CHAPTER 218: CHAPTER 56: LUCK AND MISFORTUNE

Not having luggage has its benefits; Su Ziceng followed the crowd and walked out of the airport terminal, instinctively hailing a taxi.

The taxi driver poked out his face, beaming with a Frenchman’s radiant smile, "MISS?" Su Ziceng nodded her head, but just as she was about to open the car door, her gaze fell on the fare displayed on the meter inside the taxi.

The car had just dropped off a passenger, and the meter was ticking over with a tariff that included three zeros. Her fingers recoiled as if stung by a bee, and she quickly withdrew her hand that had already made its way into the car, retreating with a smile.

With only one hundred francs on her, Su Ziceng could hardly afford the luxury of taxi fare now. Behind her, the French driver called out warmly as Su Ziceng scampered away like a fleeing mouse.

People were coming and going in the airport, and Su Ziceng stood amidst the crowd, watching the faces that looked almost identical.

First, decide where to go? Su Ziceng realized the situation at hand. Then, a familiar and heavenly language reached her ears.

"Please head this way. All friends participating in the Holiday Travel agency’s family visit group, our first stop is the Avenue of Champs Elysees in France," said a tour guide, fluent in the standard Mandarin of Country Z, waving the familiar flag of Country Z.

Su Ziceng took a look around. A group of middle-aged women, probably in their forties or fifties, crowded towards a tour bus. Almost subconsciously, Su Ziceng felt like a lost child who had found her mother, and she quickly stretched her long legs to follow the crowd of middle-aged and elderly women onto the bus.

"I’m going to the Avenue of Champs Elysees, with autumn leaves and the rich aroma of hand-ground coffee," Su Ziceng swept away her previous grim mood, sitting in an inconspicuous spot on the bus.

The bus driver also watched this well-dressed young lady board the bus, thinking she must be a client’s daughter on a trip, and didn’t object.

Once the tour guide saw everyone was on board, she got on with a beaming smile. After the bus started, the tour guide stood at the front and said warmly, "Welcome to Paris, on this European sightseeing tour..."

After the tour guide had finished her speech and was about to sit down, she realized that the bus was completely full and even her seat had been taken by a passenger. It seemed odd to the tour guide; the bus had a fixed number of seats, so how could there be an extra person? She looked around the bus and finally noticed, at the back row, a young woman who looked out of place among the elderly ladies on board.

"Excuse me?" The tour guide first asked in English, then said, "Miss, you are on the wrong bus." Seeing that Su Ziceng still did not respond, the tour guide switched to Japanese, but the woman with the Eastern features kept her mouth shut and blinked her innocent, watery eyes.

"What’s the matter?" The tour guide and the driver murmured to each other. By this time, the bus had already entered the highway, and it wasn’t feasible to kick the woman off, so the bus could only continue to the Champs Elysees. It wasn’t until they passed the Arc de Triomphe that Su Ziceng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Her opportunistic hitchhiking journey had to end after reaching the Arc de Triomphe. Seeing her get off, the tour guide and driver gave her wary looks; Su Ziceng knew that there was absolutely no chance she’d be able to sneak onto this bus again.

The streets of Paris in October are just as legendary as they are beautiful. While walking on the spacious streets, one can occasionally hear the sound of yellow leaves falling.

However, Su Ziceng no longer felt as cheerful. On the street claimed to be the most beautiful in the world, surrounded by the brightest shop windows and well-dressed tourists, she touched her leather jacket, then looked at the pitiful one hundred francs and headed straight toward an inconspicuous clothing store.

Fortunately, having been reborn, Su Ziceng, with her sweat-drawing leather jacket, stepped into the second-hand designer clothing store.

The jacket was from Lang Fan; once sold, she would have at least ten thousand francs in hand – everything is easy with money.

This second-hand store, discovered by chance on one of her numerous visits to Paris, often had second-hand clothes and bags from celebrities. The owner, a lady who adored the Gypsy style, remembered Su Ziceng from her frequent visits. Every time Su Ziceng came in, the owner would gift her a bottle of Brazilian coffee beans.

"Hello," greeted Su Ziceng warmly as she entered. The shopkeeper was attending to regular customers and didn’t immediately come over.

Not taking it personally, Su Ziceng walked around the store, waiting for other customers to leave. Only then did the always affable shopkeeper come over.

"Could you tell me how much this jacket is worth?" Su Ziceng removed her jacket as the temperature inside was slightly warmer than outside, but since it was already autumn, she shivered a little in her short-sleeved shirt.

"One thousand francs," said the shopkeeper after inspecting Su Ziceng’s jacket, flipping it with her hand, her expression and tone quite unfriendly.

"One thousand?" Su Ziceng turned over the jacket, thinking she had misunderstood because of her limited French, and repeated herself. The shopkeeper’s expression turned even sourer, muttering something to the effect of, "It’s not as if it was worn by a celebrity, and it’s out of season; this is Paris, after all."

In the fashion capital of Paris, out-of-season clothes and faded stars are treated the same—they become nobodies. Watching the shopkeeper’s face change faster than the flipping of a book, Su Ziceng realized the huge difference between the treatment for buying and selling clothes. A sense of humiliation rose within her.

But it was fine; it exposed the disdainful snobbery she faced. She took back the jacket and put it back on.

As she left the familiar second-hand store, the weather outside had changed, becoming overcast, and the previous clear and warm sunny scene was gone. (To be continued. If you like this work, your votes for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets at Qidian.com are most welcome. Your support is my greatest motivation.)