The Ultimate Power Shoppers
Wednesday, continued…
The next morning, Anna and Hou Yi awoke to a knock on the bedroom door. They found themselves wrapped up in each other’s arms, still exhausted from the previous day’s events. The door opened to reveal Butler Ge, who politely announced, “Apologies, Young Master, Young Madam. Young Master, Assistant Wang has called ten times, unable to reach you. We reminded you of your 9 a.m. meeting, and it is presently 8 a.m. I will arrange your usual breakfast. As for Young Madam, we have prepared toast with jam, eggs and bacon, and tea, coffee, or orange juice as your choice of drink. These will arrive in a few minutes.”
Hou Yi and Anna unwrapped themselves from the cozy embrace, each of them still half asleep as they climbed out of bed. They walked to the seating area, and shortly after, Butler Ge and a maid entered, placing their breakfast on the coffee table.
As Hou Yi glanced at Anna, he noticed that her nightdress was more revealing than he had realized the previous night when he had helped her into it. Concerned that she might feel self-conscious, he quietly excused himself, went into the bathroom, and retrieved a robe for each of them. Returning, he put one on himself and handed Anna the other one, ensuring she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
With the staff respectfully exiting the room to allow them to eat in privacy, Anna sighed and remarked, “That was embarrassing. We were so deeply asleep when they walked in. The only thing I can say is, it wasn’t as embarrassing as it could have been—if we had a sexual relationship, they could have seen us naked or walked in on us.”
Hou Yi, ever the joker, replied, “Maybe we need to arrange a doorbell, so you don’t feel embarrassed again.”
Anna deadpanned, “Let me think about it,” which made Hou Yi laugh.
They both decided not to dwell on the awkwardness and began eating their breakfast before it got cold. As they finished, Anna said, “We’ll need to arrange for some Vegemite. I can’t just have jam with toast every time.”
Hou Yi made a mental note to ask Butler Ge to arrange it for her, and then, as he opened the package that had been handed to him the night before, he continued. “Here, Anna, is your key for the elevator lock, along with the other keys for the apartment, the Hou Ancestral House, and a Master Key for Hou Enterprises. Butler Ge will give you a tour of the apartment when you’re ready so you can get familiar with your surroundings.”
“Next, when you go downstairs today, please make sure to visit the security staff. They will encode your thumbprint for the doors that are secured with biometric access.”
Hou Yi handed her a new local mobile phone. “This is your new phone. It has unlimited calls to anywhere in the world and unlimited data. It’s all paid for through my account. All you need to do is transfer your contacts. There are charging cords in the study and on the desk in our suite. The phone is already programmed with the numbers for my mobile, my office line, Assistant Wang, your bodyguards, the apartment number, the ancestral home, my parents, grandparents, and aunt.”
“Finally,” he continued, handing her a set of sleek black and platinum credit cards, “Here are your new cards. At the moment, these are companion cards to mine, but you’ll be receiving your own cards soon. The two black cards have a daily limit of 20 million, the platinum card has a daily limit of 10 million, and the other two have daily limits of 8 million each. If you need more, just let me know, and I will arrange it with the bank.”
Anna was stunned. “What?! I don’t need cards with limits that high!”
Hou Yi smirked. “My mother and aunt are both highly experienced power shoppers, and they’re going with you today. They treat shopping like a sport. We can afford an occasional spree, but the extent of their spending is so excessive that we had to limit them to 3 million per month, just to stop them from shopping without thinking.”
He continued, clearly amused by the thought. “Not only will they try to convince you to spend millions on yourself, but they’ll also want you to buy things for them. So, don’t be surprised if they pressure you.”
Hou Yi paused and then gave Anna a knowing look. “Buy what you want. But if they pressure you too much, tell them I’ve banned you from spending money on them—other than for food and drinks—without my permission. That should stop them.”
Anna stared at him, incredulous. “You’re kidding, right?”
Hou Yi shook his head with a smile. “Absolutely not. Their last unrestricted spending spree was just a few weeks ago. They took both my grandmothers shopping, and they spent 80 million between the four of them in just two hours. Everything was from top designers, and I don’t think they’ve worn half of it. My father, grandfather, and I had to intervene and put a stop to it. So, if you go with them, try to limit their spending. You know how they are.”
He added, “But don’t worry, if you want to go to a tourist market instead, the bodyguards will take you there. They’ll have cash to spend, and I believe you might feel more comfortable shopping there than at M Mall.”
Checking the time on his watch, Hou Yi noticed it was already 8:20 a.m. “Sorry, I have to leave now for my 9 a.m. meeting. Otherwise, I’d stay with you until my mother and aunt arrive. Take your time getting ready. Relax—you’ll need it for the shopping trip with them.”
With that, Hou Yi quickly moved into the walk-in closet and selected a suit for work. He disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes, emerging ready to head out. Just as he was about to leave, he turned back to Anna.
“Don’t worry about the shopping. It will be fun,” he said with a reassuring smile, before turning to Butler Ge and instructing him to take care of any other preparations for Anna’s day.
As he left, Anna couldn’t help but feel both overwhelmed and amused by the extravagant nature of her new life. “Well, this is going to be an interesting day,” she thought as she finished her breakfast.
