37 A LITTLE AFRAID (2/2)

”I failed to manage my time well.” She responded with a laugh. ”Good evening, Manager Chu.”

She smiled at the other woman. Though they had not interacted much, she had seen the woman severally over the past week.

”Ms Hu, it is a pleasure to see you again. I did not think that you would be attending.” She said with some curiosity.

Hu Lei did not know her well, so she did not want to explain too much and end up making a mistake.

”Assistant Chen felt that I should attend in case of anything.” Her words were true but gave no specific intel.

There was some awkward silence. Lin Man came to the rescue by complimenting her dress and asking about it. Hu Lei felt relieved and smiled at her. This topic was good because she could see that both women liked their pretty things.

”Thank you. V.W. had some good bargains online, so I could not help myself.” She said with a giggle.

”There are bargains on V.W.?” Chu Heng asked in surprise.

Hu Lei could understand her shock. V.W. was not a very expensive or exclusive brand, but it was still a popular designer label. It was the brand of choice for most upper middle class. Their designs were perfect if one wanted to look great on a reasonable budget.

”There are some regular discounts if you have a membership card. You will get an alert if there are sales, and you can even use the card in physical stores.” She said in a conspiratorial tone.

In truth, Hu Lei had not bought her dress on discount. She had been too busy to shop and had just ordered the dress on rush on Wednesday night. However, the thing about the sales was true. And it was the perfect way to get in Chu Heng's good books. No girl could say no to discounts on quality merchandise.

After that, the three of them began chatting about fashion. They were vastly different people, but when they talked about pretty clothes, shoes and bags, the distance between them closed.