Meanwhile, Xue Ning was oblivious to the fact that the people outside thought her parents were apparently rich tycoons that ran casinos instead of the noodle store vendors they actually were.
Thankfully she had no clue, if not she would have burst into cackling laughter and promptly ruined her image.
Instead, she was more focused on the outfit in front of her. Her eyes widened as she stared at the black and silver outfit offered to her. It was a combination of a long-sleeved dress, a bustier and a corset, the top part of the outfit was white, but the bustier was black and it was inlaid with tiny white crystals, artfully arranged to draw the eye to form a beautiful silhouette of the mannequin's bust.
The corset was black, with bejeweled laces at the front, and the bottom of the dress would end somewhere around the middle of her thighs. Thankfully, Su Yan did not pick high heels for her. Instead, waiting at the bottom of the outfit was a pair of solid black ankle boots, with a tiny bit of heel to improve her silhouette.
"Lady Su Yan, are you sure I'll suit this?" She asked hesitantly. She wasn't even sure if she should even touch it. What if she was too rough, and one of the crystals fell off? What if she wore it, and then realised that she wasn't suitable for something so beautiful and had to take it off?
The disappointment would be immeasurable.
"Trust me," Su Yan said with no room for argument. "This outfit was created with you in mind. You need the world to know you cannot be messed with."
"Okay," Xue Ning took a deep breath and nodded decisively. "I'll try it on."
"My assistants will help you," Su Yan said. "This is not an outfit that a person can put on or remove alone."
That was how Xue Ning found herself standing only in her underwear, in front of two assistants that expertly nipped and tucked her body into the outfit, rolling up the sleeves to her elbows, while flicking the collar so that it met the end of her hair.
She got a pair of diamond earrings to wear, with strict instructions to return them along with the outfit.
They adjusted her bustier to tease at her full breasts, tugging at the laces of the corset to further emphasise the curve of her waist, and made sure that the curve of her butt was present but not too distracting. Instead, they made sure to expose her collarbones and a hint of cleavage.
The dress was also at the appropriate length. Xue Ning just had to be more careful about how she sat!
The assistants helped her into the shoes. Her makeover was complete. When Xue Ning finally looked at herself, she could only gape at the mirror. Who was this woman standing in front of her?
"There, perfect." Su Yan said, proud of her team's efforts. She watched as Xue Ning transformed from a country bumpkin to an heiress no one would want to mess with. It didn't matter if she actually wasn't one - the right appearance meant half the battle was won!
"Wow," Xue Ning said, exhaling a quick breath, blinking rapidly as she stared at herself in the mirror, cataloguing how she looked. "This is - I don't even know what else to say, other than thank you. I never thought… I'd look like this. Beautiful."
Xue Ning had spent her youth getting called names for being not as beautiful as other girls, and while she responded with fists, it cannot be denied that some barbs buried themselves deep into her skin, hurting when she least expected them to do so.
When she grew up, she just developed a thicker skin and stopped caring as much, but old wounds still left scars.
"You're welcome." Su Yan replied delightedly. Xue Ning's reaction was one of the reasons why she had entered this industry after all - to give confidence to those who didn't think they looked good, but were actually simply not conventionally attractive.
"Now, let's go out and show the world." Su Yan continued, and they left the room together, Xue Ning striding out in confidence as she clutched her phone.
The press conference had already started, but she wasn't anywhere near the venue yet!
She was so focused on that, it took her a beat longer than everyone else to notice the way everyone's eyes widened when they looked at her. There was a sudden hush in the room as everyone marveled over her transformation, no one could believe this was the same woman that showed up in a ratty T-shirt and jeans!
Perhaps they were right! She truly was secretly a heiress!
No normal girl from the countryside could look this lovely in such an expensive, bespoke outfit!
Zhou Yu's fingers dug into the soft fabric of her bathrobe, and twisted them around in irritation. She recognized part of that outfit! She was the one that commissioned that bustier, but how did it end up on her body instead!
Not to mention, it was paired with other equally expensive components! That leather corset with bejeweled laces was a long-time favourite of hers, but Lady Su Yan had always claimed it was unsuitable for her.
Now she was using it for this woman?!
Zhou Yu was so mad she nearly exploded there and then. But she fought to keep her temper under control - she had to find out who this woman truly was. If she was an heiress, Zhou Yu would have no choice but to let the grudge go.
But if she was just an ordinary woman Sun Jingwei had the nerve to pull into their gilded world, she'd make sure to put her in a world of hurt!
Lady Su Yan watched with smug satisfaction from the corner of her eyes; Zhou Yu for once was shocked speechless. It was a good look on her, and saved her the trouble of looking for hearing aids in future.
"I would call you a cab, but apparently Mr Sun has already arranged transport for you waiting outside," Su Yan said, knowing that everyone could hear her. "You must be really important to him."
Xue Ning smiled, immediately getting Lady Su Yan's point.
"Jingwei is such a good man. He's very important to me too." Xue Ning smiled, even if she said those words just to see Zhou Yu's face turn purple, she meant every word of it.
"I'm very lucky to have met him."
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