The sales associate immediately moved the tray holding the bracelet in front of Song Yingshi.
“Miss, this bracelet is made from high-ice jade, and it costs 1.7 million. You can pay by card over here. Would you like us to box it up, or would you rather wear it now?”
Song Yingshi hurriedly stepped back. “What are you doing? Who said I was buying it?!”
The sales associate looked at Song Yingshi expectantly. “Didn’t you just say you could afford it?”
“Just because Song Yingshi can afford it doesn’t mean she has to buy it!”
She had only been given two million in spending money. How could she possibly spend 1.7 million on a jade bracelet? She could buy two bags at the luxury store next door and still not spend that much!
The sales associate sighed ruefully. “So you’re saying you don’t intend to buy this bracelet?”
“I’m not buying it!”
The sales associate, Yuanyuan, immediately pulled the tray back and beckoned to Xiao Ciyou, her round, almond-shaped eyes sparkling.
“Miss, you can have a look now. Let me help you try it on. Your wrist is so slender—it’ll look beautiful on you!”
Xiao Ciyou had just reached out when Song Yingshi gave her a sharp tug.
Song Yingshi slapped a hand against the glass display case. “Hey! What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you hear what I just said? She can’t afford this bracelet!”
The sales associate folded her hands in front of her stomach and gave Song Yingshi a practiced, eight-toothed smile.
“First, I heard what you said. But my job is to introduce the merchandise each customer wants to know about, not to check their bank balance.
“Second, she walked into this store, so she’s a customer I have to serve, just like you. I prioritized you earlier because you said you wanted to buy something. But now you’ve changed your mind, so I’m going to introduce it to her. I don’t see anything wrong with how I’m doing my job.
“Finally, whether or not she can afford it, she’s allowed to try it on. Company policy doesn’t say, ‘Refuse to let customers try on merchandise because they might damage it and be unable to pay.’”
“Well said!”
Pei Xiuyan strode into the store. His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept past Song Yingshi and settled on the sales associate.
He took out his phone, made a call, and put it on speaker on the counter.
The other person answered quickly. “President Pei, what can I do for you?”
Pei Xiuyan said, “One of the Baofan Jewelry stores under our company is in Guojin Shopping Center. I’m there now.”
The voice on the other end turned nervous. “President Pei, is there a problem with the store?”
“No. The sales associate here… Xiuyan, what’s your name?”
The sales associate nervously gripped the hem of her blouse. “D-Deng Shanshan…”
“Deng Shanshan is not only exceptionally capable at her job, but her conscientious attitude is also a perfect fit for our company culture. As the person in charge of Baofan, I’d like you to issue a promotion announcement yourself and give her a chance to show what she can do.”
The person on the other end immediately agreed. “Of course! Any store employee who gets President Pei to call personally to promote her must be outstanding. As it happens, the manager of our flagship store was recently promoted, and all the branches are competing to fill the position. Why not let her try?”
Pei Xiuyan looked at Deng Shanshan. “What do you think?”
Deng Shanshan sucked in a breath and nodded so vigorously her head bobbed like a toy. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”
Pei Xiuyan smiled. “Good. Then it’s settled. Thanks for your help.”
He ended the call.
Pei Xiuyan glanced at Song Zhien, who was clenching her teeth beside him, and said coolly, “Miss Song, don’t worry. I can afford to pay for anything she breaks. After all, I own this store.”
Song Yingshi had only recently returned to the Song Family and had never faced anything like this. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she ran out crying.
“Let her try on the bracelet,” Pei Xiuyan said.
After applying hand cream to Xiao Ciyou’s hands, Deng Shanshan gently slid the bracelet onto her wrist.
The translucent, lustrous jade bracelet rested on Xiao Ciyou’s slender, fair wrist. It didn’t look the least bit old-fashioned; on the contrary, it made her look exceptionally elegant, as if she had been born to wear gold and jade.
Xiao Ciyou reached out and clasped Pei Xiuyan’s hand. “Give me some.”
Pei Xiuyan: “…”
He closed his eyes and, inwardly, irritably sent her some violet qi. When he opened them again, the jade bracelet looked even more translucent than before.
Deng Shanshan exclaimed, “Miss, it looks wonderful on you! You make this bracelet look like glass-type jade worth two or three million!”
Xiao Ciyou smiled. Not bad.
The jade wasn’t as good as the one she’d had four hundred years ago, but at least it could store some violet qi, which might come in handy later.
Pei Xiuyan had already taken out his black card and handed it to Deng Shanshan. “Run it. We’ll take this one.”
Deng Shanshan picked up a small pair of scissors, carefully cut off the tag attached to the bracelet, and went to ring up the sale. Xiao Ciyou followed her.
“Miss Deng, you’re a good person. I’ll read your fortune for you. It’s free.”
Deng Shanshan’s professional smile froze for a second.
Well, superstitious customers were customers too.
“Sure.”
She gave Xiao Ciyou her birth date and time, and Xiao Ciyou counted on her fingers before saying, “You were clever and articulate as a child, but your grades were average. When you grew up, you came to Jiang City alone for work. You’ve never been in a relationship, but you don’t live alone…”
“I have a roommate!”
Deng Shanshan looked up to explain while the card was processing.
Xiao Ciyou nodded. “Don’t take any dark roads tonight if you can’t see clearly.”
“Of course. Here’s your receipt. Please keep it safe.”
Deng Shanshan watched the two of them leave, then eagerly called her roommate to share the good news about her promotion and raise. They agreed to go out and celebrate that evening.
As for what Xiao Ciyou had just said, it described nine out of ten working people in the city. Deng Shanshan didn’t give it a second thought.
…
When Song Yingshi got home, she couldn’t help bursting into tears.
“Dad, Mom, didn’t you say you’d already stolen her Phoenix Noble Fate? Then why did Pei Xiuyan take her side?! Even a sales associate spoke up for her! Go ask the master what’s going on!”
With her face still swollen and red, Zheng Meilan turned to Song Chengye and wailed too. “That’s right! Call the master right away. At the homecoming banquet, I couldn’t control what I said, and you hit me so hard you didn’t know your own strength. We’ve worked on this for eighteen years—don’t tell me it’s all going to go wrong in the last three months!”
Song Chengye quickly called the master and described everything that had happened over the past few days, down to the smallest detail.
“Don’t worry. The fate pattern really has been stolen. The so-called Phoenix Noble Fate brings good luck, to varying degrees, to everyone who comes into contact with its bearer.
“According to Miss Song, wasn’t the sales associate promoted and given a raise because she met Miss Song? And wasn’t that Pei fellow able to gain a capable employee because he met Miss Song?”
Song Chengye suddenly understood. “I get it. If Song Yingshi hadn’t shown up today, that sales associate wouldn’t have had a chance to prove herself.
“But Pei Xiuyan was famous for never getting involved in other people’s affairs. Why is he going out of his way to protect that poor girl now?”
The master asked, “When did he start protecting that adopted daughter?”
“The night Yingshi returned to the Song Family.”
Song Chengye exclaimed, “Could he have been drawn in by Yingshi’s Phoenix Noble Fate and done it to get her attention?!”
Zheng Meilan grew excited too. “No wonder! We raised that girl for eighteen years, and the Pei Family never showed any interest. But as soon as the fate patterns were switched, Pei Xiuyan showed up. And when Yingshi went to browse in a jewelry store, he went to one too…”
The master sighed. “As the saying goes, a thread of fate can bind people across a thousand miles. Their paths will only cross more often from now on.
“Miss Song bears the Phoenix Noble Fate. No matter what anyone else does, you’ll be the one who wins in the end—especially when it comes to an adopted daughter who has only three months left to live. She’s merely making a desperate last stand.”
Song Yingshi finally let out a long breath, but then she remembered something. “But, Master, she’s been so arrogant lately. Is there any way to make her behave for these last three months?”
The master said, “That is exactly what I intend to do. She is, after all, the original bearer of the Phoenix Fate. When her soul senses the approach of death, it’s bound to fight back fiercely.
“I’m already preparing to set out for Jiang City. When I arrive, I’ll personally perform the ritual and send her off on her final journey!”