Chapter 4 “I Want to Try the Red One…”

Xia Mi La had quite a full schedule today. After leaving Xia Hong, she met up with her best friend Xu Lian Yi for afternoon tea.

“What!” Xu Lian Yi was shocked when she heard that Xia Mi La had stayed at the company to have lunch with Xia Shuzhen. “You had lunch with your grandmother? Since when did you two become so close?”

Xia Shuzhen was lofty and imposing – a stern and intimidating elder in daily life, and a decisive powerhouse in the business world. She had always been rather distant with Xia Mi La before. Who knew where the sun rose from today that she actually made time to have a meal with Xia Mi La.

“Mhm.” Xia Mi La’s tone was flat, as if she didn’t find this situation particularly unusual. “Probably because I did quite well on this trip to Busan.”

“That’s right.” Xu Lian Yi nodded. “That photo you took in Busan was really good.”

Xia Mi La picked up her coffee cup and took a small sip. “I found a nice café over there. I’ll take you next time.”

Xu Lian Yi shook her head. “Now’s not the time for coffee.”

She took out a stack of documents from her bag. “Look at this.”

Xia Mi La obediently took them. “What is this?”

“This is information about that girl who was photographed with Jin He last time.” Xu Lian Yi explained. “Her name is Pei Duo Xing, 17 years old this year. Both her parents are temporary workers. Last month, her father was hit by a drunk-driving executive from Han Lin on his way home from night shift and died on the spot. That person is Jin He’s uncle-in-law and also one of Han Lin’s shareholders. Han Lin suppressed this matter with compensation money. Jin He’s involvement with her is probably because of this incident.”

“I see.” Xia Mi La nodded. “How tragic.”

“Quite tragic, isn’t it?” Xu Lian Yi snorted lightly. “But Jin He didn’t need to get involved personally. Han Lin’s legal department and secretariat aren’t just for show.”

Xia Mi La didn’t respond.

What was the point of saying this now? Jin He had already intervened, had already developed feelings, and poor Pei Duo Xing had already been dragged into their world.

“Thank you.” She finally said to Xu Lian Yi. “You went through the trouble of collecting this information for me.”

“It’s nothing.” Xu Lian Yi said. “No matter what Jin He says, we still need to know the truth ourselves.”

As she said this, she sighed inwardly, wondering if Xia Mi La would truly understand why she did all this.

Maybe she understands now, but will forget everything once she sees Jin He again.

Thinking of this, she grew curious: “By the way Mi La, that Jin Can… does he really look that much like Jin He?”

“At first glance, they’re very similar. But upon closer look, they’re actually quite different. Their temperaments are different too.”

“Of course they’re different. One is the crown prince of Han Lin, the other is a poor orphan.” Xu Lian Yi shook her head. “Worlds apart.”

“He’s not that pitiful.” Xia Mi La laughed.

“Anyway,” Xu Lian Yi reminded, “you should continue getting along with your grandmother like you did today. Relying on your grandmother is better than relying on your fiancé or father.”

Xia Mi La burst out laughing. “What’s going on? How did we jump to this topic again?”

Xu Lian Yi fell silent, simply staring at the gauze on her arm and sighing with an expression that seemed to say, “What are we going to do with you?”

This made Xia Mi La laugh again.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I know what I’m doing.”

Xu Lian Yi didn’t seem entirely convinced by her promise and was about to say more when several girls walked into the cafe.

They were all students from Tanmyung High School, classmates of Xia Mi La and Xu Lian Yi. One of them had a dragon-shaped badge pinned to her chest.

Upon seeing them, the girls came over to greet them.

“Hi, Mi La, what a coincidence.” “Oh, what happened to your arm?”

Xia Mi La was wearing short sleeves, making the gauze on her arm very noticeable. Aside from Jin He, everyone who saw Xia Mi La that day had asked the same question.

Patiently, she repeated her standard answer once more.

The girls showed varying degrees of disdain on their faces. One of them couldn’t hold back and sneered sarcastically, “Bai You Na is really concerned about Jin He, isn’t she?”

Xia Mi La appeared not to notice.

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “Sister You Na is really concerned about A He.”

The girls immediately looked sympathetic.

They thought to themselves that although this heir of the Xia Hong family was lucky to be born into a good family, she was incredibly dull and foolish.

“Alright,” Xu Lian Yi said, disliking their expressions and waving her hand impatiently. “Don’t just stand there. Go find a seat and sit down.”

The girls didn’t bother them further, said their goodbyes, and left.

As soon as they sat down, they couldn’t help but complain quietly.

“What does Xu Lian Yi think she is? She’s just riding on Xia Mi La’s coattails because they’re close!” “Her father is Xia Mi La’s father’s lackey, and she’s been Xia Mi La’s follower since childhood. What friendship? It’s all just a transaction.” “Let Xia Mi La have her way. Without Xu Lian Yi, would she even have survived until now?”

The sarcasm in that remark was understood by everyone present. They glanced at each other, covering their mouths and snickering quietly.

Xu Lian Yi was very unhappy. Clever people are like that they can anticipate and guess the reactions of those troublemakers.

Xia Mi La took a sip of coffee from her cup and, seeing the expression on Xu Lian Yi’s face, smiled faintly. “Why let irrelevant people upset you? Let’s go pick out some beautiful dresses together tomorrow.”

Xu Lian Yi nodded. “Okay.”

She didn’t think Xia Mi La was any different from before.

Because although she was soft-hearted, she was also optimistic and wouldn’t let unhappy things weigh on her for too long, making herself miserable.

*

The next day, Xia Mi La and Xu Lian Yi met for lunch and then went together to pick out dresses.

So, today’s afternoon tea was held in the VIP room.

On the coffee table were macarons, tiramisu, several beautifully decorated desserts, and freshly squeezed juice.

Several sales assistants brought in a few new evening gowns for her to choose from.

Xia Mi La casually flipped through the new collection catalog in her hand. “Is this all you have?”

She tapped her finger on one of the pages. “Isn’t this one available? Didn’t your store get it in stock?”

“Well…” The sales assistants hesitated, but finally the manager stepped forward and spoke apologetically. “Miss Mi La, that piece is in stock. But Miss You Na called yesterday and asked us to reserve it for her first.”

Reserved for her she gets to choose first, and only if she decides she doesn’t want it will it become available to others.

“This is too much!” Xu Lian Yi flared up, “Bai You Na and Mi La have never shared the same style. This dress isn’t something she would ever wear. What does she mean by reserving it?”

Xia Mi La lowered her gaze to the dress in the catalog white, with elegant tailoring and smooth lines, overall a modest and graceful design.

Bai You Na had different tastes, preferring intricate and luxurious styles. The dress in the picture was indeed something she would never try or wear.

Using a gown to suppress her wasn’t the first time Bai You Na had done something like this. Usually, when she felt displeased, she would resort to petty tactics to vent her frustrations on the female lead.

It wasn’t painful or damaging, but it was irritating. After all, the female lead never complained and always endured silently.

It was just a dress. If this one was reserved, she could simply choose another. It was only for a single evening event, and she wasn’t the type to compete for attention or show off anyway.

That was how the female lead had always handled such situations.

“Mi La…” Xu Lian Yi looked at her, both frustrated and concerned.

Time and again, Bai You Na never knew when to stop. The female lead’s concessions didn’t win anyone over with virtue; they only fueled the arrogance of petty people.

She was truly afraid that Xia Mi La would yield once more, but within her frustration and worry, there was already a hint of despair and hopelessness. She knew that speaking up probably wouldn’t change anything, given Mi La’s personality…

Just as she was thinking this, she heard Xia Mi La speak.

“She probably didn’t reserve just this one, right?” Xia Mi La asked.

“That’s correct,” the sales assistant replied. “Miss You Na reserved two gowns in total.”

Xia Mi La closed the catalog and sat up slightly, leaning back against the sofa. “Bring those two dresses for me to see,” she instructed.

Her movements and tone were gentle, carrying the usual grace of a well-bred lady. On the surface, she seemed no different from usual, yet there was an inexplicable sense of tension and reverence in the air.

“But… but…” one of the sales assistants started to protest, but upon meeting Xia Mi La’s lightly sweeping gaze, she immediately fell silent and swallowed her words.

In that delicately smiling, soft, and beautiful face, they felt the imposing aura of a top Chaebol Heiress from South Korea.

Even though it wasn’t the first time they had seen that face, in that moment, her presence was undoubtedly different from the Xia Mi La they had known before.

“Of course,” the manager nodded promptly. “I’ll have them bring the dresses for your inspection right away.”

The two dresses were soon brought into the VIP room and presented before Xia Mi La.

One red, one white. The white one was the dress Xia Mi La had seen in the catalog, while the red one was likely what Bai You Na had truly intended to reserve for herself.

It had to be said that her taste was still quite good these two dresses were the most outstanding ones in the entire catalog.

Especially the red one. It was a strapless gown. The upper bodice was adorned with dark red floral vine lace embroidery, pearl chains, and crystal rhinestones, exuding a luxurious, vintage charm. The lower part was made of satin, layered with multiple sheets of sheer silk chiffon, creating a dynamic and ethereal flow. A slit on one side of the skirt hinted at the graceful movement it would allow when worn.

Xia Mi La was rather pleased with it.

She raised her hand and lightly pointed toward it. “I’d like to try on the red one.”

Author’s Note:s

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