Capítulo 18: 18
The warmth of their bodies seeped through the thin summer clothing, blending together. Qin Ruan's hands were pressed against Wen Yixin's shoulders, her cheek tightly resting against Wen Yixin's neck, where she could faintly feel the pulse beating beneath her skin.
In addition to this, Wen Yixin was holding her so tightly that Qin Ruan could sense the quickened pace of her heartbeat where their bodies were touching.
Feeling the rise and fall of Wen Yixin's chest, a light blush gradually spread across Qin Ruan's ears. She lowered her gaze and, with a slight movement of her hands, used Wen Yixin's shoulders as leverage to straighten herself slightly.
"Thank you, Sister Wen," Qin Ruan said, her face tinged with a faint blush.
Wen Yixin shook her head and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Qin Ruan replied, shaking her head lightly.
Wen Yixin sighed in relief. "That's good."
She released the hand resting on Qin Ruan's waist and said softly, "If you're not comfortable in high heels, we can do without them."
Wen Yixin expected Qin Ruan to agree, but instead, she heard, "I want them."
Qin Ruan added, "I want them, Sister Wen."
Wen Yixin was momentarily taken aback, caught off guard by Qin Ruan's response, and her reaction was a bit delayed.
Qin Ruan was also surprised by her own words as soon as they left her mouth.
The way she said it, it almost sounded as if she were confessing her love to Sister Wen.
The thought made the blush on Qin Ruan's face deepen.
She pressed her lips together and quietly explained, "Sister Wen, I want a pair of high heels."
When she wore high heels, she could be the same height as Sister Wen.
Wen Yixin nodded, "If you want them, we can order a few pairs of high heels to match the dresses."
"Alright, I'll listen to you, Sister Wen," Qin Ruan replied.
As the two of them finished their conversation, Xia Bai approached with a measuring tape in hand. "Miss Wen, I'm here to take Miss Qin's measurements."
Wen Yixin glanced at the measuring tape in her hand and reached out, "I'll do it."
"That's fine," Xia Bai said, handing the measuring tape over to Wen Yixin before stepping aside to record the measurements.
Wen Yixin adjusted the measuring tape in her hand and moved behind Qin Ruan. She spread her arms and loosely wrapped the tape around Qin Ruan's body before gradually tightening it, then called out a number to Xia Bai.
Xia Bai quickly jotted it down.
This process was repeated three times as Wen Yixin meticulously took Qin Ruan's measurements and relayed the numbers to Xia Bai. Meanwhile, Qin Ruan's thoughts were far from focused on the measurements.
Instead, her mind was preoccupied with the person behind her.
Qin Ruan stared at their reflections in the fitting room mirror, noticing how closely they stood together, and her ears grew warmer. Every time Wen Yixin tightened the tape, Qin Ruan's ears seemed to get even hotter.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Wen Yixin finally retracted the measuring tape and handed it back to Xia Bai, asking, "Did you get all the measurements?"
Xia Bai nodded, "Yes, everything is recorded."
"Good, you can get back to your work now," Wen Yixin said.
"Alright," Xia Bai responded, then turned to resume her duties.
Wen Yixin glanced over at Hemingsha, who seemed to be available, and led Qin Ruan over to him.
"Mr. He," she called out.
Hemingsha looked up, "Miss Wen."
"Is there anything you need?"
Wen Yixin nodded, "We'd like a few pairs of matching high heels to go with the dresses."
"Of course, that's not a problem," Hemingsha agreed.
Hearing this, Wen Yixin discussed the approximate heel height and other details with him.
About half an hour later, Hemingsha stood up to escort Wen Yixin and Qin Ruan out of the design studio. "Miss Wen, Miss Qin, the custom dresses and shoes will take about half a month to complete. We'll contact you when they're ready for pickup, or you can leave an address, and we can have them delivered."
Wen Yixin thought for a moment before replying, "We'll come back to pick them up."
Hearing this, Hemingsha nodded. After exchanging a few more words with Wen Yixin, he returned to the design studio.
Outside the design studio, Wen Yixin gently patted Qin Ruan's soft hair and said warmly, "Let's look around a bit more and buy you a few dresses or outfits to wear in the meantime. After all, the custom pieces won't be ready for another half month."
Qin Ruan obediently replied, "Okay."
Wen Yixin then took Qin Ruan on another round through Jeremy, selecting several dresses that looked the best on Qin Ruan and handing them to the store clerks to be packaged.
Zhao Man approached with two female clerks, "Miss Wen, all of your items have been packed."
"Would you like us to arrange delivery, or will you be taking them with you?"
"We'll take them ourselves," Wen Yixin said, reaching out to take the bags from one of the clerks.
Seeing this, Qin Ruan also took the bags from another clerk.
With a firm grip on her shopping bags, Wen Yixin led the way toward the door. However, just as she began to step forward, Zhao Man clapped her hands, and suddenly, the surrounding clerks lined up in two rows, bowing slightly as they said in unison:
"Miss Wen, we look forward to your next visit."
Wen Yixin was momentarily surprised but quickly regained her composure and nodded politely before calmly walking out of Jeremy's door.
On the other hand, Qin Ruan, likely facing such a scene for the first time, seemed a bit uneasy.
She bit her lip and followed Wen Yixin out of Jeremy, glancing nervously at the clerks lined up on either side.
It wasn't until they stepped outside that Qin Ruan finally stopped looking around and focused her gaze on the person beside her.
Inside Jeremy.
After Wen Yixin and Qin Ruan disappeared from view, the clerks slowly straightened up and went back to their tasks.
They acted as if nothing had happened, but the other customers in the store were abuzz with curiosity.
Customers nearby began to whisper among themselves, "Who was that woman just now? She caused such a big scene."
"I've been to Jeremy so many times, and I've never seen anything like that before. It's a first for me," another responded, clearly intrigued by Wen Yixin's identity.
"I don't know either," someone replied.
"She looked unfamiliar, so she's probably not from K City. If she were, someone in our circle would know her."
"Although I'm not sure who she is, the girl with her looked somewhat familiar. Don't you think?" another person remarked.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, she does look familiar."
"Who is she? I can't remember," someone muttered, tapping their forehead.
"If I heard correctly, Miss Yu called her Qin Ruan earlier, right?"
"Qin Ruan? A member of the Qin family?"
"Ah! I remember now."
"Qin Ruan is the eldest daughter of the Qin family, right?"
"The eldest daughter of the Qin family?" someone still seemed puzzled.
At that moment, someone clarified, "She's Qin Yi's sister."
"Ah, Qin Yi's sister! Now I know who she is," several people said in sudden realization.
"Qin Ruan usually keeps a low profile, but who would have thought she'd know such an important person behind the scenes? I wonder if the Qin family knows about this."
Upon hearing this, someone chuckled, "They probably don't. If they did, how could Mrs. Qin possibly resist showing off?"
As soon as those words were spoken, laughter broke out around them, with most agreeing with the sentiment.
Meanwhile, Yu Shuyun, who had been humiliated, was seething with anger.
She stormed back home, heading straight to her room. When she slammed the door shut, the frame even shook from the force, showing just how furious she was.
She threw the plush toys on her bed to the floor, stomping on them a few times to vent her anger before pulling out her phone. She opened her group chat with her friends and sent a message: "Do you guys know what Qin Ruan has been up to lately?"
In her mind, Qin Ruan was someone with no real backing. Although she lived in the Qin family, she was neglected and unloved—a pitiful figure who wouldn't dare to resist no matter how her circle of friends treated her.
Well, it wasn't that she never resisted. She had tried in the past, but after realizing it was futile, she seemed to give up, becoming listless and lacking in spirit.
But the Qin Ruan she saw today was completely different from the one she remembered. Although there were traces of her old self, she seemed much more spirited.
She appeared more vibrant.
And on top of that, she had found someone to back her up.
Someone with a background that didn't seem simple.
Ultimately, it was because of this backing that Yu Shuyun had been humiliated at Jeremy today.
There was no way she could let this go.
"Beep beep…" The notification sound from WeChat interrupted her thoughts.
Yu Shuyun quickly opened the chat.
Da Jiang Da He: "No idea. She's so low-profile. Who would pay attention to her?"
Shuijiao Shuijiao: "What's up with her?"
Sushi: "What happened? Did she piss you off?"
Yu Shuyun: "I saw her at Jeremy today."
Da Jiang Da He: "No way?!"
Shuijiao Shuijiao: "No way?"
Sushi: "Impossible! How could she be there?"
Yu Shuyun: "I couldn't believe it either when I saw her."
"So, I went up to provoke her a little."
"But I didn't expect her to have a backer!!"
Da Jiang Da He: "!!!"
Shuijiao Shuijiao: "! A backer!"
Sushi: "What kind of backer?!"
Yu Shuyun: "I don't know who she is."
"She just pulled out a black Jeremy card with gold embossing, and the staff's attitude changed instantly. They became so fawning and respectful!"
"I don't get it. It's just a card, so why did they react like that? Have any of you seen such a card before?"
"No."
The responses in the group chat were unanimous.
Yu Shuyun, now too irritated to type, sent a series of voice messages instead.
Soon after, several more voice messages popped up in the chat.
They were talking about what had happened when Wen Yixin left the store earlier.
"Who on earth is she? I've never heard of her. Even my mom doesn't get that kind of treatment at Jeremy."
"My sister doesn't either."
"Who is she? And more importantly, how does Qin Ruan know someone like that?"
"She must have gotten lucky!"
As she listened to her friends' messages, Yu Shuyun only grew more frustrated, her throat feeling dry from anger.
She coughed, rubbed her throat, and left her room, heading downstairs with loud, stomping steps.
As she descended, she replied to the voice messages with more of her own.
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from the staircase behind her.
Yu Shuyun turned to see her mother and an unfamiliar woman.
"You just mentioned a black card with gold embossing, and the person holding it had the surname Wen?" the woman asked Yu Shuyun, her expression a bit strange.
Hearing this, Yu Shuyun started to feel something was off as well.
"Yeah, I heard her last name is Wen. Is that name significant?" Yu Shuyun asked, puzzled.
The woman didn't respond immediately, deep in thought.
Seeing the woman's silence, and already being in a foul mood, Yu Shuyun grew impatient and pressed further, "Do you know her? Who is she?"
The woman glanced at the anxious Yu Shuyun and slowly began to speak: "If I'm not mistaken, the person you're talking about is likely from the Wen family. However, I'm not sure why someone from the Wen family would be here." After all, compared to the bustling capital, K City was indeed a rather quiet and remote place.
The woman was also from the capital and had heard a fair bit about the prominent Wen family there, though she couldn't claim to know them well.
What she did know was that the Wen family had a significant presence in both business and politics, and very few dared to cross them.
Beyond that, she had also heard rumors that there were even more powerful figures behind the Wen family, but those rumors were difficult to verify. After all, she wasn't in the right circles to investigate, and all she knew was from hearsay.
Yu Shuyun was stunned. She hadn't expected the woman with Qin Ruan today to have such an impressive background.
She couldn't figure out how Qin Ruan had connected with someone like that.
Or perhaps, this person was easier to approach? If that were the case, could she get close to her too?
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