Super Rich by Doing as You Please

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: A Somewhat Guilty Li Jinshu

Li Jinshu left the hotel, still in her high heels. The discomfort from her first time made her walk a little unsteadily.

She went to a nearby pharmacy, bought a box of morning-after pills and a bottle of water, then quickly swallowed one.

There are a million paths in life, but safety is always rule number one!

Only then did she go to the roadside, hail a taxi, and rush back to Jinyuan.

She stood at the front door.

Li Jinshu took a deep breath and checked her reflection on her phone screen. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she opened the door and went inside.

As soon as she entered, she saw Su Mu in sexy pajamas, lounging on the living room sofa and watching TV.

On the coffee table sat a small but exquisite cake.

It was decorated with all sorts of diced fruits she liked—mango, strawberry, red grapes, cantaloupe, and more.

Hearing the noise, Su Mu turned her head. Seeing Li Jinshu was back, she smiled and asked, ”Why are you just getting back now? I tried calling you, but it wouldn’t go through. I was worried something had happened.”

”Ah, my phone died.”

Feeling a little guilty, Li Jinshu walked over to Su Mu’s side and said with a smile, ”Wow, is this cake for me? It’s beautiful.”

”It’s your birthday today. You didn’t forget, did you?”

Su Mu smiled. ”There are still a few minutes until midnight. Quick, make a wish.”

”Okay.”

Su Mu helped her put the candles in, lit them, and then turned off the lights.

Li Jinshu closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and silently made a wish.

Then she opened her eyes and blew out the candles in one breath.

Su Mu turned the lights back on and said, ”Happy birthday, Jinshu!”

”Thanks, Susu.”

Li Jinshu smiled and asked, ”Do you want some cake? I’ll cut it.”

”You have it. I don’t want any.”

”Alright, then I’ll have some myself.”

Li Jinshu cut a slice for herself and, sitting next to Su Mu, began to eat it in large bites.

After all the exertion at the hotel, she was already quite hungry.

”You didn’t have dinner?”

Su Mu asked curiously, ”You look starving.”

”Yeah.”

Li Jinshu looked down and lied, ”Work was busy today, so I had to work overtime until just now. Then I went for some barbecue with my colleagues, but I didn’t get to eat much.”

”You drank, too?”

Su Mu sniffed the air. ”I can smell alcohol on you.”

”Uh, just a little.”

Anxious to change the subject, Li Jinshu spotted a shopping bag nearby and asked, ”Did you go shopping after work today?”

”Yeah.”

Now it was Su Mu’s turn to feel a little guilty. ”I felt like I had nothing to wear, so I just went to the mall and bought something.”

The truth was, she had also forgotten it was Li Jinshu’s birthday at first.

After following Xu Yun to the mall, she had pretended to go clothes shopping to get a look at that woman, Ning Qian, which had left her feeling rather unhappy.

So, she went by herself to the restaurant she had taken Xu Yun to last time, had a meal, and sat alone for a while.

It was only on the way back that she remembered today was Li Jinshu’s birthday.

She then bought a cake, planning to come home and celebrate with her, but no one was there.

She tried calling, but the call wouldn’t connect.

”Next time you go shopping for clothes, remember to ask me to come along.”

Li Jinshu said, ”Summer’s here, and I feel like I have nothing to wear either. I want to add a few things to my wardrobe.”

”Okay, let’s find some time to go browse together soon.”

After finishing her cake, Li Jinshu stood up and said, ”Susu, I’m a bit tired today, so I’m going to head to bed. I’ll clean this up tomorrow morning.”

”Don’t worry about it. You go rest, I’ll take care of it.”

After saying that, Su Mu asked, ”By the way, you’re not going to shower today?”

”Nah, I’m too tired. I just want to sleep.” With that, she faked a lazy stretch and a yawn before heading toward her bedroom.

’Shower again?’

’I already spent an hour in the shower with a certain someone at the hotel.’

’If I shower again, my skin’s going to fall off.’

From behind, the observant Su Mu noticed something unusual about Li Jinshu’s walk and asked with concern, ”Jinshu, what’s wrong with your leg? Are you hurt?”

”It’s nothing.”

Without turning back, Li Jinshu said, ”I was in a hurry walking back today, stepped on a watermelon peel, and accidentally did the splits on the spot.”

”HAHAHA...”

Hearing this, Su Mu couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ”Are you okay?” she asked. ”How are your hips?”

”I’m fine, just a slight muscle strain. I’m sure it’ll be fine after a night’s sleep.”

After saying that, Li Jinshu quickly escaped into her bedroom.

’That was close. I was almost found out.’

Lying alone on her bed, she couldn’t help but recall the scenes that had unfolded between her and Xu Yun tonight.

At the bar, in the hotel.

Her face flushed red.

’To think that what I’ve saved for so long was given to Xu Yun on my birthday, all because of a moment of impulse.’

”Susu, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie to you.”

Feeling a pang of guilt, she murmured, ”But I really couldn’t hold back. In my entire life, no one has ever treated me so well.”

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Li Jinshu remembered she was supposed to send him a message to let him know she got home safe.

She picked up her phone, took a photo of herself on the bed, and sent it to him.

[Xu Yun, I’m home. Good night!]

[1 Image]

But she held her phone and waited for a few minutes, yet Xu Yun didn’t reply.

’Did he fall asleep that quickly?’

In the living room outside, Su Mu had no suspicions about Li Jinshu’s strange behavior.

She just thought she must have had a tiring day at work.

’Otherwise, why would a night owl like her go to bed so early, and without even showering?’

She had always felt a mix of admiration and sympathy for her best friend, Li Jinshu.

Ever since college, she had known that Li Jinshu’s family wasn’t well-off.

Or rather, her family didn’t treat her very well, prioritizing their son over their daughter.

Except for her freshman year, she had paid for her living expenses and tuition for the rest of college through her own hard work at part-time jobs, supplemented by some scholarships.

After graduation, she was lucky enough to find a decent company and successfully stayed in Jiangcheng.

She had been at that job for five or six years.

But despite working so hard, for some reason, she still hadn’t managed to save much money.

This was also why she didn’t dare to casually date.

It was also the reason she wanted to find a very wealthy boyfriend.

Su Mu understood this completely.

And besides, if you ignored her family background, her own abilities and charm alone made her worthy of an excellent man!

That’s why she never thought of her best friend as a gold digger or looked down on Li Jinshu.

Because Li Jinshu just wanted to change her fate and not have to live such a hard life.

She had also thought about helping her out a little, but her offers were always rejected.

Because Li Jinshu said that once money gets involved between best friends, the dynamic changes.

From then on, she never brought it up again.

Actually, if she were to think of someone suitable for Li Jinshu, Xu Yun was undoubtedly the best candidate right now.

She had even considered playing matchmaker.

But ever since the incident at Xu Yun’s house and the one at the office, she had given up on the idea.

What’s more, just today she had discovered Xu Yun being flirty with a saleswoman.

After observing the woman, although she felt Xu Yun was probably just playing around for the novelty of it...

...she knew that Li Jinshu’s values about love might not allow her to accept it.

She, on the other hand, having been through a divorce, felt it didn’t matter and was very open-minded about such things.

In Xu Yun’s words, all that mattered was being happy in the moment.

If a couple wasn’t happy together, they should just separate.

In this world, anyone can live without anyone else.

The thought left Su Mu a little exasperated.

’That Xu Yun... since he can’t have me, he just goes and gets a cheap meal on the side. Isn’t he afraid of getting food poisoning!’

But then she had another thought.

’Men are men. Who doesn’t have needs?’

’And it’s not like I’m giving him any.’

’I can’t really expect him to stay home and take care of it himself all day, can I?’

As she thought about it, Su Mu couldn’t help but chuckle.

She turned her head and looked at the clothes she had just bought today.

’Hmph, I’ll wear this to the office tomorrow and see how he reacts.’

「 ... 」

Back in the hotel, just as Xu Yun was about to fall asleep after Li Jinshu left, he got a call from his mom, Zhang Sujuan.

Xu Yun thought it was something important, but she just went on and on about how wonderful some girl living across the hall from her was.

This was clearly a ploy to drag him on a blind date when he next went back to celebrate her birthday.

Xu Yun was speechless.

’Me, go on a blind date? Now?’

’If I wanted to, I could bring home a whole truckload of potential daughters-in-law for her in minutes—enough to fill a mahjong table.’

So he just held the phone to his ear, letting her words go in one ear and out the other, not really listening at all.

Soon, he drifted off to sleep to the hypnotic sound of his mother’s voice.

In the Gucci employee dorms, Ning Qian wasn’t asleep either.

She lay in bed, holding the small gold bar Xu Yun had given her that day, turning it over and over in her hands.

grams. It didn’t sound like much, but at the market price of over 500 yuan per gram of gold, it was worth more than 15,000 yuan.

The purse from before, and now this small gold bar... the two gifts together were worth nearly 40,000 yuan.

She had to admit, Xu Yun, that rich young master, was truly generous.

’I’ve definitely hitched my wagon to the right person!’

Elsewhere, Jiang Peiyao was leaving a bar with her friends.

She was also a little drunk.

After all, how many people go to a bar if not because they’re feeling down and looking for a way to let loose and relax?

Sitting alone in the car on the way home, Jiang Peiyao stared silently out the window, not wanting to go back to her own house at all.

The image of Xu Yun spending money extravagantly at the bar tonight, along with her friend’s casual comments, replayed uncontrollably in her mind.

’Maybe I should ask him out for a meal the next time we meet for work?’

’Yes, just a meal. I don’t have any other intentions.’

’He bought so much gold from me all at once last time. As the store manager, it’s only right that I thank him.’

「 ... 」

PS: Are you all just reading without saying anything? If you’re here, let me hear an ”Ah~”. I want to see whose sounds the nicest.