"Impressive, no wonder you're such a talent, senior." Luo Chao gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Leave it to me. I'll beat that annoying guy up, send him packing, and keep him from bothering you again."

"No way!" Qin Feifei stopped him, "It'd be best if he'd just give up, but don't hurt him. He's not bad, just bothersome. Besides, our families have been friends for years."

"No problem. I'll strike at his pride from another angle so he'll be too embarrassed to face you again, senior. I'll handle it beautifully."

Qin Feifei finally cracked a smile, the earlier displeasure was wiped away.

"Alright, I'll be looking forward to your performance."

"I say... do you both really need to make this a big deal?" Luo Chao slumped in a chair in the mall like a dead dog, refusing to get up, arms laden with shopping bags.

Given his stamina, he wasn't exhausted, just annoyed. He just wanted to buy a jacket, and any decent-looking one would do.

But the two women refused, claiming the choices were unsuitable or didn't match his physique. In short, they insisted on trying every item in the store. Sometimes they'd try everything and not find anything satisfactory, then move on to the next store to repeat the process.

Any man who's ever been shopping with a girlfriend would understand this feeling.

"Get up quickly, there's no time. We still need to pick out a tie to complete the look." Tang Yan yanked at him, trying to pull him up. "Going dressed like this would embarrass your cousin!"

People just don't appreciate quality—don't be fooled by my plain clothes with no brand. These are specially supplied by the military; the fabric is top-notch. The style isn't flashy because it's meant to be low-key.

Sighing, he stood up, sorting out all the shopping bags. He counted them—over forty. Luo Chao felt like crying; is this selecting clothes for me? All I have is a suit, a pair of shoes, a belt, and two shirts.

The rest of the stuff had nothing to do with him. It's all for the two women. He felt like he was applying for a porter job, mainly responsible for carrying their bags. The few things bought for him were incidental.

"Well~~ let's do this. It's not a good look carrying all this stuff around. I'll drop it off at the car and wait outside for you two." He gathered all the items and took out a shining gold card from his pocket. "It's loaded with cash; buy whatever you like, swipe without holding back."

He shoved the card into Tang Yan's hand, dashed off swiftly. As long as he was spared this torment, he wouldn't mind handing over his entire wife's savings.

Watching Luo Chao retreating in a flurry, Qin Feifei said angrily, "What's the rush, we haven't finished shopping... we don't need his card, acting like I don't have money to buy clothes."

"Okay~~ cousin, all men are like that. We'll shop as we wish, time will soon be up." Tang Yan giggled and defended her boyfriend, linked arms with her cousin, and moved forward.

"Hmph. Always speaking up for him... fine... hand it over." Qin Feifei, unable to argue with her cousin, spread out her fair hand.

"What!?"

"The card. Today, I'll max out his card." Qin Feifei pouted, looking quite enticing.

Tang Yan giggled, "Alright, here you go. Cousin, swipe as you please!"

...

The small conference hall was quite cozy, decked out with lanterns and banners. A large banner hung overhead, wishing Miss Qin Feifei a happy birthday.

The walls and open spaces were adorned with balloons and colorful paper decorations. The lighting was set to a rainbow hue, adding romance to the scene.

This birthday party for Qin Feifei was specially planned by a company since she wasn't celebrating at her hometown, with no family or friends present, keeping it simple. She only invited a few close classmates and friends to help celebrate.

Luo Chao had arrived early, sitting in a corner nibbling on snacks laid out on the table. His eyes darted over the guests, inwardly sighing that the campus queen's friends were all beauties, though most had guys clinging to them.

Watching Tang Yan and Qin Feifei bustling around greeting guests, he had no intention to help. Normally, he didn't know anyone there, and there was no need to mingle, lest Tang Yan misunderstood him.

He was invited to protect his cousin, not because Tang Yan was so generous as to let Luo Chao casually mingle with unfamiliar pretty girls. He understood this well. So, he sat there quietly, waiting for the obnoxious guy to show up so he could complete his task quickly.

Sipping red wine intently, he watched the host on stage as they smoothly organized the activities. He felt puzzled, the party was nearly halfway through, and the guy hadn't appeared—was he being stood up?

Just then, there was commotion at the door, followed by five sharply dressed young men walking in, one after another.

"Sorry, we took some time to prepare gifts, so we're a bit late. Feifei, hope you don't mind!" said a handsome, lean man with a distinct air, holding a bouquet of roses, and smiled at Qin Feifei.

The quantity of flowers seemed to be exactly ninety-nine roses, Luo Chao noted, evidently no good intentions here!

Cai Yuwen's eyes burned as Qin Feifei, in a black evening dress, elegantly walked towards him.

"You look stunning tonight!" He handed the flowers to Qin Feifei.

Qin Feifei didn't refuse, though she only took them symbolically and placed them aside on a table. Cai Yuwen didn't mind; he was used to her indifferent demeanor—as he'd never thought of giving up.

Firstly, because it was a task given by his family, and secondly, he genuinely liked Qin Feifei, sincerely wanting to marry her. He believed, 'A persistent man can win a woman's heart,' and someday, Qin Feifei would accept him.

"Come, Feifei. I'd like to introduce some friends from Liuhai, outstanding young men." Cai Yuwen turned to reveal the four companions behind him.

"This is Li Qiang, hehe~~ his family's business is huge, your school is partly owned by them. This is Xu Hua, the health commissioner's son, also your schoolmate. This is Hu Pei, young master of the construction group. Lastly, we have an exceptional guest from Yanjing, whom we just met today and got along famously." He introduced them one by one.

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