Mina pointed toward Grace.
"Bring that one over for me to see."
The store manager hesitated, looking kind of troubled.
"But there's only one of that dress, and the lady's trying it on..."
Mina smiled.
"You think someone wearing shoes like that can afford it?"
Everyone's eyes dropped to Grace's feet.
Even though she had changed her clothes, her shoes were still the same, a pair of cheap canvas sneakers, faded and frayed at the edges, like the kind you wouldn't even bother picking up off the street.
Not wanting to upset a VIP, the store manager reluctantly walked over to Grace, speaking softly.
"Excuse me, miss... could you take off the dress? Another customer wants to try it on."
Grace froze, and then felt her face heat up in embarrassment.
"Oh? But... I already decided to buy it."
The manager looked a bit surprised and instinctively glanced at Grace's shoes again. She gently hinted,
"This dress is limited edition. It might be a bit expensive... maybe you'd like to check out some other styles that offer better value?"
Grace caught on immediately.
"How much is it?"
"For non-members," the manager said, "it's around two hundred thousand."
Grace almost twisted her ankle from the shock.
Two hundred thousand?!
She thought it'd be maybe a thousand, tops!
"What about the other dresses?" she asked, voice barely hanging on.
"The others are around one hundred and twenty thousand. Much cheaper," the manager replied.
Grace was totally speechless.
Sure, technically it was cheaper, by eighty thousand!
But wasn't that like giving a one-dollar coupon when you spend ten thousand?!
Did she look like someone who was short eighty thousand or something?
Mina watched the expression on Grace's face and was even more convinced she was just a clueless bumpkin who had somehow wandered in.
She said coldly, "I've always said they should put a price list at the door. That way we could keep low-quality people out and avoid making real customers uncomfortable."
Grace had been about to take off the dress and disappear in humiliation. But Mina's words hit her like a needle straight to the heart.
She walked up to Mina and asked,
"Excuse me... but how exactly am I low-quality? And what kind of 'quality' does it show when you casually insult others like that?"
Yeah, being poor made her feel small sometimes, but it didn't mean she had no dignity. It didn't mean she was going to just stand there and let someone walk all over her.
The entire store went silent.
Mina frowned.
Did this shabby-looking girl seriously just talk back to her?
She laughed coldly, her voice sharper than before.
"If you can't afford something and still waste everyone's time, ruin their mood, and cause drama, what else are you but low-quality?
That dress is unlucky to be touched by someone like you.
Make sure you disinfect it before giving it to me. I don't want it dirty."
Grace was shaking, with anger this time.
She turned to the sales assistant and said,
"No need to disinfect it. Just wrap it up for me. I'm buying it."
Mina scoffed and told the staff,
"Bring that dress to me."
She didn't even really care about the dress.
But since Grace dared to go against her, she was not going to back down now.
The staff could tell Grace was just trying to save face.
And even though they felt bad for her, they had a job to do.
"Miss, it's best not to act on impulse," they said gently.
"We can give you some complimentary gifts instead..."
Grace took a deep breath, reached into her bag, and slapped a card into the assistant's hand. "Swipe it. And after this dress, I'm not done. I'm going to keep shopping."
Everyone's eyes locked onto the card.
It was a black card.
Gasps echoed across the store.
Wasn't that the legendary Gina Black?!
This wasn't just a regular black card like the ones abroad.
This one had no spending limit and let the holder bypass identity checks.
It wasn't just about money, this card meant power.
Influence.
Status.
And applying for one?
Basically impossible.
Rumor had it you could count the number of holders on two hands.
Mina Sue's face darkened at first, but then she suddenly laughed.
"Where'd you even get this fake? It probably won't even work.
If you're going to forge something, at least pick something easier.
Faking a Gina Black card? Are you trying to tell the whole world you're a total idiot?"
The other staff members all believed her right away.
After all, the Gina Black card was insanely rare, even Miss Mina Sue didn't have one.
How could a girl with beat-up canvas shoes possibly have something like that?
But the store manager stammered,
"Th-this one seems to be real..."
She had worked here longer than anyone else and had seen a few customers use that card before.
So she knew how to recognize it.
Hearing that, Mina Sue instantly tensed up.
She stormed over to Grace, snatching the card right out of her hand.
She was ready to drag her through the mud and tear her apart...
But the more she looked at the card, the more her heart dropped.
It looked... real.
"You've got some nerve! Why haven't you called the police yet? How dare you steal something like this?" Mina shouted, practically shaking with rage.
"Who are you calling a thief?!" Grace snapped, just as angry.
"This was given to me by my... my man!"
She barely stopped herself from spilling a secret.
Mina sneered.
"Look in the mirror. Do you really think someone like you could land a man who has this kind of card?"
"You—!"
They were this close to dragging each other by the hair when a surprised voice cut through the tension.
"Grace?"
Both girls spun around, shocked.
At the same time, they both blurted:
"Mom?"
"Ma'am?"
It was Lila Wang.
She had been browsing for shoes in another store when Mina's maid rushed over, saying her daughter was in some kind of fight, so she hurried over right away.
Mina's face drained of color.
"Mom... you know her?"
"Of course I do," Lila said calmly.
"She's your Aunt Christine's daughter."
"What?!" Mina's jaw dropped.
She was super close with Aunt Christine, they shared everything.
How did she not know she had a daughter?
Lila knew her own daughter's personality better than anyone.
Even without asking for details, she could already guess what happened.
She turned to Grace and said gently,
"I'm really sorry. Mina's been spoiled by us since she was little. Please don't take it to heart."
"Mom!" Mina protested, embarrassed.
Grace was just as stunned as Mina.
She looked at Mina, then back at Mrs. Lila.
How could someone this warm and gentle have a daughter with such a sharp tongue...?
"When the river floods the Dragon King's temple, it's still all one family," Lila said with a soft smile.
"Don't be so stiff, just smile and let it go. You're about the same age, you could become great friends."
As she spoke, she took both their hands and gently placed them together.
Since her mom had stepped in, Mina couldn't say anything else.
She could only stand there and watch Grace actually swipe the card for that dress.
Her brain was spinning with questions.
Earlier, she had threatened to call the cops just to scare her.
But in reality, the Gina Black card was cloud-controlled and could be frozen instantly.
There was almost no chance it was stolen.
Even if someone managed to take it, no one would be dumb enough to use it in public.
So...
How on earth did she get her hands on that card?!