“You don’t remember me? I’m Xu Qiqi! Back in elementary school, I was in the class next to yours!”
Xu Qiqi ran over with a smile to Zhao Ziyi. Seeing that she still looked confused, she reminded her again, “In third grade, the girls in both our classes got lice, and our parents took us to the barbershop to get our hair cut together. Don’t you remember?”
Hearing this, a spark of recollection flashed through Zhao Ziyi’s mind. She seemed to recall something like that happening. Looking at Xu Qiqi again, she suddenly found her somewhat familiar. But back then, wasn’t Xu Qiqi just a scruffy, dark-skinned wild child?
To be honest, she thought she had been prettier than Xu Qiqi at the time. So how did she become so strikingly good-looking now?
Her mouth moved faster than her brain, and by the time she realized it, the words had already come out.
Zhao Ziyi shut her eyes in frustration. Saying something like that in front of so many people was equivalent to publicly exposing someone’s flaws. She had probably offended her completely now. Forget about getting help designing clothes—Xu Qiqi probably wouldn’t even want to acknowledge her anymore, right?
But unexpectedly, Xu Qiqi wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she smiled good-naturedly.
“They say clothes make the person, just like a saddle makes the horse. Back then, all I cared about was playing. It wasn’t until middle school that I started wanting to look good. I pestered my mom every day to buy me nice clothes. Even the ugliest person, with a little effort in dressing up, won’t look too bad.”
That was true—any average-looking girl could become at least somewhat attractive with the right styling.
Seeing that Xu Qiqi didn’t take her words to heart, Zhao Ziyi breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, her gaze instinctively drifted toward Du Fangping. Didn’t she also become much prettier with the help of Xu Qiqi and her friends?
The hesitation she had felt earlier instantly turned into eager anticipation.
She wanted to see how much more potential she had—just how beautiful she could become!
And she wasn’t the only one thinking this way.
The other girls were no different.
They all came from well-off families and had plenty of money to spend. If they had a chance to become more beautiful—even if it was just a little—they would eagerly take it. After all, who wouldn’t want to look gorgeous? Just being able to look in the mirror every day and feel good about themselves was enough to improve their mood.
“You two were elementary school classmates?” Du Fangping was a little surprised.
“Yeah, but we went to different middle schools after that.” The social circle of government officials’ children in Rongzhou wasn’t too big or too small. Most people had some kind of connection with each other, so running into an acquaintance here wasn’t surprising at all for Xu Qiqi.
“Oh, right, I haven’t introduced everyone yet…”
After a brief round of introductions, everyone’s attention naturally turned to Cheng Fangqiu.
Was she really the amazing designer Du Fangping had mentioned?
Thinking about how Du Fangping had undergone a complete transformation under her guidance, many of the girls eagerly moved closer to her.
“Comrade Cheng, could you take a look at me later and tell me what style suits me?”
“And me—do you think I’d look good with short hair?”
The young women chattered one after another, each speaking over the other. Cheng Fangqiu, unsure of whom to answer first, could only smile helplessly.
“Don’t rush. I’ll take care of each of you, one at a time. As long as you order at least two outfits designed by me, I’ll provide free styling advice.”
As soon as she said this, the lively scene quieted down significantly.
At the same time, those who had initially planned to commission just one outfit hesitated and then silently changed their order to two.
“Alright, let’s go to my place first.”
Du Fangping’s home was on the first floor, with a small courtyard shaded by a large Chinese scholar tree. The breeze made the yard cooler than the house, so they all stayed outside instead of going indoors.
“Come and have something to drink.”
Since Du Fangping had given her mother a heads-up earlier, Aunt Du had already prepared a large pot of mung bean soup. As soon as they arrived, she brought out the soup to help them cool off and quench their thirst.
“Thank you, Auntie!”
“So delicious!”
“Feel free to play around and treat this place like your own home. There are snacks on the plate, so don’t be shy—if you finish them, there’s more!” Aunt Du beamed with joy, her smile stretching so wide it nearly reached her ears.
She wholeheartedly supported her daughter making friends with the children of the courtyard’s residents. After all, no matter when or where, having more friends meant having more opportunities. Even if there weren’t any immediate benefits, it certainly wouldn’t do any harm.
Besides, if the children got along well, it would be easier for the parents to find reasons to interact with each other too.
Aunt Du’s gaze swept across the group, pausing momentarily when she saw Cheng Fangqiu and Xu Qiqi. These two young women seemed unfamiliar—were they not from the courtyard?
After all, with looks as striking as theirs, it was impossible that she wouldn’t have at least some impression of them.
Curious, Aunt Du found an excuse to head inside to fetch a fan and pulled Du Fangping aside.
“Who are those two? Whose daughters are they?”
The moment Aunt Du spoke, Du Fangping knew exactly who she was asking about.
“You mean Qiqi and Qiuqiu? You’ve seen Qiqi before—she was my middle school classmate.”
That had been years ago, so Aunt Du had no recollection at all. She then asked about the other one.
“That, I don’t really know. I’m not very familiar with her. She’s a friend Qiqi met after getting married.”
“Married?” She certainly didn’t look like it.
Du Fangping had a decent understanding of her mother’s personality. Seeing that she was still holding onto her and wouldn’t let her go, she started getting impatient and blurted out, “Qiqi’s husband is the deputy director of the machinery factory, quite impressive. I’d guess Qiuqiu’s husband isn’t bad either.”
“Deputy director?” Aunt Du’s eyes lit up immediately. She quickly said, “Your uncle brought over two big watermelons yesterday. I’ll cut them up and bring them over—you make sure to entertain them well!”
Du Fangping rolled her eyes. “Got it. Now let go of me—I still want to hear their suggestions.”
Hearing this, Aunt Du froze for a couple of seconds before asking, “What suggestions?”
She only knew that Du Fangping had invited some friends over, but she had no idea what they were actually doing. Now, seeing how eager her daughter was to hear these so-called “suggestions,” she couldn’t help but be curious.
Du Fangping hesitated for a long while, too embarrassed to admit that she had spent twenty yuan hiring someone to design clothes for her. But in the end, under Aunt Du’s relentless questioning, she confessed.
“You little brat! I give you so much money, and this is how you spend it?” Aunt Du was so angry that she pinched Du Fangping several times.
It was one thing for her to be generous with her daughter’s allowance, but hearing how it was being spent was another matter entirely.
That was twenty yuan!
Du Fangping was annoyed too. “I was born plain-looking—if I don’t find a way to make myself prettier, how am I supposed to marry Yuanfeng? Besides, Mom, didn’t you say my new clothes looked great? They were personally designed by Qiuqiu—there’s only one set like this in the whole world!”
Aunt Du was momentarily at a loss for words. She suddenly remembered that she had indeed complimented the outfits.
“But it’s just designing two dresses—how could that possibly be worth twenty yuan?”
That was outrageous. All she did was sketch two designs—didn’t even include the fabric or the tailoring fees.
Why didn’t they just go rob someone?
“I think it’s worth it. Haven’t you noticed that your daughter has become much prettier? I invited Yuanfeng to watch a movie tonight, and he agreed!”
As she mentioned this, a soft blush spread across Du Fangping’s cheeks.
Watching her daughter look more delicate and charming than before, Aunt Du found herself at a loss for words. She thought about the eldest son of the Yuan family and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she decided not to lecture Du Fangping any further and let her go.
However, the more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she hid behind the window and secretly peeked into the courtyard. She wanted to see for herself whether these girls called Qiuqiu and Qiqi were really as amazing as her daughter claimed.
After watching for a while, she couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly—my goodness! With so many people here, even if each one only ordered a single outfit, they were making a considerable amount of money!
More importantly, they were earning through their skills, so no one could even report them for profiteering. At most, people could only grumble about them in private.
At first, Aunt Du had been indifferent. But watching person after person transform under Cheng Fangqiu’s hands, her thoughts began to change. How exactly was she doing it? She hadn’t done anything drastic—just adjusted some clothing styles, changed hairstyles, and trimmed a few eyebrows…
How did it feel like she was performing magic?
And these girls hadn’t even changed their outfits yet. If they put on tailor-made clothes like the ones her daughter had…
Aunt Du’s heart thumped wildly. She instinctively touched her own face. If that young girl helped her freshen up a little, could she also become a graceful and dignified mature woman?
The thought made Aunt Du’s face heat up. As an elder, how could she shamelessly mingle with a bunch of young girls?
But then again, what woman didn’t love beauty? Asking wouldn’t cost her anything, right?
After making up her mind, Aunt Du took a deep breath, pulled out the watermelon from the cabinet, swiftly sliced it up, and carried it out to the courtyard.
“Comrade Cheng said I could wear some lipstick—it would make me look more vibrant!”
“I’m getting my hair cut short tomorrow!”
The girls gathered around a mirror, each trying to get a better look at themselves, talking over one another in excitement.
Cheng Fangqiu found it amusing but didn’t let it distract her. She kept her brush moving swiftly across the paper.
Since she knew she would be designing multiple outfits today, she had taken some time over the past couple of days to sketch out rough drafts. Now, she only needed to make small adjustments based on each person’s features, which made the process much smoother.
At that moment, a plate of bright red watermelon was placed beside her. Looking up, she met Aunt Du’s sparkling eyes.
“Come on, have some watermelon, everyone.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
The others took their pieces and ran off to admire themselves some more, leaving only Cheng Fangqiu and Aunt Du at the round table. Seeing that she didn’t take a piece, Aunt Du asked, “Why aren’t you eating? It’s very sweet.”
“Thank you, Auntie, but I want to finish drawing first.” Cheng Fangqiu curved her eyes slightly as she explained.
Aunt Du nodded in understanding. Eating watermelon would make her hands sticky, and she’d have to wash them afterward. Running back and forth like that would waste a lot of time.
“I’ll save you a piece, then.”
“Alright.”
Cheng Fangqiu’s smile deepened. Aunt Du was momentarily dazzled by her enchanting peach blossom eyes and took a while to recover. Unable to resist, she leaned in to glance at the sketches. She didn’t know much about fashion design, but she wasn’t blind—she could tell that the drawings were both meticulous and beautifully done.
Each outfit was detailed, and perhaps to ensure that the tailor wouldn’t misinterpret anything, Cheng Fangqiu had even written annotations beside them.
Seeing this, Aunt Du’s curiosity grew stronger. After hesitating for a moment, she cleared her throat and softly asked, “Comrade Xiao Cheng, could you also take a look and see what kind of clothes would suit me?”