The Cold and Ruthless Supporting Male Lead

“What… what?” Upon hearing this, Han Yucheng was completely stunned.

He pointed at his phone, and the young saleswoman sighed in resignation, but her professional demeanor still made her smile warmly as she gently asked, “Would you like to try switching to another card?”

Han Yucheng was starting to panic. He had over 4,000 yuan in his card; his entire month’s salary hadn’t been spent yet. How could this entire set of cosmetics possibly be that expensive?

“Why don’t you go over and have a look?” Hearing the noise from the other side, Hai Ku asked Xiao Li with a smile.

It seemed that after leaving the lipstick counter, the girl had already appeared completely calm. Moreover, it didn’t seem like it was just his imagination; Hai Ku distinctly felt that Xiao Li was distancing herself from Han Yucheng.

“Too embarrassing,” Xiao Li shook her head. Her smile was somewhat disdainful, though whether she was mocking her own youthful recklessness or Han Yucheng on the other side was unclear. “I used to think that as long as there was love, being together was enough, but now I still feel that one should date with their brain as well.”

Hai Ku nodded thoughtfully before standing up and walking over in that direction.

He hadn’t heard the noise clearly from earlier, but now that he was closer, he could hear Han Yucheng speaking.

“How could something so small cost so much money? This can’t be a black market store, can it…” Han Yucheng tried to save face as he picked up a small bottle of essence from the set. “This tiny bottle of stuff doesn’t cost nearly as much on Taobao. Just look at it, how much could it cost? It’s only 30 milliliters of liquid.”

If not for her professional training keeping her smile intact, the young saleswoman might have started to snap at him. However, there were other customers in the store, so she couldn’t just snap back.

Hai Ku directly pulled Zhuoye Xingchen to the side and whispered, “Let’s keep our distance from him and pretend we don’t know him…”

“Sorry, Sir, the essence you’re holding is a newly developed product, 30 milliliters for 2,888 yuan. The full set you requested earlier is priced at 9,800 yuan, but if you apply for a membership card, we can offer you a discount, bringing the price down to 9,500 yuan. It’s still quite a bargain,” the saleswoman said with a smile, though inwardly she was already swearing.

Han Yucheng’s face turned completely pale, and even his hand holding the small bottle of essence tightened slightly, as if afraid he might accidentally drop it.

“It’s fine, I don’t need any of these foreign brands. I only use domestic ones, don’t buy it for me…” Han Yucheng’s mother came out at the right moment. She had been arguing with his father for the past few days. After being a housewife for so many years, she hadn’t saved up any money, and after the argument, she had no source of income left.

Han Yucheng’s face was beyond embarrassed. Even though his mother had given him an out, he could already feel many people around him looking at him, and he felt like all his face had been lost.

“Darling~ I want to go look at some clothes…” Hai Ku, standing nearby, added fuel to the fire, urging Han Yucheng with those words.

“Mom, domestic brands are good, but now that we’re here, I should at least buy something for you,” Han Yucheng said in a panic. After seeing how much Han Yuchen had just bought, if he didn’t buy anything at all, it would make him lose face.

“Then, sir, do you still want the set you asked for earlier?” The saleswoman, having already prepared the set, asked again.

Han Yucheng certainly couldn’t afford 9,888 yuan, but he still pretended to browse and finally picked out a cheaper, small bottle of something. “Since my Mom doesn’t like these brands, I’ll just buy something small to try. I’ll take this one.”

“Okay…” The saleswoman silently put the set away, then asked uncertainly, “This face cream costs 3,800 yuan. Will you be paying by card or cash?”

“WeChat Pay!!” Han Yucheng nearly bit his tongue. His legs felt weak. He had clearly picked something that was similar to a cheap brand like Yulan Oil, which only cost a few dozen yuan. How could this one be so expensive?!

Grinding his teeth, Han Yucheng bought the small bottle and handed it to his mother with a dark expression. He still pretended to be considerate and said, “Mom, try it and see if it works well. If it does, we can come back next time.”

Inside, he was already overjoyed, and Hai Ku smiled cheerfully as they walked out together.

***

“Do you want to take a look at the clothes? The latest summer collection is out now,” Hai Ku blinked and smiled.

“No, I still have some things to take care of at school. I’ll head back first, you two enjoy yourselves.” Xiao Li immediately shook her head and sighed with relief, though this time, she looked at Hai Ku. “Next time, if we have a chance, let’s go shopping together again.”

“Hey, Xiao Li, there’s nothing wrong with looking at clothes. I didn’t buy you any skincare products just now, but buying a couple of outfits wouldn’t be a bad idea, right?” Han Yucheng hurriedly tried to cover up, realizing he had neglected his girlfriend.

“Do you know the price range of the clothes up there? Just one random skirt costs over a thousand yuan. Do you think the prices here are like Taobao prices?” Xiao Li’s face had completely turned cold now, and her heart had frozen over. “I’ll buy what I need myself, and I don’t need your cheap stuff.”

When they first started dating, Xiao Li was full of love and was understanding of Han Yucheng, who had just started working. Whether he bought her a lipstick for 10 or 20 yuan or clothes for 30 yuan, she was always happy.

After all, she believed that the most important thing in their relationship was the affection between them. But later, she realized that when you cheapen your own feelings, what you get in return is just cheap affection.

If Han Yucheng had truly tried his best and really liked her, even if he bought her something worth only 20 yuan, Xiao Li would have been overjoyed.

But he had never taken the time to understand what she needed or what she should have. Instead, he arrogantly assumed that everything should be cheap.

“Xiao Li…” Han Yucheng’s face grew even darker. Having been together for a while, he knew his girlfriend was upset now.

But there were too many people in the mall, and he felt embarrassed to comfort her directly. He cautiously took her hand. “Can we argue when we get home? It’s really too embarrassing here. Let’s talk when we get home.”

“I don’t need that,” Xiao Li immediately shook off his hand, her face cold. “Let’s break up.”

“What?” This time, both Han Yucheng and his mother were shocked.

It was hard enough for their son to find a girlfriend, and now, suddenly, she wanted to break up. Han Yucheng’s mother quickly grabbed Xiao Li’s hand and pulled them to a quieter corner. “Xiao Li, if Han Yucheng has done anything wrong, tell me. Don’t just suddenly say you want to break up.”

“I’m tired,” Xiao Li couldn’t tolerate it anymore, even from her elder. “I don’t think he’s been good to me.”

“What do you mean, he hasn’t been good to you? I bought you so many gifts; do you think they didn’t cost anything? What do you mean, I haven’t been good enough? Isn’t this enough?” Han Yucheng’s mood, already irritable after spending thousands, was now even worse.

“I used to think it was fine. Even though the lipstick you bought me cost only 20-something yuan and the skirts were cheap, I still liked them because I thought you were being thoughtful. Even if you couldn’t afford it, you would check and pick carefully. But now I realize, it was all just what I thought.” Xiao Li opened her small bag, took out 200 yuan, and shoved it into Han Yucheng’s hand.

She coldly said, “This is more than the gifts you gave me. We’re even now. As for the things you gave me, I’ll send them back to you later. I’ve got things to do, so I’m leaving.”

Without looking back, Xiao Li left, completely determined with a cold expression.

Han Yucheng clenched the money in his hand, grinding his teeth. His face was ashen as he shoved the money into his pocket.

“It seems like things aren’t going well for you two… Maybe it’s best to skip the meal,” Hai Ku said, wrapping his arm around Zhuoye Xingchen. “Next time, we’ll eat together. The most important thing now is to go after Xiao Li. Let’s leave first.”

Hai Ku, pulling Zhuoye Xingchen along, walked after Xiao Li without looking back.

“Are we really just leaving like this?” Zhuoye Xingchen looked surprised as he was being pulled out.

“Do you really want to invite them to dinner?” Hai Ku was even more surprised. “Given their current mood and state, it would definitely be unlucky to run into them. Besides, why should we invite them to dinner? Don’t they have money to eat themselves?”

“Right!” Zhuoye Xingchen’s mood lifted as Hai Ku’s words made everything clear. “I’ve been putting up with them too much. Now that I think about it, it was completely unnecessary. Everything I have is in my own hands. Even that cheap old man of mine; I’ve graduated now, and he can’t control me anymore.”

“You used to hold yourself back too much. There was absolutely no need for that. Do what you need to do, just go for it.”

Hai Ku was in a great mood. He wasn’t just saying this to Zhuoye Xingchen but also to himself.

After completing so many tasks, Hai Ku had noticed he was making progress bit by bit, but there were still many flaws. He was often indecisive, completely getting absorbed into the role, but if he stood from the reader’s perspective, he could have solved things quickly and decisively.

“What should we do?” Han Yucheng’s mother pulled her son’s hand. “Should we go after Xiao Li? Didn’t you chase after her for so long?”

“No need!” Han Yucheng’s face darkened as he pulled his mother away from the embarrassing situation.