Chapter 102

Chapter 102

With a beautiful drifting maneuver, the car pulled up at the entrance of Xiangcheng Plaza.

Everyone lurched forward from inertia. “Ah!”

Fu Zhi’s face even kissed the window, his features twisting wildly against the glass.

The driver said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it all under control. I used to race cars, after all.”

Ning Xi: Thanks. Now I’m even less reassured.

Everyone got out of the car with their hearts in their throats.

Then they entered the Xiangcheng Plaza building.

The building had floors from B1 to the seventh floor. B1 had a large supermarket, along with plenty of food shops. Floors one through seven were filled with clothing, department stores, and restaurant brands.

“Why don’t we do our tasks first? That way, the money we earn from completing them can be used to buy supplies and food.”

As she spoke, Ning Xi looked at her own task card:

Buy gifts in seven different colors for all the guests. The total price must not exceed one hundred yuan. (Note: Purchases can only be made at shops inside the mall, and all seven gifts must come from different shops.)

[Things in malls are usually more expensive than outside. I once bought a hair tie from a little accessories shop in a mall and it cost 18 yuan. Buying seven gifts with 100 yuan feels impossible.]

[And they have to be seven colors from seven different shops. Just thinking about it hurts my brain.]

The netizens thought it sounded pretty difficult.

But that was no problem at all for Ning Xi.

First, she rushed into a chain accessories store and spent 15 yuan on a purple hair clip for Qin Se.

Then she went to another home goods store and spent 9.9 yuan on a blue phone case for Ning Mingyue.

As for Jiang Sheshe’s gift…

[Looks like there aren’t any more cheap stores like that.]

[? Why did Ning Xi go into a press-on nail store? A set of press-on nails is really expensive!]

[Xi-Cong-Jiang is real. She only has a 100-yuan budget, but she’s willing to buy her the most expensive press-on nails.]

The CP fans finally got their sugar and immediately ran to the livestream Danmaku section and every major social media platform to spread the word.

But after seeing what Ning Xi bought, they all fell silent.

Meanwhile,

Jiang Sheshe and Fu Zhi were doing their tasks in the supermarket on B1.

Their tasks were similar in spirit.

One of them had to buy and check out with a single grain of rice. The other had to ask a stranger how to pronounce the “le” in Pepsi Cola.

Fu Zhi was tall-185 centimeters barefoot-and with his outstanding looks, when he wasn’t talking, he truly had a kind of unruly, handsome charm.

He stood out from the crowd and easily drew people’s attention.

“He’s so handsome. Is he a celebrity?”

“He probably is, right? Didn’t you see someone beside him holding a camera?”

“But if a celebrity is that handsome, how could he not be famous in the entertainment industry? Maybe he’s a good-looking influencer filming videos?”

“I don’t know. Let’s go ask for a photo first.”

“…”

In front of the shelves,

Fu Zhi gripped the bottle of cola in his hand, his legs feeling as if they had been filled with lead. He simply couldn’t lift them and walk forward.

What kind of idiot didn’t know the character for “le”????

“Hello, are you a celebrity? Can we take a photo with you?”

Just then, two student girls who looked to be in their teens greeted Fu Zhi.

Fu Zhi looked at the two kids with a heavy gaze.

Aaaaaah, who would’ve thought he was even more handsome from the front than from the side!

And even this close, there wasn’t a single flaw on his face!!!

The two best friends screamed wildly inside.

Until-

“You can take a photo, but can you tell me how to pronounce this character?”

Fu Zhi pointed at the “le” character on the Pepsi Cola bottle and asked.

“…”

“You two don’t know it either?” Fu Zhi frowned.

The two girls looked at each other, their pupils practically quaking.

In the end, the girl who had taken the initiative to ask for a photo said, her face full of shattered illusions, “It’s pronounced… pronounced ‘le.’ The le in cola. And this character also has another pronunciation, ‘yue,’ as in music.”

Fu Zhi said, “Oh. Did you two bring your phones? We can take the photo now.”

“No, no, that’s okay.”

The two girls waved their hands frantically, then quickly turned and left.

As they walked away, they muttered softly to each other.
“He’s actually illiterate? He can’t even read the two characters for cola!”

“Sigh. No matter how handsome a face is, the moment you find out he can’t read, all the charm is gone.”

Fu Zhi: “…”

You guys could, honestly, really, walk a little farther away before saying that.

Fu Zhi raised a hand as if helpless, but in reality, he was using his whole hand to block his face.

Until, through the gaps between his fingers, he saw Ning Xi standing off to the side, chatting with an auntie.

Fu Zhi: ?

The auntie had witnessed the entire process of Fu Zhi asking someone how to pronounce “cola.” At this moment, she was frowning in utter confusion as she complained to Ning Xi, her newly made gossip buddy.

“That boy doesn’t look stupid, but he can’t even read such simple words.”

Ning Xi chimed in, “Exactly! I wonder if he has any friends. If he does, she must be a very kind little girl. After all, she’s still willing to hang out with someone that intellectually challenged.”

Fu Zhi, who just happened to hear those two lines: “…”

When the auntie saw Fu Zhi storming over with a murderous expression, she immediately tried to pull Ning Xi away.

“Ning Xi! How come when you see your friend, you don’t even say hello?!” Fu Zhi said.

The auntie looked at Fu Zhi, who had spoken, then at Ning Xi, whom he had called out to.

Slowly, very slowly, she let go of Ning Xi’s hand.

Then she power-walked away at lightning speed.

Ning Xi: “…”

Hahaha. Who would’ve thought their indestructible gossip friendship was actually this fragile?

“Hmph!”

Fu Zhi let out an indignant snort.

Ning Xi handed Fu Zhi the pitch-dark drink called “Pitch Black.” “All right, here. A gift for you.”

The new shop was having an opening special. Only 9.9 yuan a cup.

Because of one cup of Pitch Black, Fu Zhi swiftly made up with Ning Xi in his heart.

“Where’s Jiang Sheshe?”

After taking a big gulp of Pitch Black, Fu Zhi’s lips turned black as if he’d been poisoned. He pointed toward Jiang Sheshe in the grain and oil section.

“Over there, weighing rice.”

Between telling Fu Zhi his lips had turned black and not telling Fu Zhi his lips had turned black, Ning Xi chose not to tell Fu Zhi his lips had turned black.

Then she went to find Jiang Sheshe.

As a delicate little Stinky Baby who loved a sense of ceremony, Jiang Sheshe could have simply pinched up a single grain of rice with her fingers, but no-she insisted on scooping it into a bag with a rice scoop.

Once she had mentally prepared herself, she lifted her chin and marched over to find a staff member to weigh it.

The staff member stared at the empty bag, confused. “There’s nothing in here.”

Jiang Sheshe said with a serious face, “There is. One grain of rice.”

The staff member’s expression was like a cartoon character whose jaw had dropped to the floor.

[Scale attendant: Honestly, you could’ve just put that grain of rice in your pocket and I would’ve pretended not to see it]

[Why is Jiang Sheshe the one doing the task, but I’m the one feeling embarrassed?]

[Even if I were dying tomorrow, I still wouldn’t dare do this]

[On the surface, it looks like Jiang Sheshe’s mission. In reality, it’s punishment for the scale attendant and the viewers]

In the end, relying on excellent mental fortitude, the staff member weighed Jiang Sheshe’s single grain of rice.

Total: 0.01 yuan.

Not even worth as much as the free plastic bag.

But at least she had completed the mission and received 150 yuan in shopping funds.

“Here.”

When Jiang Sheshe saw Ning Xi, she lifted her chin and handed the money over.

Ning Xi, in turn, handed over the gift she had bought for Jiang Sheshe.

“These are the press-on nails I got you.”

The corners of Jiang Sheshe’s mouth couldn’t help curving upward. “I didn’t expect you to know I liked-”

The rest of her sentence lodged completely in her throat the moment she opened the box and saw the press-on nails.

On the fluorescent orange ring-finger nail, there was a huge orange jelly stuck to it.

And on the thumbnail, three large words had been written in black nail polish: Xizhilang.

Jiang Sheshe: ?

Ning Xi praised them. “Stinky Baby, aren’t these press-on nails super cute? And if you’re in a bad mood, you can look at them. If you’re hungry, you can even eat them.”

Jiang Sheshe: “…”

[Good lord, Xizhilang jelly on ugly-as-sin nails]

[Who would dare wear those?]

[Shop owner: My carefully designed ugly nails have finally met someone who understands them today. So moved]

[No lie, I actually kind of want to eat that jelly…]