The sight of these two girls being so unabashedly confrontational, aiming directly at Zhang Yang, genuinely displeased Mi Xue.

Mi Xue’s beauty momentarily stunned both girls, especially the one clinging to Hu Tao’s arm; she seemed to grip him even tighter, her gaze toward Mi Xue laced with intense jealousy.

“Sister Lan, no, Zhang Yang wasn’t targeting me, it’s not like Tingting said!”

Hu Tao appeared somewhat flustered. He dared not look at Zhang Yang, nor at the girl beside him, his eyes darting everywhere as he spoke, or simply fixed on the floor.

His guilt was painfully obvious to anyone watching.

“Shut up! You don’t get to speak right now!”

The older girl glared fiercely, and Hu Tao immediately quieted, lowering his head in wronged submission. He stole a furtive glance at Zhang Yang.

He desperately wanted to explain himself to Zhang Yang, but the words were trapped.

Zhang Yang watched him with a degree of sympathy; for a grown man to be so severely reprimanded by a girl and not dare to retort—it was truly a pathetic spectacle.

No one noticed that as Hu Tao hung his head, his fists were clenched tightly, and in the eyes others couldn't see, a flicker of rage and humiliation burned.

Hu Tao was Zhou Yichen's subordinate, a member of the Student Union, and a key player on the department basketball team—all of that was true. But no one knew that Hu Tao was actually from a poor family, a young man who had emerged from the deep mountains.

It hadn't been easy for him to leave the mountains and get into university; he was the pride of his entire village.

When he first started college, Hu Tao was filled with excitement and novelty. He felt he had finally made something of himself, that he had achieved success, could escape poverty, and truly integrate into the city lifestyle.

His aspirations were noble, but reality proved cruel. He studied sports, a discipline not highly valued at that time, almost a niche field. Finding a good path after graduation would not be easy.

Furthermore, university positions were no longer guaranteed placements. A student like him, lacking outstanding specialized skills or exceptional talents, would find securing a suitable job after graduation incredibly difficult. If he couldn't find work, he would have no choice but to pack up and return to their small mountain village.

Perhaps he could secure a teaching position in the village, given he was a university graduate, but that was not the life he envisioned.

He desperately wanted to remain in the city and completely reinvent himself.

It was for this very reason that he followed Zhou Yichen, hoping to leverage Zhou Yichen's influence to assist him. Though he hailed from the mountains, he understood the concept of 'guanxi'—connections—perfectly.

Unfortunately, due to Zhang Yang’s sudden appearance, Zhou Yichen had completely discarded him. After following Zhou Yichen for so long, Hu Tao had come to realize that people like him were only useful as long as they served a purpose; those who ceased to be useful were tossed aside without a second thought.

It was at this precise moment that Xia Ting appeared.

Xia Ting was the girl currently clinging to his arm. Standing at 1.6 meters, her height was adequate, but her looks were decidedly ordinary.

Hu Tao had known for a long time that Xia Ting was fond of him. She often came to watch him play basketball. However, he had also heard rumors that this girl had numerous boyfriends, was wild, and possessed a terrible temper.

He usually kept a respectful distance from people like that.

This time, however, he couldn't evade her. Xia Ting somehow found out he was worrying about next semester's tuition and approached him directly, asking him to be with her.

Xia Ting promised that if Hu Tao stayed with her, she would cover his tuition and buy him many, many nice things. If their relationship could last until graduation and potentially lead to marriage, she would even have her family help arrange a job for him, securing his permanent stay in the city, making him a true city dweller.

This last promise was what truly swayed Hu Tao; he yearned desperately to stay and become part of this urban environment.

Faced with these **—Hu Tao simply could not refuse, and so he agreed to Xia Ting’s demands. Only after they became a couple did he realize that the rumors he’d heard about her were softened versions of the truth; she was, in fact, a dictatorial, violent queen.

Hu Tao was required to acquiesce to her wishes at all times and be available on demand, with no room for contradiction. Anything less would result in verbal abuse, which was the lighter treatment; beatings were common.

His body bore numerous fading bruises—all the handiwork of Xia Ting.

That wasn't all. Xia Ting had an older sister, Xia Lan, who already had a job—the older girl in the group. She treated Hu Tao even worse, rarely looking him in the eye when speaking and frequently calling him a sponger.

Hu Tao endured it all. His sole focus was remaining in the city; after all, Xia Ting had offered him that hope.

“Mi Xue, let’s go look over there?”

Zhang Yang was unaware of Hu Tao’s predicament, but he disliked the current atmosphere. He took Mi Xue’s hand and steered her towards another section of the store.

If you can’t fight them, avoiding them is always an option.

“Okay!”

Mi Xue nodded obediently, linking her arm with Zhang Yang’s as they walked over to a nearby counter.

Behind them, the sisters Xia Ting and Xia Lan were left momentarily frozen. They hadn't expected that the people they were just aggressively questioning would now simply ignore them, treating them as if they were mere air, and walk away.

This only stoked the anger of the two women, especially Xia Lan, whose face flushed a deep red.

“There are so many, Zhang Yang, which one do you like?”

Upon reaching the counter, Mi Xue was immediately drawn to the display of mobile phones and couldn’t help but ask.

There weren't that many phones on display, just a few models from Motorola, Ericsson, and Nokia, less than ten types in total. But for Mi Xue, who rarely saw any phones at all, this was already a significant collection.

Inside this counter area, pagers were far more numerous—dozens of them.

Many people nearby were also examining the pagers. In this era, pagers were the accessible technology for the common person; even the cheaper numeric models cost only a few hundred yuan, affordable for many, allowing convenient contact with friends and family.

“Let me take a look first!”

Zhang Yang shook his head slightly, quickly scanning the few phone models on display, a look of disappointment immediately crossing his face.

The phones of this era were much as he expected: either too bulky or too ugly. Not a single one met his approval.

Then again, Zhang Yang was judging them through the lens of the next decade or more of technological advancement, so naturally, they wouldn't impress him. He understood this, yet it was difficult to suppress his internal reaction.

“Look at what? What do you know?”

Xia Lan had somehow followed them over and called out mockingly. Her voice was loud enough that several surrounding patrons turned to look at her with surprise.

Zhang Yang frowned, displeased, and turned back. This woman was tiresome; she had inexplicably decided to confront him moments ago, and now, even after he’d moved away, she was trailing them.

“What we look at is none of your business!”

Zhang Yang hadn't spoken; Mi Xue had already jumped in. Zhang Yang was Mi Xue’s pride, and she could not tolerate anyone treating him this way.

“You!”

Xia Lan was so directly rebuffed by Mi Xue that she nearly choked, her face turning even redder.

“You what? We are looking at our own things, we haven't provoked you, so stop bothering us!” Mi Xue said with clear distaste. Zhang Yang, standing beside her, was momentarily stunned. Mi Xue, when truly angry, was not to be underestimated.

He had forgotten that the old Mi Xue had a free-spirited nature, often leaving suitors feeling embarrassed, usually because of Zhang Yang, her temperament had become more reserved. But seeing someone dare to insult Zhang Yang, her original spirit instantly flared up.

Xia Lan’s complexion grew even deeper red. Mi Xue’s statement was public, and the surrounding onlookers made it equivalent to publicly humiliating her.

“Mi Xue, don’t think you’re so great just because you’re the department beauty. I think you’re just a pauper, and you’ve attached yourself to another pauper! You two are probably just here to buy stamps, pretending to be rich. Why are you even looking at pagers? Can you afford one?” Xia Ting suddenly shouted, her voice louder and her words sharper.

However, her statement managed to touch on key points, causing many people nearby to nod in sudden understanding.

So, this beautiful girl was the department beauty; that explained her poise. Since she was the beauty, she must be a student, and it was a known fact that many students weren't wealthy.

While some students owned pagers, they were still a minority. Mi Xue and Zhang Yang were dressed plainly. Many people tacitly agreed with Xia Ting’s assessment.

These two were likely just buying stamps and happened to glance over at the counter. Such behavior was common; many people would look after mailing a letter, indulging in a fantasy of one day owning such a device themselves. The crucial detail supporting this was that Mi Xue was indeed holding stamps in her hand, which made Xia Ting’s claim more believable.

“What did you say? Who can’t afford it!”

Mi Xue was momentarily taken aback, then shouted back, anger blazing on her face. Xia Ting’s words had completely enraged her. Being called a pauper was a first for Mi Xue. She was furious enough to explode.

Mi Xue came from an average family, but not one in poverty; she was fortunate enough to have the means to buy Zhang Yang a pager—so her family was not poor.

“I’m talking about you. If you can afford it, buy one for me to see! I’ll tell you, we are the ones who actually buy things here. Waiter, bring me that 'Little Sprite' pager to look at!”

Xia Ting’s retort empowered Xia Lan, who swelled with arrogance. She seemed to have found her greatest advantage and aggressively pushed past Zhang Yang, pointing at a Chinese character pager inside the display.

“Alright, please wait a moment!”

The attendant blinked in surprise but immediately retrieved the pager Xia Lan indicated. It was the same model Mi Xue had gifted Zhang Yang—a mainstream device at the time.

“It’s good, we’ll take this one. Hu Tao, come and hold this. This is for you from me. Remember to treat our Tingting well from now on, okay?”

Xia Lan made her decision with a single glance, not even bothering to ask the price, adopting the airs of a true big spender.