Chapter 65: Chapter 65: "Disgraceful Display

Provincial Library, the best reading seat.

Zhang Yan and the somewhat familiar bespectacled guy exchanged a look of mutual disdain before turning to their respective books. He gradually realized a problem.

Because of the rumors about that mysterious beauty, a bunch of young guys were now spending money every day to snatch the "Divine Throne." Currently, the price for the Divine Throne had been hyped up to forty yuan. In a few days, Zhang Yan’s supposedly generous offer of fifty yuan to secure the seat might no longer be enough.

But here was the problem. If the price got too high and the mysterious beauty stopped buying the seat, wouldn’t that mean they were spending money every day just to share a beautiful morning with another young man?

He casually mentioned in the group chat how two grown men had ended up sitting across from each other early in the morning twice in a row. Sure enough, the guys who had been fighting over tomorrow’s slot just moments ago all fell silent. It seemed that it wasn’t just the love-struck whose IQs dropped to zero; those thinking with their lower halves suffered the exact same fate.

Zhang Yan turned off his phone and prepared to read, ignoring how the Divine Throne would be arranged in the future. Either way, his seat would always be secured. If anyone wanted to fight for it, he could simply outbid them!

Today, he was reading The Wealth of Nations, the thickest tome among the remaining books. It was a foundational work of economics, written in a classical and dense style, but it wasn’t enough to stump Zhang Yan, a graduate of a prestigious university. Although he had let his skills rust for a few years, his basic literary comprehension was still intact. Time to start reading!

One hour later.

Zhang Yan stretched his slightly sore muscles. He had gotten through about half the book. Furthermore, he noticed that he didn’t seem to suffer from the same heavy aftereffects as the first time he drank the Concentration Potion. It seemed that every time he consumed the Concentration Potion, his Spiritual Power would grow just a little bit stronger. After taking it repeatedly, he no longer experienced those migraine-like symptoms. It looked like the brain was similar to a muscle; it could be trained.

After going home for a meal and a short rest, Zhang Yan took a cab to Xia Xiqing’s residential compound.

With the experience from last time, he decided to pick her up directly at the compound’s entrance. Otherwise, given her eccentric behavior, he would just end up wasting time waiting around again. This time, Xia Xiqing appeared at the gate right on time and followed Zhang Yan into the luxury ride-hailing car. He noticed that she was wearing the exact same outfit as the last time. He assumed she must really like this outfit.

Zhang Yan was completely clueless about where to buy formal evening wear for this kind of banquet. From what he remembered of his recent shopping trips, stores like LV and Dior didn’t seem to display similar gowns on their storefronts. Following Xia Xiqing’s directions, the car eventually pulled up in front of a standalone high-end flagship store. The sign read Valentino. It was a brand he had never heard of.

"Miss Xia! It’s been quite a while since your last visit. What kind of clothes are you looking for today?"

"An evening gown, ready-to-wear."

"Understood, right this way, please."

Zhang Yan silently played the role of a walking wallet, trailing behind Xia Xiqing. The store’s interior design blended modern and classical elements, heavily featuring Dali marble, metallic accents, and glass curtain walls. The atmosphere inside was elegant and relaxing, exuding an air of exquisite taste.

In the blink of an eye, Xia Xiqing had already picked out a dress and slipped into the VIP fitting room. When she stepped back out, Zhang Yan mistakenly thought he was looking at a black swan. She was beautiful and elegant, aloof and haughty.

"How is it?"

"Absolutely stunning. Any outfit would look perfectly tailored on you."

He wasn’t just blindly flattering her. Xia Xiqing’s supermodel figure was indeed an incredible clothes hanger. As for whether she could serve as another kind of hanger, Zhang Yan was currently working hard toward that goal.

"I’ll take this one."

Xia Xiqing’s shopping process was so swift that it left Zhang Yan a bit disoriented. He wondered if girls ever finished clothes shopping in under an hour. Had it even been ten minutes since they walked through the door?

She then spent some time measuring the dress with the shop assistant, seemingly making plans for alterations. Zhang Yan vaguely noticed that they were going to take in the chest and waistline a bit.

"Understood, Miss Xia. We will definitely have these alterations finished within three days. Has your residential address remained the same?"

Xia Xiqing was about to reply, but she silently turned her gaze toward Zhang Yan instead. He froze for a second before realizing that she was asking for his opinion, seeing as he was the one footing the bill.

"Just have it delivered straight to your place," he said.

Only then did Xia Xiqing nod at the assistant. The assistant also seemed to realize who the real financial backer was this time. "Right this way, sir. Including the tailoring fee, the total comes to 120,000 yuan."

Zhang Yan secretly sighed in disbelief for a moment. He had recently started living a somewhat lavish lifestyle, but when it came to everyday clothing, even top-tier luxury items only cost tens of thousands of yuan a piece. Usually, only jewelry easily crossed the hundred-thousand mark. Yet, this casual ready-to-wear gown—not even haute couture—cost over a hundred thousand. That price could already buy a Toyota Corolla, but here, it was merely a piece of sheer fabric that didn’t even use that much material.

"I already made 100,000 yuan off you anyway. I’ll just pretend I only spent 20,000 yuan," he reasoned.

He was just about to strike up a conversation and ask about her plans for the afternoon when a loud RUMBLE echoed between them. Both of them froze in awkwardness. The background music in the store was very soft and soothing, making the overall atmosphere exceptionally quiet and comfortable. As a result, Zhang Yan, who was standing close by, clearly heard her stomach growling. Xia Xiqing kept her face expressionless, but her cheeks had already turned completely red.

"I haven’t had lunch yet. Would you do me the honor of joining me?" he asked.

"No—" Just as Xia Xiqing spat out a single syllable, another RUMBLE interrupted her.

Zhang Yan fought hard to suppress his smile. "Just treat it as doing me a favor."

"Alright."

There happened to be a Western restaurant nearby. Seeing that it wasn’t crowded, Zhang Yan didn’t bother considering its class or whether the food was good; he simply led Xia Xiqing straight inside. Xia Xiqing’s dining etiquette remained as elegant as ever, and still... just as incredibly fast. Since Zhang Yan had already eaten, he only ordered a dessert, watching her eat with great interest.

"Are you full? Do you want to order another steak?"

"I’m fu—BURP."

This time, he finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Yan thoroughly enjoyed watching Xia Xiqing act shy. Because she had a naturally cool and pale complexion, the redness was exceptionally obvious. Visible to the naked eye, a flush spread from her cheeks like spilled ink, rapidly blossoming all the way to the corners of her eyes and the roots of her ears. This time, it seemed even more severe; a noticeable rosiness crept down her slender, pristine white neck. Xia Xiqing kept her face taut, but in reality, she was dying to find a crack in the floor to hide in.

Behaviors like a stomach growling from hunger in public or burping after a meal were strictly forbidden zones taught in her etiquette classes since childhood. Ever since she could remember, she had been exceptionally gifted in this regard and had never made a single mistake. Yet, in front of Zhang Yan, not only had her stomach rumbled from hunger, but this was already the second time she had burped after a meal. This man seemed to have witnessed every single embarrassing moment of her entire life. Fortunately, he was the only one who had seen and heard it.

"Keep it a secret."

Zhang Yan again took a moment to register what she meant before chuckling. "Well, that depends on how much hush money you’re willing to pay."

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