To her credit, Queena tried on all the clothes that Melinda plucked off the rack.
Every time she walked out of the fitting room, her daughter-in-law would compliment her, or comment
on how to accessorize the clothes, or sometimes just straight up hand her the jewelries to match. She
couldn’t deny that she was very satisfied with every outfit that Melinda chose for her.
The attendant paid them no attention at first, but over time she started to notice the pile of clothes that
Melinda kept bringing to the dressing area.
And it looked to her like these customers weren’t going to stop trying on clothes anytime soon. She
finally approached Melinda, as Queena tried on another outfit in the fitting room.
"Excuse me, but we don’t allow just anyone to try on the clothes we have here. We only cater to buying
customers."
She gave her a pointed look as she finished speaking, making sure her message came across clearly.
And it did.
"Is that so?" Melinda asked casually as she rubbed the fabric of the dress she was holding between her
fingers. Then she smiled a serene smile to mask the annoyance she felt at the attendant’s
condescending attitude.
"You’re quite right to be selective with your clientele. These are very high quality clothes after all."
"Indeed," the attendant sniffed. "We have a lot of people coming in here to just try on the clothes and
take photos in the fitting room because they can’t afford to actually buy the items."
Then her gaze wandered over to the nearby benches, where the clothes Queena had already tried on
were splayed. She heaved an irritated sigh, and went over to pick them up and hang them back on the
racks.
"Did you just inadvertently say that I can’t afford these things?" Queena emerged from the fitting room
before the attendant could even make a grab for one of the outfits.
The older woman heard everything that was exchanged between the attendant and her daughter-in-
law, and it only fueled her earlier displeasure at the type of welcome they received from the store.
Melinda quickly strode over to her and smoothed out the sleeves of the shirt she tried on, and adjusted
something at the collar. "Mother, you have such a nice figure, you look good in practically anything.
Why don’t we just buy everything you’ve tried on so far?"
Melinda smiled at her mother-in-law, and then the two women turned at the same time to look at the
attendant coldly. The woman frowned, her hesitation showing on her face.
Still, she had encountered this scenario before, where customers tried to intimidate her to get their brief
fix of luxury. She stood her ground.
She puffed out her chest, ready to reprimand the women, but before she could say anything, the
manager burst into the dressing area.
The attendant stared at her superior, confused. As far as she knew, the manager was buried deep in
his office since earlier that day, and gave instructions not to be disturbed.
He walked straight to the attendant, his face alarmingly flushed. "Pack all these clothes up for Madam
Gu," the manager ordered her with a wild look in his eyes.
Then the manager turned to the women and gave them a low bow. As soon as he raised his face, he
flashed them his customer service smile.
"I deeply apologize, Madam Gu. The attendant didn’t know her place and caused you much distress.
Please be assured that this matter will be dealt with accordingly."
Then he ushered the two women towards the reception, leaving the attendant rooted to the spot,
completely horrified as she realized what she had just done. And to whom.
"Madam, please accept my offer of a VIP discount on all the items you purchased today. Of course, we
are well aware that you are not short in funds and have no need for such incentive, but please allow us
to gift you with it. I hope you accept, and may you forgive us for our earlier offense."
The other shop employees stared as their manager spoke politely and bowed several times to the
women. Clearly, these customers were not to be looked down on. They scurried over to help the
attendant pack the goods before the madam and her companion changed their minds.
The two women left soon after, without any further incident, but the manager was still a little on edge.
He had been handling some paperwork in his office when he received a call.
He thanked his lucky stars he decided to pick up that one call, or there was no telling the fate of their
company.
In the car, Queena cast a discreet glance at her daughter-in-law. She was quite certain the sudden
appearance of the manager was Melinda’s doing.
The younger woman had done well in diverting her displeasure from the annoying attendant by
continuously giving her clothes to try on. Additionally, she handled the attendant’s snobbish behavior
with class, and the complaint with her superior discreetly.
Despite herself, she was impressed. Her daughter-in-law wasn’t so bad after all.
They spent the rest of the day visiting other shops, and went home late in the evening. Queena didn’t
treat Melinda any differently than she always had, but the day passed without her finding fault and
verbally harassing the younger woman.
It wasn’t such a remarkable change per se, but Yulia sensed it. They were all in the living room at the
time, and the servants were steadily bringing in the shopping packages they had amassed throughout
the day.
"Aunt Queena," Yulia began. "The clothes you bought are so beautiful! Where did you buy them? I
think I’ll go shopping there next time I go out." She was shamelessly looking into the bags, noting the
luxury brands and the expensive packaging.
Envy rose to the surface as she watched the seemingly endless influx of more shopping bags. She
wasn’t poor herself, but she certainly couldn’t afford this much luxury items at a given time.
Her grandfather made sure to limit her funds, since the old man was aware just how much of a
spendthrift she could be. She eyed the designer clothes with longing.
"Well, Melinda has very good taste," Queena spoke casually, but each word was said in a precise tone,
as if to emphasize the fact that Melinda selected the clothes for her.
Yulia’s head shot up in astonishment, and for a moment she forgot her lust for extravagance. Even
Jonas, who had no interest in such affairs and was quietly reading on the couch, looked up in surprise.
"Only because mother was such a good model; it’s easy to pick out outfits when everything looks good
on you." Melinda smiled gently, and Queena only said a stern "Hmm."
Nevertheless, she did not rebuke her daughter-in-law, and it alarmed Yulia. She could feel her face
pale.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Queena to accept suggestions from Melinda, much less
praise them! 'That little bitch is so sly. If they went out a few more times like this, she might get Queena
on her side. I can’t let that happen; otherwise I’d be completely powerless in this home!'
Unconsciously, her grip tightened on one of the clothes she fished out from the bags, and her face took
on a murderous expression. Queena was first to notice, and then the others looked at Yulia as well,
with varying degrees of curiosity and disdain. Even the servants were giving her strange looks.
Queena sneered at her husband’s bastard. The brat was predictable; the daughter of a mistress from a
poor background would naturally covet things that were out of her reach.
"Yulia." Melinda’s voice was gentle, but her tone firm. It pulled Yulia back to her senses, and she
realized what she was clutching in her hands.
It occurred to her then that it must have looked like she was seething with jealousy over the clothes,
which of course she was just a while back, and she paled even further.
Unable to come up with an excuse to save face, she slowly let go of the fabric and stood up with her
head down. "I’m sorry, Aunt Queena. My stomach isn’t feeling so good."
It was as convincing as she could get, and her pale complexion helped somewhat. She left for her
room in a hurry.
That night, Yulia had a dream. She was curled up into a ball, all alone in a dark corner of the Gu's
mansion. No one paid attention to her and she could only look on as the rest of the family sat down and
happily shared a meal together.
Melinda, in particular, was being fawned upon by Nelson and Jonas, and to her horror, by Queena as
well. She woke up with a start, feeling her hatred for Melinda transcend from dream to reality.
Or was it the other way around? She knew she had to do something soon.
In the days that followed, Yulia took every opportunity to spend time with Queena, and maximized it by
bad-mouthing Melinda.
She told the older woman that Melinda only married Jonas for money, and would often bring it up in
conversation. She would make efforts to please Queena, too, sucking up to the older madam.
Her efforts bore fruit, and though there wasn’t anything confrontational, Melinda could sense that her
mother-in-law’s disapproval had significantly grown. She wondered what she had done wrong recently,
never thinking that Yulia might have had a hand in it.
Soon winter was just around the corner, and the days in A City were growing shorter. Yulia would often
lock herself up in her bedroom, contemplating on the relationships among the people in the Gu family,
and devising her schemes.
Her plans naturally drifted over to Emily, her constant partner in scheme. A single call was all it took for
the two evil women to catch each other up on the developments, and cook something up in their
sleeves.
"I’m holding a party next week," Emily said at one point. "I need you to help me cozy up to Queena."
From what Yulia had told her, Queena seemed to be a person of considerable influence, and she
sounded a bit on the prideful side, too.
"Queena usually goes shopping on Saturdays. I’ll call you tomorrow morning to confirm." Yulia wasn’t
sure what Emily wanted to do, but they did have a track record of successfully colluding to make
Melinda miserable. This was going to be just another one of those times.
The next day, Queena did go shopping as per her routine. When afternoon came, she went into a cafe
and sat down to have coffee by herself. Suddenly, and without invitation, a gorgeous young woman in a
white dress sat down at the chair across her table.
"Aunt Queena, I haven’t seen you for a long time!" The girl chattered excitedly. "I’ve always wanted to
pay a visit, but I never could find a chance. I hope you forgive me." Emily was sure Queena had no
idea who she was. At least as an adult.
"Who are you?" the older woman asked, visibly confused. Queena had a vague sense that this girl was
a celebrity of some sort, but she didn’t recognize her. ‘She must not be someone big in the industry, for
her to have left such a small impression on me.'
"It’s me, Emily." The actress pasted a cheerful grin on her face. Although Queena’s loss at her identity
was favorable to her plan, she couldn’t help the little sting of insult that she wasn’t recognized at all.
Queena only frowned, and mulled over the name for some moments. Then it hit her. Wasn’t this the girl
who was constantly tagging along behind Jonas when they were children?
Before she could say anything, Emily leaned over the table and flashed her another smile. "It’s been so
many years, Aunt Queena. You’re just as beautiful as you were in the past!"
Queena’s response was automatic. "You have changed a lot." And she was being honest, too. Queena
had been around high society for most of her life; she could tell people’s upbringing and temperament
despite what their looks alluded to.
Emily struggled to keep smiling. "Yes, well. I have spent all these past years abroad, so of course I’ve
changed." Then she scrambled to change the topic. "But it’s such a pleasant coincidence to run into
you today! I’m hosting a party in two days. Would you please, please come and attend?"
Queena took a moment to check her schedule, and readily accepted the invitation without much
thought. Remembering Yulia’s story about how Melinda went shopping with Queena, Emily made it a
point to lengthen her stay in the cafe, spending the whole afternoon sucking up to the older woman.
Needless to say, with all the acting skills she racked up in the course of her career, she made a good
impression on Jonas's mother, and this time she made sure it would stick.
The day of the party came, and it was held in one of the hotels under Soaring Group. Although Emily
exhausted her connections and invited a lot of people.
She introduced Queena around, establishing herself as someone close to the madam of the Gu family.
She stayed by the older woman’s side the whole night, fending off other socialites and opportunistic
people who wanted a chance to gain the favor of the Gu family.
She also made sure to compliment Queena frequently. "Aunt Queena, you’re like a bright light that
attracts everyone. They all admire you."
"You’re not so bad yourself." Queena’s reply was curt. She was no stranger to empty flattery and the
swarm of people always seeking to take advantage. Emily had on a silver fishtail dress, while Queena
wore a purple cheongsam. It was quite true that they were an attention-grabbing pair.
Emily pouted. "Oh well. I did hear some of the guests say we look like sisters. I keep telling them if
that’s the case then the elder sister is obviously more beautiful and more graceful." And it was true.
Queena had aged very well. And while it could be said that Jonas got his good looks from his father, his
mother had obviously pitched in the appearance department as well.
"You are so sweet," Queena said, giving Emily a little smile. She still remained reserved, and acted
indifferent to the countless compliments, but she seemed to be enjoying hearing them.
Emily smiled to herself. It looked like the party wasn’t in vain after all.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda