Qian Dailan woke up naturally.
After washing up and quietly changing into fresh clothes, she headed downstairs to buy breakfast.
But Ye Xiyan’s apartment complex had no commercial stores nearby, let alone a breakfast stall.
She had to walk to another residential area, only to discover that the nearest breakfast shop was absurdly expensive.
Five yuan for a tea egg?!
Did this chicken grow up eating gold?!
Not familiar with the area, Qian Dailan asked the elderly uncles and aunties out on their morning exercise if there was a cheaper breakfast place nearby.
The friendly locals enthusiastically pointed her in the right direction—walk straight, cross the traffic light, turn right, then take the second alley on the left.
Third shop.
Fifteen minutes later Qian Dailan sat on a sky-blue plastic stool, eating fried dough sticks with soy milk and complimentary pickled vegetables, while calculating how much money she had left.
Soy milk: 1.5 yuan
One large fried dough stick (which could be split into two pieces): 1.5 yuan
Pickled vegetables: Free
Total: 3 yuan
She had left home with 2,300 yuan, and after this meal, she had 2,297 yuan remaining.
On the way here, she had noticed a price board at a supermarket entrance:
Pork belly: 8.06 yuan per jin
Regular pork: 7.91 yuan per jin
Lean pork: 9.25 yuan per jin
If she spent all her money on pork, she could buy approximately 248 jin of lean meat.
That realization made Qian Dailan shiver from the saltiness of her pickled vegetables.
Keeping herself busy with numbers helped her forget last night’s embarrassing accident.
When you’re poor, you don’t have time for romance.
Only rich people can afford to be sentimental.
Qian Dailan felt the weight of her poverty.
Ever since the 2007 inflation spike, food prices had been soaring, and this year, they were even higher.
At the beginning of the year, pork belly was only 6.91 yuan per jin.
Or maybe it was just because…
This was Beijing.
Everyone assumed she came to Beijing for Ye Xijing, but she knew the truth.
Last year?
Yes, she came for him.
But from the moment she had that one meal here, she realized—
She loved this place.
Who’s to say she won’t become the next rich success story?
Refocusing on the Goal
Feeling energized, Qian Dailan dunked her crispy fried dough stick into her soy milk and finished it in a few bites.
She then turned to the store owner, who was wiping down the tables with a cloth.
“Sis, do you know where I can buy a Beijing bus map? I just got here and don’t know my way around.”
The friendly shop owner immediately pointed her in the right direction.
Qian Dailan spent another 2 yuan to buy a bus map, studied it for a few minutes, and accurately figured out the route to her interview location.
Unfortunately, there was no direct bus.
She would have to transfer once, which meant 2 yuan for transportation—
If she had a bus card, it would only cost 0.8 yuan per ride.
But getting a bus card required a 20-yuan deposit and extra funds for recharging.
By the time Qian Dailan reached the clothing store, her “golden vault” had been reduced to 2,257 yuan, plus a bus card with 19.20 yuan remaining.
Back in Shenyang, Mai-jie had constantly bragged about her cousin Mai Yi’s fashion store.
She claimed it was located in a prime commercial district, had a private storefront, covered two floors, and had glass and flooring imported from abroad.
Just the renovation alone had cost millions.
Hearing all this had made Zhang Jingxing gasp in awe.
Now—standing inside this “million-dollar” store—Qian Dailan suddenly realized…
It was right next to the hotel where Ye Xiyan had booked a room for her last time.
And it was connected to a mall.
The staff lounge was a separate room.
A round, plush sofa sat empty.
Two store employees were huddled over a computer, entering new arrivals into inventory.
Meanwhile, the store manager, Mai Yi—a tall, stunning woman—was giving Qian Dailan a once-over.
“You look good,” Mai Yi said bluntly.
“But your clothes are bad. And your bag is gone. We don’t allow fake luxury brands here—especially knockoffs of our competitors.”
Qian Dailan didn’t know what “competitors” meant, but she definitely understood “knockoff.”
“Got it, sis. Thank you.”
Mai Yi was cold and distant.
“Call me Marry.”
Qian Dailan immediately bowed.
“Thank you, Marry-jie.”
Qian Dailan’s appearance alone made up for her lack of qualifications.
Even though she didn’t meet the education requirements, her face and height were enough to convince Mai Yi to give her a shot.
In the Chinese fashion industry, there was a saying—
“Golden September, Silver October.”
This meant that the fall fashion season was crucial, and the response to the latest seasonal collections had been promising.
Right now, they were short on staff.
Mai Yi figured—this girl at least has some sales experience.
If she turned out to be useless, they could just fire her after October and say she didn’t pass the probation period.
Decision made, Mai Yi immediately started processing Qian Dailan’s hiring paperwork.
The store had a standardized uniform:
Hair ties
Blouses
Skirts
Shoes
Everything was provided.
Employees weren’t allowed to take the uniform home—they had to change at work, and the uniforms were laundered daily by the company.
Since the store opened at 9 AM, Mai Yi didn’t have time for proper training today.
She handed Qian Dailan an Employee Handbook and ordered her to study it thoroughly.
“We conduct monthly employee evaluations.”
“Besides sales targets, we also test employees on the handbook’s content.”
“Memorize everything. If you have questions, ask Luna, your mentor. You have two months’ probation—if you don’t meet the requirements, you’ll be let go at any time.”
Qian Dailan committed every word to memory.
Then, Mai Yi asked—
“Do you have an English name? Pick one now so we can make your name tag.”
She froze for a moment—completely unprepared.
Mai Yi checked her watch and frowned.
“Don’t waste time. Hurry up and pick a name.”
“Ava,” Qian Dailan blurted out.
“How about Ava?”
“We already have an Ava, Linda, and Emma. Pick another one—something simple and easy to remember,” Mai Yi said impatiently.
Then she sighed.
“Forget it. Making the name tag takes time. Just tell me tomorrow.”
She really was busy—her Bluetooth earpiece had been buzzing with voices nonstop.
It seemed like a VIP client had arrived.
Adjusting her mic, Mai Yi hurriedly instructed someone, “Please escort Miss Liang to the VIP room,” before leaving Qian Dailan behind.
Dressed in her old skirt, Qian Dailan slowly walked out of the luxurious clothing store, its sparkling crystal chandeliers looming behind her.
People were different.
And salespeople were different too.
She, Qian Dailan—the sharp-tongued, quick-witted top saleswoman at the Wu’ai Market—stood outside the massive glass storefront, experiencing a rare moment of speechless bewilderment.
“It’s just two pieces of fabric,” she muttered to herself.
“How the hell does that skirt cost four thousand yuan? This is insane…”
She kept walking, still grappling with disbelief, when she suddenly saw two store employees in matching white blouses and black skirts stepping out to greet Liang Wanyin at the entrance.
At that moment, her phone rang.
The sun was blinding outside, and the small screen of her Nokia—a phone that Mai-jie had given her last year after upgrading—made it hard to see the caller’s name.
But at this hour, there was only one possible culprit.
Yin Shenyan.
That guy.
Completely impatient.
There were still two hours until their scheduled lunch, and he was already calling to rush her—like some grim reaper on a mission.
Same as yesterday.
Her train had been two hours away from Beijing, and Yin Shenyan had called ahead just to mock her, predicting that her personality would make it impossible for her to last long at her boyfriend’s place.
He had even offered her a backup plan:
“If you find yourself homeless in the middle of the night, you can always come to me for help. Maybe—just maybe—out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll let you crash at my place.”
Annoyingly, he was right.
She was planning to move out today, leave Ye Xiyan’s apartment as soon as possible.
But—she wasn’t about to admit defeat.
She could lose the battle, but she wouldn’t lose her dignity.
Qian Dailan picked up the call and, without giving Yin Shenyan a chance to speak, went on the offensive: “So sorry to disappoint you, but I actually slept perfectly fine last night.”
“Not only that, but Xijing and I had a romantic night under the moonlight, whispering sweet nothings to each other, vowing eternal love—a perfect, unforgettable night.”
“Tell me, are you devastated right now? Huh? Are you in pain, you piece of shit? Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you heartbroken? Speak up, dog!”
For a second, silence.
Then—
A calm, familiar voice replied:
“Not bad.”
It was Ye Xiyan.