Chapter 25: Done on Purpose

Luo Nanchuan wasn’t so lucky when he received his equipment. The men’s hoodie, worth 4 silver coins, didn’t fit.

It wasn’t really Su Ning’s fault. After all, a one-size-fits-all loose hoodie is supposed to fit most people—about eighty percent of them.

But Luo Nanchuan was 1.92 meters tall. Naturally, a one-size hoodie wouldn’t fit him. The shoulders and sleeves were clearly too short. Su Ning had never expected such a major sizing mistake on her first sale of a one-size item.

Luo Nanchuan had assumed that hand-crafted equipment, like monster drops, would automatically fit. One didn’t ask, the other didn’t say, and the hoodie ended up being wasted on Yan Han.

Yan Han happily accepted the hoodie, teasing Luo Nanchuan’s height at the same time.

“Nan Chuan, why are you so tall? The clothes don’t fit! You wasted your money! Lucky for you I’m here—otherwise, what would you do? The shop wouldn’t accept a return.”

While adjusting the hoodie, Yan Han continued, “Look at my figure—isn’t it perfect for this hoodie? Look at my shoulder width, look at my sleeve length. So fitting, so proper. But it’s pure white… won’t it get dirty easily? Since it’s handmade, you’d have to wash it carefully. Why not add some patterns or prints? It’d look so much better.”

While posing in front of a mirror, Yan Han kept bombarding Luo Nanchuan with questions. Even though she was obviously delighted with the hoodie, she had to act a little picky—otherwise, she’d seem too easy to please.

Luo Nanchuan didn’t mind. He hadn’t expected any sizing issues, and the hoodie’s bonus Strength attribute didn’t suit him anyway. Giving it to Yan Han was perfect—it prevented her from recklessly spending money on clothes in the future.

“Chuan’er, you need to say something too. If you’re this quiet, what will you do when you meet the right girl in the future?”

“Look at this wand,” Luo Nanchuan said, handing the wand to Yan Han.

“Wow! This wand is amazing! Made by Su Ning? Who is this guy? Can you ask if she can make me a dagger too? If it could get +10 as well, that’d be epic!”

“You should ask.”

“Beep, system notification: Friend message.”

Surfing online—well, checking market trends—Su Ning received a private message from Luo Nanchuan.

Luo: “Hoodie doesn’t fit.”

Doesn’t fit? Was he trying to return it? The 15 silver coins had already been sent to his mother for her rent. Su Ning’s mind raced, drawing on her online shopping experience. Situations like this usually fell into three categories:

1. Return and refund.
   Fair, but what about the returned item? Resell? Sell at a discount? Su Ning didn’t want to do either, and a refund was impossible.
2. No return, but ask for compensation.
   Not a full return, just a little dissatisfaction, so they request partial compensation. Su Ning would need to decide—20 copper or 30 copper? No more than that.
3. Refund without return.
   Most extreme. Usually the store is at fault. But from Su Ning’s perspective, she wasn’t at fault. Full payment already made—any more trouble, block the customer.

After careful analysis, considering tone and context, Su Ning judged that Fat Sheep likely wanted partial compensation.

Su: “The hoodie is one-size.”
Luo: “I know. Can it be tailored?”

Hmm, Fat Sheep wasn’t even asking for compensation. Impressive—truly generous.

Su: “Of course. For the store’s protection, I’ll send you a measuring tape. You can have a friend take your measurements, send me the details, and we can arrange it. Does that work?”
Luo: “Yes. Can you make a dagger too?”
Su: “No daggers.”

The conversation ended. Su Ning thought, Fat Sheep is truly a big shot. Generous, decisive, no complaints about price, and responsible for any consequences. VIP treatment is a must.

After sending the measuring tape, she soon received Fat Sheep’s detailed body measurements. He was tall but not fat, evenly proportioned, so the required fabric wasn’t much. Given the previous “one-size incident,” Su Ning felt responsible and didn’t raise the price: +5 attribute, 4 silver coins, half deposit, three-day delivery, slight adjustments possible if needed.

Luo Nanchuan naturally had no objections and even considered the store responsible and reliable. Su Ning was clearly a talented and trustworthy seller. He started planning to recruit her into the army.

With the deposit received, Su Ning began her first true custom tailoring.

Meanwhile, Qiao Duoduo was reflecting on Ma Shangting’s unusual behavior today.

Yesterday, with Su Ning present, Ma Shangting had no choice but to stay near the healer. Today, because Ma Shangfei needed to handle melee combat, Ma Shangting should have stayed near her ranged ally for safety.

Yet Ma Shangting hesitated to approach Qiao Duoduo, sometimes standing closer to her brother instead.

During elite monster encounters, this distracted Ma Shangfei, affecting Qiao Duoduo’s ranged archery. With two melee fighters near the monsters, a stray shot could be serious.

Because of Ma Shangting’s behavior, Huoyang lost more than half his HP multiple times while tanking elite monsters. Fortunately, Qiao Duoduo’s healing food stockpile remained largely untouched.

Ma Shangfei later reprimanded Ma Shangting, but Qiao Duoduo didn’t mind. She didn’t like her, so there was no need to force affection.

Afterward, Ma Shangting still didn’t enter Qiao Duoduo’s reachable range—but remained within a controllable distance. While facing a level 7 gray rat (not elite), Qiao Duoduo suddenly felt a cold draft from behind.

Instinctively, she moved to protect Ma Shangting. But Ma Shangting didn’t stay put or flee; instead, she stepped toward Qiao Duoduo, blocking her path.

Qiao Duoduo couldn’t turn or move forward and was bitten by the elite rat on her thigh, losing one-third of her HP.

Huoyang was still dealing with another gray rat and couldn’t assist. Fortunately, Ma Shangfei arrived from range and temporarily drove off the elite rat, saving Qiao Duoduo’s life.

This was the second incident. Though Ma Shangfei saved Qiao Duoduo, both he and Huoyang only saw Qiao Duoduo shielding Ma Shangting, who was trembling in fear. They naturally assumed Qiao Duoduo was injured protecting Ma Shangting. Huoyang appreciated Ma Shangfei, and Ma Shangfei appreciated Qiao Duoduo.

Only Qiao Duoduo suspected that Ma Shangting had done it on purpose.