Pei Shaozé rarely gave her a day off, so Su Banxia planned to go home and catch up on sleep, reclaiming all the grievances she’d endured lately with interest. But just as she drove up to the entrance of Yicheng Shanshui, a familiar figure blocked her path.
“Shaoyin?”
Pei Shaoyin, a smile curling at her lips, pulled open the car door and sat down beside her. “Aren’t you going to explain this relationship you have with my brother?”
“What do you think the relationship between me and your brother is?” Su Banxia turned her head, looking at her with interest.
Pei Shaoyin gave her a subtle once-over, then smirked. “You’ve got your eye on my brother?”
“I’m not that into self-torture.” Su Banxia’s face carried a gentle smile.
“True enough. With a big ice cube like my brother, romance can only go so far. Having a deep conversation with him? That’s probably tough.” Pei Shaoyin chuckled lightly.
Su Banxia found it amusing. “You know your cousin pretty well.”
Ignoring the implication in Su Banxia’s words, Pei Shaoyin turned to her with a calm smile. “But I can tell my cousin really likes you.”
“Likes me?” Su Banxia shook her head. “You’re mistaken. Your brother can’t stand me, so how could he like me? That’s just an illusion!”
“Not necessarily. I’ve never seen him care this much about any woman before!” Pei Shaoyin’s eyes held a firm resolve.
She found it oddly surprising—someone like Pei Shaozé, that cold block of ice, actually had feelings? For a moment, Pei Shaoyin’s curiosity about Su Banxia grew.
Maybe it was because Pei Shaoyin’s gaze was too intense that Su Banxia felt a bit awkward.
“My brother said he gave you the day off. How about we go out and shop?” Pei Shaoyin asked with a light smile.
Since the invitation was already out there, refusing would seem pretentious. After a moment’s thought, Su Banxia nodded.
“Let’s go to Xinyuji Plaza. I heard there are a bunch of new boutiques there with nice clothes.” As she spoke, Pei Shaoyin raised an eyebrow and gave Su Banxia another look.
She was clearly a beauty, yet she insisted on dressing so dowdy. Even so, it couldn’t fully hide the elegance radiating from her.
Feeling the intense gaze on her, Su Banxia pushed up her thick glasses. “Work requirement.”
Those four simple words were enough for Pei Shaoyin to catch the meaning. “No wonder my brother’s into you. You’re really different!” There was a hint of admiration in Pei Shaoyin’s eyes.
If any other woman were Pei Shaozé’s personal secretary, she’d probably be dolled up every day, trying every trick to catch his attention. But Su Banxia took the unconventional route—any man would be drawn to her!
“Your brother’s into me probably because he has some weird taste. Pretty heavy.” Su Banxia said indignantly.
Hearing someone trash-talk Pei Shaozé like this was rare, and Pei Shaoyin found it oddly amusing. “Looks like my decision to be friends with you was the right one.” She laughed cheerfully.
Chatting and laughing, the two soon reached the entrance of Xinyuji Plaza.
“I’ll take you to the stores I usually go to and get you some outfits.” With a girlish air, Pei Shaoyin grabbed Su Banxia and hurried into the mall.
Inside, Pei Shaoyin seemed to hit her stride, going on a shopping spree. Before long, both of them were loaded with bags of all sizes.
Pei Shaoyin clicked her tongue, looking around, still feeling something was missing. “This… should be enough, right?” Su Banxia looked at the bags in her hands, a mix of amusement and exasperation.
This woman’s shopping stamina was no joke! She’d finally seen it firsthand.
“For a girl, not having a couple of wardrobes full of clothes? That’s never enough!” Pei Shaoyin dismissed the thought.
Su Banxia: “…”
Sure enough, rich girls were nothing like commoners like her! Not to brag, but she wouldn’t dare buy any single piece of clothing in her hands!
“Pick some for yourself too. Don’t just watch me shop. Look at you—you’ve got a great figure, but you don’t know how to dress it up.” Pei Shaoyin pulled her into a store, grabbing a few clothes off the counter and holding them up against her.
“Shaoyin, this isn’t necessary, is it? I think my clothes are fine. Besides, I don’t need that many for work.” Su Banxia instinctively refused.
“No way! You’re about to be my sister-in-law. If you don’t dress up nicely, how are you going to outshine those flashy women? I don’t want anyone else as my sister-in-law!” Pei Shaoyin said with feigned indignation, not pausing in her actions.
Su Banxia felt helpless and just let her do as she pleased.
As she glanced around, her eyes landed on a deep blue strapless gown not far away. For some reason, she couldn’t look away and slowly walked toward it.
But just as her hand touched the dress, another fair, slender hand reached for it too.
“Su Banxia?” Ye Lan’s eyes were full of contempt when she saw her.
“What a coincidence!” Su Banxia’s head throbbed. Couldn’t she even shop without running into irrelevant people?
Ye Lan gave her a once-over, her disdain deepening. “How does someone like you end up in a store like this? Can you even afford these clothes?”
“Miss Ye, are you doubting the salary at Dingsheng Group?” Su Banxia’s face held a gentle smile.
Ye Lan snorted. “Money earned by selling your body—of course, that’s something we can’t match!”
“Did Miss Ye see that with her own eyes?” Su Banxia’s lips curled, her voice flat.
“Do I need to see it? Just looking at you tells me what kind of person you are!”
Su Banxia couldn’t be bothered to argue. As she reached for the dress again, Ye Lan’s nagging voice came once more.
“Su Banxia, I never thought you’d look decent on the surface but be worse than a whore behind the scenes!”
“Looks like that slap I gave you last time wasn’t thorough enough.” Su Banxia’s voice was icy.
Ye Lan instinctively stepped back, touching her cheek, then puffed out her chest and snarled, “Am I wrong? Or are you feeling guilty? Isn’t it just that you want to play the saint while acting like a slut?”