She pouted secretly, deliberating whether she would give Zac his due. She was tempted to deliver a
blow to his pride and say that the other noodles were far superior to his, but the angel inside wanted
her to play nice. She only smiled and said, "Your noodles taste different, but this is delicious." After
saying that, she busied herself in eating and ignored him.
He was not disappointed at all. As long as his wife appreciated his cooking, the whole morning's hard
work was not in vain.
After eating the noodles, she patted her tummy in satisfaction. Then, she decided to go shopping with
Eva.
In those days, Eva had been staying in Dragon City to participate in the initial screening for 'War
Emperor.' Now, she had succeeded in reaching the semi-finals.
Essie was determined to go shopping crazily using the credit card ice guy had given her.
Essie and Eva arrived at Time Square. As the first order of the day, Essie made a beeline for the Patek
Philippe store to buy a watch for fun.
Eva was shocked when she saw the price tag. She could not afford even the cheapest item on display.
Essie also felt the urge to turn around and leave. She had always led a frugal life, so spending that
much money on a personal whim felt highly inappropriate.
However, her goal today was to strike someone where it hurts. Gritting her teeth and stretching her
fingers, she stepped close to the counter and pointed to a platinum watch with a 96 thousand-dollar
price tag.
Come to think of it, that model was relatively cheap. She had been meaning to buy a more expensive
item, something that cost at least half a million dollars, but her fingers suddenly stiffened, as if blood
had stopped flowing through them. So, she stopped there.
With a big smile on her face, the shop assistant took the watch out of the display case for Essie to try
on.
"What do you think, Eva? Does it look good?" She displayed her wrist in front of Eva.
Eva nodded in agreement, but her sharp eyes scanned Essie's face. Her gut feeling told her that her
best friend was not herself today. Given her personality, even if she was promoted to a rich family, she
wouldn't spend five figures on a watch.
Was she upset? Being threatened into doing it?
While Eva stood there looking at the other woman in confusion, Essie had swiped her card and
stepped out of the store without taking the watch off.
Next stop: Hermès.
Eva placed a hand on her elbow before they entered. Essie paused and looked at Eva while the latter
said, "Forget about the bag. You can make one, don't you?"
Essie gently pried her fingers away. "No, No. I can't make a crocodile skin Birkin."
As soon as she entered the shop, she took a fancy to a limited edition bag in light pink, which was
priced at 45 thousand dollars. After modelling the bag in front of a mirror, she asked the saleslady to
wrap it up for her.
Eva looked at her in alarm. 'Nearly 150 grand, gone in 30 minutes.'
Whatever was bothering her must be huge.
When Essie came out, she gave flashed Eva a soft smile and said, "All right, now we're buying you an
outfit. My mind has been in such a mess lately that I couldn't design anything, so I just bought for you."
Eva hurriedly said, "If you want to choose one for me, we can go to South Gate Street. I can't afford
anything here." She shook her head vigorously.
"You don't have to pay for anything. I will use my husband's credit card." The slight smile on her face
gave Eva the jitters.
"No, I don't want to. That's too much of a burden." Eva frantically waved her hand in refusal.
"Consider this as your endorsement fee, not a free gift. As the spokesperson of Summer 100 °C, you
have an image to uphold," Essie explained slowly.
"It is precisely because I am the spokesperson that I can't wear any brand other than Summer 100 °C,"
Eva reasoned out. Eva placed her arm around Essie's shoulders and asked half-jokingly, "Tell me the
truth: did you quarrel with your husband?"
"No, we're fine. He's rich enough to build another Great Wall; I'm just taking away two blocks from that
wall. It's no big deal." Essie smiled, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes.
"Really?" Eva stared at her without blinking. Even with Essie's assurance, she still felt a little worried.
"Of course." With an exaggerated fake smile on her face, Essie ducked her head to stare admiringly at
her watch. "The watch looks gorgeous!" she remarked, abruptly changing the topic. "I've been wanting
to buy this for a long time. Rich people can buy whatever they desire; no wonder women want to marry
rich men."
"Yes, you get an ATM for yourself, and the diamond ring on your finger alone is enough for you to live
on in luxury for the rest of your life." Eva smiled and said nothing anymore. The two women continued
shopping.
In the evening, Essie came back to the mansion with her arms loaded with gifts and shopping bags.
At the sight of Zac sitting on the sofa, she deliberately dumped her loot on the coffee table to rile him.
"Hey, ice guy, I bought a lot of stuff today." She showed the watch to him and continued, "Look! This
watch is worth only 95 thousand dollars. It's so cheap!" She then lined up her Hermès bag, Gucci
shoes, and La Prairie cosmetics. She opened her calculator app and started punching in the price of
every item. She smiled with satisfaction, "I've spent about a quarter-million dollars for you today. Not
bad, huh?"
Taking her in his arms, Zac gave her a mildly amused smile and said, "That's good! You're finally willing
to spend my money. A quarter million is nothing; you should spend more on your next shopping trip."
Essie was dumbfounded. She was expecting him to be spitting mad at the flagrant expense. 'He's
showing a gentle front before me. Why is he being so weird? Is he going crazy?' Essie thought with no
mild confusion.
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