Chapter 372

The shop assistant smiled slightly, “Although our shoes are expensive, the quality is very good. We have many repeat customers. You’ll know it when you wear them. And it comes with a lifetime warranty and cleaning. If there’s a quality problem within two months, you can come and exchange for a new pair.”

Stella took out a card, “Okay. We’ll get this pair. Let’s pay now.”

Julian frowned, “I don’t want it.”

He removed the shoes as he said that. Then he wore his old shoes and ran out of the store. Stella explained to the shop assistant and got up to chase after Julian. After searching for him. for a while, she noticed Julian leaning over the fence, looking downstairs.

She walked toward him and stood beside him, “You’re not happy that I’m buying you a gift?”

Julian pursed his lips. He spoke after pondering, “That’s not something I can afford. It’ll look weird on me if I wear it. I’d become a laughingstock for others.”

Stella winced. ‘I forgot to consider this. Although he’s quiet, he’s sensible and mature. Unlike the other kids, when I wanted to buy him such an expensive gift, he did not happily take it. He panicked. He felt he was incompatible with the shoes and wasn’t good enough for them.”

Stella gently said, “I just wanted to buy you a present to make up for your eighteenth birthday. Who’d laugh at someone who receives a gift? They should be jealous of it. You can’t afford it now, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t afford it in the future. You can’t just focus on your past. You have to look at the path ahead of you too. Focus on your future.”

Julian paused. He seemed like he was overwhelmed. Nevertheless, he endured the sourness in his nose as he softly said, “Seems like you’re quite cultured.”

Stella’s mouth twitched. She slapped his head, “I had the highest marks for the cultural subject and was accepted into Trinity University! You can only tease me when you’re accepted into my university!”

Julian smiled, “Keegan graduated from which university?”

“Trinity University.”

“You two were schoolmates?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Doesn’t look like it. He’s more cultured than you.”

Stella was speechless.

Ultimately, Stella bought him a pair of sneakers worth over five hundred dollars.

Julian said he just considered accepting the shoes worth over three thousand dollars. But instead, he asked her to give him the remaining two thousand and six hundred dollars to save in cash.

“This is my first time meeting someone more avaricious than me.’ But very soon, she would realize Julian was not avaricious. He was saving up.

Julian picked cost-effective items for the presents that Stella was buying for Shelley and the other kids in the welfare center. He did not want anything that was too expensive. Until he took two cans of cheap milk powder, Stella finally could not help but say, “This milk powder is for adults. The nutrition is inadequate for Tevin and the others. Just take the one before.”

“The infant milk powder is too expensive. It’s a few hundred dollars a can. That’s equivalent to the center’s three days’ food expenses. Tevin is almost six years old. We’ll need to spend more after his school enrollment. We need to save as much as we can so that I can make Ms. Cooke’s life easier.”

”

Stella furrowed her eyebrows, “What did you mean by making Ms. Cooke’s life easier?”

Julian’s expression changed slightly. He avoided making eye contact with her as he said, ‘ Nothing. I just meant that Ms. Cooke can support more kids if we can reduce the expenses.”

Clearly, Stella could not be bluffed so easily, “What happened to Ms. Cooke? Why did you keep mentioning saving up? Is the donation not enough? Or did something happen?

Julian realized that he could not hide the truth any longer. He said after pondering, “Ms. Cooke is broke. The chef resigned because he wasn’t paid. I overheard Ms. Cooke and Ms. Cecilia’s discussion a few days ago. She said that she wanted to sell her house…”

Stella frowned, “The bank would timely transfer the money every month. So why does she have no money?”

Rainee had a specific bank account to deal with the welfare center. The bank would punctually transfer the money to the welfare center. This had been going on for many years.