This Bad Luck is Awesome!

Chen Mo tried the watch on his left wrist. He moved his wrist around, looking at the watch from various angles, and found that it actually looked quite good on him.

After all, with its sapphire bezel and 18K gold trim, the sense of luxury was undeniable.

"Do you like it? I noticed last time that you weren’t wearing a watch. I made a good bit of money recently thanks to Hua Zi, so I bought one of their products for you."

Xia Shiqing saw the look of delight in Chen Mo’s eyes, and a faint smile appeared on her stunningly beautiful face.

"I love it. Thank you for the gift."

Chen Mo nodded and thanked Xia Shiqing very sincerely.

To him, the gift was already very expensive.

But the thought behind it was even more precious.

The fact that she had been observant enough to notice he didn’t wear a watch during their last meal, and now gave him a 24,000 yuan watch, was much better than simply giving him an even more expensive gift.

"I’m glad you like it."

Seeing that Chen Mo genuinely liked it, Xia Shiqing also nodded in satisfaction.

After all, it’s a pretty good feeling when a gift you’ve given is truly appreciated by the recipient.

Soon, the waiter brought over the dishes they had ordered.

The broth was also heated up, so the waiter helped them put the ingredients in.

As they ate, Chen Mo continued to study the watch.

He recognized this watch, because a senior he had met in the finance industry used to wear one.

Back then, he didn’t get it and thought that selling a smartwatch for so much was a bit of an idiot tax.

But the senior told him this watch was actually a great value for the money, which stunned him.

’A great value?’

For the first time, that term felt a little foreign to him.

Later, the senior had said, "If you buy a 50,000 yuan IWC mechanical watch and wear it, will people think you’re a big shot? Maybe."

"But if you wear this watch, people will have no idea what your real status is."

"Someone else wears a 50,000 yuan watch because that’s all they can afford; that’s the limit of their means."

"But you wear this 24,000 yuan watch because it’s the most expensive one there is. It’s the peak for a smartwatch, not the peak for you."

"In this category, you’re already at the very top."

"Especially now, with more and more people wearing smartwatches and paying more attention to their health."

"Wearing this watch now is a classic case of spending a little to achieve a lot. So of course, it’s a great value."

After hearing this, Chen Mo had an epiphany.

’It was only later that he understood. There’s no such thing as an ’idiot tax’ product; you just aren’t the target audience.’

「...」

"This shrimp paste is pretty good."

Chen Mo took a bite of the cooked shrimp paste and, finding it tasty, used the strainer ladle to scoop out two pieces for Xia Shiqing.

"Let me try."

Xia Shiqing tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear with her left hand, picked up a piece of shrimp paste with her chopsticks to taste it, and then nodded in satisfaction.

It was indeed delicious.

"Excuse me, do you have a hair tie? Could you bring one over?"

Chen Mo had noticed her constantly tucking her hair back, so he waved to a waiter.

He remembered that many restaurants nowadays provide hair ties for female customers.

"Of course."

The waiter quickly brought one over.

"Here, tie your hair up. It’ll be easier to eat."

Chen Mo said with a smile as he handed the hair tie to Xia Shiqing.

"Thanks."

Xia Shiqing put down her chopsticks, took the hair tie, and expertly tied up her beautiful hair. Then she gave him a teasing look. "Not bad. You’re not as clueless as I thought."

Chen Mo shrugged, his tone casual. "I’ve been in a relationship before. I picked up a few things."

Hot pot really was more fun when eating with someone else.

The two of them talked and laughed, and they had nearly finished all the food they ordered.

"Do you have plans this afternoon?"

Chen Mo asked, a sudden thought occurring to him.

He was planning to buy a few new outfits in the afternoon to improve his style, but he didn’t really have any ideas.

’If Xia Shiqing came along, wouldn’t that be like having a personal stylist right there?’

"Nothing in particular, I was planning to go shopping. Why?"

Xia Shiqing dabbed her mouth with a napkin, her eyes on Chen Mo.

"Then let’s go together. I actually need to buy some clothes too. You have good taste, you can help me out."

Chen Mo’s eyes lit up. ’Isn’t that exactly what I was hoping for?’

"I don’t mind helping you pick out clothes, but I have a few conditions."

Upon hearing this, Xia Shiqing blinked but didn’t refuse.

"Go on."

"First: I don’t want to hear the five words, ’Are we done shopping yet?’ today."

"Second: Don’t use words like ’it’s fine,’ ’whatever,’ or ’anything’s good.’"

"Third: If you need to take a dump, you’d better go now. I don’t want to wait for you while we’re shopping."

Xia Shiqing looked at Chen Mo very seriously as she laid out her three conditions.

She preferred shopping alone; it was more spontaneous and free.

She didn’t mind going with Chen Mo, but only on the condition that he didn’t hit any of her pet peeves.

"Don’t worry, you got it."

Chen Mo patted his chest confidently.

This kind of thing really did used to happen when he went shopping with his ex-girlfriend. After all, women could shop for so long, he really couldn’t keep up.

But he’d been tempered by two months in the yellow-jacket army, running around outside every day, racking up tens of thousands of steps. A little shopping trip was a piece of cake; he had it in the bag.

After they finished the hot pot and paid the bill, Xia Shiqing reapplied her lipstick, and the two of them set off to go shopping.

Xia Shiqing drove, and Chen Mo sat in the passenger seat of her Model Y.

’I’ll go car shopping in a few days,’ Chen Mo silently resolved. ’What kind of man bums a ride off a girl?’

’How am I supposed to bum rides when I go on dates with other girls in the future?’

Xia Shiqing focused on driving, while a slightly bored Chen Mo in the passenger seat glanced around the car’s interior.

He noticed that Xia Shiqing’s car was very clean, unlike some girls’ cars that are filled with all sorts of little trinkets.

The only decoration was a small, round photo frame hanging from the rearview mirror. The photo inside was of two similar-looking women posing closely together.

One of them was Xia Shiqing, so the other woman, who looked gentle, dignified, elegant, and poised, must have been her mother.

’No wonder Xia Shiqing is so beautiful. Those genes are unbeatable.’

While waiting at a red light, Xia Shiqing must have felt it was a bit quiet in the car, so she randomly tapped the screen of the car’s infotainment system to play some music.

After one or two songs, Chen Mo suddenly heard the intro to a melody that sounded quite old.

He glanced at the screen and saw the song was "Again I See the Chimney Smoke," released by Teresa Teng in 1978.

He was a little surprised. ’Xia Shiqing has a song this old in her playlist?’

"The sunset is poetic, the dusk is picturesque. Poetic and picturesque, though beautiful, in my heart there is only you..."

But as he listened to the lyrics, he slowly began to understand.

"This was my mom’s favorite song. She told me it was the song that brought her and my dad together."

Xia Shiqing didn’t look at him, but she seemed to guess what he was thinking and offered an explanation.

"If everything had turned out okay, I might have had a little sister named Huayi."

She smiled, her tone a mix of sarcasm and regret.

"You could always have a daughter and name her Huayi yourself."

The words tumbled out of Chen Mo’s mouth faster than his brain could stop them.

"Not a chance. I’m never having children in this lifetime."

Xia Shiqing shook her head calmly.

The song was short, just over two minutes, and it finished quickly.

He couldn’t help but think that his parents’ generation really had good taste. This song was genuinely good.

Unlike the songs nowadays... what even is this stuff...