I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

Her question was dripping with sarcasm.

Jiang Ling felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and was about to shrink her neck.

But when I thought of what my brother had said to me in front of the dressing mirror, and felt the warmth and confidence that the coat gave me, I was overwhelmed.

She instinctively straightened her back.

An unprecedented sense of confidence welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Jiang Ling looked at Zhang Xiaoyan and revealed a calm and elegant smile that even she herself found unfamiliar.

"Xiaoyan, what a coincidence."

"This is my brother. He's off work today, so he brought me here to buy some clothes for the Chinese New Year."

Jiang Ling's tone was calm and natural.

But Zhang Xiaoyan felt as if she had been punched in the face, and her heart felt heavy.

Jiang Chen glanced at the little girl whose face was full of "jealousy," and he knew exactly what was going on.

He smiled faintly, stepped forward, and became his sister's best wingman.

"Lingling, since we've run into a classmate, that's perfect."

"Let's skip the milk tea and have a meal together. It'll be more lively with more people."

He pointed to a restaurant not far away, decorated in a lavish style and with a giant king crab model at the entrance.

"We're just about to go to that restaurant up ahead, Haiyi Yifan. I heard it's pretty good."

"Umi...Umiichiichi?"

Before Zhang Xiaoyan could speak, a girl behind her couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"That's the one... the one that reviews say costs several hundred yuan per person for a seafood hot pot buffet?"

When these students get together, they usually eat something as simple as a spicy hot pot meal costing a few dozen yuan, or split the bill for a barbecue.

A seafood buffet costing several hundred yuan per person?

That's a scene that only appears in their dreams!

Zhang Xiaoyan's face turned pale and then flushed.

Go ahead, she's worried about the money; she can't bear to spend such an expensive meal.

If I don't go, it will make me look like I can't afford it, and I'll lose face in front of Jiang Ling.

Jiang Chen didn't give her a chance to hesitate or refuse.

He pulled out a few red banknotes from his wallet and handed them to Jiang Ling, who was standing next to him.

"Go, buy your classmate a milk tea for your brother."

Then he gave Zhang Xiaoyan and her stunned classmates a friendly smile.

"Let's go, don't just stand there."

"I, as the older brother, will cover all the expenses today."

"Consider it an early New Year's Eve dinner for you."

Under Jiang Chen's undeniable offensive of "money power".

Zhang Xiaoyan and the others, half-pushed and half-reluctantly, followed Jiang Chen and his sister into the luxurious hot pot restaurant that they usually only dared to peek at from the outside.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a dazzling array of seafood, including lively prawns and mountains of abalone and oysters…

Several girls stared wide-eyed.

When the waiter led them to a booth with a view of the night outside the window, they became so nervous that they didn't know where to put their hands.

"Take whatever you want to eat, don't be shy."

Jiang Chen handed the menu to them and then leisurely leaned back on the sofa.

In an attempt to save face, Zhang Xiaoyan pretended to be knowledgeable and pointed at the waiter.

"What are some of your specialty dishes? Could you recommend some?"

The waiter smiled and handed me a tablet.

"Hello ma'am, in addition to the seafood in our buffet area, we also offer some top-quality ingredients available à la carte, such as Australian lobster and Alaskan king crab..."

Zhang Xiaoyan's face turned green when she saw the four-figure quotes on the tablet.

She smiled awkwardly, about to say, "Let's just eat at the buffet."

Jiang Chen simply took the tablet from him.

He didn't even look at the price; he just tapped it a few times with his finger.

"This, king crab, give me the biggest one."

"This is grouper, steamed."

"And this, geoduck, for sashimi."

"That's enough for now, we'll add more if needed."

He handed the tablet back to the waiter with such nonchalance, as if he had ordered a few plates of cucumber salad rather than a seafood meal costing thousands of dollars.

The waiter's eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly bowed and scraped as he went to take the order.

Zhang Xiaoyan and her classmates on the other side were completely petrified.

Their eyes were filled with awe and fear as they looked at Jiang Chen.

Is this...is this even human?

This isn't eating, it's burning money!

Zhang Xiaoyan's sense of superiority, which she was so proud of, was built on the foundation of her parents' supermarket business.

Faced with Jiang Chen's overwhelming "money power".

It was smashed to pieces, leaving not even a trace.

The rest of the dinner party completely turned into Jiang Ling's show.

The students no longer dared to be sarcastic; they all surrounded Jiang Ling, their faces full of envy.

"Lingling, your coat is so pretty! Where did you buy it?"

"Lingling, your hair looks so beautiful! It must have cost a lot of money!"

"Lingling, is your brother... is your brother a miner?"

Jiang Ling sat in the center of the crowd, feeling a little embarrassed, but mostly with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and pride.

For the first time, she became the center of attention.

For the first time, I experienced the feeling of being envied and admired.

She looked at the brother beside her who was slowly peeling king crab legs for the group of chattering girls.

Looking at my brother's composed profile.

Jiang Ling's eyes unconsciously became a little moist.

she knows.

From this day forward, that self-conscious, timid self is completely dead.