It was Monday morning, and while Mai sat eating breakfast, she suddenly heard a text message alert and saw that it was from Lin.

"Is it about the dress and more info on L-2?" she murmured, setting down her spoon in her oatmeal.

Lin: "Can you come to the main building on Wednesday or Thursday? I've already contacted Redwick Library and mentioned it to them."

"You did what? Now they think we're really coming together," Mai muttered in response.

Mai: "I'll come on Wednesday. Just send me the time. But do it well in advance. When are you bringing over the clothes?"

It only took a few seconds before Lin replied.

Lin: "12:00. Tuesday evening."

"Err, so short. But he did answer my question," said Mai, surprised at how quickly he responded.

"Even I can't respond that fast. Unless he has someone typing for him. But he doesn't seem like that type," she added.

She picked up her spoon and scooped up some oatmeal, but suddenly her phone pinged again.

Lin: "My two cousins would like to meet you. Can you meet on Saturday? They just got back from England, and I mentioned you to them. Sorry."

Mai grunted and bit her lip.

"It's way too early, but what the hell. Does that mean he also has to meet my sister?"

Mai: "Okay. But what do they like?"

Lin: "Shopping and girly stuff. It's just us four at my aunt's place. I'll pick you up."

Mai hoped she wasn't walking into a trap but didn't want to disappoint him, so she chose to meet his cousins.

"I hope they're nice and not too young or rebellious teenagers," she thought.

There was still time before she had to go to work, so she turned on her laptop and pondered what to do for Lin’s cousins. Nothing could be sent to her by post in time, so the only option was to check if the stores had anything in stock. But the hardest question still lingered.

"What do they like? Girly stuff can be many things. There's makeup, clothes, dolls, art... what the hell is girly stuff?"

She quickly messaged Lin.

Mai: "What kinds are your cousins?"

Lin: "Women."

"What the hell? I asked for types, not their gender. Seriously, we already have a communication barrier going on here."

Mai sent him a smiling emoji with a closed-eye kiss and added one with a pouting mouth, to which he replied with a ;D

She could only go by what she herself was. A truly feminine woman without all the pink. But she loved a matte pink.

She began listing things she loved, "Shoes, bags, electronics, anime, manga, merchandise, sex..." She quickly stopped herself.

"Bags are always useful, or they can exchange them. It's time to get those dusty cards into play. The bank gave me five extreme cards even though I just wanted a normal one."

>>> <<<

After work, Mai headed to Vera’s Voq, located a street away from the square, which was one of the most expensive bag shops in the world, with only Helly’s Hand as its competitor, oddly enough, both stores situated right next to each other. Mai had once bought a Vera’s Voq wallet when she was in Japan and she was really pleased with it, but later she switched to a cheaper brand. She stood outside the shop where two guards stood in black suits with sunglasses, wearing tight smiles and earpieces. She glanced down at herself, noting her black stilettos, black skirt, black blazer, white shirt, and the black scarf, which was the Redwick Library's uniform. Yes, they had a dress code which Mai wanted to avoid. She bit her lip and glanced at the store again, where young girls walked in hand in hand while the guards gave them the elevator look.

"Do I look okay to go in?"

Mai had never been rejected from places before because her parents had always told her, "You dress how you want to be perceived."

So, Mai had always dressed what was considered neat and elegant.

She entered the store, and the guards said nothing to her.

I was afraid for nothing.

The store was enormous with a first floor and bags displayed on beautiful white tables in glass cabinets, and beautiful young women walked around with their hair tightly tied up, wearing a sweet but tight smile. Their screaming red lipstick was noticeable, and they all wore black skirts with matching blazers.

"I'd be mistaken for one of them if a person was drunk," Mai mumbled to herself.

She walked slowly around, looking at their selection, but she was picky, so nothing caught her attention. She noticed that shop assistants were walking around keeping an eye on people along with the guards, making it hard to concentrate. It's like being in Japan without their 'welcome' phrase.

Mai walked over to the rectangular glass counter where a shop assistant with diamond earrings was busy typing something on a screen. She picked up their thick paper folder from the counter and stood aside while she flipped through it and quickly scanned their selection with her eyes, stopping at the last page. There were two black rectangular shoulder bags with a thin long strap that could be adjusted on the sides.

Model: Lady Bar
Model: Crimson Touch

Crimson Touch had a small logo with five waves and a dot forming a hand. There were no prices on them, which only meant one thing. They were newly released and limited edition. A perfect gift for Lin's cousins. But if they already had them, it would be a bad gift.

These were the latest models from this year, and the only thing Mai knew about bags was that they had to be made of genuine leather and not plastic leather. The rule here was that you had to pay when you ordered, so she took out her black leather cardholder and looked at her cards. There were 6 credit cards, but she had only used one, the light gray one. The card she needed would depend on the prices of the bags. Here, you didn't ask about prices; you just bought. But it was a lot of money she was about to throw out the window, so they damn well better be used right.

She looked at the shop assistant and asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, do you have any models in stock or that can be ordered by Friday? I'm only interested in something that is Limited Edition and preferably the newest on the market. The fewer copies, the better."

The shop assistant immediately looked at her and suddenly noticed her wallet, where she saw the colors of the 6 cards sticking out from the top of their separate pockets. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she opened her mouth.

"You're talking as if you know about bags. Shouldn't you look in the mirror before you go out shopping next time?" a soft voice suddenly said, belonging to a woman.

Mai turned her head to the left, and there stood a tall, slim woman with long wavy blonde hair to her shoulders and she had clear blue eyes. She wore a thigh-length pink dress and a pink handbag with a thin gold chain over it. Her large rabbit teeth were the only thing Mai noticed. Behind her stood two similarly dressed women with the same blonde hair, looking like a slightly worse version of the woman in front of them.

Mai furrowed her eyebrows at the sight.

Sophie? So you haven't gotten your teeth removed. You must really love them.

"What's it to you what I buy?" she replied in a cold voice.

Everyone in the store stared at her, and it went completely silent.

Sophie walked over to her and pointed to a glass shelf behind the shop assistant, saying, "I'd like to buy that one."

The shop assistant, who still hadn't removed her gaze from Mai's credit cards, said without looking at Sophie, "You're skipping the line, miss. Can't you see?"

Sophie furrowed her brow and said, "What do you mean? I'm right here, and you're supposed to serve me."

Mai tapped her thumb on her cards a couple of times and slowly pulled out the snow-white card, but stopped at Sophie's next words. 

"She's just wasting your time and the store's time. Look at her clothes. Just look at her. She comes from a library and can't afford anything here. I'm surprised you let such types in here. It's disappointing to see when everyone knows that Nen Nord has a collaboration with you."

Nen Nord would be Lin's company in the future. Mai didn't want to make it worse for him. She inhaled the cool air and breathed out slowly. She quickly pushed her card back and looked at the shop assistant, who still hadn't removed her focus from the cards.

She smiled and said in a low voice, "She's right. I can't afford anything. I just came to waste your time. Have a good day, miss."

She turned around, waved her hand, and added, "Say hi to Lin for me."

She hurried out of the store.

"I hope she doesn't come back," said Sophie, who was still waiting for her bag.

The shop assistant furrowed her brows, looked at her, and said in a loud voice, "Guards. Escort her out. She's ruining the atmosphere in here. We don't need those kinds of customers here."

Two large guards quickly appeared and dragged Sophie to the entrance, who was wearing a confused expression.

"What do you think you're doing? This is unheard of. I've been here often and have never been treated like this before. I demand an explanation for this," she shouted so everyone could hear her.

Suddenly, all the other shop assistants approached the one who had thrown Sophie out.

"Ellen, what's going on? She was almost a regular customer here," said one.

"She only buys one bag and not always. There's not much 'regular' about her when she only does it when she has enough points," replied Ellen, whispering to them. "That woman had a Moon Card!"

"A M-moon Card. Are you sure?" asked another.

"I also spotted a Sapphire, Cobra, and Diamond card. I've never seen a Moon Card in real life. But I was sure when I saw the other cards she had," Ellen replied. "Do you think she'll come back?"

A shop assistant shook her head and replied, "Not after that treatment. If it were me, I'd never come back again."

>>> <<<

Mai was afraid of receiving the same treatment elsewhere, and who knows if Sophie would show up again and bother her. She hadn't recognized Mai, but still, she was a stain that would never disappear no matter how much you tried to remove it.

She looked at a jewelry store with golden jewelry in the window, but they were too dull. Jewelry was something personal that was difficult to give if you didn't know the person's taste. And you could go very wrong.

She took out her phone and texted Lin.

Mai: "Do your cousins have any allergies or do their families if they live at home? Do they have pets?"

Lin: "No one has allergies, but my aunt doesn't want a dog because she doesn't have time to raise a puppy, and she doesn't trust dog trainers. She's very Asian."

Mai: "I was at Vera’s Voq but ran into an angry rabbit so I dare not go in there again. I'm afraid that rabbit might also be in the other stores, and I don't have the energy to constantly kick it away."

Lin: ";D Do you have bad karma or what? Just kidding. My cousins love animals, but if it's something special that no one has. It doesn't exist except for the silver Shiba Inu, but I've reserved that one to you :3"

Mai remembered that the dog was very special, and if it existed, there was probably something else similar. She remembered the zoo, which had Silk Bears that were snow white. They should not be confused with polar bears with their black noses. Silk bears were found in Bhutan a few years ago, and they had red glowing eyes with long fur, and their claws were golden, not yellow.

Mai: "I know they're only in the zoo, but a silk bear is the only thing I can think of."

Lin: "Nen Nord found them, and actually, they have a couple with a secret litter that the world knows nothing about. Dongmei and Ling will love them."

Mai: "Can you manage to get some? Fuck, that sounds terrible. Can they even own bears? Okay, never mind. Your family must sort it out themselves. The bears sound fine. If they cost a lot, I can pay."

Lin didn't ask her to talk about money and promised to get the bear cubs ready for Saturday. He asked about the angry rabbit several times, and Mai tried to explain it politely, but she couldn't fool him. It was as if he could read her thoughts. It was nice and scary at the same time.

Suddenly, he called her.

"What's up?" Mai asked, immediately answering the call.

Lin started laughing loudly for a long time, and when he was done, she said, "It's good you got today's laugh. What do I get in return?"

"I can deliver a well-trained man to your doorstep tonight," he replied in a teasingly crisp voice.

Mai wanted to see him again, but they had just been together over the weekend.

"If we see each other too often, you'll get tired of me. Anyway, you're coming over tomorrow with the dress. I thought about cooking for you. Is there anything you can't tolerate?" she said.

"I don't eat fried liver. Can you make Japanese curry?" Lin asked.

"Baby, I can make anything. Don't worry. The day I serve you fried liver, you'll know it's over," Mai replied in a teasing voice.

Lin laughed loudly, and they said goodbye to each other.

Mai looked at his name on her phone, where it said 'Lin <3'.

"Does he really have so much time he can call like that?"

She remembered the dress and felt her heart beat faster.

"What does it look like? It's a dress, right?" She pursed her lips and smiled.

>>> <<<

Lin's eldest aunt, Xiang, had just returned home from a business trip to Dubai.

She sat in her large living room on a red velvet cushioned sofa, watching the news on TV, while in her right hand, she fumbled with a golden coin, rubbing her fingers on it.

"What is fate? One flip to change destiny, but what has it given me? No Lin! Why can't I touch him even with this stupid coin?" she muttered.

Xiang was up in age but kept herself young with the help of L-1, and her skin glowed fresh without a single wrinkle.

"Even though I'm 70, everyone thinks I'm in my mid-30s. I wonder if Lin has missed me," she said, taking out her phone, where the lock screen was a picture of Lin, cropped at the top. He stood in a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie, with a sharp glint in his eye and a serious expression.

She smiled, kissed the phone, and whispered, "Your aunt has come home and has become much younger and much more beautiful. I even had the lower part done for your sake. Now you can't resist me anymore."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Xiang hurried to lock her phone, the screen turning off instantly.

A young woman, Xiang's secretary, dressed in a black suit with her hair tightly pulled up in a bun, entered with a white laptop that was turned on.

"My lady. One of the agents intercepted this from Lin," she said, placing the laptop on the table in front of Xiang, who immediately looked at it.

Her eyes fell on a picture of a handsome young man who was eating noodles with chopsticks, and underneath was a large bowl of soup. In the middle of the table was a plate with a large lettuce leaf with spring rolls.

"What is he doing there? He's never out," exclaimed Xiang in a shrill voice.

"There's another picture," said the secretary, clicking on an arrow to the right of the screen, which changed to a picture of a woman's neck and cavalier walk, wearing a salmon-colored dress.

"What the hell? Who is that slut trying to seduce him? Does my brother know about this? How many know?" shouted Xiang, looking up at the woman.

"It has been withheld from the media, so only the one of Lin eating has come out. Mr. Wayan doesn't have time to keep track of such things. Mr. Lin has never appeared outside before, so I'm also very surprised. Maybe it's just an acquaintance. Do you remember the woman who did everything to get close to him?" replied the secretary.

"Yes, thank you. That bitch was a nightmare. Even my brother and Lin had a hard time getting rid of her. Even I struggled. It was like meeting a copy of myself," said Xiang, feeling her body tremble.

She pointed to a strand of long black wavy hair on the screen and said, "That woman is a brunette, so it's not the witch. But another one. Lin is mine, everyone knows that. He just needs that final push before he realizes I'm the only right one for him. When that happens, my brother will have to accept us."

She stood up, and the secretary asked, "My lady, where are you going?"

"Out to find the poisonous witch. No, she's a slut. Look at her choice of clothes. I've done all this for Lin's sake. Isn't it enough? Why doesn't he call me? He knows I've just come home from a long journey," Xiang said, biting her red, fake, long nail, which broke with a crack.

"My lady, you are beautiful, and I couldn't even recognize you when you came home. Even Lin won't be able to recognize you. I'm sure he'll fall head over heels for you," said the secretary.

Xiang nodded, smiled, and said, "No one interferes. Get everything removed with that slut from the media. I'll find her myself. If I can't handle another woman, then I'm not worthy to stand by Lin's side."

She walked out of the room and slammed the door hard.

"But Lin will never be interested in you. Not because of your age," said the secretary, looking at the picture of Lin.

"He looks happy. I've never seen him smile like that before," she smiled and sighed. "I wonder who she is. Lin isn't interested in anyone at all."