With Featherstone Corporation as the sponsor, the whole of Wenville seemed like a banquet out of the dreams. The parade of carriages stretched on for miles during the warm-up phase alone. Models with excellent figures stood in the carriages as they displayed the Hanfu they were wearing. Just the sight of them made the audience appreciate the clothing more.
For some reason, Emery had a sudden change in attitude after receiving a call. She immediately dragged me to the biggest Hanfu store in the city.
For someone who would only shop in high-end stores, she didn’t seem to mind the bustling shop at all. In fact, she was completely unaffected by her surroundings. The woman circled the shop and noticed a sign that wrote: “Haute Couture upstairs (minimum spending thirty-six thousand).” At the sight of this, Emery took the wooden stairs and spent around eighty-eight thousand there, making her one of the shop’s VIPs.
It was a lot quieter upstairs. All the Hanfu there were made with first-class materials, so every one of them looked beautiful.
A green gown caught Emery’s attention. She had a softer temperament after putting in on and looked absolutely stunning when she wasn’t speaking.
I was the only one being absent-minded. Is it really possible for two people to look exactly the same?
We were in the same place too. This is too much of a coincidence.
“Hey, Sienna! What’s on your mind? Why do you look so somber?”
I finally snapped back to my senses when Emery raised her voice. Shaking my head, I said, “It’s nothing. This one suits you. Should we pick out some accessories? I noticed that some of the young ladies outside had even changed their shoes.”
“We can pick out the accessories, but there’s no need for the shoes. High heels are a woman’s secret weapon.”
I laughed at her words. “The people here truly like Hanfu, but you’re paying more attention to your beauty. You just have to be the prettiest even when we’re wearing traditional clothes, don’t you?”
Hearing that, she chuckled and said, “Don’t expose me even when you’ve figured it out. You should pick something too. They would need a week minimum to custom-make your order. We can still make it to the project’s opening if we come here together when it’s done. We have to show off what we have at least.”
“I’ll pass,” I replied. I didn’t have any interest in this sort of stuff. “It’s too annoying to get changed.”
Having no desires and with life becoming more stable, I started to become lazy. I didn’t feel like moving once I sat down.
“Okay, then. It’s your choice.” Emery didn’t try to force it on me, and she continued admiring the dress she was wearing.
Seeing that we hadn’t paid even after such a long time, the manager of the shop walked over to us and said, “Hello, the shop is offering a forty percent discount if both of you pay together. If you are interested, I can tell the ones working at the counter to register both of you.”
“Forty percent? That’s almost free, then.” Emery instantly turned into a shopaholic. She turned to me and said seriously, “It’s a forty percent discount! This is like picking up money from the streets. I don’t care. You have to get something now. I don’t mind paying it for you.”
No woman could ever escape the clutches of a discount.
I became serious about it now that I was going to buy something.
There were many different kinds of accessories displayed in the cabinets. However, I liked the phoenix coronet in the center the most. It was as though the coronet was enchanted as I couldn’t take my eyes off of it the moment I saw it.
“You have a good eye, miss. This phoenix coronet is our shop’s most prized possession. It is entirely handmade, and there’s only one of this in the whole country.”
The manager wasn’t exaggerating at all.
With the transparent glass petals, the red tassels with white crystals, and the handmade embellishments, the phoenix coronet looked so much more stylish and classy than any other accessories in the cabinet, let alone paired with a red gown.
I couldn’t stop the corners of my lips from tilting upward as I traced a finger over the coronet.
The memories of the wedding I had with Anthony back then were already blurry. All I could remember was that I felt nervous but excited. I didn’t have time to rest that day. As for how the wedding went, or how many guests there were, I could remember none of it.
Perhaps it was because of where I was from, but I preferred the traditional Chanaean wedding with a red and gold theme. Back then, we were in a rush to get married, so there wasn’t time for me to think about this at all.
I regretted not being able to wear a phoenix coronet or a veil over my face as I went up to Anthony. Even after so long, I could still feel something tugging at my heartstrings whenever there was anything related to weddings near me.
Indeed, women must never miss out on the formalities, or they would carry the regret in their hearts forever.
“Here, I would like to pay with this card.”
Emery got ready to pay for our stuff while I was still in the midst of my thoughts.
“Hold on,” I said, quickly reaching out to stop her. Then, I said to the manager, “Sorry, please let us have a moment of discussion. We’ll call for you if we need anything.”
“All right.” Fortunately, the manager was modest as he left immediately after with a polite smile on his face.
I pursed my lips and made sure he was gone before putting the phoenix coronet back into the cabinet. As I fiddled with the other accessories, I started to advise earnestly, “Didn’t you hear what the manager said? This is a one-of-a-kind item. It’s the only one in the whole world. The ones you’re wearing now already cost you tens of thousands. This coronet will definitely cost up to hundreds of thousands. I won’t be able to use it even if you spend that much money, so there’s no need to waste your money.”
I paused for a moment before continuing as I traced the sides of the coronet, “I can’t bring myself to keep such a beautiful thing from the world. It’ll only collect dust if I get it and put it up on a shelf, like all the antiques we have. Let’s give it a chance to find someone better. Let the person be the most beautiful bride when she wears this.”
“Why do you overthink so much? When are you able to shop to your heart’s content then?” Emery’s motto was “Have fun while you still can.” It was especially true when it came to shopping. She would never be stingy, nor would she try to bargain for a better price. This was the reason that her mood was rarely affected for material reasons.
In a way, there were benefits when women earned a lot in their jobs.
“I’m satisfied with what I have now.” I turned around, a smile on my face as I sighed. Then, pointing at my head, I said, “I already have it in here. We should leave it to surprise others with its beauty. That’s why we should just spare it.”
“What kind of logic is that?” the woman snorted with anger. “You should claim something for yourself if you like it. If you’re going to be like that, you might as well open up a charity home. Why should you compromise yourself for someone else’s benefit?”
“It’s not as bad as you think. I just feel that a wedding item should be left for someone who is going to get married. We’re just here for the cultural festival. So why not just choose something else? I really can’t bring myself to throw away money as if it’s dirt.”
At my words, Emery sucked in a cold breath and was looking at me as if I was a freak. Her brows were furrowed as she continued to stare at me but said nothing.
“What’s with the look on your face?” I lost my confidence after being a wet blanket.
“I was thinking if anyone would believe me if I told them that the wife of the richest man couldn’t bring herself to spend a few hundred thousand. Are you trying to play the role of a virtuous wife and help Anthony to save money?”
A laugh escaped her lips as she continued, “Whatever. I’m not going to force you to buy it. What belongs to you will end up with you in the end anyway.”
Shouldn’t she be saying, “There’s no point in holding on to something that doesn’t belong to you?”
Seeing that she wasn’t going to dwell on the matter anymore, I acted as though I didn’t hear her and did nothing about it.
In the end, I went along with Emery and bought a red gown, paired with some jade pieces as my accessories. It was my dream wedding outfit.
I also chose a normal-looking phoenix coronet. It didn’t cost much, but it was still pleasing to the eye.
However, the previous phoenix coronet had left a great impression on me. The current one lacked meaning to it no matter what.
Emery finally agreed to return home with me after we placed our orders.
The streets were bustling with energy. The pedestrians all around wore traditional clothing, but they still looked lively. It wasn’t like how the television had depicted at all.
As we passed by a small eatery, a wave of pedestrians blocked the streets, and there was no way to get past them. All we could do was wait for them to move along.
A moment later, eight men carrying a sedan chair passed by, with a group of security escorts beside them. The sedan was so intricately decorated that more and more people were stopping to take pictures and videos of it.
“If only I could get married on that sedan chair. I’d have no regrets then.”
“You sure ask for a lot. Do you even know how special that sedan is? There are already seven to eight types of wood used to build it, not to mention the carving skills on it. I’ve only seen a picture of it in a magazine previously. This particular sedan chair is especially complicated. It took eleven professionals three years to complete it. It even has intricate designs on it. One can only imagine how much it costs. There’s no way you can have this. But Featherstone Corporation really is generous with their spending. It’s like money is nothing to them when it comes to this cultural festival.”
“My sedan… Oh, when is the man of my dreams going to come to me in his white horse?”
Young women are always obsessed with romance.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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