This was bad. He should have kicked them out sooner. The manager''s mind raced with regret.


    Ynda, meanwhile, paused her makeup application.


    Jennie was really here? But she hadn''t even sent the email yet.


    Still, it didn''t matter how it happened. With the head designer on her way, Juniper would surely be too embarrassed to stick around.


    A wicked smile yed on Ynda''s lips as she anticipated the public humiliation Juniper was about to face. She had to capture this moment.


    Discreetly, Ynda took out her phone, switched to a secondary social media ount, and started a livestream, aiming the camera directly at Juniper.


    Everyone online thought the great ''Master Lunar'' was so pure and untouchable. Today, she would show them all just how pathetic their idol really was.


    ...


    Minutester, the sales associate hissed, “Sir, Jennie''s arrived! She''s walking very fast and doesn''t look happy. It looks like she''s here to back someone up."


    Back someone up? The manager''s heart sank. It had to be Ms. Sherwin.


    "Hello, Jennie!" Before he could react, the staff lined up and greeted their boss in unison.


    Jennie was slightly out of breath, her forehead glistening with a thinyer of sweat and her makeup smudged. She had clearly run all the way here.


    "What brings you here, Jennie?" the manager asked, forcing himself to step forward, his face pale as he prepared to exin. “What happened was..."


    "Where is the customer?" Jennie cut him off, her eyes scanning the store frantically.


    Three years ago, she had connected online with a mysterious expert in clothing design. This person had an incredible eye and could pinpoint the ws in Jennie''s work instantly. She had taken this expert as her mentor, and under her guidance, her skills had soared. She never would have won the international designpetitionst year without hei: mentor''s encouragement and the month of intense,te-night coaching sessions. Though they hadmunicated for three years, they had never met in person; Jennie only knew her mentor was a woman. Her countless invitations to meet had always been declined.


    She thought she might never get the chance, but then, a text had arrived out of the blue, and she had dropped everything to rush over.


    "The customer is right here," the manager said, gesturing quickly to Ynda, his stomach churning with nerves.


    "Jennie, hello,” Ynda said, rising from the sofa. “I''m a VIP client at your store. I asked for you because..."


    ет


    "Wait a second." Jennie stared at Ynda, her shy outfit, and her garish makeup, and froze for a moment. This was her mentor With


    this...... aesthetic?


    It couldn''t be. Jennie''s eyes swept the room again, passing over Saskia and J


    beforending on Juniper.


    The girl sat with her legs crossed, a


    baseball cap pulled low over her eyes, casually fiddling with a pink bottle. Her glothes were simple but she possessed an undeniable,manding presence. And the cap she was wearing... if Jennie wasn''t mistaken, it was the one she had custom-designed for her mentor as a gift after winning her award.


    Could it be?


    Was her revered mentor... a teenage girl?