents.
"We’ve picked out enough, let’s go," Jiang Xiaoqi said.
"Don’t you want to look at a few more? I think there are some other pretty good ones."
Xu Xinrui was completely focused on choosing books and didn’t pick up on Jiang Xiaoqi’s real intention: she didn’t want this to drag on and cut into her evening date with Lin Jiang.
"We have about enough. This is plenty."
"Alright, whatever you say."
"Teacher Jiang, why don’t you keep looking? The thing I ordered is about to be delivered anyway," Zhu Xiaopeng said.
"Oh? What did you order?"
"I’ll keep you in suspense for now. You’ll find out in a bit, hehe..."
’Hehe my ass!’
’So annoying!’
"Oh, okay. I guess we can wait a little longer then."
Jiang Xiaoqi had no idea what Zhu Xiaopeng was up to, so she figured she might as well wait.
"Well, let’s take this opportunity to pick a few more books then."
"Okay."
Reluctantly, Jiang Xiaoqi returned to the bookshelves, pacing back and forth as she browsed for suitable books.
Just then, a voice came from the entrance.
"Is a Mr. Zhu Xiaopeng here?"
The group looked toward the door and saw a man in a yellow vest standing there, holding a bouquet of flowers and a cake.
"That’s me."
The two walked toward each other. Zhu Xiaopeng took the cake and flowers from his hand and returned to Jiang Xiaoqi’s side.
"Teacher Jiang, today is your mother’s birthday. I didn’t have time to prepare anything else, so I ordered a cake and a bouquet of flowers to help her celebrate."
"That was fast," Xu Xinrui said, surprised.
"I paid an extra 100 yuan for the cake shop to rush the order," Zhu Xiaopeng said with a chuckle.
"Even though I spent a little extra, to me, it was all worth it."
Zhu Xiaopeng was very pleased with himself, but he also wanted to seem sincere, so he did his best to display his gentlemanly charm.
It was as if he were saying, ’It’s the little details that show who truly cares about you.’
"Uh..."
’Is this guy nuts?!’
’Can’t the police do something about him?!’
"It’s your mother’s birthday today?"
Lin Jiang took Jiang Xiaoqi’s arm, drawing her attention so she wouldn’t have to accept Zhu Xiaopeng’s flowers and cake.
"Right, my mom’s birthday..."
As she spoke, she lightly nudged Lin Jiang from behind.
She was hoping he would understand her and play along to finish the act.
The two had interacted enough for Lin Jiang to understand what she meant.
But if he went along with it, his own task would be much harder to complete.
"I also prepared a gift for your mother. I’ll have someone bring it over."
"Huh?"
From behind, Jiang Xiaoqi kept tugging on Lin Jiang’s clothes, hoping he would understand what she meant.
But Lin Jiang ignored her.
Lin Jiang took out his phone, stepped to the side, and sent a message to Zhou Wanyu.
He told her to get a women’s Glashütte watch and bring it over.
As for the price, Lin Jiang couldn’t care less.
When dealing with a simp like this, you had to bring out the big guns to completely crush their spirit.
"Brother Jiang, where did you go?" Jiang Xiaoqi whispered when she saw Lin Jiang return.
"You’ll know in a minute."
"We’re here on business. We don’t have that much time to waste," Zhu Xiaopeng said flatly.
"It’ll be quick, just a few minutes."
Zhu Xiaopeng looked disdainful and didn’t give Lin Jiang a second thought.
’What gift could possibly be more thoughtful than my flowers and cake?’
’It’s definitely too late to get a custom cake. If he buys flowers, he’ll just be copying me, and I’ll easily outshine him.’
’When it comes to thoughtfulness and attention to detail, no one can compare to me!’
Not a few minutes later, Zhou Wanyu came in from the back door that led to the mall. She looked around and quickly found Lin Jiang.
"Brother Jiang, here’s what you wanted. I’ve brought it. The receipt and everything are inside."
Zhou Wanyu didn’t know Lin Jiang had become the owner of Berkeley, so she still addressed him as she always had.
"Yeah, thanks for the trouble."
"Don’t mention it."
Seeing Lin Jiang had friends with him, Zhou Wanyu knew it wasn’t appropriate for her to linger.
"Brother Jiang, I’ll be going then. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay."
After Zhou Wanyu left, Lin Jiang handed the bag to Jiang Xiaoqi.
"I wasn’t sure what your mother would like, so I just picked up a watch. Why don’t you take this back for her."
"But, Brother Jiang..."
Jiang Xiaoqi was so anxious she was on the verge of tears. ’My little trick was just to fool Zhu Xiaopeng! If I accept Brother Jiang’s gift, how is that any different from being a scammer?’
Pulling Lin Jiang aside, Jiang Xiaoqi whispered,
"Brother Jiang, I was just trying to fool him! I was sending you signals the whole time, how could you not get what I meant?"
"I knew what you meant. I just genuinely wanted to get a gift for your mother," Lin Jiang whispered in her ear.
"Everything comes down to comparison. You think he’ll know when to back off now?"
Jiang Xiaoqi’s eyes lit up. So this was all part of Brother Jiang’s plan.
The two returned to the bookshelf, and Xu Xinrui looked at the shopping bag in Jiang Xiaoqi’s hand.
"Glashütte, that’s a nice name. It has a bit of a romantic feel."
"That’s obviously a domestic brand with some tacky, wannabe-foreign name. It’s probably just something made in a small workshop," Zhu Xiaopeng said.
"I don’t think so. The packaging looks pretty high-end," Xu Xinrui said.
"That’s the classic trick of these domestic knockoff brands. Make the packaging look gorgeous to fool people into thinking it’s expensive, but the quality is always a concern."
Zhu Xiaopeng continued,
"Didn’t that woman just say there was a receipt? Take it out and let’s have a look, then we’ll know."
As he spoke, Zhu Xiaopeng looked at Lin Jiang.
"Hey man, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean anything by it. A gift is all about the thought behind it. Price doesn’t matter, as long as it comes from the heart."
He was being an elegant, pretentious ass, leaving no room for rebuttal.
"You’re right. The thought really is what’s most important."
"Hehe..."
Zhu Xiaopeng looked at Jiang Xiaoqi.
"Xiaoqi, check if the receipt and warranty card and all that are there. If it breaks after a few days, you’ll need to bring it in for repairs."
Jiang Xiaoqi was about to speak, but she felt Lin Jiang tug her from behind, so she took out the receipt from inside.
"Oh my god, this watch was over 70,000!"
Xu Xinrui’s eyes went wide. She never would have expected that price.
Zhu Xiaopeng’s expression froze. He wanted to say something but couldn’t get a single word out.
"A watch this expensive probably isn’t a no-name brand, right?"
Xu Xinrui twisted the knife at the perfect time, her delivery as precise as a seasoned professor’s.
"Money is no object. Besides, didn’t your colleague here just say it? It’s the thought that counts."
Zhu Xiaopeng’s face fell.
Suddenly, the flowers and cake in his hands lost all their appeal.
Jiang Xiaoqi was secretly overjoyed.
’Brother Jiang really is the simp slayer.’
’All he has to do is lift a finger, and it’s game over for these simps.’

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