Oh~~ Picking Clothes for Your Boyfriend?

A maid outfit?!

Lin Jianxia's eyes widened. She took a step back with a thump, shielding herself with both hands.

"I'm not wearing that!"

Jiang Yubai looked baffled. "Why not?"

"We made three rules, remember? I'm only responsible for cooking and daily housework. I'm not doing any... any other weird stuff!" Lin Jianxia glared at him.

"What do you mean, weird stuff? Isn't this perfectly normal?" Jiang Yubai asked strangely.

How is that normal?!

Before Lin Jianxia could argue back, Jiang Yubai began counting on his fingers and explained in all seriousness:

"Look, if you work at a café, you wear an apron. If you work as a hotel server, you wear a uniform. Even at school, you have to wear a school uniform."

"So... isn't it perfectly normal for a maid to wear a maid outfit? It's just work attire."

Lin Jianxia nearly fainted from anger at his twisted logic.

"You just want to satisfy some perverted fetish of yours, don't you?! Who makes their classmate wear a maid outfit?!"

"Do you also want me to wear one of those floaty skirts, serve you black tea while bowing and saying, 'Please enjoy, Master,' wake up early every day to tie your tie, draw your bath at night, and wait on you devotedly like in manga?!"

"...Fine, fantasize all you want, but why are your fantasies so detailed?"

Jiang Yubai looked utterly amazed.

"Lin Jianxia, you really do look at plenty of weird stuff in private... Say, are you even reading proper manga?"

Lin Jianxia's expression stiffened for a moment. She ground her teeth.

"Anyway, I'm not wearing it. Whoever wants to can wear it themselves!"

Jiang Yubai looked at her, and Lin Jianxia glared right back, meeting his gaze without giving an inch.

"Pfft... You actually believed me?" Jiang Yubai finally broke, laughing. "Even if I wanted to buy one, do you think they'd sell maid outfits out on the street?"

To him, calling her a maid was mostly just teasing.

After all, he wasn't really some young master, had no particular fetish, and certainly wasn't so far gone that he needed someone in a maid outfit to wait on him.

In the end, all Jiang Yubai really wanted was Lin Jianxia's excellent cooking.

"..."

Lin Jianxia froze at that.

She fell silent for several seconds, then narrowed her eyes. Her voice was calm in the way that came before a storm.

"Then what clothes are you planning to buy?"

"Clothes for myself, obviously." Jiang Yubai shrugged. "I didn't bring many clothes with me, so I might as well buy a few new ones now."

He looked Lin Jianxia up and down, his tone perfectly matter-of-fact.

"Besides, even if I really were buying you a maid outfit, I'd have to get one custom-made at the best tailor shop. How could those cheap ones possibly look good? My standards are high, okay?"

Lin Jianxia: "..."

Jiang Yubai blinked and leaned closer, asking knowingly, "Why did you suddenly stop talking?"

"..."

"..."

Lin Jianxia suddenly spun around, grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa, and raised it to throw—only to find empty space in front of her.

She paused, then turned her head in confusion, only to see that someone had nimbly dodged two meters away.

"Well, it's getting late," Jiang Yubai said, standing ramrod straight with an exceptionally serious tone. "We should head out to buy groceries."

Lin Jianxia glared at him for several seconds. Then, with a sudden swing of her arm, she hurled the pillow at him.

But Jiang Yubai had anticipated it and tilted his head. The pillow whistled past his ear, slammed into the wall with a bang, then rolled across the floor.

"Uh... friendly reminder," he said cautiously, pointing at the pillow on the floor. "The housework will be your responsibility from now on. If it gets dirty, you'll have to wash it yourself."

"?"

Lin Jianxia took a deep breath and repeated in her head over and over:

He's the employer. He's the employer. He's the one paying me. He's the one paying me...

After hypnotizing herself for quite a while, she barely managed to suppress the urge to flip Jiang Yubai over on the spot.

With a tight face, she walked over, picked up the pillow, gave it several hard pats, and put it back on the sofa. Then she raised her eyes and glared fiercely at Jiang Yubai.

"Let's go!"

"Sure thing~"

After the two went downstairs, Lin Jianxia turned to Jiang Yubai and asked stiffly, "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Aren't you the one who has to lead the way?" Jiang Yubai shrugged. "I only got here half an hour ago, okay?"

"...Then where do you want to go?" Lin Jianxia narrowed her eyes.

Jiang Yubai thought for a moment. "Let's go look around first and buy some clothes, then come back to get groceries."

Lin Jianxia wrinkled her little nose. "I understand buying groceries, but why are you bringing me along to buy clothes?"

"Come on, my fashion sense is terrible. I'm either dressed all in black or all in gray," Jiang Yubai answered openly. "You're the best-dressed girl I know. Help me pick some out?"

Hearing that utterly insincere compliment, Lin Jianxia laughed in exasperation.

"Haven't I always been wearing a school uniform? How can you tell that I'm the best-dressed?"

Jiang Yubai shrugged.

"Because you're the only girl I know. So no matter how good your fashion sense is... it's the best, isn't it? As long as it's better than mine."

At his explanation, Lin Jianxia opened her mouth. For some reason, the tips of her ears grew slightly warm, and her gaze drifted away unconsciously.

"Then... then what kind of clothes do you want to buy?"

"Just so you know, I don't know anything about those big brands. I only know a few small stores or something..."

"Anything's fine. A few jackets and shirts, I guess." Jiang Yubai sighed.

"As for brands... You don't seriously think I'm some young master who won't wear anything that costs less than several thousand, do you?"

He tugged at the plain white T-shirt beneath his outer layer.

"Look, I bought this one on Pinduoduo for 29.9. I think it's pretty comfortable."

"You don't have to be that frugal..." Lin Jianxia gave him a complicated look, pursing her lips. "Then follow me. But I can't guarantee you'll find something you like."

Jiang Yubai nodded without caring. "It's fine. Just take me there."

Lin Jianxia said nothing more. She led him out through the gates of the residential complex and pointed at the mostly closed shops on both sides as she introduced the area.

"This is basically a night market street. At night, besides these permanent storefronts, lots of vendors set up stalls too."

Now that caught Jiang Yubai's interest. He asked eagerly, "What do they sell?"

"All kinds of things—barbecue, grilled fish, spicy hot pot, stir-fried rice noodles, stir-fried noodles..."

Counting on her fingers, Lin Jianxia's voice unconsciously took on a lighter note.

"Further in, there are places selling sweet soups and pastries too. Basically, you can find anything you want to eat here."

"Then is there a Lin Jianxia's Picks?" Jiang Yubai asked casually.

But at that question, Lin Jianxia opened her mouth, then suddenly said a little gloomily, "No. Go eat it yourself."

Her strange tone made Jiang Yubai rather surprised. He turned his head, and a flash of understanding crossed his eyes.

With the pressure of tuition and living expenses, Lin Jianxia... had probably barely eaten here herself. How could she possibly recommend anything?

Jiang "can't find food within ten miles" Yubai, and Lin "surrounded by food on the way home but can't afford any" Jianxia—which one of them had it worse...

Thinking of that, Jiang Yubai, also a foodie, couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic. Out of a sense of shared misery, he decided he would feed this girl more often in the future.

Well, he could just count it as staff meals.

While he was thinking all that nonsense, Lin Jianxia beside him had already stopped walking.

"Hm?" Jiang Yubai raised his head. "This one?"

Before them stood a small retro-style shop, its wooden sign engraved with the four words: Cloud-Cutting Apparel.

"Yeah, I bought clothes here before. The quality's pretty good... but I can't guarantee it'll suit your taste."

After giving him that reminder, Lin Jianxia turned and walked into the shop.

The moment they stepped inside, a saleswoman came up with a smile. "Hello, what would you like to look at?"

Lin Jianxia pointed at the guy beside her, who was curiously looking around.

"Hello, could you help pick out a few outfits for him?"

The saleswoman's gaze shifted between the two of them, and a meaningful smile appeared on her face.

Before Lin Jianxia could understand the meaning behind that smile, the saleswoman's next words froze her in place.

"Oh~~ Picking clothes for your boyfriend?"