Chapter 45: An Extraordinary Woman

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: An Extraordinary Woman

"Why can’t it be this place?" Jiang Shiyue asked in return, her eyes narrowing.

Su Yunzhou looked at the sprawling market before him—a place even his ex-girlfriend would have despised. It seemed to host a multitude of brands, but in reality, there wasn’t a single legitimate one. They were all "designer" knock-offs featuring an extra letter or a flipped logo. Case in point: the bustling "DIORS" boutique diagonally across from them. This market had managed to stay afloat solely by relying on rock-bottom prices and trendy styles.

"Lady, you ride an eighty-thousand-yuan motorcycle and run a pub that’s quite famous in the craft beer circle," Su Yunzhou said. "And you’re telling me you come here to buy clothes that cost barely a hundred yuan, and then you ask me why? What do you think?"

Jiang Shiyue rolled her eyes at him, completely unfazed, and casually ruffled her messy-yet-stylish hair.

"First of all, I need to correct you," she began. "Pharmaceutical Factory isn’t just ’quite famous.’ It’s one of the top names in the craft beer circle. Second, who says having money means you have to wear expensive clothes? And lastly, I think the clothes here are perfectly fine. Even if there are minor quality issues, I won’t feel bad throwing them away after wearing them a few times."

Her well-reasoned response left Su Yunzhou speechless. It was the first time he had ever met such a unique woman. Jiang Shiyue clearly came from a wealthy background, yet she had no qualms about wearing cheap street-stall clothes. Conversely, women like his ex-girlfriend, who clearly lacked money, would rack their brains trying to afford a few designer pieces. Women were truly complicated creatures.

"Alright! My apologies for presuming," Su Yunzhou said, nodding in agreement with her perspective.

Jiang Shiyue raised an eyebrow and strode forward. "Keep up. I’ll take you, Mr. Rich Kid, to expand your horizons."

[Affinity +1]

The inexplicable extra point made Su Yunzhou chuckle softly. This woman’s Affinity always increased in the strangest ways.

[Jiang Shiyue’s Affinity: 19 points]

The two of them followed the surging crowd, walking one after the other. The narrow aisles and the dense throng of people continuously forced them closer together. Su Yunzhou caught a whiff of a pleasant scent. It didn’t smell like perfume; it was more like...

Before long, Jiang Shiyue led them to a shop named "Void." The store was noticeably larger than the others, occupying three storefronts along the crowded walkway.

A salesgirl wearing a crop top greeted Jiang Shiyue enthusiastically. "Sister Yueyue, you’re here!"

The salesgirl’s familiar tone completely dispelled Su Yunzhou’s lingering suspicion that Jiang Shiyue was just messing with him. Noticing the young and handsome Su Yunzhou standing behind her, the salesgirl smiled and asked, "Sister Yueyue, aren’t you going to introduce us?"

"Oh!" Jiang Shiyue replied. "He’s just a regular friend."

The salesgirl smiled sweetly and greeted Su Yunzhou. She really wanted to tease Sister Yueyue, but considering her notoriously sharp tongue, she decided against it.

Jiang Shiyue cast her gaze around the shop. "Are there any new arrivals for this season?"

"We just got a new batch of styles a couple of days ago," the salesgirl explained. "There are some in the style you like. Please, follow me."

"Alright!"

The two followed the salesgirl into another room. Rows of racks were crammed with clothes. Every brand imaginable was there, and all were brand-new designs. Seeing this, Su Yunzhou couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer efficiency of Dragon Country.

Jiang Shiyue picked and chose, quickly gathering a few outfits before heading into the fitting room.

Seizing the opportunity, the salesgirl couldn’t resist asking Su Yunzhou, "Hey cutie, what’s your relationship with Sister Yueyue? This is the first time I’ve ever seen her bring a guy here!"

"Our relationship?" Su Yunzhou pondered for a moment before answering very seriously, "I guess you could say we’re food buddies!"

"Food buddies?"

Hearing this, the romance-novel-loving salesgirl instantly started brainstorming all sorts of steamy plotlines in her head.

A moment later, Jiang Shiyue stepped out of the fitting room and stood before the full-length mirror. She had changed into a light-colored, traditional Chinese-style maxi dress patterned with small lotus flowers. Combined with her exquisite facial features and tall figure, she looked fresh, elegant, and positively ethereal.

The salesgirl offered a genuine compliment. "Sister Yueyue, you’re an absolute natural model! It’s such a hard style to pull off, but you manage it effortlessly. You look incredibly gorgeous."

Jiang Shiyue looked a little smug, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. "It’s alright, I guess!"

Nearby, a young man who was accompanying his girlfriend on her shopping trip stole several glances at her. He thought that the woman was stunning. Those legs especially seemed to go on for days. Looking back at his girlfriend’s stubby little legs, he realized that comparison truly was the thief of joy.

The salesgirl shot Su Yunzhou a look, signaling that it was his turn to offer a compliment.

Su Yunzhou pondered for a moment before saying, "It really is quite nice. It reminds me of a poem."

The salesgirl furrowed her brows. "What poem?"

"’Small Pool,’" Su Yunzhou murmured.

Question marks popped into the salesgirl’s head. She subconsciously recited the poem in her mind. Suddenly, her mouth twitched and her eyes went wide. "Dude? Are you serious? Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she thought.

Jiang Shiyue hadn’t clearly heard what the two were whispering about, but judging by their expressions, she assumed it was a compliment.

The salesgirl quickly recovered and smoothed things over. "He said you look as fresh and refined as a lotus flower in this outfit."

Jiang Shiyue smiled without saying a word. This guy had finally said something human. She lifted the hem of her skirt and turned to go change into another outfit.

Meanwhile, the nearby man who had been eavesdropping with pricked ears instantly understood the hidden joke. He also immediately realized the gap in skill between himself and Su Yunzhou. He thought about how other men would carefully pamper such a beautiful girlfriend, yet Su Yunzhou did the exact opposite. This was truly a high-level tactic!

"Note taken!" the man whispered to himself.

Right at that moment, his girlfriend emerged from a fitting room as well. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder maxi dress that squeezed several visible rolls around her waist.

"Hui, how do I look?"

He looked her up and down and said, "This outfit reminds me of a poem."

"Oh?" His girlfriend looked at her suddenly cultured boyfriend with curiosity. "Which one?"

"’From the front, a mountain ridge; from the side, a towering peak. Far and near, high and low, they are all unique,’" Hui said calmly.

His girlfriend froze for a second before snapping, "Damn it, Hui, what do you mean by that? Ridges and peaks? Are you finding a creative way to call me fat?"

Hui’s face changed as he looked at his suddenly furious girlfriend. He wondered why she wasn’t following the script. Shouldn’t she be happy? He hurriedly explained, "How could you think that? I’m praising how good you look! I’m saying you’re as beautiful as Mount Lushan..."

But his girlfriend only grew angrier. "As beautiful as Mount Lushan? Fine, just fine!"

She stormed back into the fitting room. After changing back into her own clothes, she completely ignored her boyfriend and marched out of the store.

Hui immediately chased after her, regretting his choices. "Why did the exact same routine get such a drastically worse reaction when I tried it?" he thought. "I’m doomed! I’m sleeping on the couch again tonight!"

Jiang Shiyue emerged having changed into another outfit. Compared to the traditional Chinese-style dress from before, this sleeveless, ink-black t-shirt dress with an English graphic on the chest looked much more youthful, stylish, and vibrant.

Seeing that Su Yunzhou looked like he was about to speak again, the salesgirl immediately interjected. "Sister Yueyue, you look so good in this one too! Have you lost weight recently?"

"Lost weight." That phrase carried a natural, undeniable power in conversations between women.

A faint smile graced Jiang Shiyue’s face as she began discussing fashion with the salesgirl. Looking at the stylish and beautiful Jiang Shiyue, a sudden thought popped into Su Yunzhou’s head. "Most girls who play around in the fashion world belong to the Itty Bitty Titty Committee," he thought.

It didn’t take long for Jiang Shiyue to decide she wanted to buy all the outfits she’d tried. She then cast a glance at Su Yunzhou, who was playing on his phone nearby, and turned to the salesgirl. "Help me pick out a few men’s outfits!"

The salesgirl’s expression shifted into a knowing smirk. She mused over how Jiang Shiyue had claimed they were just regular friends and food buddies. Eyes full of amusement, she gestured for Su Yunzhou to follow her to take a look.

Given the opportunity to have a mature, affluent woman spend money on him, Su Yunzhou certainly wasn’t going to refuse. He put down his phone, replying to Liu Yiyi with a quick "See you tonight," before following the salesgirl to browse the selection. At the same time, he was quite curious as to why Jiang Shiyue was suddenly being so "generous."

Jiang Shiyue looked at him with a serious expression and said, "That night... your shirt was pretty much ruined..."

Ah! The salesgirl was stunned. "Is this something I’m allowed to hear?" she thought. The plotline in her head instantly upgraded from a standard romance novel to Japanese erotica—specifically, the kind with a deep storyline and Chinese subtitles.

Seeing Su Yunzhou adopt a hesitant expression, looking as though he wanted to say something but was holding back, Jiang Shiyue quickly cut him off.

"Don’t give me any crap about brands. With your status, being able to wear clothes of the same tier as mine is already pretty good for you."