Chapter 21

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The old transport bus pulled into the unmaintained city roads. Inside Chang Ying closed her eyes and tried to catch some more sleep. Beside her, Lu Chen carefully guarded a small, exquisite lunch box that Mo Yue had borrowed from one of the village women.

The vehicle bumped up and down in the potholes so Lu Chen was mindful of the box. Lu Zhi sat on the other side of Lu Chen, her eyes languidly watching the scenery, caught in her own deep thoughts. The three of them did not look interested in the big city unlike a few other folks in the bus who were taking their first trip to the city.

The city was barely notable in Chang Ying's eyes. The decadent skyline of tall buildings depicting the economic prosperity and industrial power had not yet been birthed. In this era, the city could at most be called well planned out, showing the foundation that would make it a bustling service hub in the future. The city had wide roads and small parks for people to relax before they continued to go about their day. Towards the city centre, there were a few times multistorey buildings, but no towering skyscrapers.

Fortunately, since the shopping centre was on the road to the bus park at the city centre. Since the centre opened, it had unanimously become one of the small stops for transport vehicles to offload passengers.

The three came down at the shopping centre along with a few other passengers. A huge sign hung over the building entrance with the words, Valley Shopping Centre.

Except for Chang Ying, the rest gasped and awed at the gigantic centre in front of them. Lu Zhi's colleague had exaggerated his description. The centre was far from the grandeur of a stadium. Still, the multistorey building spread out, covering an area of several blocks, like a sleeping behemoth.

The shopping centre had a very farsighted architectural plan. While it looked imposing on the outside, the ground floor was mostly an open area where registered sellers could set up and sell their wares.

The second, third and fourth floors had a mix of several shop sizes for pricer products, branded goods and so on. This set up ensure that people who were not rich were not turned away at the thought of not being able to afford anything. Even low salary earners could see pricey items and decide to save up to buy it. This way, prospective shop owner would open shops here because of the crowd flow and customers would cone because of the variety of options. It was a good sales strategy.

Most people dressed to the tees to go to the shopping centre unlike the casual wears in a decade or two. Ladies in oversized coats and calf-length skirts, men in oversized multicoloured sweaters and denims. And the more energetic teenagers trotted around in t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Even Lu Chen had worn a pressed shirt and black trousers, making him look more composed and mature than his age. While Lu Zhi wore a knee-length dress with batwing sleeves she usually reserved for occasions.

Chang Ying was not too much into the fashion fad of this era, and was even a little bit embarrassed when she saw some people wearing some odd clothes pair-ups. Still, she did not mind their own serious wears, they were in the mall for business reasons, not relaxation.

She looked elegant and mature in a straight, office black skirt Lu Zhi lent her. The skirt fell to her calf but her figure, that was fuller than Lu Zhi's, filled the skirt, highlighting the shapely curve of her hips. She wore a purple blouse with frills on the neck and puffed sleeves that were still trendy. Her mother had brought this for her so the taste was very mature. Chang Ying pulled her hair up into a bun at the top of her head, and completed her look with a pair of studded earrings her mother had gifted her.

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