Ten minutes later.
Gu Xiyan stopped the car outside a high-end fashion store.
"Get out."
Gu Xiyan turned her head to look at Mu Jinyu and said indifferently.
"Oh." Mu Jinyu responded, hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Aren't we going to attend the birthday banquet? Why stop here?"
Gu Xiyan glanced at Mu Jinyu and huffed, "How can someone meet people dressed like you? Do you want me to lose face along with you? Don't worry, you don't have to pay; I'll treat you."
"Oh, then I'm relieved." Mu Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Although he now had more than twenty million yuan on him, that was his hard-earned money, which he really didn't want to spend on clothes.
And this store, looking very posh, must have clothes that were definitely not cheap. A complete outfit would not be less than one hundred thousand yuan, likely around fifty or sixty thousand yuan.
He was playing Gu Xiyan's pretend boyfriend just for one hundred thousand yuan of hard-earned money. If he went in and spent half of it, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
However, now that Gu Xiyan said she would pay, he didn't care anymore.
"Hmph." Seeing Mu Jinyu's attitude, Gu Xiyan snorted lightly, her heart filled with silent disdain, thinking him truly money-hungry.
But she wouldn't say it out loud to make him feel embarrassed.
Opening the car door, Gu Xiyan got out, then walked with a somewhat shy and bashful Mu Jinyu towards the fashion store.
"Welcome."
The greeters at the door did not stop Mu Jinyu from entering. When they came in, all greeted them respectfully.
In fact, if Mu Jinyu had come alone, he might really not have been allowed to enter.
After all, his outfit was indeed rather unsightly.
Just as upscale hotels don't let customers in disheveled clothing enter, unless, the hotel management recognizes the customer to be someone special.
Mu Jinyu, clad in a yellowed tank top and flip-flops, would absolutely not be allowed under normal circumstances.
It wasn't that they were looking down upon him; a customer dressed like Mu Jinyu coming in would first disrespect himself, then disrespect the store, and by allowing him, they would disrespect other customers in the store...
But with Gu Xiyan accompanying him, there was naturally no such problem.
Besides, the brand boutique was owned by Gu Xiyan herself.
Gu Xiyan led Mu Jinyu into the boutique. Upon entering, Mu Jinyu looked around with the curiosity of a child.
A few customers inside the store who were picking out clothes frowned at the sight of Mu Jinyu, but when they saw he was accompanied by Gu Xiyan, they refrained from saying anything.
Gu Xiyan tugged at Mu Jinyu and glared at him, signaling him to stop staring around like a bumpkin and embarrassing themselves.
"Oh." Mu Jinyu understood the signal in Gu Xiyan's eyes and replied with a sense of grievance, stopping his wandering gaze.
After all, he had to cater to the employer's feelings.
Although...
It was his first time in such a store, and he was indeed very interested in the various clothes...
Gu Xiyan took Mu Jinyu to the men's clothing area, then pressed on his shoulder, telling him not to move around, and after sizing him up for a bit, she turned around to pick out clothes for him.
Soon, Gu Xiyan had chosen a set of black suits and a pair of leather shoes for Mu Jinyu, then handed them over to him, instructing him to go to the fitting room and try them on.
Mu Jinyu took the clothes, glanced at the tag, and jumped when he saw the suit priced at eighty-eight thousand yuan, then looked at the leather shoes with a price tag of fifty-five thousand yuan.
"Goodness, that's expensive?"
Mu Jinyu muttered under his breath.
He thought to himself, thank goodness Gu Xiyan was footing the bill. If he had to pay for these clothes just to pretend to be her boyfriend, he would have quit on the spot.
Darn it, he only got paid one hundred thousand yuan to pretend to be someone's boyfriend, and this outfit was almost one hundred and fifty thousand yuan. Pretending to be Gu Xiyan's boyfriend was basically like paying out of his own pocket—who would be such a fool to agree to that?
What Mu Jinyu didn't know was that if Gu Xiyan announced she was looking for a fake boyfriend, there would be plenty of talented young men and various "second generation" heirs in River City willing to spend their money to be her fake boyfriend...
After all, even a fake boyfriend was still a boyfriend—who knew, one day it might become real.
Mu Jinyu was unaware of these dynamics; he just felt that being Gu Xiyan's fake boyfriend was quite a good deal. Not only would he get one hundred thousand yuan as a reward but also a free suit of clothes.
Then, he carried the set of clothes and shoes, ready to try them on in the fitting room.
"Wait..." Gu Xiyan suddenly called out.
"Hm?" Mu Jinyu turned his head, looking at her quizzically.
With a slightly flushed face, Gu Xiyan did not look at Mu Jinyu but picked up a pair of men's underwear and tossed it to him, saying in a deliberately casual tone, "Take this too. If you're going to change, change everything."
"Oh." Mu Jinyu caught the underwear, glanced at Gu Xiyan, said nothing, and turned toward the fitting room.
"Bang!"
The fitting room door closed.
Gu Xiyan withdrew her gaze, patting her pert chest lightly, feeling her cheeks burning hot.
This was the first time she had ever picked out clothes for a man, including underwear.
But she noticed that Mu Jinyu's clothes were very worn, guessing even his underwear might have a few holes, so she thought since she had bought him clothes, trousers, and shoes, she might as well buy him a pair of underwear too.
She didn't have any other thoughts; she merely had a slight touch of OCD and a desire for cleanliness. She felt that if Mu Jinyu wore that set of clothes but inside was a dirty and torn pair of underwear, it would be extremely uncomfortable.
Gu Xiyan's thoughts raced, and she wasn't quite sure what she was thinking.
Soon.
Mu Jinyu changed into the suit and leather shoes Gu Xiyan had picked for him and awkwardly touched his head as he stiffly walked out of the fitting room.
He felt uncomfortable wearing this outfit in the heat of summer—it was hot and stuffy, like a simmered chicken...
Plus, it was his first time wearing such clothes, which made it all feel particularly awkward.
Gu Xiyan, witnessing Mu Jinyu's somewhat stiff movements, also felt it was uncomfortable, but right now, she didn't care about that. Her eyes shone with amazement as she stared intently at Mu Jinyu.
'Wow, so handsome.'
That was Gu Xiyan's first thought upon seeing Mu Jinyu in the suit.
Mu Jinyu's appearance was indeed exceptional, standing at 1.85 meters, with a sunny and handsome face, and a striking, extraordinary demeanor. He carried a hint of a big boy's shy and straightforward temperament, which was very attractive.
Previously, his old clothes had severely covered up his looks and temperament, giving off an unsophisticated impression. But now, dressed in the clothes she had chosen for him, he looked like a completely transformed person, almost as if he was someone else entirely.
The charm and beauty that were once hidden by his attire now unfurled like a fine wine uncorked, fragrant and intoxicating.
No one dared to call him unsophisticated anymore.
Even the socialites and wealthy ladies who had initially disapproved of Mu Jinyu's entrance into the store were now gazing at the transformed Mu Jinyu, their eyes gleaming as if they wanted to devour him whole.
Mu Jinyu felt their gazes on him, which made him very uncomfortable; it was like thorns in his back. He hurriedly trotted to Gu Xiyan's side and whispered, "Hey, can I not wear this outfit? It feels really hot and suffocating."
"No way," Gu Xiyan said, withdrawing her gaze and shaking her head indifferently.
She joked to herself that if Mu Jinyu attended her grandfather's seventieth birthday banquet in his original clothes, pretending to be her boyfriend, she would be laughed to death.
However, if Mu Jinyu dressed like this, he wouldn't embarrass her. He might even earn her some face.
To be honest.
When Gu Xiyan first saw Mu Jinyu, she only found him quite ordinary and hadn't taken much notice of him.
Originally, she thought that although Soldier King Lin Feng looked a bit unsophisticated, it didn't matter much, as long as he was capable and could protect her well.
There shouldn't be too many demands.
Actually, if it weren't for her best friend Yu Linglong's repeated assurances that Soldier King Lin Feng was a man of his word and a proper gentleman, she wouldn't have considered finding someone to pretend to be her boyfriend.
But now, she felt...
Hmm, truly delightful.
Of course, even though she felt like she had found a treasure, Gu Xiyan still maintained a cool and indifferent demeanor on the surface.
Seeing Mu Jinyu's bitter expression, she chuckled inwardly; then, with a stern face and a soft sigh, she raised her hand to straighten Mu Jinyu's slightly skewed collar, comforting him softly,
"I know you've always been a carefree and uninhibited person abroad, disliking these formalities, but after all, I've given you a hundred thousand yuan. You need to listen to me and endure this for one night. After the banquet, you can wear whatever you want; I won't interfere."
"All right," Mu Jinyu replied with a wry face.
Truth be told, he was beginning to regret impersonating Soldier King Lin Feng for one hundred thousand yuan.
But once the arrow was off the bow, there was no turning back, so he could only stiffen his resolve and continue the act.
He could only hope that Gu Xiyan's grandfather's banquet wouldn't last too long.
After sighing, Mu Jinyu turned around to head to the fitting room.
"What are you doing?" Gu Xiyan quickly said, seeing Mu Jinyu's move, "Don't take it off. We're going straight to the banquet in that suit."
"I know," Mu Jinyu replied as he continued toward the fitting room, adding, "I'm just going to get my old clothes."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiyan held her forehead, a look of defeat on her face, and sighed, "That tattered clothing, can't you just throw it away?"
"No need," Mu Jinyu entered the fitting room, retrieved his original clothes and slippers, stuffed them into a black plastic bag, and replied, "I've worn them for several years; they have sentimental value, I don't want to throw them away."
Gu Xiyan was speechless.
Completely defeated by Mu Jinyu.
In her mind, she grumbled that he had already taken her one hundred thousand yuan, why care about those tattered vests and shorts? With all that money he could buy so many more without gambling. He really was a miser.
However, she was too lazy to argue further.
After registering at the checkout with Mu Jinyu, Gu Xiyan then led him out of the store, under the burning gazes of the socialites and aristocratic women trailing behind them.