Yu Yin was immersed in her work when Xiang Yue knocked on her office door and came in. "Want to grab lunch together?"
Only then did Yu Yin's thoughts pull away from her work. She thought for a moment before agreeing.
"What do you want to eat?" Yu Yin asked Xiang Yue as she tidied up her desk.
Xiang Yue said, "I noticed a new Spanish restaurant just opened downstairs…"
At the Spanish restaurant, Xiang Yue felt that eating Spanish food meant you absolutely had to have the classic seafood paella, but since Yu Yin wasn't having any, she got to enjoy it all to herself—no sharing needed.
Yu Yin ordered another Spanish classic—potato and egg omelet. Yes, the name of the dish really was that simple. She had once been fooled by its Spanish name.
Back then, she and Zhao Shunian were on their honeymoon in Spain. They had wandered into a small local restaurant where there was no English menu, and since she didn't understand Spanish, she picked a dish whose name looked appealing to her eye.
She and Zhao Shunian weren't familiar with each other at that time—they didn't speak unless necessary. But because it was their honeymoon trip, they spent every day together. She was a stranger in Spain, her first time there, and he was the person she knew best in that place.
She felt stifled; even the cool sea breeze blowing in from outside couldn't dispel the suffocation. He sat there calm and composed, utterly unbothered. Her composure wasn't as strong as his, and she couldn't hold it in any longer. She initiated a topic and asked what the dish was called.
Zhao Shunian lifted his eyelids and asked her lazily, didn't she know what dish she herself had ordered?
Yu Yin was at a loss for words. She truly didn't know what she had ordered. She thought perhaps they just weren't suited for conversation.
A faint awkwardness hung in the air, and then Zhao Shunian lightly uttered five words: "Potato and egg omelet." Yu Yin inexplicably found it funny. She didn't laugh out loud, but the amusement in her eyes couldn't be contained. He raised his hand to loosely cover her eyes.
The waiter who brought their food said enthusiastically, "¡Tortolitos!"
Yu Yin didn't understand what it meant, but she knew it was a playful tease. The two of them immediately turned proper and distant again…
Yu Yin and Xiang Yue were having dessert after their meal, chatting casually. Between friends, there was no rule against talking while eating.
Just then, Yu Yin's phone vibrated—a message had come in. She checked it. It was from her personal assistant Yu Meimei, saying the stylist had arrived at the villa.
Yu Meimei cautiously asked whether she was coming back or wanted to reschedule and have the stylist leave.
Yu Yin's personal stylist, Lana, came at a fixed time every month. If there was an urgent need, Yu Meimei would notify Lana in advance to come over.
Today was the scheduled date, and Yu Yin had momentarily forgotten about it.
Xiang Yue asked her, "Who messaged you—Zhao Shunian?"
"It's Meimei, saying the stylist is waiting at home."
Yu Yin had to scroll several times before she found her chat with Zhao Shunian. They basically never chatted online; the most recent message was still the one she had accidentally sent.
Originally, she had meant to send it to Xiang Yue. By the time she realized she'd sent it to the wrong person, the recall window had already passed. The person on the other end of the chat had shown no reaction, so she played deaf and dumb, acting as if nothing had happened.
Xiang Yue said, "See you tomorrow, then?"
"Sure, I'll be there on time tomorrow, and then I'll work overtime with you and Qianyao."
Xiang Yue looked at her with disbelief. "Really?"
Yu Yin said firmly, "Of course!"
…
Yu Meimei entertained Lana in the side parlor, serving her a cup of coffee. "The missus said she'll be back shortly."
Lana accepted the coffee with both hands and said thank you. The two chatted casually while drinking their coffee.
Yu Meimei envied Lana's fulfilling work—her own position as a personal assistant was essentially decorative. Yu Yin rarely had use for her and didn't like people following her around. Yu Meimei constantly worried that one day Yu Yin would realize she wasn't of much use and let her go.
Yu Meimei thought to herself that one must never assume that just because the missus was easy to get along with and didn't put on airs, she could be pushed around. If anyone under her displeased her, she would cut them off without mercy.
Two years ago, Lana's predecessor—a stylist with one of the biggest names in the industry—had offended Yu Yin. Yu Yin ended their collaboration without a second word, which effectively put her on the Zhao family's blacklist. Before long, she and her studio could no longer survive in that circle and had to switch industries entirely.
After hearing about Yu Meimei's job responsibilities, Lana envied her easy, leisurely life with its high salary, while she herself was constantly running around without a moment's rest. Lana had also heard the rumors about her predecessor and served Yu Yin with extreme caution, terrified that one misstep would ruin her entire career.
When Yu Yin—the woman both of them considered "not to be trifled with"—returned to the villa, Lana and her studio members had already laid out the clothes, shoes, and bags they had brought that day in the reception room adjacent to the walk-in closet, with Yu Meimei supervising on the side.
Whenever new-season pieces from certain brands suited Yu Yin's style, Lana's studio would bring them to the villa. Styling studios that could provide long-term services to wealthy clients accumulated deep connections in the fashion world. Moreover, prestigious families were honored guests of luxury houses.
Lana coordinated Yu Yin's outfits. Yu Yin herself might not know exactly what was in her home's walk-in closet, but Lana and Yu Meimei knew it inside and out.
Today, Lana had brought a tailor along with her. The clothes the studio acquired were all in Yu Yin's size. When she found pieces she liked, the tailor would take her measurements and discuss with her and Lana how to modify the details so the garments would fit her figure and temperament better without compromising the overall design. Once they reached an agreement, the tailor would take the clothes away for alterations before delivering them back to the villa.
The studio would return the pieces Yu Yin didn't select. The Zhao family was wealthy, but they weren't fools with their money—they wouldn't keep unwanted items gathering dust and wasting funds.
For fully custom-made pieces, the brand's tailor would come together with Lana. They would select styles and fabrics, take Yu Yin's measurements, and then have the garments made.
All of this served Yu Yin's everyday life and work attire. For important events like banquets and receptions, Lana would need to bring more studio members to the villa to provide a full-service experience.
Yu Yin thought back to that dream—it seemed like a warning. She suspected that her habit of luxury was what had allowed her to squander her savings in such a short time.
She felt she needed to correct her high-spending behavior. After all, it was easy to go from frugality to extravagance but hard to go from extravagance back to frugality. To avoid being at a loss once she eventually left the Zhao family, she didn't keep everything she liked as she used to—she simply picked out a few items.
Yu Yin was just about to say she'd take these when she suddenly wanted to look at the price list. She wanted to know how much she spent on everyday clothing, because in the future she might have to bear that cost herself.
"Lana, where's the price list for these items?"
Lana was puzzled, as she normally never read it, but she didn't dare ask and simply handed it over as instructed.