"You’re the real freak; your whole family is full of freaks. Just look at yourself, even with makeup on you can’t hide the acne scars on your face. It’s so ugly." Gan Tiantian, being insulted for the first time, couldn’t help but fight back.
The woman’s face took on an especially ugly look as she squinted her eyes, filled with resentment and attempted to push Gan Tiantian.
Qin Qin stood in front of Gan Tiantian, her gaze calm and her presence powerful, which made the woman warily glance at Qin Qin, "Who are you? Her friend?"
"Miss, mind your words!"
The quarrel between the two had already attracted the attention of many people around, and Qin Qin didn’t want them to be the center of a spectacle.
"Mind my words? Mind what? You’re her friend, of course, you’d take her side. Didn’t you see that she bumped into me first, and then cursed at me?"
The woman’s demeanor was arrogant; her family was the second-tier wealthy Meng family, where she was the second Meng daughter, Meng Ning. She had never even glanced at these two before. They were dressed plainly and dared to stand up to her.
Qin Qin and Gan Tiantian typically dressed modestly and would not wear fashionable brands or flaunt designer bags and makeup like these high society daughters, making them look like ordinary girls-next-door.
"What happened, Ningning?" A middle-aged woman’s voice came from the side. A tall woman, appearing to be in her forties, walked over with a gentle look in her eyes at Meng Ning.
"Mom, these two are being ridiculous. They bumped into me and instead of apologizing, they even insulted me."
Meng Ning played the victim first, which made Gan Tiantian glare at her with anger.
Middle-aged Wu Qinlan walked up to Meng Ning, a slight frown on her face as she looked at Qin Qin and Gan Tiantian, "Ningning, don’t bother with these people. Weren’t you going to buy some clothes today? Let’s go together."
Hearing Wu Qinlan say this, Meng Ning’s expression softened. She snorted coldly at Qin Qin and Gan Tiantian and affectionately took Wu Qinlan’s hand, walking into Eren.
Behind them, Gan Tiantian snorted coldly. She didn’t like the mother and daughter; they were downright annoying.
Qin Qin’s gaze followed the mother and daughter as they walked in, or more precisely, followed Wu Qinlan.
Her heart ached slightly—a pain that wasn’t her own, but rather belonged to the deeply rooted emotions of the once Qin Qin.
Even after more than a decade, the woman’s appearance had changed somewhat, but Qin Qin still recognized her instantly; she was the biological mother of this body—Wu Qinlan.
Wu Qinlan had left when Qin Qin was just a child. Although young Qin Qin didn’t understand much back then, she had memorized her mother’s face. Over the years, even though the memory had become somewhat hazy, there remained a photograph. Until her rebirth into this body, the photograph of Wu Qinlan had been burned by her, but the beautiful features of Wu Qinlan from her youth were still etched in her mind.
Seeing her today, Qin Qin recognized Wu Qinlan immediately. It seemed Wu Qinlan didn’t recognize Qin Qin at all and was being quite nice to Meng Ning, who was older than her and not her biological daughter. Watching Wu Qinlan and Meng Ning together, no one could tell they weren’t biologically related.
Qin Qin scornfully thought to herself, Wu Qinlan, ignoring her own daughter while being so kind to someone else’s child, was indeed ironic.
Although she felt no attachment towards Wu Qinlan, she couldn’t prevent this body from reacting upon seeing her. She even suspected the real Qin Qin was just lying dormant in a corner of this body, making some reactions when encountering related events, like heartache and discomfort.
"The world is too small, isn’t it? Are you hurting too, Qin Qin?"
Qin Qin’s voice was very low, and Gan Tiantian next to her didn’t hear it clearly, "Qin Qin, what did you say? What’s too small?"
"It’s nothing. Weren’t we going to buy clothes? Let’s go."
Qin Qin walked forward, entering Eren.
Inside the Eren store, two sales associates surrounded Wu Qinlan and Meng Ning with smiles, introducing the latest autumn clothes and praising them. Their words pleased Wu Qinlan and Meng Ning, prompting them to buy quite a few autumn garments.
Qin Qin and Gan Tiantian went in the opposite direction and looked at the clothes in front of them.
"How about this one?"
Gan Tiantian pointed at a black and white jumpsuit, elegant and composed yet youthful.
Qin Qin nodded, asking a nearby sales associate to take it down for Gan Tiantian to try on.
Gan Tiantian excitedly took it and prepared to try it on.
"I’ll take that dress."
A haughty voice, filled with arrogance, came from Meng Ning as she pointed her manicured finger towards the jumpsuit in Gan Tiantian’s hands.
The sales associate standing behind Meng Ning stepped forward, somewhat apologetically saying to Gan Tiantian, "I’m sorry, miss, but Miss Meng has taken a liking to this dress. Would you mind..."