Chapter 22 Banquet 2 "Jiaoyue, we cultivators value diligence and frugality as virtues..."
Chu Xingjin politely declined Xie Jiaoyue's suggestion, saying that he was already satisfied with his normal style and did not need to challenge himself with such a difficult outfit.
Xie Jiaoyue also felt that this reason was too outrageous; if they wanted to cheat on the budget, they needed to come up with a different excuse, not something so obvious.
She held a spirit stone bag in her hand, and with her other hand she took Chu Xingjin's hand, making a gesture as if she was going to stuff the spirit stone bag into Chu Xingjin's hand.
"Brother Chu, you haven't given me a gift since we met. How about you give me a gift today to commemorate the nth day we've been together?"
She couldn't remember exactly which day it was.
Chu Xingjin shook his head: "I gave you a flower before, do you remember?"
He carefully selected those flowers from several blooms by the roadside.
Xie Jiaoyue was shocked; how could she still remember that flower?
Even if she's cannon fodder, she shouldn't be so cheap.
I'm so annoyed.
From the moment she first saw Chu Xingjin, she knew he was a stingy man, or rather, a stingy man when it came to the women he had won over, but she never expected him to be this stingy.
Xie Jiaoyue tugged at her clothes: "I just really want to wear the clothes that Brother Chu gave me. Brother Chu, please take these spirit stones and buy me a magic robe today, okay?"
As she spoke, she secretly nudged Hua Yi.
Hua Yi said, "Young Master Chu is so good to our young lady. He is truly the best man in the world."
In short, give Chu Xingjin a comfortable position.
Chu Xingjin accepted the hat as expected, feeling as if he had grown taller: "I am naturally very good to Jiaoyue."
At times like this, he didn't feel bad about spending spirit stones, because those spirit stones and Xie Jiaoyue had become props to adorn himself.
He didn't see anything wrong with spending Xie Jiaoyue's money to give her gifts; in his mind, the money of the Xie family's eldest branch should belong to him. He naturally didn't feel guilty about spending his own money.
Xie Jiaoyue tentatively took a robe and had Chu Xingjin pay for it with the bag of spirit stones. Then she immediately opened the system panel to check her balance.
Sure enough, they didn't deduct anything.
It seems that even without issuing a mission, as long as the system determines it's beneficial to the protagonist or future missions, a budget can still be approved. No wonder it's the protagonist's most loyal follower; it's just a bit stubborn, only knowing how to cling to data calculations.
Another way to get freebies, hehe.
The next task is to spend all the spirit stones in Chu Xingjin's bag! That playboy doesn't deserve her money!
The Wang family's shop is really great; they thoughtfully opened a shop selling Buddhist artifacts right next to the clothing shop.
They weren't selling ordinary ritual implements; each one was crafted into exquisite ornaments, from hairpins to earrings and jade pendants, offering a complete range of options to help Xie Jiaoyue choose accessories for her clothes.
In the span of an hour, she picked out ten robes, nine hairpins, eight pairs of earrings, and seven jade pendants, and still didn't want to stop, thinking that this one was beautiful and that one was missing from her wardrobe.
Perhaps feeling that he had successfully established his image as the "loving fiancée," Chu Xingjin, who had been responsible for paying for everything, finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Jiaoyue, don't you think you bought too much?"
Xie Jiaoyue was puzzled: "I used to book the whole store, but I've already been very restrained today."
The kind of thing you see in TV dramas where everything except this or that is wrapped up – that's what she used to do.
At this moment, Xie Jiaoyue was wearing a long white dress.
It is said to have a white background, but it is covered with fine gold thread embroidery patterns. When the sunlight shines on it, the gold light bursts out, making it difficult to see the specific embroidery patterns.
Expensive in a vague yet specific way.
Looking at her head, she had simply stuck a small rainbow into a hairpin.
These were seven hairpins that she had carefully selected. They were all the same size and very delicate and beautiful. Each hairpin was inlaid with a gemstone the size of a small fingernail. The seven hairpins formed a small fan shape three to five centimeters wide when inserted into her hair, which was very unique.
Gongshi Moyu sighed, "Ah, it's a familiar taste. It's something Xie Jiaoyue would like in my memory—flashy and unique, wanting everyone to see her dazzling brilliance."
He didn't think it was exaggerated; he always thought it was beautiful, an outfit that only the fiery and radiant Xie Jiaoyue could pull off.
Chu Xingjin felt it was beautiful one moment and too flamboyant the next, not in line with his usual aesthetic sense. The two opinions were fighting in his mind, but in the end, his self-awareness prevailed.
“Jiaoyue, we cultivators value diligence and frugality, and should not be so ostentatious.”
He felt that his words made perfect sense, and that he was educating the ignorant Xie Jiaoyue.
Wouldn't it be better to use the money to buy what you need for cultivation? Why spend it on these luxuries?
Seeing that Xie Jiaoyue remained unmoved, he continued to lecture her: "Jiaoyue, although you have spirit stones, such absurd spending will inevitably lead to your depletion. My path of cultivation is long and requires many spirit stones. You should be more frugal so that we can go further and more smoothly on our journey."
Xie Jiaoyue raised her hand and touched her little rainbow, feeling that Chu Xingjin was right.
"Indeed, we monks should regard diligence and frugality as virtues and simplicity as beauty."
Chu Xingjin nodded in satisfaction: "That's the right way of thinking."
She picked up the cheapest men's clothing on the side. The simple cut and navy blue color made up the whole garment. The thin fabric revealed the simplicity brought by the cheapness. It was called a magic robe, but it only had the most basic and simple defensive formation on it. It was the kind that any Qi Refining stage cultivator could break through.
With an innocent expression and a look that seemed to be asking for praise, she said, "Brother Chu, isn't this exactly what you want? Go and try it on for me."
Hua Yi handed him another hat: "Young Master Chu truly lives up to his reputation as a role model for us. His way of doing things is so different from those of us who are so extravagant."
Chu Xingjin looked up at what Xie Jiaoyue was wearing, and then at the one Xie Jiaoyue had handed him.
Was that what he originally meant?
He was reluctant to try.
He's a handsome waiter now, but he feels that if he wore this, he'd only be an ordinary passerby.
Xie Jiaoyue was still diligently styling a simple outfit for Chu Xingjin when a burst of laughter and chatter came from not far away.
"I had long heard that the Xie family had found a waiter as her fiancé and was completely infatuated with him. Seeing him today, I can confirm that it is true."
Xie Jiaoyue looked up from a pile of clothes. Who's this?
Her doubts were evident in her eyes.
Xin Yijiu understood that look in his eyes: "You don't remember me?" She stomped her foot indignation and added, "That's right, you usually only know how to hide behind Madam Gongshi, it's normal that you don't recognize me."
Xie Jiaoyue gestured with her eyes, "After saying so much, why haven't you introduced yourself yet?"
Xin Yijiu said, "Remember this well, I am the daughter of the Xin clan chief."
Could this person be Xin Xiuying?
A gentleman of noble character, with ears adorned with jade pendants—Xie Jiaoyue remembered this name very well.
Xin Yijiu proudly declared, "Xin Yijiu is the closest cousin of Xin Xiuying, the daughter of the Xin clan chief!"
Oh, I see, the random passerby next to the young lady.
Xie Jiaoyue patted Chu Xingjin's arm: "You can learn from her. In the future, introduce yourself like this: you are Xie Jiaoyue, the eldest daughter of the Xie family, and her prospective husband. I guarantee you can walk around the entire Jinling City with impunity. No shop will refuse to let you buy on credit."
These words both angered and moved Chu Xingjin.
How can you say that about a mere furnace cauldron? But what a mere furnace cauldron has given is far too much!
Xin Yijiu's face fell upon hearing this. What did this person mean? How could her status be compared to that of a mere furnace cauldron like Chu Xingjin? She was Xin Xiuying's cousin, and they had grown up together. Their relationship was unbreakable. How could Chu Xingjin, a mere waiter, be worthy of being compared to her?
She felt that she hadn't fully unleashed her satirical skills and needed to escalate them further.
"Oh, look what our Miss Xie is doing. So she's spending spirit stones on a waiter. Tsk tsk tsk, if the Madam knew you were wasting Xie family spirit stones like this, I wonder if she'd turn pale with anger."
She looked at Chu Xingjin: "Kid, you've never seen such fine robes before, have you?" She picked up a robe that looked extremely expensive. "How about this one? Don't you love it? Hurry up and pick out a few more. It's not easy to find a sucker like Xie Jiaoyue. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Chu Xingjin's gaze couldn't help but be drawn to the expensive robes.
Before Chu Xingjin could even see clearly, Xie Jiaoyue shoved Xin Yijiu's hand away, pushed aside the expensive robe, and angrily said, "What do you know! How dare you insult my Brother Chu!"
Xin Yijiu retorted defiantly, "So what if I insulted him?"
She always followed Xin Xiuying's lead, and Xin Xiuying and Xie Jiaoyue didn't get along. This time, she finally caught Xie Jiaoyue red-handed. Xie Jiaoyue dared to choose a waiter as her son-in-law, so why couldn't she use that against her?
Xie Jiaoyue was furious: "Expensive robes? My brother Chu doesn't care at all! You are insulting his character."
She looked at Chu Xingjin's face with eyes full of admiration: "You all don't understand. Brother Chu has always been frugal and simple, and he doesn't care about material possessions at all, unlike you ignorant young nobles who only know how to show off spirit stones and magic treasures. You are simply vulgar."
“Brother Chu is a true gentleman. He just taught me what is truly valuable and that I should use my spirit stones wisely.”
She called to Hua Yi, "Hua Yi, hurry up, pack up these clothes that don't even cost as much as my hairpin. These are all Brother Chu's favorites."
After saying that, he paid the bill directly to the waiter, finalizing the clothes he wanted to buy for Chu Xingjin.
Chu Xingjin: This is my favorite?
Xin Yijiu: Is this what I'm insulting?
Gong Shi Moyu: If you hadn't said that last sentence, I might have believed you a little.
Only Hua Yi clapped from the side: "Young Master Chu really loves Miss so much that he can't bear to let her spend even a penny more. Miss really loves Young Master so much that she's willing to buy these things that Young Master Chu doesn't even like."
She turned to the shop assistant at the Wang family's store and said, "Why aren't you applauding? Aren't you moved by such a well-matched love?"
The occasional calls of the shopkeepers echoed through the store, and blessings for the blessed marriage resounded throughout the shop.
"They are a match made in heaven."
"Miss Xie really loves it."
"I am moved by this love."
The shop assistant approached with the clothes in hand: "Young Master Chu, this actually suits you quite well. You'll definitely look good in it. Would you like to try it on? If the size doesn't fit, we offer alteration services."
The waiter was very knowledgeable; Xie Jiaoyue was the one who was paying. If Xie Jiaoyue said this was suitable for Chu Xingjin, then this was suitable.
Chu Xingjin changed into the dark blue suit in a daze. It was more neat than his previous waiter's uniform, but still not very neat. He looked like a servant working for the Xie family, but not a very high-ranking one.
It wasn't even as good as his original waiter's uniform. Although the waiter's uniform was worn out, it made him stand out from the crowd of waiters.
Now, he has become the most ordinary of the servants.
Clothes make the man, and even the male lead looks ordinary if his attire isn't up to par.
Chu Xingjin stared blankly at himself in the mirror and asked the waiter, "Do I really look good?"
The waiter wiped his face, looked away at Xie Jiaoyue, and said decisively, "Beautiful!"
Gongshi Moyu, who was standing to the side, turned his back. His face, which had been expressionless until now, twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.
A note from the author:
How an ordinary person can succeed in the entertainment industry?
Tian Jin is a staunch materialist. Even though he encountered various "paranormal events" early in his career, he firmly believed in science and rejected feudal superstition.
A late-night job interview is interrupted by an S-class werewolf king who blocks the way, his shadow obscuring the red moon, his fangs dripping blood.
The agent was so frightened her legs went weak: What...what should we do?
Tianjin calmly called the police: "I've reported it; someone is walking their dog without a leash."
After hanging up the phone, he casually ruffled the trembling head of the "big dog": "Good boy, don't run around next time."
During the performance, the beautiful lead singer's face revealed eerie blue scales, and her trousers gradually disintegrated to reveal a sticky fish tail.
The bewildered audience, their eyes filled with blood and tears, chased and clung to each other, drooling as they did so, like walking corpses.
Tian Jin punched a sasaeng fan in one go and sincerely praised the lead singer: "Your stage outfit is quite unique."
During a live variety show broadcast, the elderly director of an orphanage had all ten fingers severed, leaving the corridor stained with blood.
Tian Jin gently patted the gluttonous boy next to her who was chewing on his severed finger: "Spit it out."
The Taotie, which was being filmed and appeared to be gagging, gleamed with a fierce light in its eyes.
Tianjin casually handed him a lollipop: "Sweetie, you can't eat junk food, it's unhygienic."
A werewolf who transforms into a golden-haired creature & a mermaid whose spiritual power goes berserk & a gluttonous beast that eats its fill for the first time: What is your identity?
Tianjin: Hmm, the Five Stresses and Four Virtues Youth?
I'm so tempted! Is it too late to join the Party now?
At each scene, the clerks who arrived late wrote down the findings: the situation was suspected to have been resolved by an unidentified high-ranking force.
*
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Department of Indigenous Affairs recently issued a top-level alert.
The observer reported in alarm: "Report! An unidentified high-level entity has appeared, its energy level cannot be determined! Danger level: Destruction level!"
Vice Minister You Sujiu looked at the newly crowned top star on the stage and slowly wrote down his instructions.
"The target is extremely dangerous and requires 24-hour close monitoring. Executor: You Sujiu."
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