Shopping

Before long, Su Bai had changed into his new clothes.

The all-black outfit outlined the boy's slender frame, its fabric catching the light with a muted sheen.

He neatly tied back the hair at his nape, then separated a lock on either side to hang down his back like tassels.

(Kakaluo: Piaozi, look... the little blue bottle...)

(Snow Leopard: Awooo, awooo!)

"Sister Qilin, I'm ready."

At the sound of his voice, Qilin turned around.

The moment her gaze fell on him, her breath caught for a split second.

Usually, Su Bai wore loose, comfortable clothes around the house, his demeanor clean and gentle, like the boy next door.

But now—

Dressed in black, with his hair tied back, his features stood out clearly.

It was still the same face, yet it seemed as if a veil of mist had lifted, revealing a sharpness she had never seen before.

Especially his eyes.

They were still clear, but somehow... they held a hint of depth that was hard to put into words.

Like a sleeping glacier finally catching the first rays of dawn.

"What is it?" Su Bai asked, tilting his head in confusion when Qilin didn't say anything.

That familiar little gesture instantly brought him back to being "that Su Bai."

Qilin came to her senses, pushed down the inexplicable flutter in her heart, and smiled.

"Nothing. I just think... you look really handsome dressed like that."

Su Bai's eyes lit up at once. "Really?"

"Really." Qilin nodded and went over to straighten his collar. "Let's go."

"Okay!"

Qilin took Su Bai by the hand and led him out of the house. The boy's new look in black drew frequent glances from passersby.

Especially beside the lovely, gentle Qilin, the handsome pair couldn't help but make people stop and stare.

The two arrived at Juxia City's largest shopping mall.

Holding Su Bai's hand, Qilin began making her way through the various men's clothing stores.

"How about this one?" She picked up a dark gray hooded sweatshirt and held it up against Su Bai.

Su Bai stood obediently, letting her do as she pleased. "If you think it looks good, Sister Qilin, then it looks good."

"Then try it on." Qilin handed him the sweatshirt and pointed to the fitting room.

A few minutes later, Su Bai came out wearing it. The loose cut made him look even slimmer, while the dark gray contrasted with his fair skin. Beneath the hood, his eyes were so clear they made her heart melt.

Qilin's eyes lit up. "Looks good."

She had Su Bai turn around and checked the back, then nodded decisively. "This one. Now try those pants."

Over the next hour, Su Bai became a human dress-up doll as Qilin led him through seven or eight outfits. They ranged from casual T-shirts and jeans to slightly more formal shirts and trousers, and even included a tracksuit Qilin had picked out on a whim.

Su Bai cooperated the whole time, but every time he came out in a new outfit, he would gaze at Qilin expectantly.

And each time, Qilin would nod seriously. "Looks good."

She genuinely thought he looked good.

Maybe it was because Su Bai had such delicate features and suited everything he wore. Or maybe... seeing him in clothes she'd picked out gave her an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

It was like dressing up an especially big doll.

"Sister Qilin," Su Bai finally asked in a quiet voice after trying on the fifth outfit, "do we... have to buy this many?"

"Mm." Qilin nodded.

"You only have those two outfits, so of course we need to buy you more."

"Oh, I see..." Su Bai nodded thoughtfully.

After they finished buying clothes, Qilin took him to buy shoes.

She crouched down and tied his shoelaces herself.

Looking down at her as she knelt in front of him, Su Bai suddenly felt a warm, tender feeling somewhere in his heart.

"Sister Qilin," he called softly.

"Mm?"

"You're so nice."

Qilin paused, then looked up at him and smiled.

"You only just figured that out?"

Su Bai smiled too, his eyes curving into crescents.

"Sister Qilin should buy some new clothes too."

Qilin was taken aback, then the smile in her eyes deepened.

"Okay."

She took Su Bai by the hand, and the two of them headed for the mall's third floor.

That was where the colorful world of women's fashion began.

When they reached the third floor, Su Bai suddenly let go of Qilin's hand.

Then, under Qilin's puzzled gaze, he said:

"Sister Qilin, you helped me pick things out just now. Now it's my turn to help you."

Seeing how eager Su Bai looked, Qilin couldn't help but smile.

"Sure. You can pick something for me."

"If you pick something good and make Big Sister happy, Big Sister might give Little Bai a 'little reward'~"

At the words "little reward," Su Bai immediately thought of the light kiss she'd given him on the forehead that morning. His eyes lit up.

He started weaving between the clothes racks, his gaze so focused it was almost reverent. He looked at each piece in turn, sometimes reaching out to feel the fabric, sometimes lifting a collar to examine it closely. His concentration even reminded Qilin of a jeweler studying a rough gemstone.

She stood a little way off, watching him busily at work, and felt an indescribable tenderness well up inside her.

A few minutes later, Su Bai returned to Qilin.

He held the clothes he'd picked out for her, his face solemn with the air of someone who'd completed an important task.

"Sister Qilin, hurry and try these on."

Qilin smiled as she took them. "Okay."

She turned toward the fitting room, only then getting the chance to look closely at the clothes Su Bai had picked—

It was a black evening dress with a daring cut, elegant, sexy cutouts at the shoulders and back, and a flowing skirt that draped smoothly.

Beneath the dress, he'd also paired an extremely short pair of denim shorts and a pair of fine black stockings.

(Reference: Yangyang)

The instant she realized what she was looking at, Qilin's cheeks flushed uncontrollably.

All she could say was that even after losing so many memories and suffering damage to his soul, Su Bai's underlying programming was still hard at work.

Qilin stood before the full-length mirror in the fitting room, clutching the outfit in her hands, her heart beating a little faster.

Should she really wear it?

This outfit was just too...

Her gaze fell on the daring cutouts, and her cheeks grew even hotter.

But from outside came Su Bai's expectant voice:

"Sister Qilin, are you done changing?"

Qilin took a deep breath.

She awkwardly changed into the evening dress.

The cool, silky fabric clung to her skin, and the bare feeling across her shoulders and back made her uncomfortable.

She tugged self-consciously at the hem, then put on the shorts and stockings.

Finally, she looked at the accessories Su Bai had handed her along with the outfit.

"...How did he even think of these?" Qilin muttered, but obediently put them on.

Once she had all the accessories in place, she looked up at the mirror again—

And froze.

The woman in the mirror looked so unfamiliar that she could hardly recognize herself.

The black evening dress outlined the curves usually hidden beneath her loose clothes. Its off-the-shoulder, open-back design revealed skin she'd never shown before, giving her an almost sharply defined sensuality.

The shorts and black stockings made her legs look long and straight, adding a bold, modern flair.

Sensuality and elegance, modernity and classicism, gentleness and spirit...

These contradictory qualities came together in a wondrous balance.

It was as if she could be both a female general fighting on the battlefield and a beauty dancing at a banquet.

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