Volume One, Chapter Five: An Unexpected Creditor Appears

Lin Yuxia had no choice but to follow Fei Xun. Once Lin Yuxia left Fengyasong, the wealthy second-generation heirs began to disperse as well. Some went to the sauna, some played cards, and others returned to their rooms for adult entertainment.

Lin Yuxia got into the Bugatti, and amidst the roaring engine, they soon arrived at Shanghai’s most luxurious mall. After getting out of the car, Fei Xun led Lin Yuxia straight to the counter of a certain international luxury brand.

Fei Xun was clearly a regular here; the salesgirls immediately recognized him, addressing him warmly as "President Fei." Without needing a guide, Fei Xun confidently made his way to the VIP lounge.

The VIP lounge was bathed in warm yellow light and equipped with a fitting room, full-length mirrors, a mini bar, a wine cabinet, a refrigerator, and a snack table. Fei Xun helped himself to some foreign liquor from the wine cabinet, poured a glass with ice, and began to shake it.

Lin Yuxia sat on a single armchair, pondering when the last time she had been to a luxury store’s VIP lounge was. It had been six years ago.

She might not have seemed like it, but the number of times the eldest daughter of the Lin family had been to luxury stores could be counted on one hand.

Logically, though the Lin family’s business did not match the multinational scale of the Fei and Shen families, it still ranked among the top three in Shanghai. Lin Yuxia should have been a pampered heiress.

But in reality, ever since her mother passed away sixteen years ago and her father brought a stepmother into their home, Lin Yuxia had never known a day of peace. Her father was entirely absorbed in business, while the family’s finances were controlled by her stepmother, Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan bought luxury goods for herself and her daughter but dressed Lin Yuxia in cheap counterfeit brands. Back then, Lin Yuxia was still a student and focused on her studies. She wore whatever her stepmother gave her.

Once, at a class reunion, a classmate actually recognized that Lin Yuxia’s clothes were fake. She still remembered the disdainful looks from her peers.

Later, when she went abroad, Jiang Lan gave her living expenses monthly. However, despite promising her father a monthly allowance of fifty thousand yuan, Lin Yuxia only received one thousand yuan per month, and even that was often late.

Studying abroad meant rent alone exceeded a thousand yuan—how was she supposed to survive?

Yet, Lin Yuxia managed to get by through part-time jobs and scholarships, and she even did quite well.

As for the VIP treatment she experienced six years ago, it was on her sixteenth birthday when Shen Yan took her shopping for gifts.

It was laughable—every item in Lin Yuxia’s wardrobe priced above five figures was a gift from Shen Yan.

Over more than a decade, she had amassed quite a collection. But after being mocked by classmates for wearing counterfeit goods, she lost interest in luxury items.

There was only one exception: a custom pendant Shen Yan gave her before she went abroad.

The platinum pendant was twisted into the shape of the letter “S,” encrusted with Brazilian diamonds, with the date of Lin Yuxia’s university graduation engraved at the top.

When Shen Yan gave her the necklace, he said, “This ‘S’ is the first letter of my name, and this date is the day you return to China. For the next four years, I can’t be there to take care of you, so let this necklace be my substitute and keep you company.”

To this day, the necklace still hangs around Lin Yuxia’s neck, never once taken off.

The salesgirl’s voice broke Lin Yuxia’s reverie: “President Fei, these are all the latest season’s styles. Please take a look and see if there’s anything you like.”

Looking up, Lin Yuxia saw six salesgirls pushing in three long racks of clothes.

Fei Xun gave a grunt of approval, and the salesgirls, like maids attending a prince in an ancient drama, bowed and quietly filed out.

Lin Yuxia picked up a shirt tag and glanced at the price—fifty-eight thousand yuan.

Fei Xun leisurely remarked, “Little sister, I’m not trying to rip you off. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the label on this shirt I’m wearing—it’s the same brand.”

Lin Yuxia muttered under her breath, “Why call yourself Fei Xun? You should be called Fei Money instead.”

Fei Xun didn’t hear clearly. “What?”

Lin Yuxia quickly corrected herself. “I said, hurry up and choose something. Don’t waste time.”

Fei Xun began selecting clothes seriously.

He pulled out a pair of medical latex gloves from a drawer, put them on, and carefully picked through each piece with two fingers, frowning as he scrutinized them.

Lin Yuxia murmured again, “Not only expensive, but a hassle too.”

She hadn’t eaten much that evening, and her stomach growled loudly. She walked over to the long table against the wall in the VIP lounge, took a few brightly colored macarons, and ate them with a fork.

Fei Xun seemed to have settled on an outfit. He unbuttoned his suit jacket, preparing to take it off, when Lin Yuxia, mouth full of macarons, protested, “Hey! Mind the onlookers, okay?”

Fei Xun raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Oh, sorry. I forgot there’s a minor here.”

Lin Yuxia shot back, “You’re the minor! Your whole family is minors!”

Strictly speaking, if you ignored height and figure, Lin Yuxia indeed had a youthful face that belied her age. But today she was deliberately dressed in a fitted little black dress that accentuated her hot figure. Calling her a minor was slanderous.

“Isn’t there a fitting room?” Lin Yuxia pointed to the small partition nearby.

It wasn’t entirely Fei Xun’s fault—he was used to having the entire VIP lounge to himself. Wherever he went, the store would clear out, and a dozen staff would attend only to him.

“Alright, alright,” Fei Xun acquiesced and carried the clothes inside.

After trying on several sets, he finally chose one and put it on.

It was a plainly unremarkable navy blue, but on Fei Xun, it looked exceptionally noble and sharp.

Broad shoulders, long legs, a slim waist, full hips, and not to mention the flawlessly sculpted face revealed by the open collar with two buttons undone.

The so-called “minor” was momentarily stunned.

Fei Xun took off the latex gloves. “This one, then.”

Lin Yuxia quickly averted her gaze and followed Fei Xun to pay.

The salesgirl smiled brightly. “Hello, President Fei. The total comes to 258,000 yuan.”

Lin Yuxia blinked. “How much?” Was that really the price for a single outfit?

The salesgirl was momentarily stunned but then repeated the amount with a smile.

“Fei Money” glanced at his watch and said lazily, “Hurry up. It’s already ten o’clock. I’m sleepy.”

Lin Yuxia thought to herself, this trip back to China was nothing but misfortune. Why hadn’t she checked the calendar before booking the flight?

She took out a card and handed it to the salesgirl.

The card was swiped, and the salesgirl tried to maintain a polite smile. “Sorry, insufficient balance.”

Lin Yuxia had to pull out another card. Swiped again, still insufficient.

Her face turned green with embarrassment; even the salesgirl felt awkward for her.

Fei Xun lowered his gaze to Lin Yuxia, suspicious. “No way, Miss Lin, not even two hundred fifty-eight thousand?”

Among the crowd at Fengyasong tonight, which one wasn’t begged by banks to open unlimited overdraft black cards?

Lin Yuxia recalled something: before returning to China, she had bought a watch for Shen Yan. The balance on her card had plummeted from three hundred thousand to fifty thousand.

She had planned to gift it tonight, but Fei Xun’s interference had made her forget.

Now, she truly had no money left. Embarrassed, she glanced at Fei Xun and said hesitantly, “Um… about the money… can I owe you for now?”

Fei Xun smiled, “Are you acting with me?”

Lin Yuxia was the daughter of Lin Muheng. She might be naive, but would she be short on money?

Lin Yuxia forced herself to fib, “I forgot my card. Just think of it as lending me the money. I’ll pay you back another day.”

Fei Xun said nothing, only smiled, the expression clearly saying, “You’re joking, right?”

Would Fei Xun bother lending someone 258,000 yuan? He’d rather give it away for free.

Making Lin Yuxia pay today was purely to give the young lady a little trouble—but in the end, he was the one left annoyed.

Seeing Fei Xun unconvinced, Lin Yuxia added, “I’ll write you an IOU. Will that do?”

Fei Xun brightened at the mention of IOU.

He took out his business card, flipped it to the blank back, then grabbed a pen from the cashier and placed it in front of Lin Yuxia.

“Write it.”

Lin Yuxia bowed her head and carefully wrote the IOU, her handwriting elegant and neat.

When she finished, she handed it to Fei Xun, who shook the card with satisfaction, a smile curling on his lips.

He took out his phone and snapped a picture, likely as proof, then slipped the business card into Lin Yuxia’s handbag and said, “It’s yours now.”