Jingxia Rose

Chapter 77: Encounter

Ji Xian brought back a lot of souvenirs from Moscow, including a few industrial gifts and ornaments, some chocolate snacks, three bottles of fine wine, and a jar of honey.

She had a whole suitcase full, but she didn't bring many clothes. She only brought three sets of clothes to change into, which made a total of four sets including the one she was wearing.

Ji Nian was overjoyed, picking up each item and saying they were mine.

Fortunately, no one tried to take it from her.

Uncle Ji loves to drink. He had to abstain from alcohol for a year two years ago because of surgery. When he saw these three bottles of wine, his eyes lit up and he grabbed them, unusually asking her what kind of wine they were.

After Ji Xian answered, Aunt Ji muttered from the side, "Why did you bring him wine? It's such a waste to give him such good wine. It's a waste of money."

Ji Xian smiled and replied, "These bottles of wine were a gift from a client. I don't usually like to drink, so I brought them back for my second uncle to try."

Ji Heng smacked his lips. "Sis, is this wine very expensive?"

"I don't know." She didn't mention the price in front of the two elders, and just shook her head.

In the evening, Uncle Ji took out a bottle, and Ji Heng shamelessly handed it to him, saying, "Dad, pour me some too."

Uncle Ji glanced at him, but still poured him a small half-cup to taste.

Ji Heng kept calling him stingy and wanted to open the other two bottles, but his second uncle kicked him and still poured them for him.

Ji Xian wanted to laugh, seeing Ji Nian laughing so hard she was practically doubled over.

It's nice to be home.

Winter is a busy time. After breakfast the next day, Ji Xuan dragged a chair out to the yard to bask in the winter sun. Every now and then, a few neighbors would come over to chat.

On the third day, Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji went out to buy New Year's goods, and Ji Xuan took Ji Heng and Ji Nian to the city to buy clothes.

Ji Heng mainly saw them off and didn't accompany them shopping. Ji Xuan had said she would buy him some clothes, but he was too embarrassed to do so, so he went to an internet cafe instead.

The two sisters chose a mid-to-high-end shopping mall, where there was a wide variety of beautiful clothes.

Girls in Ji Nian's age group are at the age where they love to look pretty. Usually, her second aunt buys clothes for her. She doesn't care if the clothes are cheap, but she thinks the styles are outdated.

In the past two years, she has basically been the one choosing.

After visiting three or four stores, when they got to the fifth store, Ji Xian went to the restroom and told her to look around first and try on anything she liked.

Ji Nian happily agreed, went inside, and took a liking to a light blue cardigan sweater, a style that was both gentle and playful.

She fell in love with it at first sight.

Just as I was about to take the clothes off the rack to try them on, a slender, fair hand reached out, grabbed the sleeve, and excitedly called out behind me, "Mom, come look, isn't this dress pretty?"

Ji Nian looked up and saw that the woman the girl called "Mom" was dressed elegantly, with well-maintained skin, and looked to be no more than fifty years old.

She was beautiful, but her delicate eyebrows and eyes gave her a strange sense of familiarity.

"Hmm, this sweater is nice, it suits you. Take it off and try it on." The woman nodded softly, her eyes full of affection as she looked at the girl.

Seeing that the girl was about to snatch the clothes away, Ji Nian didn't bother to ponder the inexplicable sense of familiarity anymore.

Clutching the clothes tightly, she called out, "Excuse me, I got this first."

The girl next to her frowned, giving her an unhappy look as she looked her up and down. "So, do you want to buy this dress?"

Ji Nian opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the girl pouted, took out the price tag, glanced at it, and said sarcastically, "This dress is priced at 2499. Can you afford it?" 2499?

Ji Nian was immediately taken aback by the price.

But she didn't loosen her grip on the clothes, and said calmly, "Don't worry about whether I can afford these clothes or not. I got them first, so there should be a first-come, first-served principle. I need to try them on before I know if they fit."

"To put it bluntly, you might not be able to afford it, right?"

The girl gave a soft hum and said to the woman behind her in a coquettish tone, "Mommy, I want this dress."

The woman smiled and nodded. "If Xiaoxiao likes it, her mother will buy it for her. Salesperson, please wrap this dress up."

"How could you two be like this? Don't you have any sense of reason?!" Ji Nian looked at the two of them in disbelief.

The woman looked at Ji Nian calmly, her voice still gentle, without the slightest hint of aggressiveness, "Young lady, you can't afford this dress anyway, so why are you trying it on? Don't get it dirty, how will my daughter wear it then!"

But what they actually said was much harsher.

His words and actions were full of contempt for others.

Each of these words was a soft knife, stabbing Ji Nian until she couldn't speak.

The sales assistant in the store was quite embarrassed when she saw the situation, because this was the last piece of clothing left.

"Young lady, how about... you take a look at something else? We have other styles of sweaters in our store that are also quite nice, perfect for someone your age..."

"If that's the case, why don't you introduce her to me? She's about the same age as me. If I can wear it, why can't she? Or is it that she looks older than me? Doesn't she look like she's in the prime of her life?"

Ji Nian wasn't one to back down easily; after holding it in for a while, she couldn't help but choke back.

"Who are you calling old?" The girl opposite her immediately retorted, "You can't afford this dress yourself, yet you still want to keep it. How shameless!"

"You're shameless! I clearly saw these clothes, but you insisted on taking them. Do you enjoy stealing other people's things so much?"

Ji Nian glanced meaningfully at the girl's mother.

I don't have a good impression of this mother and daughter.

The middle-aged woman was already quite displeased to hear her scolding her daughter; her face had drooped, and there was no kindness in her eyes. When she saw Ji Nian's glaring gaze, it was as if something sore had been touched, and her expression immediately turned ugly.

She shielded the girl behind her, and in a fit of rage, she raised her hand and slapped Ji Nian across the face. Her sharp and sarcastic demeanor was completely different from her gentle and virtuous appearance just moments before.

"Who do you think you are? Daring to talk back to me? You can't afford anything, yet you're putting on airs here. So young, and so materialistic! You ill-mannered brat, stop embarrassing yourself in public!"

Ji Nian didn't expect her to hit her. Her face was turned to the side by the slap. She opened her eyes wide in disbelief, slowly raised her hand to cover her cheek, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.

From childhood to adulthood, Aunt Ji was only a bit sharp-tongued; she never laid a hand on her.

"you……"

Her voice was choked with sobs as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Niannian, what's wrong?"

Ji Xuan walked over at this moment. She could hear the arguing inside from the doorway, as well as the voices of the sales assistant and the store manager trying to mediate.

When Ji Nian saw her, she immediately felt like she had found a backer, and tears welled up in her eyes and fell uncontrollably. Her hands loosened their grip on the clothes, and she said aggrievedly, "Sister, she hit me."

Ji Xian frowned, walked over, and saw the clear handprint on her face. His expression darkened, and he turned to look at the middle-aged woman whose anger had not completely subsided. His pupils contracted, and his heart trembled involuntarily.