Chapter One: Qin Jing, You Heartless Scoundrel

"Waa waa waa, waa waa waa..."

Chen Hua was dressed in a pale yellow Chanel dress, V-neck and cinched at the waist, hugging her curves just enough, the hem slightly split to reveal her long, slender legs—she had the kind of legs men could admire for years. She carried a matching crossbody bag from the same brand and wore bright red heels. The aura she exuded was unmistakably provocative; even as she sobbed, there was a charm to her distress.

"Qin Jing, look at what you've done—how could you make our Hua so upset?"

"Honestly, Qin Jing, with your situation, you still have the nerve to be the one breaking up with our Hua?"

"Hmph, don't blame me for being blunt. Maybe you should look in the mirror and see what kind of mess you are..."

Qin Jing touched his face and thought to himself: What kind of mess am I, really?

For the past year, he’d been hustling everywhere; his previously skinny frame had filled out a lot, and though his face still bore the marks of youth, he was at least a solid seven out of ten in looks. Well, compared to Chen Hua, the belle of Lenghai Art Academy’s Drama Department, he was still nothing more than a pile of cow dung.

So be it.

"Aren’t you going to say something? Why did you disappear for half a month, only to come back and break up with me straight away?"

Chen Hua finally spoke, her voice carrying a hint of childishness that was especially pleasant—at certain times, even more so.

As she began, the three friends who’d come to help her “seek justice” all glared at Qin Jing, as if they’d devour him if his answer displeased them.

"It's my fault, I couldn't take care of you," Qin Jing offered a conciliatory smile.

Chen Hua’s big, bright eyes widened, her aura instantly rising: "You couldn’t? Do you think I, Chen Hua, would look down on you? When you said you’d get into the luxury resale business, didn’t I pull in so many of my friends to buy from you? You made at least thirty or forty thousand a month, didn’t you?"

Yes, indeed, I made forty thousand and you managed to spend fifty.

Qin Jing nodded, but kept that to himself. No need for a man to quibble over such things.

"My family isn’t wealthy, I’m from some poor mountain village—even you’ve always said there’s no way we could go all the way, right?"

Chen Hua sneered, her energy only growing: "Who these days dates to get married?"

Well, you do have a point.

Qin Jing fell silent.

Seeing no reaction from him, Chen Hua seized the initiative: "So, what’s wrong with me? I’ve got the looks, the figure, even my family’s not bad. Have I ever spent much of your money? All the bags and clothes are things I bought myself! Sometimes, when they’re a bit worn, I even have you sell them secondhand!"

"Qin Jing, let me tell you—the whole Art Academy is full of guys chasing after me. I must have been blind to choose you and even move out to live with you for two months…"

"Being with you for six months, I’ve had to use cheap skincare brands like Naturaltang…"

As she listed his faults, her friends chimed in, piling on the complaints.

Qin Jing frowned and suddenly interrupted: "Chen Hua, can’t we just part on good terms?"

A brief silence followed.

"Oh, now you talk back?"

"What did you say? You really have the nerve!"

"Jerk!"

With their manicured fingers almost poking at his face, Qin Jing couldn’t help but sigh. "Chen Hua, if I’m so terrible, why did you come looking for me now?"

In an instant, the room fell silent.

Qin Jing forced himself to remain calm and spoke slowly: "Chen Hua, I never expected you to be some rich heiress. You’re beautiful, and that alone means I’m lucky to be with you. So I didn’t mind you hiding your poor background from me—fine, let’s not talk about that."

"Have you felt your lifestyle get any worse with me? Parties every day, wine, clubs—whenever you’re in the mood, it’s shopping, spending thousands each time and tens of thousands in a week. If it weren’t for my secondhand business, what would you do with all the things you buy? Just let them pile up?"

"But that’s nothing. A man earns money for the woman he loves, I don’t mind. Even your social media, I’m the one taking all your goddess photos. When your friends call you a goddess, I’m happy to be the man behind the goddess."

"But if I’m not good enough for you and you want a better ‘meal ticket,’ you could just say so and we’d break up. Instead, you sneak off to Hu Chaoyang’s party while I’m away—you know as well as I do that getting expelled from college was his doing!"

By the end, Qin Jing’s expression had turned cold. For a man, nothing stings more. Only because he knew Chen Hua hadn't actually done anything with the guy did he choose to break up like this, hoping to leave both with some dignity.

But his words struck a nerve. Her face changed, and she shot to her feet, pointing at him, her anger draining the color from her cheeks: "You—you investigated me?"

"So petty—what kind of man are you?"

"Bah, Hu Chaoyang’s chasing me, sure, but I brought my friends along, didn’t I?"

"Forget it, a man like you isn’t worth it."

Chen Hua wanted to push him for details, but thought better of it. She knew Hu Chaoyang only courted her to irk Qin Jing, but his parties were prime hunting grounds for rich prospects. As she’d just said—she didn’t date to get married. If she ever did, it’d have to be a second-generation rich kid.

With this in mind, Chen Hua calmed herself and said, "Fine, since you put it that way, I don’t want a man like you either."

She jabbed a finger at him, her tone icy: "But remember, Qin Jing, you were the one who chased after me desperately. Today, I’m the one dumping you."

Qin Jing, who’d shared a bed with her, understood perfectly.

"Don’t worry, after everything we’ve been through, even if you go around telling people I was your backup, I won’t mind."

If she could hide her humble origins, she’d certainly keep this quiet too. Goddesses had to protect their image—how could she let herself be dumped by a ‘poor, short nobody’ like him?

"Hmph."

Satisfied, Chen Hua's mood improved. Bringing all her friends was for this moment.

"Hua, let’s go—he’s not worth it. Let’s hit Gold Cabinet for drinks and not go home until we’re drunk!"

With the outcome settled, her friends moved to pull her away.

"Wait."

It was then that Qin Jing spoke.

"What now? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t pester her anymore?" Her friend, frowning, turned back in annoyance.

Qin Jing pointed at the crossbody bag slung over Chen Hua’s shoulder. "That bag…"

Her friend cut him off, irritated: "What is it with you? Even if you bought that bag for her, now you want it back just because you’ve broken up?"

The others looked at him with disdain, practically ready to poke his forehead and call him a jerk all over again.

Chen Hua frowned. "Everything else aside, this bag is one I bought for myself."

Qin Jing nodded with a smile. "Exactly. Everything you got from me was secondhand, maybe a few high-quality knockoffs. But this one’s brand new, genuine, a limited edition even."

His words left the women confused, and one sneered: "What, you can’t stand seeing Chen Hua carrying something genuinely new?"

"Come on, this isn’t fair. I suggested breaking up to keep things civil."

"So what do you want?"

Qin Jing rubbed his hands, almost sheepish. "I just wanted to ask—are you selling the bag?"

Chen Hua nearly laughed in disbelief. "You still want to do business with me?"

Only after saying it did she realize that his “talent” was what had drawn her to him: he could sell her used items at high prices, and the money always ended up in her pocket—a nice financial boost.

Don’t look down on that; it was exactly why she hesitated to lose him, even after hearing about the breakup. It was an important source of her luxurious lifestyle.

If they could stay in touch, that wouldn’t be so bad, she thought.

"Of course. Breaking up is one thing, but we’re still on good terms. I’d be happy to keep doing business, same rules as before. I’ll just take a slightly higher fee."

Qin Jing played the perfect gentleman.

Chen Hua was tempted, but her pride held her back. Seeing this, her friend asked, "That bag cost Hua a whole month’s allowance. How much are you offering?"

A month’s allowance for Chen Hua wasn’t small—during her time with Qin Jing, it was about fifty thousand.

Qin Jing didn’t bat an eye and held up five fingers.

"Five thousand? That’s a joke," her friend sneered. She hadn’t considered another possibility; the bag’s retail price was forty-eight thousand, just under fifty thousand.

"No, fifty thousand. After we break up, we’re still friends. Consider it a breakup fee, alright?" Qin Jing said with feigned stinginess.

He knew this was exactly what Chen Hua needed to trust him. She was vain and suspicious, never letting a bargain slip by, but her pride was just as strong.

"Fifty thousand? Really?"

Chen Hua couldn’t hide her delight.

"Yep, I’ll transfer it to you online. I’ve got your number."

Without hesitation, Qin Jing pulled out his phone. Thirty seconds later, Chen Hua’s phone chimed. Fifty thousand had just been credited to her account.

"Heh, you’re not so bad after all. Remember, this time I’m the one who dumped you."

She knew Qin Jing understood her too well, so she didn’t bother with pleasantries. She just gave him a perfunctory “at least you’ve got some conscience,” emptied her belongings from the bag, and left with her friends, all smiles.

Faintly, Qin Jing could still hear muttered insults like "idiot" from outside, and Chen Hua declaring triumphantly, "We’re not going home till we’re drunk!"

Qin Jing couldn’t help but laugh: Paying more than retail for a used bag—even if it had only been used for three days—it was still secondhand. But…

"Mirror, mirror, tell me—who’s the real fool now?"

He turned to a plain mirror on the wall.

With his words, a line of black text appeared:

At this moment, Chen Hua is the biggest fool of all.