" Good day to you mister Jiang," Yin Zhu pushed open the door of the boutique and walked inside the small shop that was brimming with young women despite the early hours. Scents of all kinds from roses to peonies with a hint of chamomile tea wafted over to Yin Zhu's nostrils as she looked at the excited-looking beta females who were without a hat or a veil covering their faces, discussing loudly the type of dress they wanted for what looked like a wedding.
Jiang Duo who was looking down at the pamphlet sitting on top of his counter raised his head, his eyes crinkling slightly when the woman walking towards him took off her hat and smiled at him like a freshly bloomed waterlily. " Miss Yin, what a pleasant surprise are you here to shop for a dress?"
He always has been a little sweet towards Yin Zhu though he knew that a beta was never allowed to marry a beta female, he still couldn't help but be charmed by Yin Zhu, she was witty and polite. What was more she did not seem to have any qualms about saying what was on her mind straightforwardly, her delicate elf-like features only made her even more likeable with that optimistic attitude of hers.
" I am," said Yin Zhu as she finished looking around the shop before turning to look at Jiang Duo who was smiling at her. " I wish I could ask you to help me choose a dress that would fit me perfectly but I can't not today … so Mister Jiang if you don't mind can you look for a dress that would make me look as ugly as possible?"
" Ugly? Why do you want to buy such a dress?" at first Jiang Duo thought that Yin Zhu was joking but when he saw how serious she looked he understood that the woman wasn't joking, in fact, she was very serious. A bit surprised he couldn't help but ask, " Is everything all right?"
" Of course it isn't, everyone in the town is jealous of how good I look, so my sister is trying to make me ugly," Yin Zhu joked and paid heavily for it when Yin Xia smacked her on the back of her head. " Keep on acting like a little troublemaker and I will really make you ugly."
" I was only joking," whined Yin Zhu as she straightened up while rubbing the back of her head as she glared at her sister. " Jeez, one cannot even joke in this place."
Yin Xia ignored her instead she turned her attention to Jiang Duo and smiled politely. " She is going to start working for the Situ family soon, I fear that she might get herself entangled into some unnecessary trouble which is why I am taking some measures as soon as I can."
Hearing that Yin Zhu was going to work in the Situ mansion, even Jiang Duo was alarmed he looked at Yin Zhu who was looking at him with a calm expression and turned his concerned gaze towards Yin Xia, he has been looking forward to purposing to Yin Zhu once he moved to another cycle but if she was to go in the Situ mansion, then what will happen to her?
Will those crazy young masters of the Situ family even leave Yin Zhu alive for him to propose?
" Miss Yin, you are really allowing her to work in the Situ family?" He could not help but ask Yin Xia, he knew just how overprotective Father Yin and Yin Xia were regarding Yin Zhu, for them to allow Yin Zhu to work in the family was simply impossible for him to believe.
Yin Xia has long seen through the special smiles that Jiang Duo reserved only for Yin Zhu, she too felt a bit sorry for Jiang Duo, after all, he was a decent man and he seemed to really adore her sister but Yin Zhu has never felt anything towards him.
What was more she did not even know that Jiang Duo held romantic feelings towards her?
"I know the risks but this is the order from the head of the Situ family," said Yin Xia with an awkward expression, if possible she would have let Jiang Duo propose to Yin Zhu and married her off to another cycle but her gaze drifted to the ring that Yin Zhu was wearing.
There was something that Yin Xia has never told Yin Zhu, her purity ring was not just a defence mechanism but it was also the red string of fate that tied her fate to her chosen ones. Only when the ring was closer to the one who was destined to be with Yin Zhu would it drop a sign and Yin Xia has never seen the ring do anything when Yin Zhu was near to Jiang Duo.
Jiang Duo looked at Yin Zhu with a reluctant expression on his face before he pulled his lips up and smiled at Yin Zhu. " I have some dresses that can hide your charm, Miss Yin. Please come with me."
Even though he was trying his best to remain professional, his gaze continued to fall on Yin Zhu who was walking beside him, as if he couldn't take his eyes off her for even a moment.
" We don't mind how the dress looks, it should look as simple as possible but I will like it very much for it to be comfortable and in something that I can move around with ease." Yin Zhu told Jiang Duo as she walked to an aisle that had a number of pale, grey and beige dresses lined one after another. From one look Yin Zhu could see that the dresses were not meant to show off, if anything they seemed like dresses that belonged in the wardrobe of someone in their thirties.
"Something easy to move around? Then would you mind wearing pants——?"
" No!" He didn't even finish speaking when Yin Xia refused him blatantly and turned to look at Jiang Duo with a ' what are you doing?' expression, realising that he might have made a mistake. Jiang Duo turned to look at Yin Zhu and smiled, " Very well, I will show you dresses that are comfortable to move in, but just how comfortable do you want them to be?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yin Zhu who was walking caught her feet in the fabric of her dress and went sprawling on the floor, she blew the locks that have fallen on her face and said, " So comfortable that I would be able to maintain my balance at least while walking. "