Ch 34 - Who Wins?

"That white T-shirt," Alex pointed casually.

Cathy turned to look where Alex was pointing and saw that the white T-shirt that he had chosen was fifty dollars more expensive than the one she had picked out. She became even angrier. "Pack up that pair of three-hundred-dollar ripped jeans for me."

Alex could buy one more thing and admit his defeat. But he thought of the ridicule he would receive from Billy and Cathy, and he also wanted to use that opportunity to play with them.

"Help me wrap up those slacks," Alex calmly told Russell. That pair of slacks was fifteen dollars more than Cathy's jeans.

Cathy was so angry that her breathing became heavy as she said, "That pink, long-sleeve top—wrap it up." 

"I'll take that long skirt," Alex said.

"Wrap up that silk blouse!" Cathy commanded and continued to demand more items.

"That crimson undergarment—wrap it up!"

The two of them went back and forth. They each bought six or seven pieces of clothing. Cathy was so angry at Alex that her eyes blazed.

But Billy was even angrier. Cathy had already bought more than five thousand dollars worth of clothes, which was far more than he had expected, but he was too embarrassed to stop her. 

"I'm out of money—I admit defeat," Alex finally announced.

Billy let out a sigh of relief. If Alex had continued to compete with Cathy, he definitely wouldn't have been able to stop her.

"Ha ha, you can't take it anymore. I told you, Alex, you're not a rich person, so how can you compare to a legitimately rich guy like my boyfriend? You're out of money, right?" Cathy said proudly.

"Yes, I can't compare to him," Alex said lightly to Cathy. He felt that she was acting like a resentful wife.

"Don't think that you're so awesome just because you won the lottery once. In front of me, you'll always be scum. Do you understand?" Billy arrogantly gestured at Alex with his index finger.

He then looked at Russell and said, "We've spent tons of money here today. Even though this is a high-end store, you guys don't have many customers, right? Your boss sure is something—after buying so many things, he still hasn't come out to meet us."

Russell glanced at Alex and saw him subtly shake his head. He smiled apologetically at Billy and said, "My boss is not here today. I'm sorry."

Billy had wanted the opportunity to get to know the store owner. To be able to open such a big and prestigious store, he must be quite influential. Now that his hopes had failed, he felt a sense of loss. With their arms full of bags, he and Cathy walked out the door.

Debbie had initially felt bad because Alex had bought so many clothes for her. But when Alex and Russell told her that she could return the items that she didn't want, Debbie was overjoyed. She only kept one piece of clothing and the rest was returned.

Alex could only smile bitterly to himself. If he had known this earlier, he wouldn't have said she could return the clothes.

He told Debbie to go to the changing room to change her clothes. Russell gave Alex a thumbs up and said, "Boss, your marketing skills are really brilliant. Today, those two customers spent more money than we earned all week."

Alex was embarrassed by his words. He had been forced to compete with Cathy, but, in Russell's eyes, it had become a marketing tactic.

"Give them an eight percent discount next time they come in," Alex said. Now that he thought about it, he felt as if he had conned Cathy and Billy out of five thousand dollars, which didn't seem very kind.

"Why? Although they bought a lot, I can see that they're not big spenders. I noticed that by the time the young lady had bought the seventh piece of clothing, the boy's forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was turning green. There's no need to waste resources on them." As a manager, Russell was only looking out for the benefit of the boutique.

"All right." Russell had no choice but to agree. His interest was piqued again. "Sir, why didn't you tell your girlfriend that you're the owner of this boutique?"

"Nonsense," Alex reprimanded him. He was getting along well with Debbie now, and he didn't want to break this state. When the time was right, Alex would reveal his identity to her.

By this time, Debbie had already changed into her new set of clothes and walked out. She was wearing a beige and white dress. It was pure and elegant, complementing her white and delicate features. She was a perfect beauty.

"Beautiful young lady, may I have the honor of inviting you to dance with me?" Alex held his head high and puffed out his chest. He reached out his hand to Debbie.

Debbie was stunned for a moment before giving a faint smile. She handed her soft hand to him and whispered, "I'll let you try."

At this moment, Debbie felt like a lady at a ball. This feeling was something no one else had ever given to her before. She felt more favourable toward Alex.

Holding her hand, Alex didn't move to dance, but, instead, he jogged happily out of the Autumn Beauty Boutique. Russell fell into a daze, smiled, and muttered, "What an enviable pair."

Alex wanted to take a taxi back to school, but Debbie said it was fine to go by bus. On the bus, the two of them sat in the last row. Alex held Debbie's hand the whole time as the wind blew her hair onto her face. He hoped that this would be a bus ride that would never end.

After getting off the bus, Alex was about to discuss with Debbie when they should move into the villa.

At that moment, Mark Stephens called, so Alex found a way to avoid Debbie and picked up the call.

Mark called this time to ask Alex to go to the school's Treeflower restaurant for an event. Alex wasn't interested if the school had organized, so he told Mark that he didn't want to participate.

"No, sir, this is also a test from the family. If you don't participate, there will be no results this time, and the consequences will be severe," Mark advised sincerely.

"Didn't I already pass the family's test?" Alex said anxiously.

"Yes, you passed that one, but there will be more. To spur you on, the family will keep evaluating you. If your grades are too poor, there will still be appropriate punishments. You must not let your guard down," Mark solemnly said.

"All right, I'll go participate now," Alex said gloomily. His family was really thorough. Even after seven years of the poverty training program, it was still not enough. What kind of trick was this? Were they deliberately making him feel uncomfortable?

Alex complained to himself, although he understood the way the family did things. As one of the top families in the world, how could it be so easy to be one of their descendants? Otherwise, their family wouldn't have been able to last for hundreds of years without decline.

"Debbie, I'll take you to the Treeflower restaurant," Alex gently said to her, as he didn't want to be separated from her for even a second now. Since Debbie was dressed so beautifully, Alex also wanted to make the others admire her so that Debbie could have more confidence.

"Okay," Debbie nodded. She felt happy to be with Alex.

The Treeflower restaurant was an art building. When it was empty, some small- and medium-sized events would be held there.

A small stage had been set up in the main hall of the restaurant, and it was surrounded by sound speakers, flower baskets, and ribbons.

There were five rows of ten chairs in front of the stage for the arriving guests.

Alex and Debbie sat in the last row.

There were already a few people around, and, from the moment that Debbie walked in, they had already started whispering to each other.

"This beauty looks a bit better. Is she the daughter of some rich man?" said one.

"She really looks like a celebrity. What would happen to Jasmine if she took the stage?" said another.

"What is that loser beside her doing? Why is he walking with that goddess? I really want to beat him up!" said yet another.

"Maybe he's begging from her? That girl looks so kind, she must be embarrassed into giving him money. Let him beg from her and give him a chance to earn some," said another.

Debbie was like a shining object in her new clothes. She was attracting everyone's attention as she quietly sat in the last row.

"Is that—" A confused female voice sounded from beside Debbie. When Debbie turned around, the woman's mouth opened wide in shock, "Debbie! It's really you!"

"Yep—Donna Walters, you're here too!" Debbie greeted her. Donna was from her hometown, and the two of them came together from a small county in the northeast. 

"You bought this at Autumn Beauty Boutique?" Debbie held in her hand the bag with the boutique logo, which she had used to store her original clothes.

"Hmm?" Debbie had to admit that she didn't have much contact with Donna and didn't understand her personality. She didn't realize that Donna could have a sour personality, so she asked with a smile, "What do you think?"

Debbie was especially happy that day and wanted to share her happiness with her old friend. She spoke a little more than usual. Normally, Debbie would not ask such a question.

However, from Donna's point of view, Debbie's words sounded like she was showing off to her. In her heart, she was even more dissatisfied with Debbie. This girl, wearing the clothes that she had bought from Autumn Beauty Boutique, was showing off. If it wasn't for being from your hometown, would I even bother to talk to you? Donna thought.

"You didn't buy it yourself, did you?" Donna asked tentatively.

"No, it's… it was a friend of mine who bought it for me," Debbie said shyly when she thought of Alex buying clothes for her.

This girl looks good in disguise. She's probably trying to use her body to seduce a rich guy, thought Donna as a trace of contempt flashed in her eyes.

"Where is he? When are you going to introduce him to me?" Donna said with ulterior motives. Autumn Beauty Boutique clothes were at least a hundred and fifty dollars, so this person had a high probability of coming from old money. Donna naturally wanted to get to know him.

"Ah, you have to meet him. This is him," Debbie said as she glanced at Alex, who was sitting beside her. She felt a little 

excited as if she was introducing a boyfriend to a friend.

Donna was shocked. Alex had been sitting beside Debbie the whole time, but she never thought that it was Alex who had bought the clothes for her. How could it be him? This person was dressed like a poor man. Could he afford to buy clothes from Autumn Beauty Boutique?.