The noise inside Yaohui Mall was deafening and exceptionally bustling.
Fei Yangyao stood at the entrance of his family's mall, filled with a myriad of emotions: having lived two lives, this turned out to be the first time he had ever so earnestly walked into a mall to buy women's clothing.
Faced with a dazzling array of garments, he was momentarily at a loss, truly having no idea what to buy.
After a brief thought, Fei Yangyao decided to follow the sales assistant to first pick out some everyday clothing.
"Your task today is to fiercely buy twenty sets of pretty clothes, you know?" Young Master Fei instructed solemnly.
The little maid looked troubled: "Twenty sets? Isn't that too many?"
Young Master Fei frowned: "Many? Then add another ten sets! Besides, there have to be fifteen sets of work uniforms!"
The little maid was dumbfounded: "Ah?"
"Come and take a look at how this one is?"
He pointed at an outfit introduced by the shop assistant: a dark green loose-fitting shirt paired with high-waisted dark blue denim shorts, plus a pair of black loafers, looking youthful and fashionable.
At a single look, the little maid was startled—eight thousand eight hundred!
"Won't eight thousand eight be too expensive? This could even cover my living expenses for a whole year."
However, Fei Yangyao waved his hand without the slightest hesitation: "Pack it up!"
"Ah?"
Ignoring her, Young Master Fei went on to point at the next outfit, Summer Flower Dream.
A bright yellow floral dress, its lightweight fabric painted with delicate, bustling flowers, and a V-neck puff-sleeve design outlining a retro, elegant style. The irregular hem fluttered gently, and wearing it along with the pink open-toe sandals best suited for pairing with lightweight dresses seemed to embrace the tenderness and romance of the entire summer.
"Stop with the ahs, come take a look at this one?" He felt this one suited her even better.
"Twelve thousand, even more expensive than the one just now?"
"Pack this one up too."
"Ah?"
Just like that, the overbearing and domineering young master started a shopping spree with his "ah"-saying little Jewish maid.
"This one, this one, this one, this one... Pack them all up! Let her go try them on."
With a wave of his hand, Fei Yangyao pointed at a few outfits that caught his eye for her to try on first.
"Isn't this too wasteful?" Jiang Anran appeared very nervous.
"It doesn't matter what you think, I say what I think, go change! Buy what fits. If you wear those raggy school uniforms of yours from before, where is my Fei Family's face supposed to go?"
Jiang Anran had no counterargument for this reason and had no choice but to go change.
Yet she also secretly kept this kindness in mind.
A portion of these clothes were maid outfits and OL outfits for work, but an even greater amount consisted simply of pretty everyday wear, including clothes, shoes, hats, gauze scarves, small handbags, and hair accessories—everything she could wear and ought to wear was replaced entirely.
Jiang Anran knew that Young Master Fei was "smuggling private goods" here; apart from a few shy-looking work uniforms, he was putting much more heartfelt care into meticulously selecting new clothes for her.
Every single piece of clothing suited her very well.
In her heart, there was determination alongside being touched.
Aside from Xiao Xiao, no one had ever treated her genuinely well.
Ever since she stepped out into society on her own to make her way, she could no longer be an innocent, naive little girl who knew nothing of the world.
She had deeply understood: she could not merely listen to what people said; what mattered more was to look at what they actually did.
Fei Yangyao was the kind of person who spoke of doing bad things with his mouth, but whose body was very honest in doing good things.
This must be what they called "sharp mouth, tofu heart," right?
Meanwhile, her previous bosses, including the convenience store owner, only said pleasant things on the surface, but actually wanted to consume her at every turn.
It was always easy to be kind on the surface and commit all sorts of wickedness behind the scenes, yet Young Master Fei performed good deeds anonymously while bearing a notorious reputation.
Although she did not know why Young Master Fei acted this way, Jiang Anran's determination to figure the matter out grew increasingly intense.
In just a single day, if she had only felt a bit curious about Young Master Fei as a person before, now that Young Master Fei treated her genuinely well and never looked at her with lewd gazes, she secretly resolved to repay him with twelve-part dedication to her work.
The maiden's mindset quietly shifted at this moment.
Good grief!
How could Fei Yangyao ever have imagined such a thing!
Once the notion that "Young Master Fei is a good person" was planted in Jiang Anran's heart, no matter how terrible his attitude was, it was useless, because he truly had not done anything bad to her, nor could he possibly do so.
You had to know this was the female lead, who had to be worshipped like a bodhisattva to prevent any mishaps and await the progression of the plot.
If Fei Yangyao could know Jiang Anran's true thoughts, perhaps there would still be room for redemption.
But what if he didn't know?
Then there truly was no help for it at all!
Insoluble!
"Young Master, I will wholeheartedly serve you!"
"Yeah yeah! Go change! Have the sales assistant accompany you, and tell her if you're lacking anything."
Completely failing to notice the maid's form of address changing unconsciously, nor noticing the brilliance brimming in her eyes, Fei Yangyao was immersed in the dinging sound of the triggered quest and casually brushed her off with a couple of perfunctory grunts.
[Ding!]
[Quest completed!]
[Congratulations to the host, obtained a drop-rate boost for a lucky draw.]
[Quest reward: One-time voice changer]
[This voice changer can completely mimic a person's voice, becoming invalid after a single use.]
A one-time voice changer? What use was this gadget?
Fei Yangyao could not think of any usage for it for the moment.
"Young Master."
Recovering from his deep thought, Young Master Fei was stunned once again. Jiang Anran, who had originally carried herself with poise and grace, instantly became cute and playful after putting on the mini-skirted style maid outfit commonly known as a neon maid outfit.
She wore a white shirt with a small rounded neckline, its edges outlined with delicate lace. The pitch-black fabric mini-skirt reached only to the mid-thigh, meticulously sewn from black fabric. A thin belt made of black silk cinched her charming waistline. On her feet were patent-leather black Mary Jane shoes, the shoestapes dotted with dainty bows. Her long hair was combed into twin tails, the ends tied with black bow ribbons that echoed her belt.
Young Master Fei was dazed for a moment, a flush showing on his slightly wheat-toned face, while the fair tips of his ears turned completely red, forming a charming contrast with the shy Jiang Anran. Standing in silence like that, neither knowing who should speak or how to speak, a round of ringing broke the stillness.
Hurriedly pulling out his phone, Young Master Fei instructed, "O—okay, the rest don't need to be tried on. My—my eye for things isn't wrong, pack them all up. You... you change into something longer."
"Mn..." Jiang Anran murmured in assent and went back to change into a long dress.
Raising his hand, Young Master Fei answered, "Hello, who is this?"
An interrogative voice came from the other end of the call.
"You don't know who I am? You didn't save my number?"
"Huh? What kind of nobody are you, why would I save your number?"
"What kind of blockhead are you, you didn't even recognize my voice?" The other person's tone grew even fiercer.
"Speak or not? If not, I'm hanging up."
His mind was a bit chaotic right now. Although Fei Yangyao felt the voice was very familiar when he heard it, he had no need to stoop to licking and guessing. Besides Gu Xiyue, nobody else in this world made him—
Gu Xiyue?
Wait!
Fei Yangyao broke into a sweat. Muddled by Jiang Anran, he had actually forgotten Gu Xiyue's voice.
"Ah, Xiyue... this, this, you listen to my explanation..." Cold sweat beaded profusely on his forehead.
Silence on both ends. "..."
"Where is your excuse?"
"Haven't thought of one yet."
It wasn't that Fei Yangyao was being honest; his facial temperature was simply too high, his brain was overloaded, and he couldn't conjure up a single fart.
"Where are you right now?"
"Uh... what are you going to do?"
"Hurry up and speak! I'm coming to find you!"
"In my family's mall."
"Wait right there, I'M COMING RIGHT NOW!"
Listening to Gu Xiyue's suppressed anger, Fei Yangyao felt a sense of impending doom and wanted to slip away on the soles of his feet, but his persona didn't allow it.
Knowing the goddess was coming, it wouldn't be quite right for his licking-dog persona not to rush out to greet her; there was no logic in sneaking off.
Staring fixedly at the entrance, he waited awkwardly, his big toes digging into his own acre-three-quarters of land, striving to construct a garden villa right there in the mall.
"Does it look good? Young Master?"
Turning around, what met his eyes was once again that poised and graceful Jiang Anran, a smile hanging on the corners of her lips and her hands clutching her skirt hem. She wore that very same autumn-vibe yellow floral dress from the d-play brand, giving off a strongly bright summer feel. Even though she was now being chilled by the indoor air conditioning, Young Master Fei suddenly felt a breath of summer blow past, becoming much cooler.
"It looks good, it suits your temperament very well."
Hearing the young master's praise, Jiang Anran bloomed into a smile.
"What looks good? Let me see too!"
Whose grinding voice was this?
Before you continue