At the heart of England, the weather was quite mild in late autumn, the air crisp but not biting.
It was neither too hot nor too cold—a perfect condition for people to go out and do their daily business without bundling up too much or sweating through their clothes.
And in a blooming, bustling place like Regent Street, different people from vastly different backgrounds were passing one another nonstop in an endless stream.
Some were wearing sharp suits and ties, presumably heading back from long office shifts, their faces tired but relieved.
But most of them were teenagers brimming with youth and energy as they roamed the street in loud groups, laughing and shoving each other.
Regent Street was absolutely packed with high-end fashion boutiques and massive flagship stores, and their targeted customers were mostly youngsters with money to burn.
Rich teenagers who had nothing better to do than spend their parents' hard-earned money on designer clothes and accessories they'd wear once.
This prime shopping location existed because Regent Street was situated very close to Ashford Global, practically in its backyard.
A collaboration of prestigious institutes with a high percentage of students receiving academic scholarships to get in.
And the rest of the student body were filthy rich second-generation youths who had nothing better to do than flaunt their wealth obnoxiously in front of their less fortunate classmates.
In front of one of the trendy accessory stores, a person was energetically handing out colorful flyers while wearing a giant panda suit that looked slightly ridiculous.
This was the mascot of the brand that the person inside was promoting.
Lyvia—a multimillion-dollar company selling different makeup accessories and beauty products to young women.
They were having a 20% discount sale for the entire week since the institute had just started its fall semester and wanted to attract as much customer traffic as they could during this prime period.
"Please come take a look at our products! We're having a sale for this week~" a sweet, melodic voice called out from inside the bulky mascot costume.
The voice was genuinely sweet to the ears, with a light, lively, peachy tone added to it that made people turn their heads.
When passersby heard the sweet voice, there were definitely some curious onlookers stopping to stare. But the suit was way too big and thick for them to make out any structure or shape of the person hidden inside.
Nevertheless, the promotion was clearly working. Couples who were casually shopping would stop by the shop when they heard about the discount being advertised.
Lyvia was already a well-known, established brand, so it didn't require too much effort to promote it—the name sold itself.
When there was a group of girls walking by giggling together, the mascot would put in extra effort, jumping up and down and doing a little dance to gain their attention.
Some would clap their hands and smile before walking off. Some would burst out laughing at the silly display. And some would actually stop and take a proper look around to see what she was promoting.
The girl inside the oversized suit also felt deeply embarrassed when she had to jump around enthusiastically in front of girls her own age, only to get laughed at like a circus act.
But the suit was really big and secure, completely concealing her identity. It made it impossible for anyone to recognize her except maybe based on her voice alone, which gave her some comfort.
The day slowly passed by.
And the store did have significantly more sales than they usually did on a typical weekday.
Mostly due to the extra effort and genuine enthusiasm the girl had put into her promotional work.
Different students from the institute came throughout the day to flaunt their privileged lifestyle and daddy's credit card.
Students could easily be differentiated from regular shoppers because they rarely came alone. They were either a couple having an evening date, or a group of four or five friends, with a single person clearly taking the lead.
The leader was usually the richest person in the group, the one who'd suggested they go shopping in the first place so they could show off their wealth in front of their impressed friends.
At about 6:00 PM, the sky was starting to dim into shades of purple and orange, and there were noticeably fewer people on the street now.
Inside the cramped back room of Lyvia's showroom, a panda mascot slumped down exhausted in a metal folding chair.
She was completely exhausted after standing outside all day in one spot, barely getting breaks.
Moreover, she'd been wearing a full-body suit in mild but still warm weather and had to maintain an energetic, bubbly persona throughout her entire shift.
With tremendous effort, she reached up and pulled off her panda headpiece, revealing her appearance to the empty room.
The girl looked twenty years old at most, with beautiful dark blonde hair tied back in a neat, practical ponytail that was now slightly messy.
She had a perked-up button nose, soft pink lips, and clear oval-shaped dark eyes which were filled with natural life and warmth.
She had fair white skin that was currently drenched in sweat, with a light flush on her cheeks from the heat trapped inside the costume. It made her look even more alluring, like she'd just finished a workout.
She hadn't put on any makeup this morning since it would simply be washed off by the inevitable sweat anyway. But even without any makeup at all, she was genuinely magnificent to look at.
A natural beauty at its absolute finest.
She took a big, deep sigh of relief. Having been released from her stuffy chamber, the cool air of the back room was a sensation she would be willing to pay good money for.
"Odette?" A voice suddenly called out from outside the back room door, making her jump slightly.
"Yes?!" A bit startled, Odette's head whipped around in the direction of the voice.
"May I come in?"
"Come in, come in!" Odette quickly scrambled to her feet. Still wearing her body suit, she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, cleaning away the strand that was stuck to her sweaty cheek.
The door slowly creaked open and a middle-aged man dressed in a sharp checkered suit walked in with a friendly smile.
"I'm here to give you your pay for the day," he said warmly as he reached into his breast pocket and took out a small stack of cash.
"Fourteen dollars an hour for a six-hour shift—that makes it eighty-four dollars." He said this while carefully counting out the bills in his hands.
"I'll put in a little extra for doing such a great job out there—here's a hundred," he said as he handed her five crisp twenty-dollar bills.
"Fantastic job today, really. Customers loved you."
"Mr. Finley! Thank you so much!" Odette exclaimed as she took the cash, her tired face suddenly brimming with a lovely, genuine smile that lit up the whole room.
This was her very first day at this job, and she'd only found out about it from an advertisement posted in a part-time job group on Telegram that she'd joined when she first started college.
She didn't even really know what a "mascot promoter" position entailed when she applied, but the hourly pay was surprisingly high compared to other options, so she'd just gone for it without overthinking.
What she definitely didn't expect was to get a generous bonus on her very first day at the job. That was incredible luck.
Odette was originally from West Virginia. Her father had passed away when she was just a little kid, and her mother was an elementary school teacher with a modest salary.
With her younger brother, they'd all lived in the same small house ever since she was a kid, making it work.
Odette was genuinely gifted academically. She'd never dropped from first place in her class from middle school all the way through high school, consistently at the top.
After she finished high school with honors, she prepared as intensely as she possibly could during her summer vacation and took a shot at the notoriously difficult Ashford Global Institute examination for a full scholarship allotment.
To her absolute shock and joy, she was selected as one of the few passing candidates to receive a complete full-ride scholarship covering all her academic years in England.
She flew there the next month with one suitcase and had stayed ever since, figuring things out as she went.
With their family's only real source of income being her mother's teaching career—which didn't earn very much, especially for a single parent raising two kids—Odette's mother couldn't send her off with much money at all.
So Odette had to earn money for her daily living necessities like makeup, decent clothes, toiletries, and the occasional snacks and treats.
And since everything in England was significantly more costly than back home in West Virginia, she absolutely had to get a part-time job to survive.
Which brought her to exactly where she was now.
---
Odette changed out of her mascot costume in the back room, pulling on a simple white tee, comfortable blue jeans, and worn black sneakers.
Even though her clothes were quite loose-fitted and casual, one could still easily outline her naturally curvy structure underneath.
With a well-developed chest and rear, she had a slim, snatched waist and shapely hips that gave her an enviable hourglass figure.
Odette picked up her small handbag and slung it over her shoulder, then proceeded to walk towards the exit.
But just as she was about to slip out quietly from the back entrance, a group of three girls in tight black receptionist dresses suddenly walked in, blocking her path.
They were all about 5'7", slightly taller than Odette, but mainly because they were wearing high heels that clicked against the floor.
They were older than her by a few years and quite beautiful in a made-up way, heavy on the makeup and contouring. Even then, they still couldn't quite compare to Odette, who had a natural, effortless charm that couldn't be bought.
"I heard you got a hundred pounds for one day," one of the girls called out to Odette, who was just about to make her exit and go home.
"Uh... yes, Mr. Finley added a bonus for me," Odette answered normally and politely, a bit confused by the confrontational tone.
These girls were stationed at the sleek counter inside the store all day to help customers with their purchases and ring them up. This was their first time actually interacting directly, so Odette replied earnestly and honestly.
"That's *crraaazy*. We only get sixty," the girl on the left with a darker skin tone said, dragging out the word with obvious sarcasm.
"Aha, I was just lucky, I guess. Mr. Finley said it was for doing a great job," Odette said, oblivious to their mocking taunt. She smiled with grace and answered kindly.
She didn't mean anything condescending by it—just repeating exactly what Mr. Finley had told her as an explanation.
But to the three girls standing in front of her, it sounded like Odette was smugly saying that they didn't excel in their jobs as much as she did.
A slight twitch of irritation appeared on the face of the girl standing at the front of the group.
With a crooked, mean smile, she asked in a fake-sweet voice:
"So, did you let him do you?"
The other two girls burst into giggles at the crude question, covering their mouths.
This was a complete bomb to Odette. Her eyes widened in shock for just a second before she forced them back to normal, and she put on an awkward, uncomfortable smile.
"Wha—what do you mean?" she asked, feigning ignorance of the nasty meaning behind the question, hoping she'd misheard.
"You know exactly what we mean. Wait, did you suck it perhaps?" the last girl on the right continued with a harsh laugh, looking Odette up and down.
"Well, it's no surprise really. With a pretty face like yours, I could easily get two hundred with just my mouth," she added, laughing even louder and more cruelly.
Odette had a sinking idea of what they were implying from the very first comment, but as they kept piling on the insults, she felt even more uncomfortable and small.
She gave a sheepish grimace, pressing her lips inward, her eyes flicking nervously side to side as she turned around to leave without responding.
"Fucking bitch. I hope you fall on your face," the girl at the front suddenly shouted loudly, seeing that Odette wasn't about to fall for their obvious provocation or fight back.
However, Odette did not respond or turn around till the very end. She just kept walking because she didn't see any good outcome that could possibly come from engaging with them.
---
After she got out of the building and into the cool evening air, she quickly boarded a community bus that was stationed not far from the shop.
'What was their problem... they stood in the shade all day, smiling and flirting with the customers while I jumped around in the sun wearing a giant suit, shouting at random passersby,' Odette grumbled bitterly to herself as the bus pulled away.
She sat down by the window, and her eyes were getting a little teary despite her best efforts. She absolutely refused to let herself cry over them.
'Screw them all. I'll go back to my dorm and, and...' she was stuck in her racing thoughts, trying to think of revenge.
'...and write about them really badly in my diary,' she finally thought. What else could possibly be done in her current state and position?
She took out the small stack of twenty-pound notes from her pocket and looked at them, allowing herself a small smile. At least she wasn't completely broke anymore.
'Maybe I can take a day off tomorrow and rest.'
'Probably not,' she thought immediately after, letting out a long, tired sigh. What she wanted most in the entire world was to take a hot bath and collapse into her bed as soon as humanly possible.
Not knowing that a much bigger adversary was waiting for her back at her dorm room.