Chapter 9

This set of clothes was bought for him by his mother when he was still at home. It was an extra item when his stepbrother bought clothes.

He has been wearing it for several years and it is worn out from washing.

And it was too big, making him look empty and skinny.

After arriving at the Huo residence, he had little sense of presence. No one noticed the clothes and he himself didn't even think about it.

Shen Yuntang was actually the first person to notice his clothes.

The blue veins on Huo Xihuai's forearms tensed inexplicably.

The fear and hatred that had just accumulated suddenly turned into confusion.

Then, he felt uncomfortable all over and was very confused.

Shen Yuntang wants to take him shopping for clothes?

Huo Xihuai remembered clearly that in his previous life, Shen Yuntang had looked at him coldly and said in an extremely hurtful tone: "Do you think you can share Huo Yuyan's money by living in his house?"

He had never thought of that, and the older generation in his family would never agree. But at that time, Shen Yuntang stubbornly regarded him as an imaginary enemy and was determined not to let him have an easy life.

As a result, Huo Xihuai became more cautious and wrote down every penny spent on food and clothing in the Huo family's house in a notebook, and then returned the money to his brother after he became independent.

He carefully avoided expensive ingredients on the table, never let his housekeeper buy clothes for him, and wore a few hand-me-down clothes until he was eighteen.

Whenever I had time, I would go to the yard to weed and help the servants.

He never dared to touch Shen Yuntang's things.

But now after being reborn, Shen Yuntang said that he wanted to take him shopping for clothes.

What does she want?

Huo Xihuai felt that his worldview was under severe attack.

Shen Yuntang was willing to spend money on him, which gave him a greater stimulation than seeing his brother hugging her just now.

Shen Yuntang did what she said, changing her clothes and putting on makeup in one go. She called the driver to park the car in front of the Huo residence, and walked out gracefully carrying her small bag.

After she tucked her skirt in and got into the car, she looked up and raised her eyebrows, "Are you not leaving yet?"

Huo Xihuai woke up as if from a dream, and was pushed towards the car door stiffly by the butler who was disappointed with him.

Shen Yuntang stopped them instantly with a gesture, pointed his finger to the other side, and said, "Over there."

The car door slammed shut in front of them. Shen Yuntang leaned back, took out a small mirror and touched up her lipstick without changing her expression.

There is no way she would give up her seat to anyone, not even in her entire life.

Along the way, Huo Xihuai was as stiff as a wooden man.

He clenched his knees tightly with his fingers, lowered his head, and dared not move.

Fortunately, Shen Yuntang put down the small table in the middle to put on her makeup, creating some distance between them.

But the faint scent of shampoo still permeates the small space.

Shen Yuntang's presence beside him has never been so strong.

This environment was really too torturous. Huo Xihuai slowly touched his trouser pocket, took out his mobile phone, placed it on his lap, and flipped through it carefully to distract himself.

He was still using an outdated old phone with only the most basic functions. Huo Xihuai saw an unread message in his mailbox and opened it to take a look.

“Inbox.”

The old phone suddenly spoke in a clear and loud voice, which scared him so much that he almost dropped it.

The mechanical female voice was still reading in a clear and melodious voice: "Sender, 1, 8, 8..."

Huo Xihuai quickly turned off the screen.

Shen Yuntang turned his head and looked over.

Huo Xihuai's heart was beating like thunder and he held the phone motionlessly.

After a while, he saw Shen Yuntang take a pair of earplugs and put them on himself.

The disgust is palpable.

This disdainful attitude made Huo Xihuai feel relieved. He opened the text message as quickly as possible, giving the old phone only a chance to say "received".

The text message was sent by Huo Yuyan. It had two lines and was very short.

Huo Xihuai originally thought that his brother had just asked him to get along well with Shen Yuntang.

But after he finished reading the text message, he almost dropped the phone and his worldview continued to collapse.

After a long while, Huo Xihuai slowly raised his head and looked quietly at Shen Yuntang in the rearview mirror.

Even though her makeup is already perfect, she still keeps adding various details, as if she has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

And she completely treated him as if he were air, without any attempt to taunt him or try to please him.

In terms of various details, he is indeed completely different from the previous Shen Yuntang.

Even rebirth cannot bring about such a change.

Then... maybe only a dual personality can explain it.

This is ridiculous.

The person he had feared and hated for two lifetimes was, in some ways... not the same person.

So should he still hate it?

Huo Xihuai silently clenched his phone.

Shen Yuntang hadn't been shopping for three days, and she was almost going crazy. As soon as the driver stopped at the mall, she got out of the car, slammed the door, and walked in aggressively.

It was not until she entered the elevator and saw the floor number ticking that she remembered that someone was missing.

She pressed the floor key while calling the driver, her voice delicate and self-willed: "Let Huo Xihuai go shopping in the children's clothing area by himself, and come to me to swipe the card later. He is such a big man and walks so slowly."

The driver who was trapped outside the elevator door that closed hastily with Huo Xihuai: "..."

She's already 17 years old, but she's still wearing children's clothes!

Shen Yuntang is a frequent shopper of luxury brands. She has a discerning eye and can locate the latest and most expensive items at a glance. She has all out-of-season items and will not give them away without even a glance.

The brands in the book are similar to those in real life. It has been three days since she last went shopping, but these brands still haven't released any new products.

She couldn't help feeling a little bored, and she kept picking and choosing, looking unhappy.

Several salesgirls looked at each other, and finally one of them came forward.

"Hello, ma'am. Welcome to our store. What can I do for you?"

Shen Yuntang sighed, "It's boring."

The salesgirl's eyes twitched, and she smiled, "Ma'am, you are joking. Our brand has the most diverse assortment in the same price range, and the Baichuan Department Store's store is also the largest in the country. We have everything from clothing, leather goods, accessories to ski equipment. What item number do you want? I'll check in the backend to see if I can transfer the item for you."

Shen Yuntang was even more disappointed: "Is this the largest in the country?"

Saleslady: “…Yes, ma’am.”

There is no other choice but to wear the old style.

Or you can find some time to visit the brand's headquarters city, or arrange for someone to come to your home for high-end customization, and then ask the stylists and buyers who have many sources of information.

Shen Yuntang was thinking this and was about to ask the salesgirl to pack up both rows when suddenly a voice behind her called out her name.

"Shen Yuntang?"

A mother and daughter walked in arm in arm, as if surprised to see her there.

Why can we tell that they are mother and daughter? Because the sarcasm between their eyebrows is exactly the same.

Why only talk about the eyebrows and eyes? Because they both wore black masks, looking mysterious, as if they were afraid of being recognized.

The mother among the mother and daughter said, "Boss Huo doesn't have time to accompany you, and doesn't he find an assistant to help you carry your things?"

The daughter said, "Mom, don't bring up other people's sad stories. Be more generous."

The mother continued, "It's my fault. I thought they had a good relationship as husband and wife."

The woman responded, "I've let it go in my heart. Please don't bother about my sister and Mr. Huo anymore."

In just four short sentences, it is a culmination of the art of language and condenses an unimaginable amount of information.

Only then did Shen Yuntang realize that he also had a fake sister in the book. Oh, yes, she was also born to a stepmother, and was half a month younger than him.

She didn't read the book given by the system carefully, but now she has some impression. She can barely remember that the original owner's family relationship is very similar to hers. They both have a stupid father who cheated on their husbands.

What is her sister's name? Shen He or Shen Lian? She should be called Shen Lian, which is more appropriate for the character from a creative perspective.

Let her guess the plot. Could it be that the stepmother arranged Huo Yuyan as a partner for her biological daughter, and a greasy-haired man for her stepdaughter, but ended up making things worse?

The original owner still has a lot of good points!

After watching their performance, Shen Yuntang nodded and turned away.

"If you really have nothing to do, go to the village entrance to mend shoe soles. If you are really in a difficult situation, it would be good to set up a stall at the crossroads to make some money with your mouth."

Mother Shen always knew that Shen Yuntang had an irritating mouth, but she didn't expect Shen Yuntang to be so irritating that he didn't care about offending her at all.

She took two deep breaths and suddenly sneered, "You are the one who is embarrassed, right? I saw you looking around in this store for a long time but didn't buy anything. It's a waste. People just followed your words and thought you were a big customer."

The salesgirl tried to interrupt: "Ah, actually no..."

Mother Shen felt that she had grasped Shen Yuntang's sore spot and interrupted her, "Why are you butting in! Look, look at what you are wearing. Without your father, you are nothing. Do you think you are superior to others after leaving home? Do you think you will soar to the sky after marrying Mr. Huo? I tell you, no matter what tricks you use, Mr. Huo likes my daughter. You must be unhappy after getting married, right? Even if you regret it now, your family will never give you a penny!"

She had been accumulating resentment for a long time, and it was a relief to get rid of it all at once. Plastic Sister was originally looking at her and wanted to call her out, but when she heard her start to scold Shen Yuntang, it touched her heart, so she waited until she finished scolding before stopping her.

"Mom, stop scolding. Sister will feel bad if Mr. Huo treats her badly. It's a rare opportunity, why don't we buy her the clothes she likes so that Sister won't feel depressed."

"Is she worthy of spending the family's money?"

"It's all in the past, so let's not worry about it as a family."

While they were playing the good cop and the bad cop, Shen Yuntang had already found a place to sit down with his legs crossed. He took a sip of the lemonade poured by the salesgirl, then picked up the season's new product brochure given by the salesgirl to look at the product numbers, ticked a few and asked her to check in the backend to see if they were in stock.

After they finished their performance, Shen Yuntang looked up, paused for a moment, put down the lemonade, and applauded them.

"That's a good point. Do you want to continue?"

Shen's mother almost fainted from anger, "Shen Yuntang! Don't you understand what people are saying?"

Shen Yuntang nodded seriously, "I understand. I heard that you guys are going to help me settle the bill."

The plastic sister hurriedly supported her mother who was so angry that she fell backwards, and said with a stiff smile: "Sister is in a hurry to use the money, so just remember this. Mom, just think of it as pitying sister, I will pay for her."

Shen's mother wanted to stop her from going, but she had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time in order to let Shen Yuntang know how well she was doing. For someone like Shen Yuntang, paying her for the dress was more painful than killing her.

Shen Yunhe has been in the entertainment industry for many years. Although she spends a lot, she has saved a lot and has at least several million in liquid funds.

She walked to the counter alone and said to the salesgirl, "I'll pay for her. Please swipe the card."

Shen Yunhe threw the card on the table and turned her head to look at Shen Yuntang, expecting to see the expression of frustration and humiliation on her face.

But unexpectedly, Shen Yuntang just supported his chin, looked at her quietly, with a smile on his face.

Shen Yunhe didn't know why, but she suddenly felt something was wrong.

The salesgirl's smile became very enthusiastic: "Okay, ma'am, please wait a moment. We are short of manpower in our store right now. We are already adjusting it and will pack it up soon."

"......?" Shen Yunhe felt a little uneasy and asked puzzledly, "Is there no stock in the store or no one there?"

"We are short of supplies, but they will be ready soon. Please wait." The salesgirl's smile was so sweet that it made your teeth ache, as if she seemed to want to be worshipped as a deity.

What's going on?

Shen Yunhe's face became a little stiff. She had an absurd idea that even made her unable to believe it. She forced a smile and asked Shen Yuntang: "Sister, how much did you buy..."

The people in the warehouse finally finished packing and came out happily pushing a row of bags: "Ms. Shen, do you think they are all there?"

“…”

Shen Yunhe's breathing stagnated, and she counted the bags on the cart with trembling hands, one, two, three... thirty-six pieces!

At this moment, another cart was pushed out, still full, "Miss Shen, please count it."

Shen Yunhe suddenly held onto the counter, feeling a little dizzy.

The third car was pushed out, "Ms. Shen, the third batch is here!"

“The fourth batch has arrived!”

Shen Yuntang nodded, took a sip of the lemonade, and said to Shen Yunhe, "Pay it."

Shen Yunhe was so angry that her hands were shaking.

Her smiling expression rarely broke, and she asked Shen Yuntang in a distorted voice: "I treat you as my sister, but you treat me as a fool with lots of money and want to take advantage of me?"

Only then did Shen Yuntang put down the cup with regret.

"So you don't have any money. I thought you were richer than Huo Yuyan, so you dared to let me spend money casually."

Her face is still sweet, her voice is as soft as before, and she still looks righteous and willful.

Shen Yuntang stood up, straightening her skirt, and asked her, "I wonder if my mother has spent all the money that she left for Shen Anguo. It looks like you guys are living a good life, and you have so much free time that you can come out and perform acrobatics for people everywhere."

"If I were to collect a debt, I wouldn't sympathize with you too much."