"Why don't you find a proper boyfriend to introduce to your mom?" Ai Le fretted as she walked into a minimally decorated yet upscale store.
Gu Xiaoer, flipping through clothes, replied, "Isn't there a rented one?"
"Hey, don't tell me you're still in touch with that rental boyfriend?" Ai Le squeezed next to Gu Xiaoer, lowering her voice and biting her words.
Feeling guilty, Gu Xiaoer quickly denied, "Ah, the lease isn't up yet! It's cheaper by the month!" She turned and picked up a little black dress. "This one looks really nice!"
"Go try it on!" Ai Le nodded in agreement, the design of the little black dress was indeed delicate, very much suited for Gu Xiaoer's sweet, good-girl demeanor. The color, however...
Ai Le felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Everyone else's birthday was celebrated with reds and greens, only Gu Xiaoer, every year at this time, wore nothing but black.
At just five years old, she had faced the twin blows of her mother's death and her father's remarriage.
It hurt her to see her like that, and from the bottom of her heart, she wanted her to have a good life.
"May I try on this dress?" Gu Xiaoer asked politely, holding the dress up to a sales associate.
Unfortunately, her politeness did not earn her the same respect.
"Miss, this dress... cannot be tried on." The sales associate looked them up and down, their ordinary attire not lost on her. She hadn't intended to serve them in the first place, assuming they would leave on their own after seeing the prices. She hadn't expected them to ask to try something on.
She had seen thick-skinned people, but never anyone this brazen. Her tone was filled with disdain and a hurry-up-and-leave air.
"..." Gu Xiaoer felt uncomfortable. High-end stores really were different; they wouldn't even allow black dresses to be tried on.
"Hey, since when do stores not let customers try on clothes?" Ai Le glared fiercely at the sales associate. She wasn't blind; how could she not see the contempt in the sales associate's eyes?
"Let's go, Lele, it's not worth it." Gu Xiaoer put down the dress and pulled Ai Le out. They didn't belong in places like this; why bother?
The sales associate immediately picked up the clothes they had touched, inspecting them closely before casually saying, "What kind of attitude for what kind of people... If anyone can just try on the clothes, can we even keep doing business...?"
Unfortunately, she made her remark while Gu Xiaoer and Ai Le were still within earshot.
Ai Le couldn't take it any longer. She jerked her hand away and turned back, striding over to the sales associate: "I've really 'seen it all' now, a sales associate thinks she's the boss!"
The sales associate was taken aback by Ai Le's turnaround, at first startled, then quickly filled with even greater disdain: "Miss, if unfortunately I've stepped on a sore spot, please don't take it to heart!"
Every "please" was sarcastic politeness.
Gu Xiaoer looked at the two, clicking her tongue in amazement. The service staff here, really incredible! The service attitude in upscale places also seemed just this ordinary.
As the standoff continued, a striking figure entered the store.
Several sales associates hurried forward to greet her: "Miss Lin, you've arrived. We've got a few new styles this week you can try on." The attitude, the demeanor, was completely different from when dealing with Gu Xiaoer.
Lin Kexin entered and immediately spotted Gu Xiaoer and Ai Le.
Since she was made to feel small by the two in the restaurant last time, she had been looking for a chance to hit back. Now, encountering them in such a narrow path, on her turf, she was determined to rub their noses in it.
Almost tilting her head back, she walked straight into the store, marching straight past Gu Xiaoer and Ai Le.
Only when Lin Kexin reached the center did she slightly turn her head, reproaching the sales associates: "What kind of people are you letting in? Is your store aiming for a common touch now? After that, who will buy your clothes anymore?"