A small clothing shop in Liao Family Village. 1:29 p.m.

“This side is the senior section. It’s more suitable for elderly customers over sixty.”

Led by the clerk, Grandma and I walked to two counters on the left side of the store.

“Don’t worry, our shop has sold a lot of bestsellers for seniors already. There are lots of elderly people living nearby. A little girl like you bringing her grandma shopping for clothes is a first for me. You’re such a filial child, so auntie will definitely give you a discount.”

Seeing that neither Grandma nor I reacted much, the saleslady “big sis” quickly continued, “Most of the clothes here just came in. This side is the special-price section. Everything here is twenty percent off. Grandma, have you taken a liking to anything?”

Maybe because there wasn’t much competition in the local service industry, the clerk in this clothing shop—or rather, the “store manager”—looked almost forty. She had a slightly odd hairstyle, and had dyed it brown too.

“Big sis!”

I signaled for Grandma to keep looking, then leaned closer to the saleslady. “Did you do your hair yourself?”

“Ah? Oh... this... I had the salon over there do it for me.”

Even though she didn’t quite understand why I suddenly asked that, being called “big sis” by a girl who looked only fifteen or sixteen still made her pretty happy.

“I just told them to do whatever.”

“It’s really pretty.”

I took out a small butterfly hair clip from my skirt pocket, then tried pinning it into her hair. I deliberately acted very close to her as I said, “Mm. Perfect.”

That little clip was something I’d dug out from the corner of the bedroom in my rental room. If I remembered right, I’d bought it two years ago from a street stall on an overpass near school. I couldn’t remember if it was two or three yuan.

“Little sis, what are you...”

The saleslady looked stunned. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“I think a hairstyle like yours looks better with accessories, big sis.”

I stepped back a few paces and pretended to study her carefully for a moment.

“It feels like it looks even prettier on you than on me.”

Then, without caring how she reacted, I turned and ran toward Grandma—

“Grandma! Which one do you like?”

“I... this...”

Grandma was clearly hesitating.

“The clothes here are all too expensive.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just see which one you like.”

I walked over to the plaid top Grandma had lingered over the longest.

“What about this one? Do you like it?”

While I’d been talking to the saleslady just now, I’d been watching Grandma’s every move from the corner of my eye.

In my memory, Grandma had always been extremely frugal. Unless most of her clothes were so worn they couldn’t be worn anymore, she would never come out to buy new ones like this.

But I also knew she didn’t dislike new clothes.

She just couldn’t bear to spend money because of me, her granddaughter.

She’d rather spend all the money for clothes on me. She’d rather let me eat better.

And now that autumn had come and the weather was gradually turning cold, I’d rather save a little on myself so Grandma could dress better too.

“No, little sis, about your...”

At that moment, the saleslady hurried over from behind us.

“I can’t take this hair clip...”

“Big sis, how much is this piece?”

I picked up the clothing item and turned to ask her. At the same time, I blinked at her and subtly gestured toward Grandma beside me.

“Ah... oh, this... this...”

Interrupted by me, the saleslady froze for a second. She didn’t know whether to ask about the hair clip first or talk business. Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she said, “This one isn’t discounted. Original price is 168 yuan. If you want it, little sis, I’ll make it 150.”

“Too expensive, too expensive.”

Hearing that, Grandma quickly waved her hands.

“Xiaoxue, let’s just go back...”

“Big sis...”

Seeing Grandma about to leave, I took a few steps toward the clerk.

“How about 98?”

“No, no... 98 is absolutely impossible...”

The saleslady shook her head again and again.

“We’d be selling at a loss at 98.”

“Big sis...”

I put on a wronged expression.

“Grandma worked hard for us her whole life. I finally managed to bring her out to buy clothes just this once...”

“It really won’t work.”

Still holding my hair clip, the saleslady was very firm.

“Little sis, I’ll be honest with you. Our wholesale cost for this piece was already 120. If I sell it to you for 98, we lose 22 yuan right away. That’s not even counting shipping and labor. You can ask other stores if you want. This style really isn’t that cheap.”

“Then... how about this.”

I walked to another piece Grandma had also looked at, one marked at 88 yuan, and took it down.

“Two pieces together for 160. Is that okay?”

Actually, I knew I couldn’t get the first one for 98. My target price was 110. As for the second one priced at 88, I could accept around 50.

This was a game between two salespeople.

As someone who was about to become the “ideal girlfriend” of a whole bunch of people, I had to train my eloquence and psychology skills as much as possible in this limited time.

“160?”

The saleslady fell silent for a moment. She looked at the clothes in my hands, then at the hair clip in hers. A clear struggle showed on her face.

“If we do that, we’ll be losing money...”

“Even if it’s 160 for both, Grandma still might not listen to me...”

I glanced helplessly at Grandma by the door, then pleaded, “Please, big sis... just agree, okay? Then in a bit, tell Grandma you’re only charging us 100 for both. I’ll scan and pay with my phone. I’ll actually give you 160... no, 165. Okay?”

“Please, big sis, just let me be filial for once...”

From the moment I walked in, I’d already started using the psychological principle of reciprocity.

One part of that principle says this: if someone forcefully gives another person a benefit, it can trigger a sense of indebtedness.

And this principle of “reciprocity” can lead to unequal exchanges. Plenty of merchants who know even a little psychology use it these days.

For example, if someone runs up to you on the street and asks you to buy their soda, there’s a high chance you’ll refuse. But if it’s a blazing hot summer day, and someone suddenly runs up and gives you a little hand fan, then begs you to buy their soda, you’ll be much more likely to pay for it because you feel indebted after “receiving a favor.”

With that psychological setup, I’d created the image of myself as “a filial granddaughter” in front of this saleslady. At the same time, I’d invisibly planted a suggestion like: if you don’t give me a discount, Grandma won’t buy anything, and you’ll be the one ruining my chance to be filial.

At the end, I also “backed down” from 160 to 165 on my own. That was another psychological trick called reciprocal concession.

Same example as before: if someone comes up to you on the street and asks you to buy their soda for no reason, the success rate isn’t high. But if they first say they work for the movie theater nearby and ask you to help by buying a 200-yuan movie ticket, then after you refuse they say, “Fine, actually I’m just a pitiful employee there. If you won’t buy a ticket, then in this heat, would you at least buy a soda from me? It’s only 3 yuan,” then the chance of making the sale rises sharply.

Same logic again: when you were little, if you wanted spicy strips and asked your dad for pocket money, saying directly, “I want fifty cents to buy snacks,” would probably get you nowhere. But if you said, “I want a PSP. All my friends have one except me. It costs a thousand yuan,” and started arguing with him, then after a long fight you “compromised” and said, “Fine, I don’t want the PSP anymore. Can you at least give me fifty cents for spicy strips?” then your dad might even thank you for finally not being so wasteful.

All of this was basic psychology knowledge I’d crammed over the past few days by looking things up on my phone, because I knew I’d need it sooner or later.

There’s no end to learning, right?

With psychology, moral pressure, and the fact that I looked like a pretty, cute, lovable girl to begin with—already hard for people to refuse—this whole combo finally made the saleslady give in.

“Fine, 165 then. Little sis, your way with words is seriously good.”

Looking a little pained, she took out the two pieces of clothing for me. Then she called out to Grandma outside the door, “Elderly madam! I’ve already discussed it with your daughter. Two pieces are only 100 yuan!”

“Ah?”

“Grandma, this big sis agreed to sell us two pieces for only 100 yuan!”

After scanning the QR code and paying 165 yuan with my phone, I waved at Grandma.

“Want to come over and try them on?”

...

After buying two pieces of clothing for Grandma, I went back to the rental room and happily took a nap on my little bed.

At two in the afternoon, I woke to the cheerful ringtone of my phone. I stretched lazily, took off my dress, and opened the wardrobe by the bed.

Even though that client named “Zhang Haosen” hadn’t asked me to wear anything specific or act with any particular personality, most guys probably wouldn’t reject a cute girl. No matter what, I had to put real effort into my outfit. I knew I still had to maintain that level of professionalism.

Looking over the various women’s clothes in the wardrobe, I finally chose a long-sleeved jacket, a light blue T-shirt, a plaid skirt, and a pair of lace-trimmed socks.

As for shoes, I could just wear those little leather student-uniform shoes later.

The lace socks were short socks, not as flashy as knee-highs. The T-shirt had a little cat paw on it, which was very cute. The skirt was long enough too, not exaggerated.

This kind of outfit had that hazy anime-girl feel, while still seeming grounded in the real world. It was suitable for most situations.

Later, if I did a cute pair of twin tails and wore safety shorts under the skirt, it should be about right.

If I guessed correctly, the initials of “Zhang Haosen’s” girlfriend should be “LXN.” As for her full name, out of professional ethics, I didn’t look any further. I thought that was a form of respect.

And this time, I didn’t think I needed to imitate someone else’s girlfriend.

Zhang Haosen’s online girlfriend had told him to “go find a real girlfriend and forget her,” so all I had to do was be myself.

Judging by the timing, today seemed to be exactly one year since his online girlfriend had “left”...

What a devoted guy.

“Grandma, there’s still a club activity at school this afternoon, so I’m heading back first.”

After changing into my new clothes, tying my hair into twin tails, and slinging on my little schoolbag, I walked out into the living room and spoke to Grandma, who was busy with something in the kitchen.

“You have to take good care of yourself when you’re alone. If anything comes up, you can call Xiaoxue. Xiaoxue will always answer.”

“Ah? You’re going back already?”

Grandma looked a little disappointed, but quickly pulled herself together.

“Then... take these with you. If you can’t finish them, share them with your classmates.”

She packed up several steaming hot ciba zongzi from the side and handed me the bag.

“Be careful on the way.”