When Grace Winslow woke up, Hayley and Lily Callahan had already left.

Their shop had to stay open until the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. There were plenty of people placing orders before the holidays, and many customers were buying ready-to-wear clothes as well.

By now, their brand was a household name, a star product in Celestia. It was even exported overseas, making a killing off of foreign money.

Grace sat up, and the memory of her dream last night made her cover her face in embarrassment.

’I hope I didn’t do anything too weird or out of line in front of my sisters-in-law last night,’ she thought. ’If I did, I might just have to move to another planet.’

’What is wrong with me?’

’I’ve been so reserved for years, but yesterday...’

Grace rubbed her cheeks, trying to calm herself down.

She got up, got dressed, and washed her face before heading to the front hall.

Archer Rhys and her grandfather were already up, sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.

Seeing Grace arrive, Archer Rhys greeted her with a gentle smile and pushed the breakfast he had already set out for her across the table. "I saved some breakfast for you."

Grace managed a weak smile, not quite daring to meet Archer Rhys’s gaze. Just looking at him made the images from her dream flash uncontrollably through her mind.

She blushed, pulling out a chair and deliberately sitting a little farther away from him.

Archer Rhys, of course, noticed her subtle movements. Seeing her deliberate distance and resistance, the light in his eyes dimmed. "Grace, are you regretting agreeing to be with me?"

Grace froze and looked up at Archer Rhys, only to see a wounded expression on his face. He looked at her pleadingly, like a big, sad puppy.

At that moment, Gregory Winslow, Irene Lynch, and her grandfather all turned to look at them. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Grace wished a hole in the floor would swallow her whole. "It’s nothing like that, don’t get the wrong idea. I just drank a little too much last night, and I have a headache. I’m not feeling great."

"Uh, I don’t have an appetite, so I don’t think I’ll eat. I’m going to head out for a bit, go buy some things for the New Year with Joy."

As she spoke, she shot Joanne Chase a meaningful look.

Joanne Chase quickly stood up and played along. "Right, Grace and I decided last night we were going shopping today. We’re going to get some new clothes for the New Year and buy other holiday supplies."

Hearing this, Archer Rhys pulled back his chair and stood up. "I’ll go with you."

"You don’t have to—"

"Great!"

Grace and Joanne Chase spoke at the same time.

Archer Rhys faltered for a moment, because the one who had said no was Grace.

Grace looked at him with a serious expression. "You’re still injured. Shopping will be too tiring. What if you tear your wound open again? You should stay home. Keep my dad and grandpa company. Joy and I will go."

Realizing what was happening, Joanne Chase nodded along. "Oh, right. Sorry, brother-in-law, I forgot you were still hurt. In that case, you’d better not come."

"Right, don’t go. Just rest at home," Grace said, nodding in a fluster, not even noticing what Joanne had called him.

Archer Rhys had been feeling quite down, but after hearing Grace’s explanation, the corners of his lips curved up again. "Alright. I’ll wait for you at home."

Grace felt like something was off, but there was no time to dwell on it. She grabbed Joanne Chase and rushed out the door.

Once they were out the door, away from that scorching gaze, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Grace, why does it feel like you’re deliberately avoiding Archer? Did you two get into a fight?" Joanne Chase asked, completely mystified.

Grace waved it off. "No. You’re too young to get it. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained, so just drop it."

"Come on, let’s go get you some new outfits. Are you going to visit your future mother-in-law over the New Year? If so, we should pick up a gift. You don’t want to show up empty-handed." Grace put her arm around Joanne, completely ignoring her question.

"I... I don’t know. But Evan did ask me to come over for a meal during the holiday... What should I bring? I have no idea what to do," Joanne Chase said, her cheeks flushed with shyness.

Grace kept her arm around her as they headed out.

There were plenty of rickshaws outside. The two of them hailed one and headed to a nearby department store.

The foot traffic here was already heavy. While it couldn’t compare to how it would be decades later, for this era, it was an extremely lively and prosperous district.

There were countless shops around, selling clothes and all sorts of other goods.

Grace and Joanne Chase even spotted a boutique for the clothing brand that partnered with Dylan Lockwood.

The store was bustling with customers.

Grace pulled Joanne inside for a look.

The salesclerks in the store all wore professional smiles as they greeted customers coming and going. Their service was pretty good.

Grace watched for a moment. Just as she was about to leave, she saw a man at the entrance. He was wearing cloth shoes caked with mud, and his clothes were just as filthy. He stood at the door, wiping his hands on his pants several times. Only after making sure the mud on his feet wouldn’t dirty the floor did he carefully step inside.

He had barely stepped inside when another customer noticed him.

The people who shopped here were all well-off; they’d never seen someone dressed so poorly. He looked like a beggar. The customer shrieked, "Why is there a beggar in the shop? Hurry up and throw him out!"

Hearing her, the man stood there, mortified. He wrung his hands, his head bowed low, not daring to look at anyone. He just kept muttering, "I... I’m not a beggar... I... I just wanted to buy... buy my girl... a set of clothes..."

"The cheapest thing in here costs hundreds. Can a pauper like you afford that? Dressed like that, and you stink! Who are you trying to gross out? Get lost! This is no place for low-lifes like you to come in!" The woman, acting deeply offended, pointed at him and let loose a stream of curses.

The man lowered his head even further.

The salesclerk, looking troubled, approached him and spoke politely. "Sir, I do apologize, but our clothes are rather pricey. If you’re looking to buy an outfit for your daughter, perhaps you could take a look at some other shops?"

"Your presence here is affecting our customers’ shopping experience. Could I please ask you to leave?"

No matter how polite she was, her words were still a deep humiliation for the man. He stood frozen in place, repeating the same phrase, "I... I want to buy my girl... a set of clothes... I... I have money... I have money..."

As he spoke, his heavily calloused hands fumbled with a tattered cloth pouch at his waist and pulled out a wad of cash.

It was a mix of small and large bills, maybe three or four hundred yuan in total. He held the money out. "I... I really have money. My daughter... she wants to stay and work in the city. I just... I just want to buy her a decent set of clothes. I’ll leave right after. I... I won’t be a bother."

"I took a bath before I came. I don’t stink, I swear... I don’t stink..."

He seemed so helpless. It was his first time in a big city, his first time mustering the courage to enter such a magnificent place, and he was filled with trepidation.

But for his daughter, he had resolved to be brave.

The salesclerk glanced at the money in his hand and said apologetically, "Sir, I’m sorry, but this isn’t enough to buy even a single piece of clothing here. Our cheapest items are over six hundred yuan."

"The clothes here aren’t really suitable for working-class people. If you want to buy something for your daughter, you could look in some of the other shops. You can find a nice set over there for one or two hundred, and the quality is decent."

Disappointment washed over the man’s face. He clutched the money tightly in his hand. "But my girl... she... she loves this brand..."