Volume 1, Chapter 54: Putting the White Lotus on the Spot

When Lu Ning saw Qin Xiang appear, a flash of annoyance crossed her eyes.

Sometimes, fate really is a complete bitch!

The people you least want to see are the ones you run into everywhere.

Qin Xiang walked over with a pretentious, faux-innocent air. "Sister Ning, you've been away from home for quite a while now. Sixth Brother was only worried about you, which is why he froze your credit card. Please don't take it to heart."

Lu Ning's expression remained indifferent. In her past life, she had suffered immensely after her credit card was frozen.

Only now did she understand that true independence of personality can only come from financial independence!

Her class monitor, Jiang Lu, immediately fired back, "Cut it out, Qin Xiang, stop showing off. If Lu Ning wanted to go back, she could become the eldest young lady of the family in a split second. But you? You never will be."

Qin Xiang gritted her teeth in anger; she hated anyone bringing up her background the most.

Ignoring Qin Xiang entirely, Lu Ning looked straight at the salesperson and said, "I'd like to try on these two dresses."

The salesperson recognized who Lu Ning was and did not dare to be neglectful.

Annoyed by the sight, Qin Xiang pulled out her premium membership card and said, "I'm sorry, but I've also taken a liking to those two dresses."

Jiang Lu grew angry. "Qin Xiang, do you have any shame? Don't you understand the rule of first-come, first-served?"

Minion Number Two chimed in, "Well, since Sister Xiang is a premium member, she gets priority. Let's see Lu Ning pull out a premium membership card if she's so capable."

After all, Lu Ning had run away from home and brought nothing with her; where would she possibly get a premium membership card?

The salesperson looked awkwardly at Lu Ning. "Miss Lu, what do you think?"

Lu Ning let go of the hanger. "I indeed don't have any premium membership card. Give them to her."

Jiang Lu looked like she was about to be moved to tears of frustration.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiang felt immensely gratified, as if she had finally driven Lu Ning out of the Lu family and cemented her status as the one and only true young lady of the household.

Lu Ning continued browsing, but Minion Number Two kept rushing over to snatch away whatever she picked.

Lu Ning said nothing and simply kept selecting numerous clothes and shoes.

It wasn't until even Qin Xiang realized the pile of clothes was getting a bit excessive that Lu Ning finally stopped and looked at her. "You aren't planning to buy all of these, are you?"

Qin Xiang lifted her chin and said smugly, "That's right. There's an influencer event tomorrow night, and Sixth Brother said he's taking me, so he specifically told me to come buy some nice clothes."

Lu Ning wasn't surprised at all.

Because in her past life, Sixth Brother had taken Qin Xiang to that event as well.

Jiang Lu said indignantly, "What's so great about attending some event? Actually, Lu Ning..."

Lu Ning stopped the monitor from saying any more. She looked at the salesperson, "Since Miss Xiang is so generous today, you should ring up her bill right away."

Qin Xiang's expression flickered. "Wait, I—I haven't tried them on yet."

"These all come in standard sizes; you can ask them to swap the sizes for you. Surely you aren't planning on just trying them on without any intention of buying?"

Lu Ning's tone was calm, yet she effectively placed Qin Xiang on the spot.

Jiang Lu eagerly added fuel to the fire, "If you can't afford them, don't try to snatch so many items just to put on a false front of wealth. A premium member, and you can't even afford this little bit of stuff?"

Putting on a brave face, Qin Xiang insisted, "Who says I can't afford them? Pack them all up for me."

Minion Number Two sneered, "Lu Ning, do you see that? Our Sister Xiang is the most favored one in the Lu family. What are these few clothes? Buying out this entire store wouldn't even be a problem!"

Driven out of her mind with fury, Qin Xiang slapped Minion Number Two across the face. "Who told you to run your mouth?"

Yet, she had no choice but to pull out her credit card with a look of pure inner agony.

After swiping the card, the shop assistant looked up in surprise and said, "I'm sorry, but this card cannot be processed."

Qin Xiang's expression shifted. "How can it not go through? Is your equipment malfunctioning? This is the card my Sixth Brother gave me; there's no way it won't work."

The store manager quickly walked over and tried running it again. "Miss Qin, it's possible that this card has a spending limit, which is why such a large amount cannot be processed."

A burning sensation spread across Qin Xiang's face.

To maintain her persona as an obedient and well-behaved younger sister, she rarely ever charged such large amounts.

Yet she never could have imagined there would be a spending limit preventing her from even buying this handful of clothes.

With a half-smile, Lu Ning asked, "Are you still buying or not?"

Jiang Lu retrieved the dress that Qin Xiang had snatched away earlier. "If you can't afford it, stop pretending to be a big shot."

With eyes reddening with anger, Qin Xiang glared at her. "Sister Ning, didn't you say you wouldn't take a single cent from the family anymore?"

She refused to believe that Lu Ning had the money to buy such expensive clothes.

Lu Ning pulled out her own bank card and handed it to the store manager. "Charge it to this card, I'll go try them on afterward."

Minion Number Two protested stubbornly, yelling at the manager, "We laid claim to these first! How can you sell them to someone else? We are premium members!"

The store manager replied politely, "We generally operate on a first-come, first-served basis upon checkout. Besides, although Miss Lu doesn't have a membership card, she is the eldest young lady of the Lu family and a valued VIP of our store."

"What kind of eldest young lady is she when she's been kicked out of her house!"

Unfazed, the store manager answered, "It's merely a temporary family dispute among youngsters. After all, blood ties cannot be severed."

No matter what, Lu Ning was still the Lu family's only biological daughter—that was a fact.

Tears of frustration welled up in Qin Xiang's eyes. "I'm calling Sixth Brother."

She absolutely could not let Lu Ning watch her make a fool of herself.

Hearing the manager mention that blood ties couldn't be severed left a bitter taste in Lu Ning's heart.

She refused to be held hostage by so-called blood ties!

She took her dress and headed into the fitting room.

Outside, Qin Xiang tearfully called Lu Liu, but her call went unanswered until his assistant finally picked up.

"Why isn't Sixth Brother answering the phone?"

"The boss was dead drunk last night and hasn't sobered up yet."

Drunk?

A wave of irritation washed over Qin Xiang. Why did he have to get drunk at such a crucial moment?

What was she supposed to do now?

She refused to lose face so completely in front of Lu Ning.

With no other choice, Qin Xiang called Lu Nanfeng. The line connected almost immediately. "Xiangxiang, what's wrong?"

"Second Brother~"

Qin Xiang's voice was laced with tears. "I wouldn't have called you if I had any other choice."

"Why are you crying? Who bullied you?"

"Second Brother, I went out shopping for clothes and happened to run into Sister Ning here. Knowing she ran away from home without any money, I thought—seeing as she didn't seem short of cash and I didn't want her spending other people's money—I'd just pay her bill along with mine. But it turns out my funds weren't enough, and now she seems kind of upset."

Her minion quickly chimed in with exaggerations, "Lu Ning is truly going too far. Who knows where she got all this money, but she was showing off in front of Sister Xiang and mocking her for putting on a false front of wealth."

"Don't talk like that, Sister Ning certainly didn't mean it that way."

Qin Xiang shot a meaningful glance at the minion.

After listening, Lu Nanfeng asked in puzzlement, "Ningning? Where on earth did she get so much money?"

"I'm not too sure about that either."

"Alright, I understand. Just head back for now and don't get into conflicts with her."

With an obedient "Okay," Qin Xiang reluctantly hung up the phone and vented her frustration by kicking a nearby mannequin.

In the past, Lu Nanfeng would have immediately transferred a hefty sum to her to settle the bill.

Minion Number Two eagerly asked, "Well? Did your second brother transfer money to you so we can go back and slap Lu Ning right across her face?"

"No, he told me to go back."

Unwilling to swallow this insult, Qin Xiang suddenly felt her phone buzz with a text message from Lu Nanfeng: *I've transferred the money to you. Pay for Ningning's bill as well.*

Only then did Qin Xiang return to the store with a look of smug satisfaction.

Just as Lu Ning walked out of the fitting room in her newly changed outfit, she saw Qin Xiang strutting back with a triumphant look, presumably having secured the funds.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Qin Xiang said smugly, "Wrap up all of these clothes for me. I want the lot of them."

Lu Ning's expression remained unchanged; she simply didn't care.

Turning to Lu Ning, Qin Xiang adopted a gloating tone, "My second brother just transferred a huge sum of money to me, telling me to spend it all or else I'm not allowed to come home."