After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 16.1

“Sister Xuehe, let’s just forget it.” Yan Guiqiu tugged at Jiang Xuehe’s sleeve, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Hmm?” Jiang Xuehe turned to look at her. “Don’t you think it looks good?”

The shop assistant nearby also glanced at her, thinking she was quite sensible, but since she wasn’t the one making the decision, the assistant turned back to continue promoting the outfit to Jiang Xuehe, praising it as though Yan Guiqiu would look like a celestial maiden descending to the mortal world if she wore it.

“This outfit,” Yan Guiqiu paused. “I already have it at home.”

And it had been buried at the bottom of the closet for a long time.

She swallowed the second half of her sentence.

The shop assistant was clearly taken aback, and though it was hard to tell what she was thinking, her attitude became a bit awkward. She turned to introduce another piece.

“I have this one too,” Yan Guiqiu spoke up before the assistant could. “I don’t need any more clothes, Sister Xuehe. You should look for yourself.”

The shop assistant’s expression turned even more awkward, and for a moment, she froze, unsure of what to say. After a brief pause, she snapped back to reality and continued introducing the latest styles to Jiang Xuehe.

Jiang Xuehe casually pointed to a coat and said, “Just wrap this one up in the size we discussed earlier. You can go attend to other matters now. We’ll just browse around here.”

The shop assistant breathed a sigh of relief, nodding repeatedly as she picked up the coat, bowed slightly, and retreated to the counter, whispering a few words to her colleagues.

Standing in a corner of the store, finally free from interruptions, Yan Guiqiu also relaxed.

Jiang Xuehe glanced at her and noticed she didn’t seem angry or disappointed.

Thinking she was asking about the clothes, Yan Guiqiu quietly explained, “My younger sister sent them to me last time.”

Although she had been away from home for many years, her family relationships were actually quite harmonious. It was just that the others weren’t very good at expressing their affection verbally, so they showed their care through actions.

For example, whenever Madam Meng went on a business trip, instead of flying directly from the city where the company headquarters was located, she would deliberately detour to Yunhua City just to have a meal with Yan Guiqiu. She claimed it was on the way, but the round trip wasted at least a day.

Her younger sister, who was still in school and also managing company affairs, found it hard to make time to visit her sister in person, so she sent boxes of things instead.

From clothes to snacks, and even stationery and plastic wrap, she sent everything imaginable, as if Yan Guiqiu were incapable of taking care of herself and didn’t even know how to shop at a supermarket.

Her father was even more reserved. On the surface, he was a stern traditionalist, but whenever her younger sister video-called or sent things to her sister, he would eagerly insert himself into the process. The last time, along with the clothes, he had included ten bags of marshmallows. Her younger sister had even attached a note explaining that their father had personally gone to the supermarket to buy them, saying they were all her childhood favorites.

Yan Guiqiu almost felt like setting them up as an offering, lighting incense, and sending a photo to her sister.

“Your family has such a good relationship,” Jiang Xuehe remarked, though she still found it a bit strange.

Logically, if their relationship was this good, there shouldn’t be a need to avoid each other to such an extent.

But Yan Guiqiu didn’t seem to feel upset about being away from her family.

It was hard to say whether she was just easygoing or simply had a free-spirited nature.

The two of them wandered around for a while, looking at a few more pieces of clothing. Seeing that it was about time, they went back to the counter to pay and prepared to head to the cinema.

As they turned to leave, another customer was stopped at the entrance.

The young girl, dressed in sportswear and carrying a small cloth bag, exuded youthful energy. However, the cost of her outfit couldn’t even compare to Yan Guiqiu’s casual jacket. The female shopkeeper at the door greeted her with a beaming smile and asked, “Do you have a membership card for our store?”

The girl looked puzzled and asked, “Do I need a membership card just to enter?”

The shopkeeper nodded, apologizing verbally but blocking her way firmly, clearly not allowing her in.

The girl frowned in displeasure, muttering under her breath, “What kind of store is this?!”

She was clearly angry, but probably didn’t want to cause a scene with the shopkeeper. After huffing a few times, she turned around and left.

Yan Guiqiu and Jiang Xuehe happened to witness this scene as they approached the entrance.

As soon as the shopkeeper turned around and saw the bag in Jiang Xuehe’s hand, her attitude instantly became more enthusiastic. Her “Welcome back next time” was spoken with genuine warmth.

Yan Guiqiu didn’t say anything but instead walked around the outside of the store.

Jiang Xuehe followed behind her, genuinely curious. “Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

This kind of discriminatory treatment of customers was clearly abnormal. To put it bluntly, it was like digging one’s own grave. Jiang Xuehe had never seen such exaggerated favoritism in other stores before, and this was the first time she had witnessed a customer being barred from entering.

Although this was just an isolated incident at one store, it still carried the Xinglan brand. As someone who was practically half an owner, Yan Guiqiu could have fired the shopkeeper on the spot, yet she had said nothing.

Yan Guiqiu stopped at a corner outside the store, where a suggestion box hung on the wall.

She happened to have paper and a pen with her and took them out to write a complaint letter in the tone of the girl from earlier.

As she wrote, she explained to Jiang Xuehe, “Xinglan belongs to my mother personally, but it will eventually be merged into the Yan family. If my younger sister wants to establish herself firmly in the Yan family in the future, Xinglan will be her key support. She’s been interning at the company lately, and if I interfere now, it won’t be good for her.”

Xinglan was different from the Yan family’s other businesses. Yan Guiqiu had poured a great deal of effort into it, and some of the company’s veterans were well aware of her contributions. Compared to her sister, the younger sister’s influence was nowhere near the same.

If Yan Guiqiu ever showed even the slightest inclination to return to the company, those veterans would undoubtedly side with her without hesitation, even actively helping her vie for power.

That was why Yan Guiqiu would never step forward again as an owner to meddle in the company’s affairs.

This meant that Yan Guiqiu had absolutely no intention of getting involved in the family business again.

Nor could she represent the Yan or Meng families in offering any support to Jiang Xuehe.

These were things she would have to clarify with Jiang Xuehe sooner or later. Although Jiang Xuehe might not have been after any of this, Yan Guiqiu was still a bit worried she might be disappointed. She paused for a moment and glanced over at her.

Jiang Xuehe didn’t seem to be thinking along those lines at all. She didn’t even seem surprised, as if she had long been aware of the Yan family’s situation.

If anything, she was thinking about how thoroughly Yan Guiqiu was fulfilling her role as an older sister.

Compared to her own family.

It wasn’t even worth mentioning.

“If I don’t take anything from the Yan family, you.” Yan Guiqiu started to say but then stopped, feeling it was too soon to bring it up and wanting to take it back.

“It’s fine even if you have nothing,” Jiang Xuehe said. “I’ll take care of you in the future.”

“I…”

Yan Guiqiu spoke and then suddenly paused, looking up at Jiang Xuehe with a hint of surprise.

Jiang Xuehe also visibly faltered, as if she hadn’t expected herself to blurt out such a remark. She instinctively turned her head away, avoiding Yan Guiqiu’s gaze.

Yan Guiqiu noticed the tips of her ears turning red.

“You!”

“It’s almost time,” Jiang Xuehe interrupted her, speaking a little too quickly. Only when Yan Guiqiu fell silent did she slow her pace. “Are you finished? The movie is about to start.”

“Give me two minutes.” Yan Guiqiu turned back to finish the second half of her complaint letter.

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