Something tightened in her chest. On any other day she wouldn't have cared. But standing here, in this place, being quietly directed to the bottom shelf that stung.
"Excuse me," she called.
The young lady turned. "Oh, have you found something you like, ma'am?" She moved closer, smile widening.
*Just as I thought.* She kept her expression pleasant. *Here to cause trouble and leave with nothing.*
"Yes," Zhao Lihua replied. "This." She pointed to one of the shelves.
Before she could reach for anything Zhao Lihua spoke.
"Starlight Plaza is known throughout the city for its quality." Her voice was calm and even. She glanced around the section slowly. "But from what I can see here — you don't live up to that standard."
The young lady stopped. She tilted her head, her smile slipping just slightly. "And what do you mean by that, ma'am? Starlight Plaza only carries the best quality brands." The smile came back. "Is there something you are not satisfied with?"
Nearby Xian had worn herself out. She found a small open spot, dropped down and sat with Baozi in her lap, eyes moving between the clothes racks and her mother with quiet interest.
Zhao Lihua's smile disappeared entirely. She took a step closer, her face composed and serious. "And you speak for the entirety of Starlight Plaza right now?"
The young lady stepped back without realising she had moved at all.
She steadied herself and looked Zhao Lihua over once more. *Causing trouble. That's all this is.*
She held her ground and met Zhao Lihua's eyes directly. "Ma'am, I can assure you everything in this section is among the plaza's finest. So please stop causing a scene or I will have no choice but to call security."
Zhao Lihua reached out and lifted one of the garments from the rack. She held it up calmly and began.
"This fabric." She ran her thumb slowly across the surface. "Polyester blend. Low grade. You can feel it the moment it sits between your fingers — stiff, thin, no weight to it." She turned the hem over. "The stitching here is uneven. These threads will loosen after two washes at most." She checked the seam along the side. "This was sewn in a hurry. The lining doesn't sit flat and the cut is off at the shoulder." She lowered the garment and looked at the young lady. "A plaza with Starlight's name does not put this on its floor. So either you don't know what you're selling." She set the piece back on the rack cleanly. "Or you knew exactly what section you were bringing us to."
"What—"
"I would like to speak with the manager." Zhao Lihua's voice didn't rise. It didn't need to. "If what you say is true and these are genuinely what you claim them to be, then you should have no problem calling them here." She held the young lady's gaze. "Right?"
The confidence sitting on the young lady's face began to crack at the edges. She had judged her. Taken one look and decided. But the way Zhao Lihua had picked up that garment and gone through it piece by piece without hesitating — that was not someone who didn't know what she was talking about.
*My job.*
Her smile was completely gone now.
"Ma'am," she said slowly. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Why would the manager bother herself with something so trivial." She gestured toward the door. "Please."
A beat of silence.
"Oh really?"
The young lady froze.
She knew that voice.
A figure walked in, and the young lady felt the blood drain from her face before she had even turned around fully.
She wore a crisp white double breasted suit, the lapels sharp, a single gold pin at the chest. Tailored to the shoulder, not a crease out of place. Beautiful, composed, glasses sitting neatly on her face.
The manager of Starlight Plaza.