This chapter has been translated by Atlas Studios. All credits belong to them.
It was the first time Xia Ling had resorted to this and she was glad it worked well for her.
Her wilfulness and naive character had cost her a lot in her last life, being set up and betrayed by the people around her. This time she decided she would never repeat her mistakes — she'd be more careful and cautious than before. Hence in her free time, she would recall the tricks and strategies Chu Chen had used back when he was her agent and pick up a thing or two.
She was intelligent, to begin with, and now that she had Chu Chen as her "star teacher," these small issues were a piece of cake to deal with.
After settling the recording, she finally got to the point. "Boss Lucas, Sister Mai Na sent me here. I'm a budding singer at Skyart Entertainment who's about to release my first single. I'll need a few sets of outfits for my daily wear and she recommended your store."
So that's why.
Lucas said, "We've been in collaboration with Skyart Entertainment for a long time now — Skyart artistes just have to sign the tab when making their purchases. In that case, the 20% discount card as well as the free offer for this purchase that I mentioned previously actually can't apply to you anymore."
Xia Ling smiled a little, this store owner was really straightforward. Indeed, all her spendings were taken care of by the company, why did the discounts matter to her? Yet on the account that he was a nice person, she simply said, "It's alright." In her previous life, even tens of thousands meant nothing to her. Though she wasn't so well-to-do in this life, she didn't have to resort to calculating over this little money either.
Lucas had an even better impression of her now. This lady was one who made sure she got back at the people who provoked her, but besides that, she was straightforward and open-minded, just the way he liked it. Hence, he proposed. "Let's do like this, apart from the budget that Skyart allocated for you, I will give you a few extra pieces at no cost — however much your bill goes up to, the additional gifts will be of equivalent value."
Xiao Li was stunned. When did her boss become such a mild-tempered negotiator? Lucas had always been difficult to get along with and many were afraid of him. His move to gift somebody so much — the way he was doing now — was unprecedented. Xiao Li deeply regretted what she did. Had she known that her boss would be this nice to the lady, she would never have offended her.
After Xia Ling kindly accepted the offer and thanked Lucas for it, she went ahead to pick her clothes.
Lucas had intended to accompany her as she picked, and introduce every piece's unique feature and which style suited her, but she declined his offer. She went around the shop on her own and in no time picked 10 items. They were all for the current spring season — brightly colored dresses, sweaters, blouses and several types of bottoms. She would have more than enough to work with for the next three months.
Lucas was pleasantly surprised by her picks, who knew that this lady who dressed in such old-fashioned clothing would fare alright in her taste in fashion. No... it wasn't just alright, it was even better than his. Her picks were the best in-store, whether it was in terms of design, color or material. What mattered more was that it brought out her charisma impeccably.
Lucas gave Xia Ling a look that expressed his compliments and casually picked out five of them and got her to sign it under Skyart's tab — the other five pieces would be his gift for her. He got Xiao Li to wrap them up for her and soon the counter was lined with beautiful packages.
Xia Ling looked at the mountain of packages, now how was she going to lug them back?
Lucas said, "I'll have someone deliver it, just leave me an address."
Relieved, Xia Ling jotted it down — Skyart Entertainment Training Camp Dormitory.
Lucas kept the address and handed her the 20% discount membership card as promised. "It probably won't be of use to you, but you can pass it on to your family and friends."
She did not have any family member worthy of it, nor did she have many friends. But seeing that Lucas was so forthcoming about it, she accepted it anyway, bade her farewell and left.
She had only just reached the dormitory when the clothes arrived.
"Wow, so many beautiful clothes!" Her roommates, including Lan Lan, had not been approved to cut their debut yet. They were standing around her in envy, gasping in admiration. "It's so good to be able to release a debut..."
Xia Ling got along well with them and smilingly said, "When you release your first debut, I'll give you one piece each as a present." Lan Lan and the few of them were still lacking in their singing skills and would not be releasing their debut anytime soon. By the time they did, Xia Ling would have made quite a bit and by then even giving them a few pieces each would not be a problem.
They were excited to hear that and thanked her in delight before egging her on. "Xiao Ling, hurry and try them on for us. Look at this design and this color, they should suit you well, way better than the cheap goods your stepmother got you."
Xia Ling could not be bothered to try them on initially, she had worn better stuff than this many times before. But she thought about Sister Mai Na's warnings and realized she did have to live a little more enthusiastic, and so she tried them on piece by piece.
"Help me snap a picture," she told her roommates. "I need to show it to my manager."
Given that this was what every girl enjoyed doing, they earnestly helped her with her change and took photos from every angle to feature every detail. By the time they were done with it, it was midnight.
Xia Ling was exhausted. She sent the photos to Sister Mai Na and fell right asleep.
The next morning she woke up to Sister Mai Na's reply. "10 pieces? I checked the accounts yesterday, you only bought five pieces under Skyart's name. Where did the other five come from?"
Xia Ling could not go without explaining the whole scenario to her.
On her end, Sister Mai Na was laughing hard over the text. This budding artiste was really one of a kind, she looked so meek on the outside, how did her hot temper come about? She was really one who would not be taken advantage of. Li Bei Er was no big celebrity, but offending her the moment she took off was quite a big deal.
Yet, it seemed like she got into Lucas' good books.
Having worked with Lucas for many years, Sister Mai Na knew the kind of person he was; all this time nobody had received this many gifts from him at one go. At this thought, Sister Mai Na smiled again — the person she had offended was irrelevant to her, all that mattered was that this fellow knew how to play her charm to her advantage.
She studied all of Xia Ling's photos and outfits in detail and took a look at her own list of contacts. Under "Stylist," she picked out one name among the tens and sent Xia Ling's photos over.
In a few days, Sister Mai Na took Xia Ling to the stylist for her makeover.
It was a large styling center with many fashionably dressed people around, including a few beautiful faces often seen on television. Sister Mai Na led Xia Ling to a studio where a few stylists were busy at work.
To her surprise, Xia Ling saw Lu Tao.
Lu Tao and his partner were getting their styling done — both of them were the hip-hop type — and he wore his hair short and punky and was in a denim vest with motorcycle gloves on, reeking of exuberance and rebellion.
That was when she remembered that his band had made a name for themselves earlier than she did.
Lu Tao saw Xia Ling and his face lit up. "Ye Xingling, fancy seeing you here before I've come round to congratulate you on your debut. You've got to do your best from here on, and if you ever need help just look for your Brother Tao!"
She smiled at him.
Lu Tao's stylist walked over and glanced at Xia Ling. "This lady over here has a very clean-cut style. I suppose you're here for Eric as your stylist. Of all the stylists here, he's the best yet."