The store was so tidy it didn’t look like a clothing store.
The arrangement of the various decorations seemed more like the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Zhu Niao whipped her head around at the sound of footsteps, thinking it was the emperor.
But it was just a staff member—oh, the manager, probably.
Seeing the employees following behind her made it seem like she had her own little entourage.
“Ms. Gou Wanqing, an honor.”
The other woman gave a slight bow.
Zhu Niao rubbed her chin.
It wasn’t that she had any issue with the other’s politeness—she was just wondering who Gou Wanqing was.
“The clothes I ordered here before—I should be able to pick them up now, right?” The red-brown haired girl smiled slightly.
At that moment, in Zhu Niao’s eyes, she looked like one of those dangerously fake-smiling types.
“Of course, of course. They were finished earlier and we planned to deliver them to you, but we just hadn’t gotten around to it yet…”
“I set the deadline for today. Forgive me, I couldn’t wait. Girls always look forward to new clothes.” The Store Manager Lady playfully winked.
And so, the two garments were expedited and brought before them.
That’s right—two.
Zhu Niao looked at the white long dress held up in front of her.
“This is…”
“Originally, I’d planned to give this dress to Little Sister Zhu at her engagement banquet as an engagement gift, but I didn’t expect you’d need it now. So use it for now.” Her voice was still very gentle.
The whole Gou Yu family was always this gentle with her.
She looked again at the white dress before her. Actually, it was more like a white gown.
It felt very familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.
“It’s sort of based on the first dress my brother gave you.” The Store Manager Lady leaned in, as if to clue Zhu Niao in.
With that, Zhu Niao understood.
The overall white, plus the large black bow at the back waist that doubled as both a cinch and decoration—compared to that dress’s simplicity and thinness, this one had a bit more ornamentation.
The light gauze appeared dreamlike under the lighting.
Zhu Niao knew that if a real girl saw this dress, it would be like a guy seeing a great general’s armor laid out before him.
Apart from some elements deliberately leaning toward that simple white dress, the custom effect everywhere else was almost like…
“Little Sister Zhu, how does it feel?”
“It feels like a wedding dress.”
This dress looked like a hybrid of the one Gou Yu had given her and an ordinary wedding dress.
But an ordinary white wedding dress wouldn’t have a large black bow hanging at the back waist as decoration, so it immediately pulled it back into the realm of regular clothing.
Yet it was more expensive and refined than regular clothes.
So it became a formal gown.
Zhu Niao didn’t know if that was the definition, but that was how she felt.
“A wedding dress is fine too, isn’t it? Consider the engagement as a rehearsal for the wedding?” The Store Manager Lady blinked beside her.
“Since when do things like this have rehearsals?”
Zhu Niao said, turning to look at the Store Manager Lady’s gown.
It was bright red, with a festive feel.
“This slit here—shouldn’t it not be finished yet?” Zhu Niao pointed at the slit on the side of the skirt and asked.
“No, that’s a slit. It’s designed that way.”
Zhu Niao was silent for a moment. She glanced at the manager, who was trembling all over from her previous comment, then at the Store Manager Lady.
“This slit goes above the knee, doesn’t it?”
“Right. If the slit were smaller, wouldn’t it be no different from a mermaid skirt?” The Store Manager Lady even retorted.
Great. Zhu Niao didn’t know what a mermaid skirt was either.
She just pointed out the window. “It’s winter, you know. Wearing such a high slit… oh, you have bare-legs tights.”
“No, I don’t.” The Store Manager Lady shook her head lightly.
“Then won’t your bare legs be chilled by the cold wind?”
“The venue will have the air conditioning on. It’s just that if I wear those and someone sees wrinkles around my ankles, it wouldn’t look very elegant.” The Store Manager Lady soothed Zhu Niao.
“Then I can’t wear them either?”
Zhu Niao clutched her head.
To be honest, she really relied on that little thing called Bare Legs Tights.
It could satisfy Gou Yu’s wish for her to wear dresses while also preventing her legs from turning into cold legs in old age.
“Actually, yours…”
The red-brown haired girl looked at Zhu Niao’s dress.
It was even longer than her own. If it weren’t for the stride issue, it probably wouldn’t even reveal the ankles.
Adding two more pieces of fabric at the back, and it could be a train gown.
“You don’t need to wear those for this. It doesn’t seem like it lets much wind in.”
It was even somewhat heavy.
“I just feel kind of insecure inside.”
“If you really can’t get used to it, maybe try stockings?”
Zhu Niao looked up in surprise and saw that the Store Manager Lady wasn’t joking.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try?”
“If you don’t have any, I can go get some for Little Sister Zhu?”
“Oh, no, no. Never mind.” Zhu Niao waved her hands hurriedly, but then she remembered something.
The stockings she had over there didn’t seem very proper.
“Actually, I do need some. Not too sheer. The thicker the better.”
“Okay, okay.”
The Store Manager Lady pointed at the clothes. “I’m going to try mine on to see if it fits. Little Sister Zhu, why don’t you try yours too?”
“Oh, sure.”
She followed the staff member to the fitting room.
The fitting room here wasn’t like the narrow cubicles Zhu Niao remembered from small shopping malls.
The fitting room here was truly a separate room, complete with a full-length mirror, a vanity, and a sofa.
There was also a folding screen and something like a shower curtain.
It well satisfied people with various changing needs.
Zhu Niao slipped behind the screen to change into the dress.
This dress really wasn’t a wedding dress.
At least it didn’t have a zipper in the back that she couldn’t reach, nor a chest design meant to accentuate the figure.
Relatively speaking, it was more casual.
She slowly walked over to the full-length mirror.
Her pupils dilated slightly.
She looked a bit like an angel untouched by worldly smoke and fire, as if she would draw all light to herself.
She gently rose on her toes, then lowered herself, the hem bouncing with her movements.
So lively, like a little princess from some family.
She turned slightly, lifting the hem, revealing delicate ankles and slender calves that drew the eye.
The only different color was a hint of red, tinged with a slight brown.
It was the red string on Zhu Niao’s wrist. Hanging from it was a small wooden tag with a cute little fish carved on it.
It was hers and Gou Yu’s.
Being a girl really was wonderful.