Could you imagine someone to be so patronizing? So toffee-nosed. There was one young man who seemed to be exactly that. He was so pretentious and arrogant. Everywhere he went he was sure to show off his exquisite, limited editions of various valuable items average people could only dream of. He lived the life of a celebrity. Despite the fact that many people despised him, they still wished to be born just like him.
His name was Bai Syaoran, 27 years old living flawlessly without a care in the world—besides how many calories he was putting on.
Syaoran started off poor himself. His mother was a prostitute and that's more or less how he was born. Syaoran's father was a businessman in finance and occasionally sought out his delectation. When Syaoran's mother told his father she was pregnant, he completely disregarded her. Syaoran lived in old, abandoned homes, and sometimes the clients of his mother. He was almost raped one time by a raunchy man. That's when his mother decided to quit prostitution and instead went to selling drugs. He had a pretty tough childhood.
Then, one day while he was out wondering about, he saw his father standing at a food stand. He was very suave and looked very firm. His hair was finely gelled to the back, and he wore a captivating peach color suit. He was talking to a man beside him while waiting for food. Syaoran took this as his chance to escape his pitiful mother and his miserable life. He wore rags and didn't look very presentable, yet he still took the initiative to go and talk to his father. Syaoran was sure it was him.
As he took steps toward him his palms began to sweat. He kept contradicting himself the closer he got 'til finally he stood right in front of his father. Syaoran's father looked at him indifferently.
"Dad?" Syaoran whispered. A ray of longing could be heard in his voice. It had been nine years since his father last saw him. He could see his father was in quite a dismay. The man who stood beside him looked dumbfounded. He started to quickly deny Syaoran as his child and shoo him away but suddenly he stopped. He was a prosperous CEO and maintained many companies, yet he had never thought of an heir. And leaving the company to his siblings he didn't trust who always schemed against him wasn't an option. Someone who has no ties to the family would be more beneficial and safer. This way he could pass on the company without going through any family disputes. And quite frankly he would rather pass it on to anyone but his family. With this in mind he quickly accepted Syaoran and didn't bother with a DNA test. And from there, Syaoran became the person he is today due to the wealth of his newfound father.
Later in life when Syaoran was finally a young adult he ran into his mother. It had been 10 years since he last saw her. She didn't seem like the pitiful mother he had remembered. She owned a popular clothing shop many celebrities came to for custom made outfits. She wore a bright red cocktail dress and looked refined and cultivated as ever. That day he really wanted to run up to her and tell her he was sorry for abandoning her but instead he decided to walk to Starbucks and order a mocha chip latte.
Syaoran didn't see her again 'til he was 25. By this time, he had already made a name for himself as everyone in all of Guangzhou, China knew about him. He fortuitously ended up in one of her clothing stores and by this time she herself has become a famous fashion designer. They ran into each other by chance and made amends. Syaoran's mother had also married a wealthy man who was a movie producer. They had a kid-- his stepbrother. He was ten years old, and his name was Yunho. Syaoran despised his younger brother for some reason and vowed to never associate himself with him.
Three years later brings us to present time.
"Should I get this in the shade of Shamrock or Emerald?" Syaoran said looking in the full-size body mirror. He carried in both his hands two tote bags in the color green. Song Yiqi sat meekly on the little cushion in front of the mirror. Song Yiqi looked at both tote bags and to him both colors seemed exactly the same, but he couldn't say that to Syaoran, so he didn't respond at all. Syaoran usually told him if he wasn't going to say what he wanted to hear to just keep his mouth shut to save him the trouble.
Syaoran looked at him expecting a response and when he didn't receive one, he huffed in annoyance. He looked at Song Yiqi with his eyes filled with irritation before speaking,
"If I ask you something that means answer! Don't just sit there like an idiot. Now which one. This one or this one?" Syaoran asked once again holding out the two tote bags. Song Yiqi pointed to the left side which contained the Shamrock green tote. Syaoran rolled his eyes at him before huffing.
"You have absolutely no taste in fashion whatsoever. I guess your life as a poor nobody is well delivered otherwise, you'll be a shame to this luxurious life I have walking around in a Shamrock green tote. I mean, who even would choose these horrid colors any way. I was testing you. You're definitely not ready to travel outside the country with me anywhere. I wouldn't be caught dead with a green tote. The correct answer is neither. Green is ugly, especially these two colors. We only accept pastel colors if it's an ugly color like these. Psst Sunny, you're just tasteless," Syaoran said hanging the tote bags back where they were originally placed. Song Yiqi hung his head down.
"On a second note, I could buy you this Shamrock green tote for you to carry around. I bet it would look so dashing along the likes of a poor nobody like you. What am I saying, if you were to buy this, this tote would be forever tainted. Besides, it's only worth $675. How cheap," Syaoran said with a look of disgust waiting for Song Yiqi to agree with him. Song Yiqi's voice was caught in his throat before he was able to speak. He whispered out,
"Yes. Very. We don't buy anything that's not of higher value. If we were to do that, we'd be disrespecting our predecessors who decided wealth is the ultimate sorting of society. With the blessing that you have, all you can do is spend money wisely in honor of our rich forefathers," Song Yiqi cited perfectly. Syaoran looked pleased.
"It seems I taught you well. You know you should be lucky I even offer these classes to you. I could charge you like a thousand dollars, but I know your like super poor. You don't even own a penny. And besides, you're my very best friend, how could I possibly rob you of your own nonexistent money like that? The amount I have spent on you these past few years you better pay me back, with interest. Anyways I'm sick of this store, the clothes here are so ugly. Who allowed them to open this shop," Syaoran finished with a look of disgust. The shop employees who worked there snickered in the corner huddled together.
"Who told him to come shop here? There's plenty of other shops he could have gone to."
"Exactly, but I'm sure they'd rather avoid him. How many times has he come to the mall? Doesn't he have anything better to do other than shop. I'd kill myself if my son ever turned out like him. What a disgrace to his family, haven't they taught him any humbleness?"
"Excuse me?" Syaoran chimed in. He had overheard after gaining interest when noticing there weren't any staff walking around.
"Was there something you wanted to say to me? I just couldn't help but hear the bullshit coming out your mouth just now," Syaoran said in a contemptuous tone. The four huddled in the corner quickly split up and now stood side by side a few spaces between each other.
One of the staff, her name being Chunhua, put on a counterfeit smile before answering.
"Of course not. I think you might have misheard; we were tal-
"Well, I don't care," Syaoran interrupted.
"I'll be leaving now, but a bit of advice maybe you should change your wardrobe, it's as almost as if I'm looking at secondhand clothes. These clothes don't have enough value, they might as well be second hand. Don't they look like it Sunny?" Syaoran asked for confirmation. Song Yiqi who was standing behind Syaoran with his head down, fiddling with his fingers, nodded slightly in agreement.
He smiled halfheartedly and walked out the store, Song Yiqi following close behind.
"Where should we go next? Oh wait! I know, recently I heard there's a new Ice cream shop here. It's so good, people come back in the same day for more. I want some, let's go," Syaoran said with a squeal as he hurriedly walked toward the escalators.
- Boqin, Boubi
Published 021921
Next chapter: Iron Fisted of That He Is