Chapter 29: The Passing Stranger

Seeing the young woman’s evident reluctance to take off the garment she had just tried on, Wang Chu sighed helplessly to himself, thinking:

"Fine, for the sake of your master, I’ll help you out."

With this thought in mind, Wang Chu stepped forward and said, "Shopkeeper, I will pay for her clothes."

The vibrant young woman looked at Wang Chu in surprise. After sizing him up, she asked, "I don’t believe I know you, sir. Why would you offer to pay for me? Could it be..." Her tone grew tense. "Have you recognized me?"

Wang Chu answered calmly, "I am but a stranger to you. I simply saw how much you loved this dress and decided to offer a hand."

The young woman let out a sigh of relief and whispered, "Whew... that’s a relief. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome."

Wang Chu feigned ignorance. "Pardon, what was that?"

She shook her head, offering a somewhat artificial smile. "Oh, nothing." After a brief hesitation, she added, "Then I shall trouble you, sir. I will repay these spirit stones to you later."

Wang Chu nodded. "Very well." He then turned to the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, I recall buying clothes here before, and I don't remember the price being quite this high, do I?"

The shopkeeper had been delighted that Wang Chu was footing the bill, but upon hearing this question, her joy vanished. It was clear that Wang Chu was not as easily fooled as the young woman.

The shopkeeper offered a bitter smile. "Hehe, you must be misremembering, sir. This has always been the price."

Wang Chu shook his head, his tone firm and brooks no argument. "No, it was definitely much cheaper. I remember it clearly."

The shopkeeper fell silent for a moment before responding, "Ah, now that you mention it, I recall that some time ago, our shop held a 'promotional' event in association with the Universal Chamber of Commerce. The prices were indeed lower then. You must have visited during that time, right?"

Though he knew the shopkeeper was spinning a tall tale, Wang Chu did not expose her, playing along instead. "Yes, that must be it."

The shopkeeper nodded. "That explains it! We no longer have that promotion, but since you mentioned it, I will make an exception and lower the price for you..." She pondered for a moment before continuing, "Ten medium-grade spirit stones. How does that sound?"

Hearing this, the young woman finally realized she had been swindled by the shopkeeper and said indignantly, "Shopkeeper, so you could have lowered the price this much all along?"

The shopkeeper pretended not to catch the insinuation and smiled. "Hehe, prices are indeed much lower during promotions."

Clearly no longer buying the shopkeeper’s nonsense, the young woman said coldly, "Then surely it can go even lower? Say, eight!"

Wang Chu looked at the woman with resignation, thinking to himself: *My lady, this garment isn't even worth eight stones. Why did you just shut down the bargaining path like that?* However, upon second thought, the woman was paying for it herself, so he decided to keep his peace.

The shopkeeper, despite putting on a show of great reluctance, was inwardly overjoyed. *Thank goodness for this straightforward girl! If it had been Wang Chu bargaining the whole time, I wouldn't have made any profit at all.* Eight medium-grade spirit stones—after deducting the cost, she would still make a profit of at least half!

With a troubled expression, the shopkeeper sighed after a long silence. "Sigh, fine. Eight medium-grade spirit stones it is. I'll count this as my bad luck."

The shopkeeper’s pained expression satisfied the young woman. She turned to Wang Chu and said, "Sir, I’m sorry for the trouble."

Wang Chu immediately produced eight medium-grade spirit stones and placed them on the counter. "Here you go."

The shopkeeper quickly swept the stones off the table, verified them, and said, "Thank you for your patronage! If you need anything else, feel free to look around."

The young woman clearly had no such intention. She looked toward the other changing room and asked Wang Chu, "Is the young lady who came with you your partner?" She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "That girl’s forehead is dark, her complexion is poor, and she is filled with malevolent energy. You would do well to have her see a physician."

Wang Chu explained, "She is not my partner, she is just my..." He had intended to say 'customer,' but reconsidered and changed his answer. "...friend."

"A friend?" The young woman frowned, clearly skeptical. "Truly?"

Wang Chu confirmed, "Truly."

The young woman seemed to suddenly understand something, and her opinion of Wang Chu dropped instantly. In her eyes, his eagerness to distance himself from the girl was no different from the men who had pursued her in the past.

Just as she was thinking this, Chuxue emerged from the changing room in her new outfit. Seeing the vibrant young woman standing next to Wang Chu, she felt a flicker of confusion, wondering what had happened while she was inside.

"Indeed, this dress is quite lovely. It looks wonderful on you." Wang Chu surveyed Chuxue with an appreciative gaze and offered sincere praise.

Chuxue set aside her confusion and lowered her head, feeling shy. "R-really?"

"Of course it is. You are beautiful to begin with," said the vibrant young woman, stepping in.

Chuxue looked up at her. "Miss, you are..."

The young woman replied with a cryptic smile, "I don’t know this gentleman. If you must define our relationship, let’s just say he is currently my creditor."

"Creditor?" Chuxue was bewildered. "You owe Wang Chu money?"

The young woman explained, "Yes, I realized after buying these clothes that I had forgotten my spirit stones, so this gentleman paid for me." As if afraid Chuxue might misunderstand, she added pointedly, "Don't get the wrong idea. He only helped me out of kindness; there is no other reason."

Wang Chu narrowed his eyes at this, while Chuxue felt a surge of embarrassment. Even though she was naive in such matters, she could sense the implication. Blushing, she clarified, "You’ve misunderstood, Miss. We are just friends."

"Is that so? My mistake, then." Though she said this, the young woman didn't believe it for a second. The expression on Chuxue’s face had already given her the answer. Her own remark hadn't been a clarification, but a warning—a reminder for this man to cherish the person by his side and not be fickle.

In her eyes, Wang Chu was merely a passerby. Once she repaid the spirit stones twofold, they would have no further ties. The notion of trying to get close to her by paying for her clothes was simply impossible. Her standards were higher than the heavens; there was only one man in the entire world who could capture her attention.

"Where are you staying? I will send the spirit stones to your residence later," the young woman said.

"Ling City, Sanyuan Street, Red and White Shop," Wang Chu replied, giving the address of his store.