Chapter 27: A Relaxed Weekend Escape

Xu Chen had no idea what Feng Qingqing was thinking; he was just carrying out the task his dad had assigned and doing his best to look after this daughter of a leader.

As they ate casually, Xu Chen brought up their plans for the afternoon.

From Feng Qingqing’s earlier text, she’d already set the tone for this meeting.

“Just going through the motions, like getting to know a friend…”

Overall, Xu Chen felt a lot less pressure now.

“My dad said I need to discuss studying with you, so maybe we can head to the reading room later,” Xu Chen suggested.

“Sure…” Feng Qingqing replied shyly, nibbling on a tiramisu.

“Of course, it’s the weekend and we don’t get many of these. If you want to go out and have fun, we can—just keep it from the parents!”

“Really?” Feng Qingqing’s face lit up with excitement.

Xu Chen smiled and said:

“We can wander around, have some fun—I’m actually needing to pick up a few things myself.

Later, if you have time, we could even hit up the internet café together.”

Feng Qingqing blinked and asked:

“We can go to the internet café? Isn’t that only for bad kids?”

“…”

Xu Chen took a sip of Coke and chuckled good-naturedly.

It was clear Feng Qingqing had been kept on a tight leash by her parents—places like the internet café were off-limits for her.

In this era, internet cafés were still new, and the first kids to use them were often labeled as ‘bad’ by parents.

The online world back then lacked the later clean-up efforts, full of questionable content at every turn.

In a way, it had corrupted plenty of young teens just starting out in life.

Still, on the whole, it had opened doors to new worlds for that generation of youth…

“Hasn’t your boyfriend taken you to one before?” Xu Chen teased.

Feng Qingqing paused, a bit embarrassed, and focused on her little cake again.

Truth was, she didn’t have an official boyfriend yet.

Like she’d told her best friend, she worried Xu Chen might cling to her like other guys she’d met.

Feng Qingqing had high standards and looked down on the boys in this small county town.

But meeting Xu Chen in person was a surprise.

He was tall, handsome, and surprisingly attentive.

He stood out from the typical ‘small-town guys’ she’d encountered.

Feng Qingqing sipped her orange juice and said:

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Xu Chen grinned and replied:

“I’m like you.”

“…”

After finishing their meal, Xu Chen led Feng Qingqing out for some shopping.

Though he said it was for her, it was really for himself too.

He still had his mind set on buying those shoes for Xie Bingran.

The township wasn’t bustling—just a single commercial street in the town center, packed with knockoff brands.

Stores blasted noisy music through loudspeakers to draw in customers.

It was all the hot tracks and stars from that time.

Dao Lang, Shiwang, Huanzi, Zheng Yuan…

This was the age of ringtone hits, where phone companies raked in cash just from that.

The short commercial street was crammed with shops side by side.

Brands like Me&City, Jeanswest, and Easypure were considered ‘high-end’ here.

As for real Nike or Adidas, to teens back then, they were proper international luxury.

Xu Chen followed Feng Qingqing around the Me&City store.

She browsed the women’s section, happily picking out skirts and light jackets.

Xu Chen trailed behind, grabbing drinks or clothes as needed.

In the future, brands like Me&City would be marketed as domestic goods.

But in the early 2000s, they played up a fake foreign vibe to jack up prices.

They mostly fooled county kids—the quality and markup didn’t justify the cost.

Their real value would only show years later.

Feng Qingqing tried on a few items but didn’t seem interested in buying.

Xu Chen didn’t offer to pay; after all, she already had a ‘boyfriend,’ and it might come off as too forward.

He knew to respect those boundaries.

When they reached the Nike store, Xu Chen paused.

“I need to buy a pair of shoes for someone—give me a minute.”

Feng Qingqing looked surprised:

“You’re getting Nike? That’s pretty extravagant. Is it for your girlfriend?”

In a small town in the early 2000s, gifting Nike shoes was indeed a luxury.

Xu Chen smiled and stepped into the Nike shop.

Back then, domestic running shoe brands weren’t big, so for proper ones, you went to Nike or Adidas.

There were others like Asics or Mizuno, but no official stores in this small town.

Xu Chen entered and glanced around.

He wasn’t an expert, so he asked a store clerk.

“I need some professional running shoes for a woman.”

“Long distance or short? Professional ones come in cushioning or speed categories.”

Xu Chen thought it over: “Speed ones, I guess.”

“For speed, it depends on track racing—if it’s for competitions, spiked shoes are best.”

Xu Chen hesitated and said:

“Not spikes—just regular speed shoes she can wear daily.”

He recalled seeing Xie Bingran on TV in his past life and added:

“And make it red—pure red.”

Feng Qingqing followed, curious.

“Is your girlfriend into sports?”

Xu Chen wasn’t sure how to explain, so he just smiled.

Soon, the clerk brought out a few pairs.

“These three are top speed running shoes, all the latest models.”

Xu Chen looked them over but couldn’t really tell the difference.

In that era, there were no fancy tech like carbon plates, but these felt breathable, lightweight, and bouncy—clearly quality.

Since he couldn’t judge, he went by price.

“How much for each?”

“This basic one’s 489 yuan.

These two newer ones are lighter with better soles—679 and 899 yuan.”

Xu Chen didn’t bat an eye; in his previous life, good running shoes cost about the same.

Plus, these were for the future Asian champion, Xie Bingran, so he didn’t think twice.

And who knew, this pair might lead to endorsement deals worth millions!

He had several thousand yuan his dad had given him that morning, so money wasn’t an issue.

Feng Qingqing stood there, stunned.

She couldn’t believe a pair of shoes could cost that much.

Though she thought highly of herself, her family was just middle-class town officials.

And this was 2006…

A single pair of shoes for over 500 yuan was unthinkable for a county high schooler.

Feng Qingqing glanced at her own plain white sneakers, which had only cost about 100 yuan, and suddenly they didn’t seem so great anymore.