In the evening, Sarah parked her car next to a shopping mall.
David waved to her. “Sarah! Over here.”
Sarah walked over. “Does she work here?”
David nodded. “Yeah.”
The mall wasn’t very upscale, and Sarah wondered how David had met this girl. She followed him to a counter on the first floor where Nora worked.
At that moment, there weren’t many customers in the store, and Nora was chatting with her colleagues.
They were all quite envious of Nora’s wealthy suitor. They had watched as Nora upgraded from carrying a few hundred dollars bag to a Chanel bag worth tens of thousands of dollars, and from wearing ordinary jewelry to diamond necklaces.
“Getting noticed by a rich guy must be great. A single gift from him is worth several months of our salaries.”
“Well, what can we do? We weren’t born with such pretty faces.”
“And that rich guy is really handsome too, a one-in-a-million.”
“It’s really rare…”
Nora, thinking of David, felt no affection at all. Instead, she found him quite annoying and dull, thinking he was just a foolish straight guy.
She had loved another boy for many years. Though he wasn’t as successful as David, he knew how to sweet-talk her and would pick her up late at night after work.
Perhaps she and David just weren’t from the same world. Faced with David’s gifts and advances, Nora felt very repulsed.
“Hey, Nora, how far have you gotten with him?” her colleague asked.
Nora snapped back to reality. She always told her colleagues she was single. Although her colleagues didn’t earn much, they came from well-off families with houses and cars in the city.
Compared to her colleagues’ husbands or boyfriends, the only thing William had going for him was his decent looks. So Nora always claimed she was single.
“Mr. David?” Nora laughed. “He invited me to dinner tonight.”
Ever since David started pursuing her, her colleagues, despite their envy, had been much nicer to her, often bringing her milk tea and small gifts. Even her boss’s attitude had improved significantly.
Nora made sure to give the impression that she and David were getting close.
“Nora, you better seize this opportunity. Your future in City N might depend on it.”
Nora forced a smile. She really wanted a home in City N. If only William had as much money as David.
Thinking of William made her frown. William was great in many ways but couldn’t handle much hardship. He lost his last job because he played games during work hours and still hadn’t found a suitable job.
Nora had lied to David, saying William was her distant cousin, hoping David would find him a job. She thought, with David’s family wealth and his own company, it would be easy. But David suggested helping William go back to school to improve his qualifications first.
Nora sighed.
William’s family wasn’t dirt poor, and he was a grown man. If he was cut out for studying, he wouldn’t be in this situation now. It would be better for him to continue delivering food.
She felt anxious, knowing how expensive life in City N was and that she couldn’t just leave William behind. She hoped to convince David tonight, even if it meant…
Nora’s eyes flashed with distaste.
Even if it meant seducing him.
From a distance, Sarah spotted the girl David was talking about.
From Sarah’s perspective, Nora indeed fit the typical male ideal of beauty. Her golden hair was styled neatly, she wore the uniform of a cosmetics counter, and she had a curvy figure and a fair face, looking like a wholesome, domestic girl.
David sounded a bit proud. “Isn’t she pretty, Sarah? Don’t you think I have good taste?”
Sarah nodded. “She’s definitely attractive.”
David checked his watch. “She gets off work at seven, in about half an hour. Want to buy some skincare products from her counter?”
Sarah replied, “No need. I still have plenty at home.”
David tried hard to drum up business for Nora. “Stock up a bit. Don’t you girls love hoarding stuff? I bought ten sets of gift boxes from her store for my mom.”
Sarah was baffled. “What?”
She couldn’t help but ask, “What brand of skincare does your mom usually use?”
David thought for a moment. “I think it’s called La Prairie, in pink bottles.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “You downgraded your mom from tens of thousands per set to a few hundred per set? David, you really are a filial child.”
David sheepishly replied, “Uh, I told her to use them for her hands.”
At that moment, Nora spotted David and Sarah from a distance. Her colleague noticed them too.
“Is that Mr. David? And is that his girlfriend next to him?”
They looked from Nora to Sarah. To be honest, there was no comparison. It was like comparing the most beautiful girl in your school to a top-tier celebrity-both were beautiful, but there was a world of difference.
Nora’s colleague was shocked, “Mr. David’s girlfriend is so beautiful. Have you ever seen a celebrity in person? I think she’s even prettier than most actresses.”
Nora bit her lip, feeling a bit angry. She didn’t care for David, but that didn’t mean she was okay with her admirer getting close to another woman.
At that moment, David and Sarah noticed Nora watching them.
David walked over, “Nora, are you about to get off work?”
Nora glanced at Sarah, “Mr. David, is this your girlfriend?”
David quickly explained, “No, this is my sister, her name is Sarah.”
Hearing this, Nora felt much better. However, she still felt a subtle sense of jealousy and dislike toward Sarah. “Your sister is very pretty.”
Sarah smiled, “Hi, I’m Sarah.”
Nora replied coldly, “Hi. Mr. David, I’m still working. If there’s nothing urgent, please come back after I’m done.”
Usually, when Nora said this, David would buy something worth thousands to boost her sales. But today, David looked at Sarah and vaguely said, “Alright,” then headed to Starbucks with Sarah.
Nora stood there stunned, unable to understand why David didn’t buy anything from her this time. She waited until the end of her shift, changed clothes, and came out. She needed to discuss arranging a job for William with David, so she couldn’t just leave in a huff.
Nora forced a sweet smile and waved to David, “Mr. David, I’m here.”
David greeted Nora warmly, “Nora, let me carry your bag.”
Nora slyly glanced at Sarah and handed her bag to David. “Where are we going to eat?”
David mentioned a restaurant, and they headed to the parking lot. He opened the car door for both Nora and Sarah, suggesting they sit in the back together.
Nora didn’t want to sit with Sarah, “I’ll sit in the front.”
David hesitated, worried Sarah might feel awkward alone, and looked at Sarah.
Sarah waved it off, indicating she didn’t mind.
Nora looked up the restaurant David mentioned and saw it was very expensive, then closed the app on her phone. “Is Sarah your real sister?”
David started driving, “Not by blood, but she’s closer than a real sister.”
He meant it sincerely. Sarah had often eaten his mom’s cooking and helped his mom with his homework. To David, Sarah was practically family.
Nora glanced back at Sarah, guessing she was one of those girls who attached themselves to rich guys to make money.
In the front, the couple chatted sweetly, while Sarah sat alone in the back, feeling awkward.