Under the bright, yet dazzling, lights of the luxury store, Li Xiaojia felt as if she were standing under a giant spotlight, every gaze like a powerful stage light, piercing right through her.
Her eyes flickered, sometimes glancing at Lin Yang’s indifferent face, other times at Hu Qian’s look of disdain.
Each time their eyes met, it felt like a needle prick, and she quickly averted her gaze.
Her lips trembled slightly, wanting to say something to salvage the awkward situation, but her throat felt blocked, too dry to utter a sound.
She tried to force a smile, but as soon as the corners of her mouth turned up, they froze due to her inner shame, eventually twisting into an expression uglier than a cry.
“Let’s go!”
She gritted her teeth, squeezing out these words, her voice hoarse from anger and shame, with a barely perceptible choke.
As she turned, her steps faltered, and she nearly stumbled, like a drunken person, her body beyond her control.
She dared not look at the eyes of those around her, which felt like countless sharp needles pricking her back.
She just wanted to escape this humiliating place as quickly as possible, like an injured beast, only wanting to find a dark corner to lick her wounds.
Outside the mall, dusk was falling, and heavy clouds hung like a vast lead plate, pressing down on the city, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Li Xiaojia and her best friend stood by the roadside, bored, waiting for a car.
Li Xiaojia checked her phone from time to time, frowning slightly, muttering:
“Why isn’t this car here yet? It’s so annoying.”
Her best friend kept stomping her feet, her eyes darting around, filled with irritation and anxiety.
Suddenly, a massive SUV, like an out-of-control beast, sped from afar, moving too fast for anyone to react.
The wheels ran over a puddle on the road, making a loud “whoosh,” and the water was suddenly lifted as if by an invisible hand, forming a high wall of water that surged towards the pedestrians on the roadside.
Li Xiaojia and her best friend had no time to react before they were hit by this sudden “water bomb.”
They first froze, their eyes wide, their faces filled with shock and disbelief, as if time had stopped at that moment.
Immediately after, Li Xiaojia let out a sharp shriek:
“Ah!”
She instinctively jumped, her hands flailing wildly in the air, trying to ward off the icy cold muddy water.
Her best friend was not to be outdone, stomping her feet and cursing:
“What kind of terrible driver is this! Can’t he drive?!”
Looking at them now, they were in a sorry state.
Li Xiaojia’s hair was soaked with mud, strands clinging wetly to her face, a few even stuck to the corners of her mouth, making her look particularly disheveled.
Her once delicate makeup was already a mess, mascara smudged, forming two black circles around her eyes, making her look like a beaten panda.
Her clothes were covered in mud spatters of various sizes, as if someone had shot countless mud pellets at her with a slingshot; especially on her chest and the hem of her skirt, the muddy water had pooled, forming a large dark stain, and her clothes clung tightly to her body, outlining her somewhat awkward figure.
Her best friend looked no better, completely soaked in mud.
Li Xiaojia’s heart was filled with anger; she clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, constantly cursing the driver in her mind:
“How could he do this! So ill-mannered! Just because he has money, he thinks he’s above everyone else and doesn’t have to care about others?!”
She felt utterly unlucky today; first, she was humiliated by Lin Yang and Hu Qian in the luxury store, and now she was splashed with mud by this hateful driver.
All her grievances and indignation surged at this moment, and her eyes involuntarily reddened.
Her best friend was equally furious; her chest heaved violently, and she gasped for breath, her heart filled with condemnation for the driver:
“This person clearly did it on purpose, it’s so infuriating! Why are we so unlucky today? We definitely didn’t check the almanac before leaving.”
At the same time, she also felt a deep sense of helplessness; the car had already driven far away, and they couldn’t possibly catch up, so they could only fret and sulk there.
This feeling of powerlessness made her even more irritable.
Meanwhile, inside that SUV, Lin Yang was casually holding the steering wheel, a faint smile on his lips, occasionally turning his head to chat with Hu Qian, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
His gaze was focused and gentle, and occasionally, when he stopped at a red light, he would gently adjust the air conditioning temperature, thoughtfully asking Hu Qian if she was comfortable.
Hu Qian leaned back in her seat, a joyful smile on her face; her eyes were bright and spirited, and when she spoke, she would unconsciously gesticulate, appearing very lively.
She was doubled over with laughter at a little joke Lin Yang told, her laughter clear and melodious, echoing in the confined space of the car.
The car moved slowly forward when Lin Yang suddenly frowned slightly, slowing down, and asked doubtfully:
“Hu Qian, did you hear anything strange?
I think I heard someone cursing me?”
His gaze swept through the car window, scanning the surrounding streets, trying to find the source of the sound.
Hu Qian also pricked up her ears, listened carefully, then shook her head, smiling, and said:
“No, I just heard a dog barking by the roadside just now; maybe you misheard.”
Lin Yang nodded slightly; although he still had some doubts, he didn't delve deeper.
He pressed the accelerator again, and the car continued to drive steadily forward.
They had no idea that just a few minutes earlier, as their car passed a puddle, a small “accident” had occurred, leaving Li Xiaojia and her best friend in a state of disarray.
At this moment, they were engrossed in their conversation, enjoying the relaxed and pleasant time, heading towards their destination, completely oblivious to the commotion outside the car.
Lin Yang first dropped Hu Qian off at her company, then drove back to the nail building.
After turning off the engine, he didn't immediately get out of the car.
He leaned back in his seat, his gaze through the car window fixed on the slightly dim night sky, his thoughts surging like a tide.
The demolition date for Jinling Community was drawing near, which meant he would soon be moving out of the place he had lived for over two years.
By then, he would receive tens of millions in demolition compensation.
This was thanks to the intelligence pushed by the system, which allowed him to know in advance that this community would be demolished, enabling him to plan ahead and purchase 10 houses.
He secretly calculated in his mind that he must make time tomorrow to look at houses.
Xing City was so big, there must be a place where he could settle down peacefully.
With his current assets exceeding 100 million, he was fully capable of purchasing property in any preferred community in Xing City and creating a warm and comfortable home for himself.
…
The next day, Sunday.
Lin Yang woke up early.
He planned to visit a few communities he was interested in to see if there were suitable houses, and if so, he could pay a deposit first.
Just then, the system prompt sounded in his mind.
“Ding, weekly intelligence has been pushed, please check.”
The last time the system upgraded from daily intelligence to weekly intelligence, the first time he received weekly intelligence was last Sunday.
A week later, the intelligence was pushed on time.
Lin Yang opened the panel, received this week's intelligence, and began to check the intelligence information.