Shopping

I had to admit, Su Xiaoqiang looked pretty cute when she was huffing.

"Then from now on, I'll call you Xiaoqiang, and you can call me Mingfei, Mingming, or Xiaoming."

In this world, Little Goddess was probably my best friend. It was just a slightly more intimate way of addressing each other, so it didn't really matter what we called each other.

Su Xiaoqiang turned her head away, her face faintly red.

"Fine. I'll reluctantly allow you to call me that."

Well, she really was a tsundere Little Goddess.

Seeing Su Xiaoqiang like this, Lu Mingfei couldn't help finding it funny.

"Okay, it's settled. We're going to spend the whole day shopping here!" Su Xiaoqiang suddenly clapped her hands, deciding the day's itinerary just like that.

Lu Mingfei's legs trembled when he heard that. He remembered the fear of being at the mercy of women.

He still remembered when his mother, Qiaoweini, returned from abroad years ago and took him and his father, Lu Lincheng, shopping. The whole trip had been sheer torture. Every time they entered a store, he had to look for a sofa or chair, just hoping to find somewhere to sit.

He shook his head, refusing to think about it anymore. He wasn't the same person he'd been back then. It should be fine, right? Probably.

"First," Su Xiaoqiang said, glancing at Lu Mingfei, "let's go to the fourth floor. That's the clothing section, so I can buy you some clothes."

"For me?" Lu Mingfei asked, pointing at himself.

"Of course. Don't you think you have hardly any nice clothes? You keep wearing the same few outfits. I'm sick of looking at them." Su Xiaoqiang gave him a disdainful look.

"But I'm broke as hell right now. I probably can't afford to buy clothes." Lu Mingfei immediately raised his hand to report this.

"I said I'm buying them for you. Obviously, I'll pay!" Su Xiaoqiang said as if it were only natural.

"Xiaoqiang—no, rich lady, I've decided you're my friend!"

"Quit messing around. We're already friends, aren't we?"

By the time they finished fooling around, they'd reached the fourth floor. It was packed with clothing stores, and lots of people were browsing. There were quite a few couples, too, and every so often someone came out carrying a bag of clothes.

"Come this way." Su Xiaoqiang led Lu Mingfei into a store, saying as they walked, "I've been here quite a few times. They have nice clothes for both men and women."

Lu Mingfei followed Su Xiaoqiang into the store.

As soon as they entered, a female sales assistant in business attire came over to them.

"Sir, miss, what kind of clothes are you looking to buy?" Looking at the handsome young man and beautiful young woman, the sales assistant couldn't help thinking that they made such a good-looking couple.

"We'll look around first. We'll let you know if we find anything," Su Xiaoqiang replied.

The sales assistant stood to one side and watched them browse.

"Mingfei, is there anything you want to buy?"

"Ahhh, I finally called him Mingfei! What do I do? I'm so happy!" Su Xiaoqiang's face lit up with an uncontrollable smile.

This was strange. She'd only asked what clothes I wanted to buy, so why was she smiling so happily? Lu Mingfei couldn't understand what was going through Su Xiaoqiang's mind.

"I'm not picky about clothes. As long as they fit, they're fine. Just pick out a few for me," Lu Mingfei said, scratching his head.

"Mhm, then try this one first!" Su Xiaoqiang handed him a charcoal-gray long-sleeved casual jacket.

Lu Mingfei went into the fitting room and changed into the clothes Su Xiaoqiang had picked out. When he came out, he asked, "How does it look? Is this one okay?"

"Hmm, turn around so I can see!"

Lu Mingfei obediently turned around.

"Try this one, too!" Su Xiaoqiang picked out a loose-fitting, long-sleeved utility shirt with lots of pockets.

After a little while, Lu Mingfei changed and came out, turning around as usual.

Next, Su Xiaoqiang picked out a black denim jacket and pushed Lu Mingfei back into the fitting room.

When Lu Mingfei came out, Su Xiaoqiang covered her mouth and let out another "Ooh."

Then she picked out a few pairs of casual pants for him.

Every time Lu Mingfei came out of the fitting room, Su Xiaoqiang let out an "Ooh."

"He looks so handsome in every single thing!" Su Xiaoqiang covered her mouth and gazed at Lu Mingfei with starry eyes.

She'd become completely absorbed in dressing Lu Mingfei up, grinning dreamily as she kept urging him to try on the next outfit.

The sales assistant was stunned, too. No matter what this young man wore, he seemed to have a unique air about him. Every outfit suited him perfectly. He was practically a professional fashion model.

After yet another outfit change, Su Xiaoqiang urged Lu Mingfei to hurry up and try on the next one.

This time, Lu Mingfei didn't listen. Instead, he strode over to Su Xiaoqiang, grabbed her cheeks with both hands, and stretched them apart. "Try, try, try! All you know is making me change clothes! Do you have any idea how many outfits I've tried on?"

After pinching her cheeks, Lu Mingfei rubbed them roughly.

"Okay, I won't make you try on any more! Let go of my face!" Su Xiaoqiang shouted, her words muffled.

Little Goddess's face was surprisingly soft. Lu Mingfei couldn't help giving it a few more rubs before letting go.

Once he released her, Su Xiaoqiang looked at him reproachfully and muttered, "It's just that everything looks good on you."

"What did you say?" Lu Mingfei hadn't heard her clearly.

"N-nothing! I didn't say anything!" Su Xiaoqiang waved her hands frantically.

"Sir, miss, have you decided which clothes you'd like?" the sales assistant asked as she came over.

Lu Mingfei looked at Su Xiaoqiang. "You pick. Any of them are fine with me."

"Then, then I'll take all the clothes he just tried on!" Su Xiaoqiang thought for a moment before answering.

Lu Mingfei stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. "What did you say? All of them?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Su Xiaoqiang didn't understand why Lu Mingfei would even ask.

"The problem is buying every single thing I tried on!"

"Don't worry, I'm treating you today," Su Xiaoqiang said with a giggle.

The sales assistant beside them efficiently packed up all the clothes, ready to ring them up.

Watching the sales assistant work, Lu Mingfei had to wonder: why are you so good at this?

After calming down, Lu Mingfei said earnestly, "Xiaoqiang, we can't carry all these clothes."

"Just give me an address, and I can ship them directly to you," the sales assistant said, displaying her professional expertise.

Su Xiaoqiang looked at Lu Mingfei as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Lu Mingfei figured he could keep trying to talk her out of it. "You're buying so many clothes, but I don't have room for them at home."

"Oh, right." Su Xiaoqiang had only just realized that was a problem.

She thought it over, then clapped her hands. "How about this: we'll have them sent to my place. Whenever we go out, you can come to my house and change there! Or you can take a few outfits home ahead of time, so you'll always have room for them."

"But—"

Before Lu Mingfei could finish, Su Xiaoqiang cut him off. "That's enough. Stop dithering like a little girl. Sales assistant, ring it up!"

Su Xiaoqiang handed her card to the sales assistant. The assistant swiped it, then returned it to her.