Chapter 2: Prologue

Prologue

Bai Bai Ziling immediately fell for the silver Versace spaghetti-strap evening gown displayed on the model; its design was simple yet not flashy, looking both sexy and elegant, and if worn, it would surely add many points to her, but looking at the price tag...

She frowned; bargaining was her specialty, and she was determined to get this gown no matter what; from the very first glance, she felt this exquisite, dazzling dress was designed for her, and she should be its new owner.

"Give me a twenty percent discount!" she told the shop assistant, acting like a decisive, no-nonsense customer.

"Miss, fifty thousand is already very cheap; the original price of this gown was over one hundred and eighty thousand; it's a Versace brand, and you know your stuff."

"But after all, this is a second-hand garment," Bai Bai Ziling tried hard to put on an expression that she didn't absolutely have to have it, so that there might still be room to negotiate the price.

"The owner of this dress has only worn it twice; you know large banquets in Taiwan aren't that common; just look at how well-preserved the clothes are, it's still nine-tenths new, it's worth it!" The shop assistant worked his tongue of three inches, wanting to close this deal. "Moreover, your temperament matches this gown so well; it seems specially made for you..."

"We don't even know if it fits yet!" she interrupted the shop assistant; fifty thousand was by no means a small sum; she wasn't like Xia Zhen, Chang Chang Weiwei, or Sima Sima Xingchen; they had all found golden tortoise husbands, and fifty thousand was just spare change to them, but for her, an unemployed person, it was an astronomical figure.

"You can try it on." The shop assistant immediately began to strip the gown from the model. "It will definitely fit!"

"But I won't wear it many times..." Bai Zhen mumbled, looking somewhat hesitant.

"With a luxury item like this, even wearing it once is enough to break even." The shop assistant handed the gown to her.

Bai Bai Ziling tried it on; when she stood before the dressing room mirror wearing this silver gown, that beauty and elegance were hard to describe in words; she looked... like a charming, beautiful Princess with peerless looks; the gown clung to her body like a second skin, requiring absolutely no alterations; through the mirror, she saw not herself, but a stunning woman who could make people stare without blinking.

"Too beautiful!" The shop assistant couldn't help but whisper, not out of hypocrisy, not out of flattery, and not just to sell the gown, but because the gown and this girl matched so perfectly, they were simply complementary.

Bai Bai Ziling didn't really want to take it off either; if she could, she wanted to just wear it home. "Make it cheaper!"

"Fifty thousand is really..."

"Ten percent off." She acted as if that was the final price.

"Alright then..." The shop assistant said somewhat helplessly: "Normally the price is fixed, but seeing how this gown looks on you, it seems it originally belonged to you, so I'll let it go for forty-five thousand."

Bai Bai Ziling looked at the dressing mirror again; if she was already a beauty, wearing this gown should make her count as... a peerless beauty.

"Credit card or cash?" the shop assistant asked.

"Credit card." Having said that, Bai Bai Ziling couldn't help but pause, thinking of her mountain of unpaid credit card debt; adding this bill on top of it, she... should she really buy it? "I think..."

"We also have silver high-heeled sandals to match this gown, also a famous brand, definitely..." The shop assistant immediately started introducing accessories.

"No, this gown is enough." Bai Bai Ziling immediately walked back to the dressing room; she couldn't buy any more; if she kept buying, before she found a golden tortoise husband, she would be driven to death by credit card debt.