Chapter 4: A garnet ring and a hairpin
A week later, Ruan Muchou decided to go to the shopping square with her younger brother. For this, she decided to go and ask for permission from her mother.
"Mom, can I go to the shopping square?" she asked. Lately, her mom had been out of sorts and she was wondering if she should go buy her mom a present as a thank you gift for mother's day. Maybe that way she'd go back to normal.
"...Hmm? Yeah, sure. Take some of the bodyguards though, make sure they are always around you and take at least 5, no 10. Yes, take 10 with you."
..."I'm just going to the shopping square though... Meh. Ok, I'll take them. I'll be back in around an hour."
"Alright. Make sure to be aware of your surroundings, don't just walk around senselessly." said Ruan Fei anxiously. 'Something's wrong, but what is it?' thought Ruan Mu Chou.
Usually her mom would be all like "Alright. Be careful." and she'd go, but now, Ruan Fei is zoning out, she's scratching her thumb pad, and she's constantly scrunching her eyebrows... it's almost as if she's waiting for something. Or maybe it's fear. 'Oh well, I'll deal with it when I come back with the gift.' and she left with Ruan Li Feng. And the bodyguards.
...
At the shopping center, Ruan Mu Chou decided to window-shop while holding Ruan Li Feng's hand. Eventually, they came by a window showcasing a ring with tiny blood-red garnet gems encrusted throughout the jet black band. A space ring.
"Can I have that ring?" asked Ruan Li Feng trying his hardest to make his green eyes look as puppy-like as possible.
Mu Chou didn't respond immediately as she led her younger brother into the shop. Unexpectedly, contrary to its shabby outward appearance, the inside was lavishly decorated with plush rose-red velvet wallpaper lining the walls and ceiling. The floor being covered in a similar material and in a similar color, making it look as if the entire room was a throne room from fairy tales often exclusively reserved for western human royalty. Miniature golden chandeliers lit up the entire inner shopping area and bouncy, luxurious chairs made with the same fabric as the carpet and polished intricate wood littered the area. Finally, the atmosphere was that of high-end tranquility, with almost no noise to be heard around except for the veiled person conversing in hushed tones with the store clerk of what about, she'll never know. The entire space screamed "Wealthy Spendthrifts", but she had been dead set on purchasing that ring for her fluffy younger brother.
"Excuse me? Is there anyone around from who I can inquire of this ring?" she asked politely and formally, though she felt as uncomfortable as a dried out fish left in the sun. Immediately, both people at the counter look over at her and size her up. Assuming that they were annoyed at her for interrupting their 'interesting' conversation, she decided to say out loud, loud enough so that if a manager were at the other side of the amethyst-encrusted door behind the counter, they'd most certainly hear her.
"Well, I guess there's no one to attend to me at this time despite the fact that I wanted to purchase this marvelous ring. Oh well, I ought to go find one next door then." she said while maintaining her side-gaze at the door the entire time.
Sure enough, someone did rush out of the doorway. A man in his mid-thirties with a sharp, cleanly shaved square jaw and brown eyes, wearing a bright red robe and a satchel encrusted with rubies around his waist walked out hurriedly towards her while giving the store clerk a slight glare before turning to look at her with a smile that slightly distorted the scar at the edge of his nose. At this point, it was obvious that the man, who she was assuming was the store owner, had a "slight" obsession with the color red.
"How might I be of service, young miss?" inquired the man. Ruan Mu Chou had just begun to think about how much of an awkward juxtaposition this man was displaying. A service personnel dressed in luxurious garb.
"I was wondering how much does this ring cost?" she asked as she pointed to the ring.
"This ring is the only of its kind and is welded using the most-" he went on to try to gradisize the ring, but Ruan Mu Chou was already starting to get a headache staring at the interior of the store for so long. "Please sir, the price?" she wryly asked.
The man though, obviously disgruntled at having been interrupted, seemed to not linger too long on what had just happened and skipped the introduction. "It is 5 onyxes." Ruan Mu Chou had very nearly choked on a mixture of inhaled breath and her own saliva. Yes, she did have enough on her, 10 onyxes in total to be specific, but she had always disliked to be a spendthrift as she had once gotten a job secretly and knew how hard it was to earn money. Given, her uncle was a filthy rich man, but still, it felt like the man sliced at her flesh with a dull blade.
"I'll have it." she said as she took out the money and paid in full up front. The man greedily took the money from her hands and gave her the ring. As soon as she and her younger brother stepped out of the shop, she handed it over to him as he gleefully put it on his finger and hugged Ruan Mu Chou's waist.
"Thank you big sister!" said Ruan Li Feng gratefully. Ruan Mu Chou smiled and nodded in response. 'Aiyaa, this would be such a nice moment if it weren't for the bodyguards breathing down my neck.' Up to now, she still had not stopped thinking about what had caused her mother, who had always been laid-back and easy-going despite the various attempts at teasing her, to become so highly strung up and panicked. In her zoned out state, she had failed to notice the rock in her path and because when she zoned out while strolling, she would just barely lift her feet from the ground, it wasn't a surprise when she banged her foot against it and crushed her pinky toe causing her to lose her balance as she went to clutch her foot.
"Son of a-" groaned Ruan Mu Chou as she stabilized herself on the ground while reaching out to touch her leg due to her arm's length not allowing her to touch her foot. She cursed the rock and stepped on it when she got back up.
"Are you ok, sister?" asked Ruan Li Feng worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm good. Thankfully it only banged against the side of my shoe." she said to not worry her younger brother, but she knew that when she took off her shoe when she got home, that pinky would have a slight cut on it or at least a bruise.
"Oh ok, that's good. Be careful next time." replied Ruan Li Feng.
"Alright." smiled Ruan Mu Chou as she looked up. It was at this moment that a hair ornament being displayed at an open air store caught her eye. An unassuming hair pin.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lunara
Lunara BTW, in this universe...
1 onyx= 10 gold coins = 100 silver coins = 1,000 bronze coins
Here are two sarcastic "jokes":
- If you need so much space, there’s always NASA.
- Even good for nothings can bring a smile to your face—once you shove them down the stairs, that is.
--
I'll probably start doing quotes or something once I've run out of sarcastic "jokes". Meh.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone