This chapter has been translated by Atlas Studios. All credits belong to them.
It was a boutique with a small storefront. The inside of the store was quiet and minimalistic clothes racks were lined beautifully, made of apparels of original and elegant designs.
Xia Ling went through the clothes piece by piece, not particularly fancy any of them. Being pampered by Pei Ziheng in her previous life, she only wore fabrics that were woven with 100% natural material, with not a single strand of synthetic fiber. As for this store, the apparels were unique alright, but the texture was still inferior to what she was used to. Fabrics woven with a mix of both natural and synthetic fibers were adequately comfortable for most people, but for Xia Ling who was so used to better quality goods, she only made do with it.
But she knew that this wasn't the time to be fussy. In any case, these apparels were way better than the discounted pieces she was wearing. Looking through each and every piece, a cream-colored knitted blouse caught her eye and she reached for it.
Who knew that at that very moment, another hand reached out diagonally and quickly snatched the piece.
Xia Ling turned around and saw an extremely beautiful lady, her makeup meticulously done, even to the tip of her brows. Seeing that Xia Ling was approaching, the lady arrogantly glared at her. "What are you staring at? This piece is mine." With that, she tossed the piece to her assistant standing behind her. "Take this to the cashier."
The assistant nodded subserviently and was about to settle the payment.
"Hold up." Xia Ling's voice was cold and piercing.
"Why, do you have something against it?" That girl raised her chin and crossed her arms as she glared condescendingly at Xia Ling.
"I took interest in this piece first." Xia Ling felt that her temper now was already significantly more subdued than in her previous life, but she simply could not take it lying down being taken advantage of this way.
The lady was even more haughty now, deliberately sizing her up from head to toe, mocking her shabby-looking discounted outfit, "Who are you, somebody who walked into the wrong shop? Do you know how expensive the clothes here are, can you even afford it? Don't be an embarrassment here if you're just a pauper, really. Xiao Li, why did you let this sort of people in?"
She had dragged the last sentence and was addressing the cashier.
At the counter, a female cashier looked up upon hearing her words. Her eyes landed on Xia Ling immediately, and with one look she could tell that Xia Ling was donning cheap goods. In fact, the grand total of what she had on from head to toe might not even come close to the price of a scarf in the store. Though she did not express it, her disdain towards Xia Ling was growing by the second, what would a pauper like her be doing here? Isn't it just degrading to the store? She had indeed been too careless and preoccupied with the accounts that she was completely unaware such a person had somehow found her way in. She had to chase her out fast.
With that thought, Xiao Li smilingly walked towards them. "Sister Bei Er, don't be angry, the fault is on me for not being attentive. I'll hand you an additional brooch later on by way of apology." The lady who snatched Xia Ling's clothes was Li Bei Er. She was a small celebrity and an upper-class member of the store who patronized often and also brought a considerable commission to Xiao Li.
After appeasing Li Bei Er, she turned towards Xia Ling with her smile still on, but with a hint of reservation and restraint. "Miss, is there anything you'd like to purchase? What is your budget? I can recommend you a few suitable pieces."
Budget? Xia Ling had no idea about the budget, Sister Mai Na had only instructed her to pick four to five pieces as she wished, and then sign the bill under Skyart Entertainment. Xia Ling had never been sensitive to numbers, and so forgot to ask about the specific amount.
Hence, she shook her head. "I don't have a budget, I'm looking to buy four to five pieces for my daily wear."
"Ha, four to five pieces." Li Bei Er laughed aloud as she had just heard the world's greatest joke. "Do you know how much this knitted sweater costs? Let me tell you, it costs thousands! And how about this jacket you're wearing right now? 40, 50 dollars?
"Haha." her assistant couldn't help but laugh as well.
Even Xiao Li's grin widened, thinking of how ludicrous this shabby girl must be. She glanced at Xia Ling with a look of despising and pity. "Miss, the price of a full set here is in the tens of thousands." What her words really meant to say was: get out if you don't have the money.
Xia Ling's brows furrowed, the rage inside her growing like a beast, seeing how stuck-up they were.
"I want that knitted sweater, I saw it first," she said coldly. "It's only a few thousand dollars." If it wasn't for her current predicament, she wouldn't have worn it in her last life even if it meant getting paid for it.
Xiao Li's look hardened. "Miss, please don't be unreasonable."
Great, so she's being unreasonable now? Xia Ling was so enraged she smirked at Xiao Li. "The way you manage to distort facts, just like the way that woman snatched what isn't hers, is utterly shameless. It amazes me how good the both of you are at it."
"You!" Xiao Li and Li Bei Er were both red with anger.
"Chase her out!" Li Bei Er stomped her foot. "Or I'm never coming back!"
Xiao Li got a shock. Li Bei Er was an important regular, if she stopped coming, her sales would suffer greatly, and by then her bonus...
"Miss, please leave," Xiao Li said to Xia Ling.
"Are you showing your customer the door?" Xia Ling smiled. "Even if I do intend to buy the clothes here, you'd still order me to leave?"
"Don't try to bite off more than you can chew." Xiao Li gave her all to pacify Li Bei Er, removing her mask of hypocrisy and sneering at Xia Ling without reservation. "How could a country bumpkin like you be fit to purchase our products? I don't even think you're here to buy anything, you were planning on stealing, you thief. Hurry and get lost, thieves like you disgust me."
"Miss Li thinks I'm a thief too?" asked Xia Ling coldly.
"Are you not?" Seeing that Xia Ling was being trampled on, Li Bei Er grinned in satisfaction. "If you're not a thief, what would you be doing here? If you're not leaving, I'll get the security officer here. By then you'd be dragged out, tsk, how ugly that would be."
"Good." To everyone's surprise, Xia Ling smiled and left.
Xiao Li and Li Bei Er did not expect things to end so simply and were stunned at the moment. Xia Ling placed one hand in her pocket and casually walked towards the door. It had barely been a few steps when someone called out.
"Miss, please hold on." It was a kind male voice.
Xia Ling did not want to give a hoot, but this person's voice was music to her ears, and she stopped unwittingly. She turned around and saw a tall, mixed-race man towering at about 1.9 meters tall. He had a pair of seductive eyes, and when he smiled, a faint dimple showed.
Xia Ling tilted her head slightly, her expression a virtual question mark.
The man walked towards her. "My apologies, my employee was insensible. If she offended you in any way, I apologize on her behalf."
"You are?"
"Lucas."
So he was Lucas, the person Sister Mai Na told her to approach. Previously, she was just casually browsing in the store, who knew a conflict would happen before she even had the time to look for him. As of now, the main character had finally appeared.