Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Fearless Backed by Power
Yao Pei: "Yu Meng, isn’t that your boyfriend?"
Holding Yao Pei’s hand, Zhang Yumeng couldn’t help but exert a little more force, inwardly screaming, "I’ve got eyes! I don’t need your reminder!"
Sensing Zhang Yumeng’s emotional shift, Yao Pei instantly fell silent and stood still with Zhang Yumeng.
Yi Yiyi wasn’t a fool, although she couldn’t hear what Yao Pei and Zhang Yumeng were saying, she could tell the situation just by their expressions, and turned her head, her delicate face showing a teasing smile.
"Oni-Chan, do you know that sister?"
She was referring to Zhang Yumeng.
A girl’s intuition told her that the one with a situation with Gu Bai was that girl whose looks were on par with her own.
Hearing Yi Yiyi’s words, Gu Bai nodded, his face calm as he said, "Yes, just a friend."
He didn’t deliberately lower his voice, and Zhang Yumeng, who was face to face with Gu Bai, could hear clearly.
Upon hearing those words from Gu Bai, Zhang Yumeng’s originally calm and indifferent expression instantly turned paler, and the left hand holding the shopping bag silently clenched into a fist, the fresh nail polish stabbing painfully into her palm.
Actually, Zhang Yumeng had mentally prepared for this kind of situation long ago, but she didn’t expect it to come so quickly.
Yes, that’s right.
Zhang Yumeng was after Gu Bai’s money, but that didn’t mean she was without feelings. As for Gu Bai in front of her, Zhang Yumeng’s heart was a mixed bag of emotions.
The two of them were originally entangled in a relationship of interests; to be precise, they weren’t really together, it was more of a transaction.
Gu Bai was after her body.
She was after Gu Bai’s money.
But as a woman, Zhang Yumeng had already given her most precious asset to him, although in today’s society, it wasn’t considered that precious anymore.
But women are like this, they always have a bond with the man of their first intimate contact, and she was no exception.
The four of them stood at the corner of the mall, staring at each other. The three involved parties were somewhat fine, but for Yao Pei, an outsider caught in such an awkward situation, she neither knew whether to leave or stay.
Finally, it was Gu Bai who spoke first.
"Yiyi, go wait for me in the front, I’ll have a word with my friend."
Although Yi Yiyi wanted to stay, she obediently nodded, picked up her shopping bag, and left the awkward scene.
Seizing the opportunity, Yao Pei hurriedly nodded to Zhang Yumeng as well, then left.
Gu Bai still tried to touch Zhang Yumeng’s face like he usually did, but this time, instead of gently complying as before, she waved her hand to push away Gu Bai’s hand still in mid-air.
"Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"
Gu Bai withdrew his hand in surprise and just looked at her face.
"Explain what?"
"Explain your relationship with that girl."
Shrugging, Gu Bai said indifferently, "Explain what? It’s just the relationship you saw."
Seeing Gu Bai’s indifferent expression and blunt answer, Zhang Yumeng’s heart sank to the bottom.
"Can’t you even lie to me, just this once?"
"Is it necessary?"
"Why isn’t it necessary?"
Gu Bai didn’t want to argue about this, so he took out his phone and directly transferred the maximum WeChat amount of 200,000.
"Alright, I’ve transferred you some money, go buy whatever you like, and let me know if it’s not enough."
As he spoke, he showed Zhang Yumeng another smile.
Gu Bai dared not claim to fully understand a girl’s mind, but he could guess about seventy to eighty percent.
He figured Zhang Yumeng couldn’t accept the scene she had just witnessed, so he treated the 200,000 as compensation for her.
In the past, Zhang Yumeng would probably have jumped for joy at this point, but now, she suddenly felt that the 200,000 was an insult to her.
"Do you think that between us, you can just pay money and that’s it?"
After all this, Gu Bai gradually lost his patience.
"Then what do you think I should pay?"
By now, Gu Bai already had a good grasp of Zhang Yumeng’s mental state, she simply felt unimportant to him.
Looking at Gu Bai’s cold face, Zhang Yumeng remained silent.
"You need to understand the nature of our relationship; I made it clear before, I pay the money, you provide companionship. I can give you the life you want, but the premise is that I won’t invest any emotions.
You’re a smart woman, I can see your current attitude as a moment of imbalance, and I won’t hold it against you, but I hope it won’t happen again."
Everyone is the protagonist in their own hearts, Zhang Yumeng’s reaction was also understandable to Gu Bai. After all, given her qualities, she wasn’t short of admirers, and suddenly being treated like this by Gu Bai couldn’t help but upset her.
If Gu Bai had taken a little time and effort to placate her, she might have smoothed over this bump in her heart on her own, after all, she wasn’t stupid; their relationship wasn’t pure, one sought money, the other sought charm, why mix in emotions?
But what kind of person was Gu Bai?
A true egotist.
To put it plainly, he was the type of person who wouldn’t care about the world as long as he was happy.
Would he humble himself for someone like Zhang Yumeng, then coax her?
If it was in a past life, it might have happened, but now, it was impossible.
A single word can describe Gu Bai’s current state.
Confident and unfazed!
Now it’s Zhang Yumeng who wants to gain everything she desires from him, not Gu Bai scrambling to plead with her.
Without Zhang Yumeng, there will still be Zhao Yumeng, Qian Yumeng, Sun Yumeng in the future.
With Gu Bai’s current wealth, would he care about Zhang Yumeng’s stay or departure?
Looking at Zhang Yumeng, who still stood there silently, eyes full of sorrow, Gu Bai put his phone back in his pocket and spoke coldly.
"Keep the 200,000, and then go back and think it over. If you plan to cut ties with me, consider it a breakup fee. If you figure it out, call me again."
After speaking, Gu Bai didn’t linger his gaze on her for even a second and walked past her directly.
He believed Zhang Yumeng would make the right choice.
After all, between a single 200,000 and countless 200,000s in the future, even a fool would know how to choose.
Watching Gu Bai leave without any reluctance, Zhang Yumeng’s first reaction was grievance, couldn’t he at least humor her a little? Her best friend was right there beside her, couldn’t he give her an easy way out?
Then came the regret.
In the ten days since she agreed to be with Gu Bai, she experienced a life she had never dared to imagine before.
Riding in luxury cars, staying in presidential suites, eating the finest food, buying luxury items she always wanted but couldn’t afford, all just from acting coy in front of Gu Bai without even needing to work hard for it.
Compared to before, working part-time at the 4S dealership, being constantly annoyed by customers and still not being able to afford the bag she wanted, the difference in her current life was like heaven and earth, and it was Gu Bai who brought all this to her.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yumeng actually had already made a choice.
When Gu Bai returned to Yi Yiyi, his face was still expressionless.
The good mood Yi Yiyi brought to Gu Bai before this incident had completely disappeared.
Suddenly.
Gu Bai’s phone rang.
Seeing a transaction confirmation and the words "Sorry" from Zhang Yumeng on the chat interface, Gu Bai smiled again.
It wasn’t because he was happy that Zhang Yumeng figured it out.
Rather, he was glad about the feeling of having everything under his control.
At this moment, Gu Bai realized the benefits of having money.
Not only can it bring personal joy, but it can also manipulate others’ emotions. It can make someone who utterly despises you bow down to you, and it can instantly reverse right and wrong, making wrong right and right wrong.
No wonder people often say, you can’t even imagine the happiness of the wealthy.
"Alright, let’s continue shopping."
Yi Yiyi, although curious about why Gu Bai’s emotions were changing like a Sichuan opera face, cloudy one moment and sunny the next, didn’t ask. Only foolish women voice their questions, while smart women wait for others to reveal the answers first,
In the Versace flagship store.
Gu Bai changed into a new outfit.
The upper body wore an eye-catching bright yellow trench coat, with simple yet tension-filled lines.
The lower body was a pair of slightly slim-fit pure black jeans.
In the large floor mirror, Gu Bai looked at himself, nodding somewhat satisfied.
One must admit, though these top brands frequently come up with some bizarre designs, there are quite a few stunning pieces, largely depending on who wears them.
For instance, clothes endorsed by stars seem tailor-made for them but lose that effect when others buy them. Is the clothing different? No, it’s the person.
The salesman standing by couldn’t help but admire, "Sir, these two pieces look as if they were designed just for you. They fit you perfectly."
As a salesperson, they should have a vast vocabulary of compliments, but now seeing Gu Bai, the salesman forgot all the lavish praises and could only say these two lines.
Just like they say, lies are flowery while the truth is often simple.
Gu Bai didn’t mind and directly handed the card to the salesperson.
"Just pay for it."
The salesperson quickly went to swipe the card, and Yi Yiyi standing beside Gu Bai had her eyes twinkling with little stars.
"Oni-Chan! You look absolutely handsome!"
"Rascal Oni-Chan!"
Actually, it was just a change of clothes, the overall change wasn’t much. Perhaps because Versace’s clothes appear more mature, Gu Bai’s aura became more prominent.
Aura is something that if you believe it exists, it does, and if you don’t, it doesn’t.
But Gu Bai still believes there’s a vast difference in aura between people.
For example, between his previous self and his current self, the looks are entirely the same,
But the aura is completely different.
Though he was handsome in the past life, he was grounded, too much so, in simpler terms, exuding a strong rustic vibe.
But in this life, over more than a month of high-end consumption, social interactions, and luxurious enjoyment, he gradually shed that rustic air and gained an inexplicable aura.
If one were to describe it in a word.
It would be nobility.
The kind of nobility only possessed by ancient royal offspring, though probably because it’s been a short time, it’s not very apparent.