Chapter 34: Judging Others by Their Appearance

"Sister Yaoyao, where is Young Master Xiang?"

Xu Xingyue looked behind Lu Yao, discovering that apart from her, there was no one else in sight. A cunning glint flashed in her eyes. *He didn't come, did he?*

Xu Xingyue's petty thoughts were written all over her face, and Lu Yao understood them perfectly.

"Young Master Xiang is indisposed; he couldn't come."

"Is that so!"

A flash of triumph crossed Xu Xingyue's eyes. Xiang Zhihua was nothing but a cripple; it would be a miracle if he could show his face here. Seeing Lu Yao's attire, it was clear she had come to shop for clothes.

"Sister Yaoyao, since you are now Young Master Xiang's woman, he must have given you plenty of money, right? You should hurry up and pick something out."

Seeing that she was dressed in the same old style as before, Xu Xingyue felt inexplicably happy. Even if she had become Xiang Zhihua's woman, so what? In the end, she was nothing more than an unpresentable mistress. And she was here trying to buy clothes—could she even afford them?

"With the Xiang family's financial standing, I'm sure they wouldn't treat you poorly when it comes to food and clothing, Sister Yaoyao."

Lu Yao curled her lips. How could she not hear the sarcasm dripping from Xu Xingyue's words? She clearly thought that even after becoming Xiang Zhihua's woman, Lu Yao was still just a clown.

"Miss Yanran, Miss Xingyue, come, come, let's look at the clothes over here."

The saleswoman, who had been treading carefully around Lu Yao just moments ago, changed her attitude instantly upon hearing Xu Xingyue's words. *If you don't have money, why are you even browsing?* Looking at the clothes she wore, it was obvious she wasn't faring well in the wealthy household. She probably couldn't afford anything here anyway.

"Miss Xingyue, these are the treasures of our shop. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and only a lady as beautiful as you can truly bring out the beauty of these garments. Not just any stray cat or dog can try them on."

The saleswoman's snobbery made Lu Yao's heart sink.

"Why did you come alone? I knew Young Master Xiang wouldn't value you," Xu Yanran said, staring at Lu Yao's expressionless face with a cold sneer. "Do you think the Xiang family is like our home? That everyone will accommodate you and tolerate you? With a temper like yours, I'm afraid that in a few months, Young Master Xiang will grow tired of you."

At this moment, Xu Xingyue took the garment handed to her by the saleswoman and began holding it up against herself, looking like a peacock displaying its feathers. "Sister Yaoyao, do you think this looks good on me?"

The dress was a white, crescent-shaped winter qipao, embroidered with a pale purple peony. It looked very noble and elegant. Xu Xingyue had broad shoulders and a thick waist; the dress didn't necessarily look good on her. However, the saleswoman, desperate to make a sale, fawned over her relentlessly.

"Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! This dress is only worthy of a noble and beautiful lady like Miss Xingyue. Unlike some people who have never seen the world and think that holding a few pennies entitles them to walk in and browse—do they even know who they are? Is she even worthy?"

The saleswoman's words delighted Xu Xingyue. It was the first time she had encountered such a sweet-tongued salesperson; the flattery hit the mark perfectly.

"Sister Yaoyao, have you seen anything you like?" Xu Xingyue asked, feigning ignorance. The white qipao she was holding was the very one Lu Yao had set her sights on first, but unfortunately, it was now in Xu Xingyue's hands.

"Xingyue, don't bother with her," Xu Yanran said, feeling annoyed by Lu Yao's blank expression. "Let's just buy our things. You like this dress, right? Saleswoman, wrap it up." She didn't want to waste any more time here.

"Wait!" Lu Yao calmly stopped the saleswoman.

"Lu Yao, what kind of trouble are you trying to stir up now?" Xu Yanran asked, looking at her with dissatisfaction.

"I saw this dress first," Lu Yao said coldly. "Please wrap it up for me."

Xu Yanran was furious. "Lu Yao, there’s a limit to how unreasonable you can be! This dress was clearly chosen by Xingyue; what right do you have to fight her for it? Do you hate seeing Xingyue do well that much? Or is it that just because you've latched onto Young Master Xiang, you think you can do whatever you want here?"

"Sister Yaoyao, this dress looks nice, but you haven't tried it on. Wouldn't it be too rash to buy it blindly?" Xu Xingyue said with a look of feigned concern. "Why don't you just let me have it?" Someone like Lu Yao didn't deserve to wear such fine, expensive clothing. She was destined to remain stuck in the mud for the rest of her life.

Lu Yao ignored Xu Xingyue and looked straight at the stunned saleswoman. "Did you not hear me?" she said, urging her calmly. "Wrap the dress for me."

"Lu Yao!" Xu Yanran glared at her. "Don't go too far."

"Miss Lu, this dress has already been chosen by Miss Xingyue..." The saleswoman didn't want to offend two VIP clients at once and could only politely refuse Lu Yao's request.

"Sister Yaoyao, look, the saleswoman has already said so..."

"Are you refusing a sale? Where is the manager of this mall?" Lu Yao interrupted before Xu Xingyue could finish. "Call him out; I want to see him."

A look of nervousness flashed across the saleswoman's face.

"Sister Yaoyao, it’s just a small matter, why drag the manager into it?" Xu Xingyue asked. It was obvious that Lu Yao had been slighted by the saleswoman and wanted to use the manager to slap their faces.

"Lu Yao, do you think you can be willful here just because you're Young Master Xiang's woman?" Xu Yanran cried out indignantly. "You want to call the manager over just for a dress? Since when did you learn to put on such airs? Just wrap the dress for me. Don't pay any attention to her!"

"What are you doing?" Xu Yanran was surprised when Lu Yao reached out to grab the dress.

"I said, I want this dress," Lu Yao said, looking at Xu Yanran calmly. No one was going to take it from her hands.

"Miss Lu, this dress now belongs to Miss Xu," the saleswoman said, emboldened by the support of the two Xu heiresses. "Please stop harassing us."

Lu Yao gripped the dress tightly, refusing to let go. The saleswoman was getting annoyed by her behavior. "Let go!"

"What is going on here?"

Just as the group was at a stalemate, a noble figure walked into the shop, interrupting the argument.

"Mrs. Zhu!" The saleswoman's eyes lit up, and she hurried forward to greet the woman, ignoring everything else.

The woman, known as Mrs. Zhu, didn't pay any attention to the saleswoman. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Lu Yao and the two Xu sisters.

"Do you like this dress?"

Finally, Zhu Wenhui's eyes landed on Lu Yao, who was still holding onto the dress. She had seen everything from the doorway. The two daughters of Xu Shenghai were truly something else—one playing the good cop, the other the bad, and even colluding with a snobbish saleswoman to gang up on someone. This was the exact kind of behavior she despised the most.