Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

Chapter 130: Chapter 125: Disparity

Hermes, the undisputed king of the handbag world.

Over the years, through all sorts of marketing tactics, it has truly captured the hearts of wealthy women around the globe.

For countless women, a Hermes store is like a holy site for pilgrimage.

Whether you could afford anything or not, to walk past one without going in for a look would leave you with an unbearable itch.

At this moment, even though it was already approaching eight o’clock at night,

the line outside the Hermes store still snaked like a long dragon.

Han Yijia stood in the crowd, flanked by two girls her age—her university classmates, Zhou Yi and Xiao Lin.

"Jiajia, your boyfriend is so good to you!"

Her loyal lackey, Zhou Yi, gazed at Han Yijia, her eyes full of envy. "Don’t tell me he’s planning to get you a Hermes bag for your birthday?"

"I don’t know."

Today, Han Yijia was dressed in a lace top paired with a floral skirt, a Chanel chain bag slung over her shoulder, making her look exceptionally refined.

Facing Zhou Yi’s envious gaze, she felt a sense of satisfaction, but she feigned indifference on the surface. "I just told him I was out shopping, and he told me to come check out Hermes."

"If he said that, he definitely has it in mind."

Xiao Lin looked at Han Yijia with similar envy. "Jiajia, you’re only 23 and you’re already about to be carrying a Hermes. I don’t even have an LV yet."

"Take your time, you’ll get one eventually."

Bathed in the envious stares of Zhou Yi and Xiao Lin, Han Yijia’s mood began to improve slightly.

Ever since Gu Heng had left her stranded in the pool last night, her mood had been terrible.

Although she had gotten some minor benefits from Shen Yan last night, they were practically nothing compared to the advantages she could have gained by successfully seducing Gu Heng.

On top of that, she couldn’t stop thinking about how Jiang Ruan had snatched her prize right out from under her nose.

The thought of the man she had used every trick in the book to seduce all night ending up so easily in Jiang Ruan’s bed made her grind her teeth in frustration. It was a complete loss of face.

Because of what happened last night, she had been seething with pent-up anger.

This morning, she had used it as an excuse to start a huge fight with her boyfriend.

As expected, before evening even came, he had called to apologize and even suggested she go browse at the Hermes store.

Seeing his "sincerity," Han Yijia reined in her temper a bit and reluctantly "forgave" him.

Hermes, even within the realm of top-tier luxury, was in a class of its own—the king of kings.

Han Yijia dreamed of owning a Hermes bag, but the brand’s allocation system had always kept her at bay.

The Birkin and Kelly series were out of the question—completely beyond her wildest dreams. Even the more common Picotin, which seemed to be priced similarly to the Chanel in her hands, was a world apart in reality.

’Want to buy a bag?’

’Sure!’

’First, you have to meet the spending quota!’

’Want a good color?’

’Sure!’

’First, you have to meet the spending quota!’

Under these conditions, the price paid to get a bag in a desirable color could be several times the value of the bag itself.

On her personal income alone, Han Yijia could never afford such high expenses.

Fortunately, she had a loving, walking ATM machine, which gave her the confidence to stand here today.

Han Yijia gazed through the glass at the dazzling array of bags in the Hermes storefront and then at the proud sales associates standing tall inside. Her eyes glittered with a mixture of longing and anticipation.

"TAP, TAP, TAP..."

Just as Han Yijia was lost in her daydreams, the sound of hurried footsteps from behind made her turn around instinctively. Zhou Yi and Xiao Lin, standing beside her, also turned to look in unison.

A single glance was all it took for Han Yijia to freeze on the spot.

Because the man at the center of the approaching crowd, the man everyone was gathered around, was none other than Gu Heng—the same man who had playfully tossed a ball with her last night before leaving her stranded in the pool without a second thought.

Right now, Gu Heng was impeccably dressed, chatting and laughing with the people beside him.

One of them was the Executive Vice President of Ruyi Airlines, who had been so keen on playing blind man’s bluff last night.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Jiajia, look quickly!"

"Isn’t that Jiang Ruan?"

Suddenly, Zhou Yi, standing next to Han Yijia, let out a hushed cry.

"It really is Jiang Ruan!"

"That’s her! Jiang Ruan!"

Xiao Lin’s eyes went wide, her expression just as shocked.

The group approached without breaking stride and were warmly welcomed inside by the numerous sales associates of the Hermes store.

At the center of the crowd, Gu Heng and Jiang Ruan never once glanced to the side from start to finish, and naturally, they didn’t notice Han Yijia and her friends.

"Isn’t Jiang Ruan a car saleswoman at Mercedes-Benz?"

"Just now, watching her walk in that group, she looked like she had a pretty high status!"

"What is she now, exactly?"

Zhou Yi’s curiosity was about to explode. To think, she had been waiting in line for over half an hour and hadn’t even made it through the doors of the Hermes store.

But this group had just walked straight in, and even the famously haughty sales associates were bowing and scraping, fawning over them.

It was obvious this group was composed of the rich and powerful.

Normally, this wouldn’t be anything special. After all, this was Zhonghai, a global economic hub teeming with countless influential people.

The only reason they were overreacting was that they had seen Jiang Ruan in the crowd.

Who was Jiang Ruan?

She was a legendary figure at Yanjing Aviation University!

The reigning campus belle for four consecutive years!

Her fame had even spread to neighboring universities!

And yet, this legendary figure from their university days...

...had ended up, after graduation, doing worse than even ordinary people like them.

The stark contrast had given them an inexplicable sense of superiority and satisfaction, so much so that even a year after graduation, Jiang Ruan was still a frequent topic of their gossip.

But now, it seemed things weren’t as they had imagined.

From what they had just seen, it looked like not only was Jiang Ruan not down on her luck, but she had entered a social circle completely beyond their reach.

Surrounded by people like the moon surrounded by stars, looking glamorous and radiant, she was like a debutante from a wealthy family.

In comparison, they felt like Cinderella, playing in the mud by the side of the road.

"Hmph..."

"What kind of status could she possibly have?"

"She’s just using her looks to be some rich guy’s kept woman, that’s all!"

For Han Yijia, seeing Jiang Ruan was a case of enemies meeting, their eyes blazing with hatred.

Her sense of imbalance intensified, especially when she saw the envious gazes that had been directed at her quietly shift to Jiang Ruan.

Hearing Han Yijia’s assertive statement, Zhou Yi and Xiao Lin glanced at each other and chose to remain silent.

But Han Yijia’s words were like a seed, quietly taking root in their minds. It made them start to wonder too. After all, the person Jiang Ruan appeared to be today was vastly different from the person they thought they knew.

’A kept woman?’

’It’s not entirely impossible!’

Both Zhou Yi and Xiao Lin found themselves strongly leaning toward this possibility.

People are just like that.

When they see someone doing better than them, they try to find any reason, even resorting to malicious speculation, to erase the gap between them and find some psychological comfort.

Han Yijia stood by the window, watching Jiang Ruan being fawned over by the crowd of sales associates. Her mood, which had just started to improve, plummeted in an instant, turning utterly foul...

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