Claire Sinclair rolled her eyes. No wonder people were biased against the rich—some wealthy women truly had no class at all.

Fortunately, Claire wasn’t one to sweat the small stuff. ’I’ll just pretend a dog bit me,’ she decided, and continued looking at other dresses.

But after a thorough search, she still hadn’t found a style she liked and decided to check another rack.

Just then, the woman from earlier came out of the fitting room, now wearing the dress.

The woman wore a pair of dowdy, black-framed glasses and light makeup. Her hair was neatly combed, giving her the prim and proper air of a schoolteacher.

The black dress she had on made her arms look thick and her legs short. Paired with the diamond ring on her left index finger, the overall effect was overly mature and ended up aging her.

Before she’d put on the dress, she looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five.

’After putting it on... hmm, calling her thirty would be generous. She looked at least thirty-one, maybe thirty-two.’

Noticing Claire’s stare, the woman had the gall to say smugly, "So? This dress suits me, don’t you think? It definitely wouldn’t look good on you."

Claire scoffed internally, but her voice was laced with courtesy. "You’re right, that dress suits you very well. I just can’t wear clothes that are so dated."

"Dated?" The woman shot her a suspicious glance before concluding, "You have no taste."

Claire was speechless.

’Alright, to each their own. No point in arguing.’

Claire walked to another section of the store and continued her search.

Suddenly, an exaggerated voice came from behind her. "You’re Lily Yariel, aren’t you? I’m a huge fan! I’m following every single one of your novels."

"Uh, yes, that’s me."

Lily Yariel...

’That name sounds familiar.’ Claire was sure she’d heard it somewhere before, but she couldn’t quite place it.

’So that woman with such "refined" taste is named Lily Yariel. It must be a pen name, right? It doesn’t sound like a real one.’

The sales associate’s eyes lit up with recognition. Her expression immediately morphed into one of fawning adoration, stopping just short of getting on her knees to worship the author. "Lily! Your novels are absolutely incredible! I’m dying to know, will the Forrest Roland pairing get a happy ending?"

Lily Yariel smiled, the very picture of innocence. "I haven’t gotten that far yet, so I don’t know either! Just keep reading for now. My other completed books are excellent as well."

"Okay, okay! In that case, I’ll go re-read your other finished novels! Lily, you have to take care of yourself! Don’t stay up so late writing. I’ll send you a tip tonight, so please don’t overwork yourself!"

"Okay, thank you." Lily Yariel said with a smile. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Enough about the novel. What about this dress?"

"Lily, you look good in any dress!"

"Oh, stop, you’ll make me blush! I’m attending the Original Literature IP Gala tonight, so you have to help me pick the most beautiful dress. I don’t want to look bad on camera."

The sales associate gasped in amazement. "WOW! Lily, you’re going to be on TV again? That’s incredible!"

"Alright, alright, I’m in a hurry. Is this dress really that good?"

"It’s beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! Lily, you’re so gorgeous, you look good in anything!"

’Tsk, tsk. These rabid fans nowadays are really something else...’

’Claire almost felt sorry for the great author, Lily. If she really wore that outfit on television, she’d set a new standard for ugly.’

’Whatever, it’s none of my business.’

Claire did a full circuit of the store, but ultimately came up empty-handed. She just couldn’t get into the shop’s stuffy, old-fashioned style.

Just as she was wondering which store to visit next, she suddenly heard someone call her name: "Claire Sinclair!"