Shay looked down at her employee pin. That thing had gotten her into trouble before. Was it happening again?

Wait-- talisman? The snake pin wasn’t a talisman.

“Spit it oUtttt~” Nuri whined. “Which family do you belong to? Zhang? Pan?”

“It’s Song,” Shay said quie--

“SONG!! I was just about to say that! Textiles, right? And then you guys had that weird tournament last month.”

“Uh, y-yeah.”

Nuri put on a huge grin like she’d just solved a gigantic mystery. She shifted her car into gear and stepped on the gas. (That didn’t stop everyone else’s honking, but at least they were moving again.)

Shay sat back in thought, trying to figure Nuri out.

She knew about the Song-Zhang tournament... and her Tae Kwon Do was at least expert level. Did that mean she was part of a martial arts family?

Was she in the crowd, back then? Ahh... probably not. Nuri’s crazy, red hair was hard to miss. (But maybe she was? Hats and hoodies were a thing.)

After a short while, Nuri’s driving seemed to calm down-- coasting along with the speed of traffic. That made it easier to relax-- easier to think. (And it also made Shay appreciate Tyvan’s driving much, much more.)

“So what’s the problem?” Nuri suddenly asked, “How can an heiress to the richest Chinese family in Archangel not get the guy she wants?”

Oof. Straight to the heart.

Shay thought about all the reasons it was her fault-- and there were a lot of them. She was awkward and-- honestly, kinda dumb. She had a bad habit of speaking without thinking. She didn’t have any talent in anything that mattered. She was short. She wasn’t pretty-- not really.

Then, there was that one particular fact.

“There’s... someone else in the picture,” she said. She’d mumbled it to herself, she was so embarrassed.

Nuri winced like she was offended. Deeply offended.

“So. fucking. what? Smack that bitch in the face and take what’s yours. Conquer that dick. Put a fucking flag on it.”

Shay felt her ears and cheeks sizzle and bUrN. She faced the window so Nuri couldn’t make fun of her.

The smacking sounded like a great idea-- only, she tried that. It didn’t work. At all.

And for the other thing... Mmm... No. Shay wasn’t going to put down a flag anywhere private. She had no idea how she’d even begin trying to accomplish that.

“It’s... it’s more complicated than that,” she said.

Nuri let out a throaty groan. “Hggcck. Yeah, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s not complicated at all. What’s your fuckin’ deal? You in it for the thrill of the hunt? Or are you just a virgin and don’t know what you’re fucking doing?”

Shay stared up at the interior roof. Her feelings were hurt... but Nuri was right. It was a complicated situation-- but at the same time, it wasn’t. Tyvan wasn’t dating anyone... and it wasn’t like he’d rejected her advances. But... they hadn’t established anything like an actual relationship. And, overall, her jealousy over the attention he gave to Monty was stupid.

“Fuck it!” Nuri said. “Let’s fix you up. Maybe you can’t get your guy because you’re wearing fucking CK.”

“I really don’t think my clothes are the problem,” Shay frowned.

“Well, I’m driving, so you kinda don’t have a choice! And besides, you owe me at least the entertainment value of a latte.”

----------------------------------------

The West-Meadow Shopping Center was much bigger and, honestly, far better-looking than any other mall Shay had ever been to.

And she’d gone to a total of... two.

Shay had gone to a mall with Aquila about three years ago. It was memorable because as soon as they got off the bus, Aki recognized some people she knew and left with that group, immediately.

Shay didn’t even get a ‘bye.’

...Then, she spent 30 minutes waiting at a bookstore because why not? Since she was poor back then, she didn’t buy anything. But she did commit a few book titles to memory and checked them out of the local library later that week.

And for the other mall...

Back when Shay was still in elementary school, there was a video game arcade at a mall near the apartment. Dad used to take her there all the time.

It was fun...

--up until that one time she didn’t tell Dad she was sick and she ended up yakking pizza and juice all over him.

Sorry, Dad.

But anyway...... the mall visit with Nuri had a very low bar to pass to be Shay’s best mall experience, ever.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Ah. Nuri did leave her behind--

Buuuut... unlike Aki, Nuri only went as far as the other side of the clothing store. She already had a good understanding of the type of outfits she liked.

Shay did not.

She thought she did! But Nuri brought her to a street-clothing store. A high-end street-clothing store.

And just being there was... sTressfuL!

Throughout the entirety of the West-Meadow Shopping Center... she and Nuri were the only two Asian people. Everyone paid special attention to them. Everyone stared at them.

Or... maybe it wasn’t a race thing. Nuri was basically a Korean supermodel and her hair color wasn’t exactly natural.

But it was fine! Getting stared at was fine! She was hanging out with Nuri and Nuri was cool! That meant she was cool too!

Also, shopping was a completely normal thing for normal high school girls to do-- and be good at! She could do that! She could fit in-- so hard!

She looked at a price tag on a half-jacket. And. What. The. Hell?

WhY? How could half of a jacket be tHree times as expensive as a fuLL jaCkeT!!

She lifted her hands up to about chest-level... breathing in... breathing out. Whew. She had to change her thinking from old, regular Shay. While she was on her mission to infiltrate the Hongdai group via Nuri, she was the uber-wealthy, ‘Heiress of the Song Group,’ Shay.

But just as regular Shay could almost, fully, totally, and completely convince herself of her bull-crap, one of the shop’s employees walked up to her.

“If you can’t afford anything here,” she said, “maybe you should try another store.”

Yeah-- that was a good idea.

Wait. No. What?

Shay turned to the unfairly judgmental white girl and gave her a very. poLiTe. sMiLe.

“Hi. Sorry, but-- I can buy this whole store if I wanted to. So... how about you leave me alone for now?”

yEahhhh. That showed her. The employee’s expression changed a few times before she awkwardly turned around and slipped away.

That could have gone better. But it wasn’t... the worst.

Nuri came over soon after. She had one hand on her waist, strutting like a runway model-- and with a very amused expression.

“Yeah, I’mma be honest. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

She shifted her weight to the side, her hips sticking out in a... trendy kind of way? “But that was a bit too nice-- like you took one too many etiquette classes.”

That was... interesting to hear. Shay hadn’t taken any etiquette classes before. Was it a good thing that Nuri thought she did?

“Lemme guess,” Nuri said. “Only child?”

Shay narrowed her eyes. “What’re you trying to say?”

“I thought Chinese people were supposed to be domineering! Why didn’t you tell that bitch to bow three times and call you daddy!?”

“I... I don’t think real people talk like that,” Shay said... reSeRvedLy.

At least one, real Chinese person talked like that. But Grandpa Wei was... not a normal person. Oh, and he didn’t talk like that to non-martial-artists-- or so Shay hoped.

“I’m just sayin’,” Nuri said. “You could’ve said a lot more. Oh, did you find anything you liked?”

Shay let out a long sigh... but she fixed her smile, right after.

“I love your style, Nuri-- I really do. But... I don’t think I can pull off the look like you can.”

“Tch. Okay, that’s fair--”

“--aND on the other point,” Shay followed, “I can be insistent without being mean. Service workers are human too~”

Nuri rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Only a lower existence wouldn’t be able to recognize Mount Tai when it’s right in front of ‘em. If someone fucks with you, there’s no problem with fucking ‘em right back!”

“Um. Phrasing?” Shay suggested.

“I meant every word,” Nuri said in a suggestive voice-- with an extra-suggestive wink.

Shay snorted-- which made Nuri immediately break into laughter... which made her laugh a bit too.

Nuri made a good point. Retail workers were one thing. But there was a certain rude delinquent that really didn’t deserve her politeness.

After a bit, Nuri summoned an employee. It was pretty awesome. She just made eye contact with the guy at the counter and he hurried over. According to his name tag, he was the manager. That meant that he should have had a little bit more professionalism than that other girl.

Nuri told him to bag up everything she left in the dressing room and bring it to her car.

Was that a service? It didn’t sound like it was normal. Nuri gave the guy her valet ticket-- and he took it. Then, Nuri-- she tossed a tHiCck roll of cash into the air.

The guy reached up for it. It bounced off his hand twice but he caught it on the third go. And... he didn’t look insulted-- at all? He pocketed the stack, then he smiled and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Park?”

That was the power of money. Or maybe it was money plus Nuri’s flashy, do-as-I-say personality.

“Yeah, there’s something you can do,” Nuri said. “That bitch just now who was talking to my friend? Tell her to watch her fuckin’ mouth.”

“Of course,” said the manager. “Thank you for your patronage, dear customer.”

That other girl looked like her world was about to end.

She deserved it, of course. Why was she so rude?

But still... Shay didn’t feel that great about it. Yes, it was smart to actively try to not offend anyone-- especially a paying customer. But if that person lost her livelihood just to be taught a lesson, wouldn’t that be too much?

“Lets try somewhere else,” Nuri said. “I know a place that might be more your style.”