Chapter 167: Country Bumpkin Goes to Town!

As the words fell, Huang Lingxi shouted indignantly, "Hey! Do you understand first-come, first-served? I had my eyes on this first!"

"Had your eyes on it first? That doesn't necessarily mean anyone was going to buy it for you!" The man cast a scornful glance at Lin Fan.

He could read in Lin Fan's eyes that Lin Fan was not actually all that keen on purchasing this particular wristwatch.

That was precisely why he had cut in line.

Huang Lingxi glanced at Lin Fan and retorted with equal disdain, "My boss is much richer than you! He can offer a higher price, or even buy both and give them to me as a gift. Can you do that?"

She would have been better off keeping quiet, because her words instantly infuriated the young beauty.

"Stop putting on airs! Since when is having money such a big deal?"

With that, she wrapped both arms tightly around the man's stomach and cooed in a spoiled, sugary voice, "Darling, I really, really love this wristwatch. Won't you just buy it for me... I can stay and keep you company all night long."

The man's heart melted into a puddle of goo at the sound of that sweet, delicate voice, and he surrendered instantly.

Without a second thought, he pulled out a bank card and slapped it onto the counter.

"I'm taking this watch today!"

The sales assistant looked between him and Lin Fan with a troubled expression. "Sir, this..."

The man let out a cold, impatient huff. "If you have any other luxury watches here, just bring them out and give them to him instead!"

"I'm sorry, sir. This is a limited edition, and our store only has this single piece."

Hearing this, the man turned back to look at the young beauty in his arms. "Babe, why don't we go take a look somewhere else?"

The next second, however, the sales assistant interjected, "Sir, this is already the largest flagship store in Shanghai. I'm afraid other branches are already sold out. As of right now, this is the only one left in stock."

"Really? You aren't trying to trick me, are you?"

The man stared straight at the sales assistant, his tone deeply unpleasant, clearly suspecting that she was deliberately trying to inflate the price.

"Sir, I can assure you on the reputation of our store that there is indeed only one piece left in the entire city of Shanghai at the moment. However... we can place an urgent order with headquarters, and have two more shipped over from them by next week..."

Upon hearing this, the man slapped the counter in deep annoyance.

"Wait until next week? I don't have the time for that! I want this exact one, no matter how much you raise the price!"

With that, he shot another sideways glance at Lin Fan.

"Judging by the look of him, he's probably just some country bumpkin who ran in here to put on a show and impress a girl. He likely doesn't have much money anyway."

The subtext was clear: he had no intention of letting the sales clerk sell the watch to Lin Fan.

When Lin Fan and Huang Lingxi heard this, they were so angry they laughed on the spot.

Huang Lingxi curled the corners of her lips and sneered with utter contempt. "Look here, mister! You keep throwing around the word 'country bumpkin'—are you even from Shanghai? No wonder you look down on people! Do you have any idea how rich my boss is? Today alone, he casually splashed over a billion to buy two luxury mansions—one in Tomson Riviera and another at Royal Manor!"

"The things here are nothing to him; he could buy them with a mere wave of his hand, and buying this entire specialty store wouldn't even be a problem! What are you even pretending for?"

"Ahem!"

Lin Fan gave a light cough, signaling Huang Lingxi to hold her tongue.

After all, this was Shanghai, a place crouching with tigers and hiding dragons, where wealthy tycoons could be found on every corner. Perhaps the man in front of them was also a multi-billionaire who lacked nothing.

Besides, he could tell the man had a rather fiery temper, and judging by his attire, he was most likely a corporate CEO.

In a city like Shanghai, anyone with this kind of aura and wardrobe was definitely not an ordinary person.

He wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yet Huang Lingxi completely missed the meaning of his cough. Instead, mimicking the young beauty's affected tone, she cooed, "President Lin, I want this wristwatch too. Can you buy it for me? Tonight... tonight I can keep you company until dawn, you know."

Her words only filled Lin Fan with disgust.

It instantly reminded him of Chen Yanzi!

Yet, for the sake of successfully executing his counter-attack, he nodded along with feigned affection and agreed, "Of course, no problem."

With that, he raised his gaze toward the man.

"My friend, I'm afraid you won't be getting this wristwatch today. You simply can't outbid me, so I suggest you take your business elsewhere..."

He then turned back to the sales assistant. "I am willing to pay two million three hundred thousand to buy it."

"Damn it!"

Hearing his offer, the man trembled with rage and cursed out loud on the spot.

"Who do you think you're trying to fool? There are plenty of people in Shanghai who are much richer than you, and I am determined to buy this today! You're offering three hundred thousand extra? Well, I'll add five hundred thousand—two million five hundred thousand!"

Pfft!

Hearing that specific number, the young beauty couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Huang Lingxi frowned and let out a dainty huff. "Don't think that having a little stinking money gives you the right to act all high and mighty! My boss could crush the two of you flat with just his cash. Why are you beating around the bush with your snide remarks? If you've got the ability, buy the whole store then..."

Provoked to such an extent by Huang Lingxi, the young beauty grew furious out of embarrassment.

"I'll make all the snide remarks I want, what can you possibly do about it? Judging by what she calls you, aren't you just being kept by this country bumpkin? How old are you to be playing games like this—do your family members know? People like you are the absolute lowest of the low..."

Huang Lingxi refused to yield an inch.

"Takes one to know one! This old man could practically be your father, didn't you just talk to him in the most sickeningly sweet voice? Does your family know you're out here putting on such an act? You have the nerve to lecture others when you've got no shame at all!"

The young beauty's eyes flashed with rage as she stared daggers at Huang Lingxi, gritting her teeth in a manner that suggested she might snap and fly into a frenzy at any second.

The man was no different, glaring at Huang Lingxi with a ferocious, murderous expression like a butcher.

Huang Lingxi, however, showed not a shred of fear. After all, Lin Fan was a super-tycoon who knew Young Master Zhou; there were probably very few people in the entire country who could compare to him.

Because of this, she felt entirely secure and fearless.

Lin Fan, however, was deeply displeased. Fearing that the situation might escalate into real conflict, he hurriedly reached out and pulled her back.

"Can't you just say a little less?"

"President Lin, aren't I just speaking the truth? They were the ones making sarcastic remarks—did you expect me to just swallow the insult and stay silent? I certainly can't tolerate that!"

Huang Lingxi pouted, making her dissatisfaction abundantly clear.

Right after that, Lin Fan watched as her favorability rating toward him plummeted instantly from 80 down to 70!

*Damn it, this woman is a master of facial expression shifts!*

Lin Fan cursed inwardly.

Seeing this, the man let out an even colder sneer. "What did I tell you? This guy is nothing but a bumpkin who doesn't have a single real penny, yet he insists on putting on a show in front of me! You can tell just by his tone that he doesn't actually want to buy it at all..."

"That's right, that's right! You run into posers like him every single day in Shanghai! Daddy is the best—just one look from him scared them half to death! Hee-hee!"

Seeing that the man had regained the upper hand, the young beauty happily clung to his stomach, heaping lavish flattery upon him.

She even went so far as to address him as "daddy" out in public.

Yet, anyone with eyes could tell that their relationship was anything but normal.

At that moment, Lin Fan's patience finally snapped.

"Who says I don't want to buy it? I bid three million! No... I'll buy both of them together, five million total!"

With that, he cast a look of utter disdain and contempt back at the wretched pair.

In truth, it wasn't that he didn't want to buy it; he had simply wanted to avoid stirring up trouble.

After meeting with Zhou Jiayi earlier today, he felt that he should emulate Zhou Jiayi and act as a low-key, pragmatic individual, rather than behaving like some spoiled, arrogant young master showing off his wealth.