This Entire Mall Belongs to the Xie Family

"What happened last morning?"

At the early morning dining table, Xie Zhengde asked.

Xie Lian didn't speak, simply lowering his head to eat breakfast while casting a resentful, glaring look at Xie Mi.

Xie Mi didn't speak either, adhering to the principle that if he didn't ask, she wouldn't say, and if he did ask, she would act surprised.

It was Old Bai the butler who stepped forward to reply, "Last night, Madam went to the courtyard to take care of some business."

"Which courtyard?"

"The hospital."

"..."

Old Bai certainly knew how to phrase things. When someone got hurt and went to the hospital, he just had to call it getting hurt and going to the hospital, yet he insisted on calling it going to the courtyard to take care of business.

Xie Zhengde left for the company as soon as he finished breakfast, instructing Old Bai before he departed to take Xie Mi out to browse the mall in the city.

Having just returned home, naturally there were plenty of things that needed to be bought.

"So, why did you tag along too?"

In the car, Xie Mi looked at Xie Lian sitting beside her and asked.

Xie Lian's entire face was plastered with reluctance, "Dad said female celebrities need bodyguards when going out on the street, so he made me come. It saves the money of hiring a bodyguard."

"Ha..."

Xie Mi was just about to laugh when Old Bai, sitting in the driver's seat, burst out laughing first.

Xie Mi's attitude instantly shifted as she sighed, "It's been so long since I've seen the butler laugh this happily."

Xie Lian:"..."

As the only introvert in the car, he had already been reduced to a plaything for two extroverts.

The car parked at the most luxurious mall in Hai City, where the people coming and going were all elites, professionals, and urbanites.

Xie Mi put on her mask and cap, and only after getting fully disguised did she step out of the car.

There was no helping it, since she was a female celebrity now.

"The master said that today's spending for the entire venue is paid by the young master." During the process of taking the escalator, Old Bai said.

Xie Lian's expression shifted as he protested on the spot, "On what grounds!"

Old Bai revealed a gratified smile, "It's been so long since I've seen the young master with this much vitality."

"I'm pissed off!"

Xie Lian grumbled curses as he chased after Old Bai to argue with him, "Stop pulling internet memes every time you don't want to answer directly. Answer me, on what grounds!"

Xie Mi shook her head with a smile, "Ah, this is youth."

She didn't follow them, but instead got her attention caught by a poster.

It was an endorsement poster for diamond rings. The protagonists were Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong, and right now, a store clerk was in the midst of taking that poster down.

The clerk was muttering curses under her breath, "I'm never shipping this pairing again. Xiao Rong, you hurt me so deeply..."

Xie Mi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Come to think of it, the place where the plot had undergone the greatest change was right here.

Xiao Jingxi had suddenly gone crazy and refused to fake a romance with Xu Shuangrong. The romantic lines for both the male and female leads in this book had been completely snapped, and she was very curious about how the plot was going to progress from here on out.

"Are you... Xie Mi?" An inquiry drifted over from beside her ear.

Xie Mi turned her head, meeting a pair of false eyelashes fluttering up and down frantically.

"It really is you!"

The other person let out an exclamation, her decibel level spiking up a few notches, "It's me, Jiang Huaiting! The Jiang Huaiting who previously competed with you for the exact same female lead role, and the one who ended up getting chosen!"

Seemingly reminiscing about old times, but actually stepping on her to elevate herself.

Xie Mi remembered. There really was such a character in the original text.

Jiang Huaiting, the original owner's mortal enemy, who always stepped on the original owner whenever she acted in a show, always snatched the original owner's roles whenever she auditioned, and always marketed herself as outshining the original owner whenever they appeared on stage together.

To put it bluntly, Jiang Huaiting's ability to become a second-tier female star relied entirely on the original owner acting as a foil.

Of course, it was a forced foil.

"It's you! Even though I couldn't remember who it was, it's you!" Xie Mi wore an expression of pleasant surprise.

Jiang Huaiting's mouth twitched, "Why are you here? This entire floor is luxury goods, and I remember you earning pretty poorly, huh?"

Speaking up to this point, she suddenly acted as if she had just remembered something, "Oh my, I almost forgot. Teacher Xie has been super popular lately, going on Director Niu's dating reality show and making the hot searches from time to time."

"Though it seems like you always make the hot searches by acting crazy? Hahahahaha..."

While laughing, she stealthily observed Xie Mi's reaction, wanting to see Xie Mi's mental defenses collapse.

Xie Mi replied with absolute sincerity, "Not bad, not bad. When you have no money, you just have to rely on yourself. Still, Teacher Jiang has it better, being able to spend money to buy them."

Jiang Huaiting, whose inability to make the hot searches naturally meant she could only rely on buying them, had her mental defenses shattered.

Sincerity is the sole ultimate skill.

Determined to claw back a victory, Jiang Huaiting stepped forward and hooked her arm around Xie Mi's wrist, "Running into each other is fate. Since we're both here to shop, why don't we browse together."

She was certain that Xie Mi couldn't afford the things here, and today she was dead set on following Xie Mi around just to watch her humiliate herself.

Alarm bells rang frantically in Xie Mi's heart, "You aren't planning to make me pay for your purchases, are you!"

Jiang Huaiting rolled her eyes, "No!"

For the time being, in order to flaunt her financial power, Jiang Huaiting bought things wherever she walked, and moreover, she took absolutely everything that Xie Mi had ever touched.

Xie Mi discovered a brilliant point of interest. She stretched out her hand, executed a sliding tackle, swept her palm across a row of garments, and then turned back to look expectantly at Jiang Huaiting.

Jiang Huaiting's mouth twitched frantically, but she cared far too much about saving face. Gritting her teeth, she declared, "I want all of these!"

Xie Mi's smile gradually turned malicious.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Huaiting's credit card was maxed out.

After the clerk quietly informed Jiang Huaiting of this fact, Jiang Huaiting's mental defenses collapsed completely. She immediately clamped her hand over the clerk's mouth, terrified of being overheard by Xie Mi.

Seeing Xie Mi's leisurely demeanor, her temper flared right up.

"Xie Mi, why aren't you buying anything at all? Oh my, could it be that you can't afford it? Doesn't Love Watch give you an appearance fee? Did you fail to pick up any gigs even though you've been so popular lately? Or did all the money you earn go toward paying off your previous breach-of-contract penalties?"

She walked up right in front of Xie Mi, intentionally provoking her, "Then why did you even come to this floor? Are you just browsing without buying? If you act like this, you're going to give the clerks a hard time, you know. If everyone were like you and only looked without buying, how are they supposed to do business."

Xie Mi widened her eyes.

Jiang Huaiting felt a wave of delight in her heart. It worked, it worked, hurry up and have your mental defenses break!

"How did you know? So refreshing, so refreshing! This feeling of being seen right through is simply too magical! Surprise, excitement, irritation-the agony I've bottled up for years was actually stated by you in such an understatement. My emotions are being played with by you, it's so awesome, Sister, say a bit more!"

Jiang Huaiting:"?"

Xie Mi secretly hooked the corners of her lips.

Things that could be solved by acting crazy should be solved by acting crazy. Flying into a rage upon a simple provocation and recklessly spending over a hundred thousand to buy a dress was the behavior of a fool.

Jiang Huaiting could no longer hold back, her voice suddenly spiking in volume, "Xie Mi-why are you so vain? If you can't afford it, just say you can't afford it; it's not like I'd mock you. Didn't you make authenticity your main schtick on the variety show? Could it all just be a persona?"

With her shrill shouting, the store clerks all looked over.

Immediately, they began to whisper among themselves.

"Xie Mi? That name sounds so familiar..."

"Could it be that Xie Mi from Love Watch? Looking at her now, she really does look a bit like her!"

"Is she putting up a false front of wealth even though she can't afford it? No way, is Xie Mi really this vain..."

A flash of triumphant smugness crossed the depths of Jiang Huaiting's eyes as she waited to see how Xie Mi could possibly extricate herself under these circumstances.

Just then, a dark figure suddenly slid onto their knees and rushed right into the scene, letting out a loud thud as he kowtowed directly in front of Xie Mi.

"Your Ladyship has graced us with your honorable presence, and yet it turns out I was blind to Mount Tai!"

Jiang Huaiting:"?"

Xie Mi:"?"

Old Bai: "This entire mall belongs to the Xie family!!"