After a soft door sound, the door was closed, and the entire reception hall was left with Bai Xi, the other two, and the female fashion designer opposite.
The woman opposite sized up Tong Yao thoroughly and then said, "Miss Tong, I am the store manager here, and also Master Hua Man's direct disciple – Zheng Qian. Tell me, what type of evening gown are you looking for?"
The woman emphasized the titles of store manager and direct disciple of Master Hua Man, as if afraid Bai Xi and her group wouldn't hear.
Bai Xi looked at the woman before her, and her annoyance intensified.
Tong Yao also felt obvious discomfort. The way she was being looked at, as if she were a commodity, made her very uneasy. She clearly didn't know this woman, yet the woman was sizing her up impolitely. However, she remembered that this woman was Hua Man's direct disciple, so her designs should be good.
Although a bit arrogant, conceited, and annoying, if it were before, she would have left immediately. But for Xi'er, for Xi'er to have a beautiful wedding dress and shine at the wedding banquet, she held back.
Tong Yao's smile was slightly stiff, but she still maintained her demeanor as a young lady from a prominent family, "Actually, I wanted to have a wedding dress custom-made..."
Before she could finish speaking, the woman opposite interrupted her, "A wedding dress? So you're getting married, oh, then I must really congratulate you. Don't worry, I will design your wedding dress to be absolutely stunning, making you like a little princess from a fairy tale, pure and lovely."
Although she said congratulations, her words were laced with sarcasm.
Tong Yao gritted her teeth and looked at the woman opposite.
She vaguely felt that the other party had hostility towards her, but why? She didn't know her at all.
Bai Xi, hearing the barbed words, directly grabbed Tong Yao's wrist and said, "Clearly, the designer here doesn't design clothes, only spews sarcasm. There's no point in staying any longer."
This woman was clearly targeting Tong Yao. Although she didn't know why, since that was the case, why should she do business with her? Coming here was only out of not wanting to disappoint Tong Yao's good intentions.
Tong Yao hesitated, "Xi'er, but this is..."
As these words were spoken, the man stiffened slightly and turned around, looking in the direction of Bai Xi and Tong Yao.
"Qin Mu."
Tong Yao stared at the man before her in shock, unable to recover for a long time.
Hearing Tong Yao call his name, Qin Mu lowered his eyebrows and whispered, "Yao Yao."
Bai Xi also looked up at the man before her.
The man wore a dark blue suit, with delicate features and an innate scholarly aura. While his features weren't exceptionally outstanding, they came together in a very pleasing way. Especially his large eyes, which held an extreme sense of innocence, making him seem like a fragile little animal when looking at others, evoking affection.
Upon closer inspection, although he had changed a lot over the years, one could still faintly see the appearance of his youth.
She knew this man as well.
Qin Mu was Tong Yao's first love. He had once been one of the top students in their entire school. Previously, she studied very diligently and was considered a top student by many. Qin Mu was the one who consistently ranked among the top few with her.
He was also Tong Yao's first crush, the one she liked the longest, the most wholeheartedly, and the first true love with whom she spent the most selfless time.
Her strength was in science, while Qin Mu's was previously in humanities. At that time, Qin Mu often came to her for help with math problems, and they were not strangers.
It was precisely because of this that Tong Yao approached her back then, wanting to pay her to keep her distance from Qin Mu. And because of Tong Yao's frankness, she had directly stated, "No need for money. As long as you surpass me in academics, I will automatically keep a distance of more than ten meters from Qin Mu from now on."
With this bet, Tong Yao's grades gradually improved from the bottom of the class, but she never managed to surpass her. However, she never resorted to any underhanded tactics, only studying with all her might. Therefore, even though she didn't deliberately let Tong Yao win, she wanted to impart some study methods to her.
Their friendship gradually grew from numerous visits to the library and tutoring sessions.
And the love between Tong Yao and Qin Mu began to take root and sprout.
But in the end... Qin Mu broke up with Tong Yao. The reason was quite laughable: his mother disliked Tong Yao, thinking that although Tong Yao was a young lady from a wealthy family, her grades were poor, she was uneducated, and lacked the demeanor of a proper lady.
Indeed, at the age of teens, Tong Yao was innocent and immature, without any airs. She was usually so approachable that no one knew she was the eldest daughter of the Tong family. However, she was also particularly fond of playing, which was why her grades were initially at the bottom. She hadn't learned any musical instruments or calligraphy, which typical young ladies from prestigious families learned.
This was also the reason why Qin Mu's family, from a scholarly background, could not accept her.
But in fact, after Tong Yao fell in love with Qin Mu, she tried very hard to study and win over Qin Mu's mother, putting in a lot of effort. However, at a banquet at the Qin family's residence, due to excessive nervousness and caring too much, she messed everything up.
After his mother issued an ultimatum, Qin Mu directly chose to give up and broke up with Tong Yao.
This was also the first time she accompanied her through heartbreak. That time, she cried for a very, very long time, and it was then that she first encountered alcohol, thinking that if she drank too much, she wouldn't feel as sad or hurt.
She didn't expect to meet him again here today.
Qin Mu looked at Tong Yao and said with a pained expression, "Yao Yao, so much time has passed since our breakup, yet you still hold grudges and even involve innocent people. By doing this, you only make me regret agreeing to date you in the first place."