The Foolish Wife Turned Scheming After Her Recovery - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: All the Beautiful Dresses in the World Should Belong to a Princess!

Time flew by, and there were only three days left until Fu Shuang’s birthday banquet. The closer it got, the more excited and nervous Lu Zhili became. Every night, she lay in bed with wide-open eyes, eagerly waiting for the next day. Unable to sleep at night, she naturally couldn’t wake up during the day.

Lately, she had even stopped eating breakfast, and when she was especially sleepy, she wouldn’t even come downstairs for lunch. Housekeeper He had to deliver her meals directly to her room—and most of the time, she’d fall asleep face-down on the little dining table mid-bite.

Seeing no alternative, Housekeeper He informed Fu Shuang, who specifically cleared her schedule for the day and came to the villa early in the morning, bringing a group of people with her.

Today, she was determined to fix her daughter’s messed-up sleep schedule.

As Fu Shuang headed upstairs with her team, she stopped outside Lu Zhili’s bedroom and instructed Housekeeper He to take the others to the walk-in closet next door to prepare. She herself quietly turned the bedroom doorknob and stepped in.

Although she had come to correct her daughter’s routine, Fu Shuang still instinctively moved gently when waking her up.

The room was dim. The blackout curtains were incredibly effective, letting in no light at all. Fu Shuang reached out to turn on the nearby floor lamp, casting a warm yellow glow across the room.

She sat at the bedside and gazed at her daughter’s peacefully sleeping, rosy cheeks, her heart nearly overflowing with joy. Only heaven knew how terrified and anxious she had been when she rushed to the hospital after hearing about the car accident. Back then, Lu Zhili had also lain quietly in a hospital bed like this—but her face had been pale, and she was covered in scrapes from the crash.

Fu Shuang had made a silent vow at that time: if her child could wake up safely, she would do anything. As long as her daughter was healthy and safe, that was all that mattered.

She exhaled slowly, calming her emotions, then gently patted the blanket. “Zhili, time to get up.”

Lu Zhili was a light sleeper. At the sound of her mother’s voice, she cracked one eye open—but she was so exhausted that even seeing her mom’s face didn’t fully rouse her. She mumbled vaguely, “Mom… so sleepy…”

But Fu Shuang didn’t let her off the hook. She kept patting the blanket and said, “Zhili, time to get up. You can’t keep staying up all night and sleeping during the day.”

“It’s bad for your health to have a reversed schedule. You’re not allowed to sleep during the day today. Come on, get up.”

Because of her late nights, Lu Zhili’s brain was a foggy mess. She couldn’t really understand what her mother was saying. She just yanked the blanket over her head and rolled over with her back to Fu Shuang.

Out of options, Fu Shuang walked over to the window, picked up the remote control, and slowly opened the curtains. As the curtains parted, sunlight flooded into the room, filling it with warm light and leaving a blazing patch on the carpet.

Only after doing this did Fu Shuang return to the bedside—this time, she showed no mercy and yanked the blanket clean off her daughter, leaving the groggy girl blinking in confusion.

Normally, Lu Zhili didn’t have a temper when she woke up, but after all this chaos, anyone would be angry—especially someone whose emotions were currently unstable like hers.

“Mooom! What are you doing?!” Lu Zhili sat up angrily, rubbing her eyes and glaring at her mother with a frown.

“Listen to me.” Fu Shuang held up one finger in front of her to signal silence, then added, “Today, we’re picking out a dress for you. And if you’d like, you can pick one for Miss Yu too.”

Lu Zhili had been fuming, but the moment she heard something related to Yu Yao, all the grogginess in her mind vanished. Anything related to her princess deserved her full, crystal-clear attention.

“Then I don’t want to pick just one. I want to give all the pretty dresses to Yu Yao!” Lu Zhili exclaimed, already happily fantasizing. A princess had to have tons and tons of beautiful outfits. Every beautiful dress in the world should belong to a princess!

Fu Shuang folded her arms across her chest, exasperated by her daughter’s adoring expression. “Fine, fine, whatever you want. But first, you need to get up. The dress team is already waiting.”

This time, Lu Zhili needed no more prompting. She sprang out of bed and darted into the bathroom to wash up.

Ten minutes later, the bare-faced beauty, her skin still glistening with water droplets, stepped into the walk-in closet.

Fu Shuang sat on the nearby couch with her legs crossed, flipping through a magazine. Seeing her daughter enter, she nodded toward the designer with tools in hand. “Go get your measurements taken first. We haven’t prepped any of this year’s dresses yet.”

Lu Zhili obediently walked over to the designer—but her eyes kept darting to the clothing racks nearby. She knew those were the dresses prepared for her to choose from.

Fu Shuang had her own fashion label, so most of the clothes in Lu Zhili’s wardrobe were LURI custom pieces. Only a few were luxury ready-to-wear brands. After her accident, Lu Zhili didn’t care much for off-the-rack pieces anymore. She much preferred her mother’s comfortable and beautiful designs.

“Miss, these are the trending silhouettes for dresses this year. Do you want to make any changes?” the designer asked, holding out some concept sketches.

Lu Zhili glanced at them but couldn’t really see much difference from previous designs. She simply said, “They’re all fine. Just don’t forget—whether it’s dresses, pants, or skirts, I need big pockets!”

The designer nodded with a blank expression.

Sigh. She was used to this now. The first time she’d come here, she had argued with the young lady over fashion versus function—insisting that adding pockets to certain dresses would ruin their design and aesthetics. Back then, she would never have agreed.

But in the end, money made her cave.

Sob sob… my artistic integrity is crumbling!

So every time she came to this villa to tailor clothes, she felt both tormented and excited. Tormented because of Lu Zhili’s “add pockets” rule. Excited… because of that face—Lu Zhili’s face was every designer’s dream muse, a gift from the gods.

Lu Zhili was completely unaware of the designer’s inner struggles. As soon as her measurements were done, she bolted toward the rack of dresses.

This black gown is so pretty—perfect for a princess! Aaaaah, this navy one’s great too! Wow! This red one looks like it was made for a princess! Oh my gosh, this mint green one even spells “princess!”

Every time she picked up a dress, she imagined what Yu Yao would look like wearing it. By the time she had gone through all of them—dozens of dresses—her cheeks were flushed, and she turned back to her mom with a glowing expression.

The amber in her eyes sparkled brightly, as if she wanted to pack up every dress and deliver them all to Yu Yao.

“…” Fu Shuang, being a mother, saw right through her daughter’s wild thoughts in one glance. “Do you really think Miss Yu would accept that many dresses from you?”

Lu Zhili froze. The light in her eyes dimmed, and she pouted in disappointment. Mom was right—these dresses were way too expensive. Yu Yao would never accept them.

“Alright, you’ll have more chances to give gifts later,” Fu Shuang coaxed gently, knowing just how to handle her daughter’s delicate emotions. “Besides, these aren’t everyday clothes. If you send that many, she won’t even have space to keep them all.”

“How about this—ask Miss Yu for her measurements. We’ll go to the company and pick out some of this season’s new releases for her. That way, you two can wear the same brand. Isn’t that even better?”

Lu Zhili’s eyes lit up again at that idea. She perked up and excitedly chose the mint green gown for Yu Yao, then casually picked out a black halter-neck gown