"You haven"t seen anything you like?" Changyu asked when she noticed Sara wasn"t picking anything.
"They"re all more expensive than I thought." She scratched her head and explained. She then remembered the store belonged to the woman who just asked her so she corrected..
"Sorry... I don"t mean they are all just expensive for nothing. The quality only demands for it" She said with a sheepish grin.
"It"s fine. You should pick whatever you like. I"ll pay for it"
"Ah... No no" Sara waved both her hands in rejection. "I have to pay for them. I am getting them as gifts so it"s only appropriate for me to pay. I am grateful for the offer though"
Changyu nodded with a smile. "If you can"t get anything here, there are other stores you"ll find cheaper and prettier wears. You don"t have to buy because I"m here." She advised.
Sara saw a knitted Navy colored scarf and ran her fingers on it.
"Do you think a granny would like this?" She asked for Changyu"s opinion.
With a nod, Changyu answered. "It"s nice. The weather is getting colder with Christmas approaching so I think it"s a nice gift."
She wondered who it was that Sara wanted to give it to. She knew Sara had no paternal grandparents neither did she have any maternal grandparents since Helene was an orphan.
"Who...are you getting it for? Your grandmother?" Changyu feigned ignorance and probed.
Sara shook her head. "No. She is a woman who...doesn"t like me." She answered.
"Probably from your boyfriend"s side?" Changyu asked in amus.e.m.e.nt.
Sara looked at her with wide eyes. "How did you know that?"
She shrugged her shoulders before turning to lift a purple dinner gown from the hanger in front of her with her back to Sara.
"I just kind of know so. You must like him so much to care about his grandmother. Is he CEO Li?" She asked pointedly which caused Sara to look at her in shock for the second time.
"How did you know that also?"
"That night at Elder Mo"s birthday party. I saw you both. It was easy to tell you both had something going on even though you said otherwise."
"Oh..." Sara scratched her head in embarra.s.sment. "We weren"t dating then" She informed her.
She had no idea why she was free with this woman. But it felt really comfortable speaking with her.
"You obviously liked him then" Changyu said with her gaze still fixed on the gowns in the hanger.
Sara was embarra.s.sed talking about that topic. She knew Changyu had seen her kiss Muchen that night.
She turned to check out for scarves on the hanger beside her and admitted.
"Maybe I did. But I was skeptical about it. I mean...he"s my boss" Sara whispered even though they were the only ones in that corner.
All the salespersons were busy with other customers since Changyu had told them to ignore her. She was also good at choosing her things without their help.
"What"s so wrong about liking your boss?" Changyu asked casually like it was the most natural thing for her to like him.
"Speaking about standards. I thought maybe...he should go for someone who suits him more."
"So why did you change your mind and date him instead?"
"Because.... I love him" Sara admitted after a pause. "He should be the one caring about all of that but if he doesn"t care about it? Why do I have to bother myself?"
Changyu turned to look at her since they had both been talking with their backs to each other.
When Sara sensed Changyu was looking at her, she also turned.
"Let me advise you. Don"t put in too much. You don"t know what these men are capable of doing. You don"t also know what his family is capable of doing to yours if they don"t like you. You should be very careful." Changyu advised.
Sara thought about it for a moment before shaking her head "I believe him. I believe in him. And because I believe in him, I believe he won"t let his family hurt mine. I am that confident in his love"
Changyu paused for a moment and swallowed hard. She didn"t know why the words made her feel sad and she didn"t want to ponder on it.
"Don"t just get hurt. You might not recover in a long while. Don"t throw your pride and sanity aside because of love." Changyu warned with a warm smile.
She was speaking from experience. She knew how it all worked and she would never wish for anyone to experience what she had experienced. Especially this innocent girl.
"I believe Pride and Love cannot go together. I love him. If I have to throw my pride aside just to be with him, I won"t think twice before doing so. If I let him go because of my pride, would I possibly be happy then? Would Mr Pride really make me happy in place of him?" Sara asked rhetorically before moving closer to her when her gaze fell on a little black and white ball gown on the hanger in front of Changyu.
"Joreen would love this" She said with a smile after lifting the gown.
Changyu pondered on the words Sara had just said. "...Would Mr. Pride really make me happy in place of him?"
She smiled sadly as she watched her admire the gown with twinkling eyes.
"What if you regret it after putting in your all? What if he didn"t like you as much as you thought?"
"Even if he says he doesn"t love me with his mouth, I can read his eyes. I see it clearly in his eyes and know he likes me a lot. And... I can"t regret it even if it turns out for the worse one day. I"ll only be sad at most because the feelings I had made me really happy at one point. There"s no point in regretting those happy moments of my life"
Sara spoke leisurely. She was just speaking freely with her eyes on the gown but her words had a great effect on who she was speaking to.
Changyu smiled proudly at her with watery eyes. This girl should have been a lecturer instead.
If there was any good thing Jianjun had ever done, it was raising his daughter well.
"Who is Joreen?" Changyu changed the topic and asked. She didn"t want to get too emotional right now.
"She"s my Aunt"s daughter. A very pretty girl. She"ll turn 8 soon." Sara announced proudly.
So the Joreen is Cixi"s daughter?
She guessed Cixi must have been married with kids. It was only normal since she was pretty and smart.
Something registered so Changyu asked
"Oh. You"re getting a gift for CEO Li"s grandmother"s birthday right?"
"Yes. How did you know about it?"
"I received and invitation for her birthday party. I wasn"t sure about going at first but I decided to give it a try."
"Wow. That"s cool. I"ll be attending too." Sara announced happily. She was looking forward to meeting this woman again.
"That"s nice. Got anything to wear there? What kind of dress do you like?"
"I like just any type that"s nice. And I already have what to wear there"
Hoy had called her to let her know he was in charge of the entire outfit she would be wearing to the birthday party. Even though she had declined, he insisted on it because it was Muchen"s instruction and he had to carry it out.
She had no choice but to agree since it would save her the money and time of looking for something to wear.
They both had enough time and privacy to say a lot of things. They were people in the place but it was big enough for everyone to have their separate corners.
When they were done getting things for the women, it was time for the men. Sara wanted to get something for Muchen and her father so Changyu offered to go with her since she was less busy.
But on their way to the counter, they met an unsightly scene of a customer trying to bully another customer.