Watching Xue Tao standing there with that look of helpless rage on his face.
Chu Mingzhe sidled over to join the spectacle: "What's up? Had a fight with your girlfriend?"
Xue Tao proceeded to give an exaggerated account of how Liu Yuanyuan had used smooth talk to coax him into buying her a designer bag.
Wrapping up his rant, he declared indignantly: "Most college girls these days stick to brands like Zara or CK—that's more than enough. Maybe a Coach at most for 'affordable luxury.' Anything over a thousand is rare, let alone LV! LV my ass!"
"Damn right!" Wang Haoran chimed in.
Liu Yuanyuan had really lost her damn mind, asking a local guy to buy her LV. Do locals even have that kind of money? Hell no.
Sure, Xue Tao was the proud owner of a Magotan 330, but when it came to liquid cash, the "Shanghai Elite" still had him beat.
Chu Mingzhe weighed in: "Honestly, LV’s entry-level bags are tacky as hell—way too common. Carrying one makes you look like you’re in that line of work. Zero taste. The actually nice designs? Way too expensive."
"Damn, Shanghai Elite, I can’t believe we finally agree on something!" Xue Tao slapped his thigh like he’d found a kindred spirit.
He immediately zoomed in on the bag’s photo and shoved his phone in Chu Mingzhe’s face.
But to Xue Tao’s surprise, the Shanghai Elite didn’t double down on the support.
Instead, Chu Mingzhe adjusted his glasses and scrutinized the image with laser focus.
His eyes gleamed.
Voice trembling, he murmured: "T-this is… the LOUIS VUITTON x Murakami collaboration Speedy Bandoulière 25!"
"The hell?" Xue Tao blinked. "What kind of gibberish was that?"
"This bag is a limited-edition grail. You can’t just walk into a store and buy it—you either wait for resellers or get lucky with a store manager who happens to have one." Chu Mingzhe adopted his usual know-it-all tone. "Local boy, do you have any idea what its recent resale price is?"
"Bro, calm down. How expensive could a damn bag be? It’s just a purse." Xue Tao scoffed.
"Hah! You clearly have no idea how deep rich wives’ pockets go." Chu Mingzhe wagged a finger. "Last month, this bag sold for 157,800 yuan. Might’ve gone up since then—conservatively, 160K minimum now."
"Say WHAT?!"
"160K."
Holy. Shit.
Xue Tao’s worldview had just been shattered.
Sure, his relatives occasionally splurged on luxury items for clout—a bag costing a few thousand, even ten grand, was within his comprehension.
But this? A gaudy little handbag for 160K? That was next-level insanity.
"Are these rich bastards just printing money or what?" Xue Tao groaned.
"My guess? Zhou Jialu’s boyfriend is a top-tier rich kid from Jiangcheng. Even by Shanghai standards, he’s loaded." Chu Mingzhe analyzed, not missing a chance to jab, "I mean, the bag he gifted her costs more than your car."
"Bullshit! My Magotan 330 TSI Premium has an MSRP of 179,900 yuan—how is that cheaper than a bag?!"
Xue Tao’s voice cracked, face reddening like he’d been personally attacked.
Which, well, he kinda had.
Technically, the MSRP was 179,900 yuan, but with the recent slump in car prices thanks to domestic EVs, his parents had haggled hard during the summer purchase.
After some back-and-forth, they’d knocked 35,000 yuan off, landing at a final price of 144,900 yuan.
And well…
Yeah. Zhou Jialu’s LV bag was more expensive.
If you factored in taxes and insurance, sure, the Magotan barely scraped past.
But what did that even prove?
The brutal truth remained:
Zhou Jialu’s boyfriend operated on a whole different financial plane than Xue Tao.
"Ugh. Compared to that guy, I’m just another broke loser. What’s the difference between me and Wang Haoran?"
Wang Haoran: "…" (sweating emoji)
Chu Mingzhe smirked triumphantly. "Just as I thought. Zhou Jialu’s the type with sky-high material demands—your average rich guy wouldn’t cut it. Good thing I never liked her anyway."
"Like it matters whether you like her. She’d never glance your way." Xue Tao rolled his eyes.
"…Shut it!" Chu Mingzhe snapped. "That’s not the point. The point is—Chen Yusheng would never be that shallow."
"Sure, sure."
Xue Tao couldn’t be bothered to argue. It was clear—Old Chu was too far gone in his simpery. No saving him.
At least he had the sense to leverage his strengths. Within a month of school starting, he’d already "secured" the cute Liu Yuanyuan…
The thought made him gloomy again.
While bantering with his roommates, he’d been blowing up Liu Yuanyuan’s phone with apologies.
No response.
She was pissed.
Making up would require… concessions.
Was he really about to buy her an LV?
But girls were like that—if their close friends got something, they’d demand parity.
So damn annoying!
With no solution in sight, Xue Tao grumpily booted up his PC for a round of League.
Fortunately, his misery didn’t last long.
Because Chu Mingzhe soon faced his own disaster.
Around 10 PM.
A special notification chimed from Chu Mingzhe’s phone.
After a brief exchange, he tossed his phone aside, sat cross-legged on his bed, and blankly stared at the dorm’s white wall.
When Wang Haoran passed by to use the bathroom, Chu Mingzhe suddenly called out.
"Brother Haoran."
"Yeah?"
"If… Chen Yusheng came back to campus right now in a luxury car, what would that mean?"
"…Huh?"
Wang Haoran froze.
Xue Tao perked up instantly: "LMAO, what else could it mean? She’s dating someone. Just like Zhou Jialu."
"NOOOOOO!!!"
Chu Mingzhe clutched his head, howling in agony. "That’s not it, that’s not it… Look, context matters! It depends on how luxury the car actually is."
"Uh, how so?" Wang Haoran frowned.
"If it’s just an entry-level luxury sedan like a 3 Series, A4, or C-Class, she probably just took a premium rideshare."
"Jesus, Shanghai Elite, the copium is strong with you." Xue Tao cackled. "You actually believe that?"
Chu Mingzhe said coldly, "It’s not about what I believe. It’s about my faith in Chen Yusheng’s noble, untainted character."
"…" Xue Tao had no words. Buddy, you’re beyond saving.
Noble, untainted character? Were they back in high school lit class?
Wake up—college started a month ago!
Wang Haoran kept a straight face, silently enjoying the drama.
How did their dorm, Room 510, end up blessed with both Xue Tao and Chu Mingzhe—the ultimate pair of clowns?
Truly, they were doomed.
If the girls' dormitory Room 321 in Building 2, where Senior Zhou Jialu lives, is considered the "goddess dorm,"
then our boys' dormitory Room 510 in Building 7 is absolutely the "legendary dorm."
Does your dorm have such legendary figures? I’m genuinely curious! Truly, legends among men!
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Suddenly, someone rapped on the dorm door.
Wang Haoran went to open it, and standing there was a woman in sportswear with a well-proportioned figure.
It was their counselor, Xia Lin.
"Good evening, Ms. Xia."
"Good evening, everyone," Xia Lin replied with effortless grace, smiling. "I just finished a run on the track, and since I was near the boys' dorm, I thought I’d drop by… Where’s Su Bai? Is he not here?"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
