He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

After posting it, I felt like a little animal that had just finished nursing, but who cares, I can't let my persona crumble.

Zero: [Is the baby happy?]

"happy."

Zero: [If the baby is happy, the older brother is happy.]

(Transfer: 100000 yuan)

Zero: [My baby's first day at work, went shopping with friends and bought some things he liked.]

Xia Ruo stared at the transfer, hesitating for half a second.

Then, ding-dong—transfer received.

Oh well, there's no point in refusing anyway, so I might as well just accept it.

She found a perfect reason for herself: this was called strategically collecting money, in order to stabilize the male lead's emotions and prevent him from returning to his country prematurely.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

Xia Ruoxin contentedly put her phone back in her pocket.

"Ruo Ruo—" Lin Wanzhi's voice drifted from the side, soft and gentle, with a hint of "I have a scheme in mind."

"Since we're already out, shall we go shopping?"

Xia Ruo turned her head and met those bright, sparkling eyes that seemed to say, "I want to spend money." Her lips twitched.

"Didn't you say you were going back to your dorm to pack your things?"

"Oh dear, you can pack your things anytime," Lin Wanzhi started tugging at her sleeve.

"I don't start work until the day after tomorrow, I'll get ready tomorrow! We'll just go for a tiny, tiny stroll—"

Xia Ruo was shaken so badly by her that she was like a human roly-poly toy being hugged by a naughty child.

She recalled Zhou Siyan's money transfer earlier—was this guy's mouth blessed? How could he say something that actually came true?

"Okay, okay, stop shaking, stop shaking," Xia Ruo said, pressing down Lin Wanzhi's restless hands. "Go, go, go, go shopping."

"Yay!" Lin Wanzhi immediately let go of her hand, took out her phone and started checking the nearest shopping malls. "Ruoruo, you're the best! I want to buy that dress I saw last time! And those shoes! And—"

"Wait, wasn't that a coat you liked last time?"

"That was the time before last. You've reminded me that we need to buy that too."

Xia Ruo was silent for a moment, then sighed sincerely, "...You'll bankrupt the Lin Group sooner or later."

"It's okay," Lin Wanzhi said with a smile, putting away her phone as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

"If we go bankrupt, you can support me. Anyway, we both earn 100,000 a month now."

Xia Ruo wanted to refute, but found herself unable to—she was indeed earning 100,000 yuan a month.

Although she hadn't seen the 100,000 yuan yet, and it was highly likely that "President Huo" had just made that offer because he was out of his mind.

The two got out of the car on the basement level of the mall. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Lin Wanzhi seemed to have been put on hold, and she entered "shopaholic" mode.

She linked arms with Xia Ruo and scanned the shops one by one, from fast fashion to designer brands, from the cosmetics section to the shoe section, moving swiftly and quickly.

"Ruoruo, do you think this color is nice?"

"nice."

"What about this one?"

"It looks good too."

"Which one looks better, this one or the one from before?"

"They all look good."

Lin Wanzhi puffed out her cheeks, looking disgruntled: "Can't you offer any constructive suggestions?!"

Xia Ruo leaned against the doorframe of the fitting room, holding three pieces of clothing that Lin Wanzhi had already discarded, and lazily yawned:

"My constructive advice is—you look good in anything, so you can buy anything, so it doesn't matter which one you buy, so just pick one and go."

Lin Wanzhi glared at her, but the intensity of that glare was equivalent to that of a cat with its fur standing on end.

She turned and went into the fitting room with the two dresses in her arms, and the curtain was pulled shut with a "whoosh".

Xia Ruo finally gained a moment of peace.

She casually scrolled through the chat history, and from top to bottom, the screen was filled with money transfers and flirtatious remarks.

She herself found those "brother," "baby," and "I love you" phrases cloyingly sweet, but Zhou Siyan just couldn't resist them.

"Ruoruo—" Lin Wanzhi's voice came from the fitting room, "Come in and help me take a look!"

Xia Ruo lifted the curtain and walked in. Lin Wanzhi, wearing a pale yellow dress, stood in front of the mirror, twirled around, and the hem of her dress spread out like an umbrella: "How is it?"

"nice."

"Couldn't you have used a different word?"

"...It's very beautiful."

Lin Wanzhi took a deep breath and decided to give up seeking Xia Ruo's opinion.

Xia Ruo glanced at the price tag—five figures.

She silently calculated in her mind what her monthly salary at the rice group was in her past life, then multiplied that number by two, and came to the conclusion that the dress Lin Wanzhi was wearing was enough for her to work for two months in her past life.

She suddenly realized that the "ill-gotten gains" in her hands weren't so bad after all—at least compared to Lin Wanzhi, she had spent them more restrainedly.

Yes, very restrained. So restrained that I haven't spent a single penny so far.

"Ruo Ruo, why aren't you buying anything?" Lin Wanzhi finally noticed something was wrong and tilted her head to look at her. "You haven't tried on a single thing since we entered the mall."

"I don't really want to buy anything."

This is the truth.

It's not that she didn't want to buy—which girl could remain unmoved when faced with a mall full of beautiful clothes?

She genuinely dared not spend it. The money Zhou Siyan transferred wasn't money to her; it was a ticking time bomb.

The more flowers you put on it, the louder it explodes.

Spend twelve million to feed the fish. And there are still bones left!

Spend 18 million to feed sharks. There aren't even any bones left!

This logic is simple and straightforward, but very clear.

"Then I'll get you one!" Lin Wanzhi's eyes lit up, and she pulled her outside. "Look at that white dress, it suits you perfectly—"

"No, no, no," Xia Ruo quickly refused, "I really don't need any more clothes."

"What about the bag?"

"We don't lack it either."

"shoe?"

"We don't lack anything."

Lin Wanzhi stopped, put her hands on her hips, and squinted at her: "Xia Ruo, are you being polite with me?"

Xia Ruo was stunned for half a second by her "I'm your best friend, why are you being so polite with me?" attitude, and then calmly replied:

"No, I'm having a sincere conversation with you."

Lin Wanzhi stared at her for two seconds, then said, "I know, you think my money is dirty."

"...What?" Xia Ruo thought her ears might be malfunctioning.

"That's how it's portrayed in TV dramas," Lin Wanzhi said seriously, arms crossed, chin slightly raised.

"Two good friends, one is richer than the other. The poorer one is unwilling to spend the richer one's money, feeling that his self-esteem has been hurt."

Do you feel the same way?

Xia Ruo opened her mouth, wanting to say "no," but Lin Wanzhi had already continued speaking on her own:

"Ruo Ruo, let me tell you, what you're doing is wrong."

We're best friends, my money is your money. What's the difference between you spending my money and spending your own?

Xia Ruo was a little confused by her words and was just about to find a more reasonable excuse when her phone suddenly vibrated.