Going Out

Saturday morning.

The sky was clear for miles, and the breeze was just right.

Ye Qing, who had no sense of fashion, casually threw on a set of black casual clothes and stood at the entrance to a bustling shopping street.

Leaning against a utility pole, he played on his phone by himself, occasionally glancing at the time.

"A little slow."

Ye Qing couldn't help muttering under his breath. He raised his head and looked around, hoping to find somewhere to sit and rest.

But there were no benches along the roadside nearby. If he wanted to sit down, he would have to go into someone else's shop.

Leaving their meeting spot made it easy to miss the agreed time, and then she would turn around and blame him for it.

Ye Qing didn't want Ye Yuyan clinging to him over that, forcing him to go through the trouble of explaining himself.

And if something unexpected happened, he would have to coax her afterward.

Poke, poke...

"What are you looking at?"

Ye Qing felt someone poke his back, followed by that familiar, pleasant voice.

He slouched back and tilted his head up, seeing Ye Yuyan smile softly and wave at him.

"Have you been waiting long?"

No, I just got here too.

That was what a normal person would say to someone they were going shopping with.

However, Ye Qing was not exactly normal when it came to people he knew well.

"Yeah, I've been waiting a long time. So you knew that? Not bad." Ye Qing raised a thumb in praise.

"Hehe..." Ye Yuyan's smile stiffened slightly as she held back the urge to punch him.

Ye Qing straightened up and turned around, looking Ye Yuyan over from head to toe. She wore a carefully coordinated dress full of gentle charm.

She carried a matching little handbag, her silky hair tied into a fluffy low ponytail. Her expression was soft and sweet, giving her an indescribably pure and adorable air.

His gaze briefly swept over her outfit before finally settling on Ye Yuyan's face, carefully studying what was different about her.

"H-how is it? Does my makeup look good today?"

Ye Yuyan lowered her head slightly in embarrassment, nervously twisting her fingers in her clothes while her toes restlessly traced circles on the ground.

"Hmm...?" Ye Qing rubbed his chin. After studying her seriously, he came to a conclusion with a sigh.

"You looked better without makeup. And you usually look cool and handsome, so doesn't this outfit not really suit you?"

"You... idiot! Moron!"

The moment those words fell, the world spun!

A girl next door had grown into a woman, with strength enough to pull mountains and spirit to overwhelm the world!

A vein seemed to pop on Ye Yuyan's forehead as she grabbed Ye Qing and flung him over her shoulder.

Good heavens, a perfect shoulder throw!

Bang!

Ye Qing felt his entire body take flight. The ground slowly rose toward the sky, and when he opened his eyes again, all he could see was the azure heavens.

For a moment, he was too bewildered to move.

What did I do wrong this time?

Are girls a little hard to understand?

"Follow me yourself, or I'll beat you up again later!"

Her voice drifted over from afar. Ye Yuyan stood there with her arms crossed in irritation, already walking away on her own.

She had painstakingly put on makeup and racked her brains to put together an outfit completely different from her usual image.

She wanted to give him a different experience, a surprise, and that sense of freshness.

Even one simple, dumbfounded compliment that she looked pretty would have made a girl blossom with joy.

Unfortunately, Ye Qing's straight-guy brain had not been fitted with a chip for that sort of thing.

Ye Qing climbed to his feet, caught up with her, and commented again.

"That move just now was more like you. Strong. Really powerful."

Ye Yuyan's small hands clenched into fists so tightly that the veins were practically bulging.

"If you don't want to die, Little Qing, shut your mouth!"

"What did I do wrong?" Ye Qing touched his chin, unable to understand.

So hard to understand.

Really a little hard to understand, huh.

It was called going out to have fun, but written as a date.

Of course, that was only how Ye Yuyan saw it.

It was nothing more than browsing familiar shops, drinking a couple of refreshing cold beverages, and walking side by side through crowded streets.

When people knew each other well enough, the only topics left for small talk were whatever amusing things happened to be in front of them.

And the things one could talk about while shopping were always the same old few.

Ye Qing looked listlessly at Ye Yuyan as she kept changing dresses and repeatedly showing herself off in front of him.

Unable to offer wholehearted support or provide much emotional validation, the most Ye Qing could do was avoid spoiling her mood.

"Looks good!" Sitting on a rest chair in the shop, Ye Qing looked her over carefully and praised her without hesitation.

"So perfunctory!" Ye Yuyan turned her head away with the mannerisms of a pouty young girl.

Yet even hearing such a perfunctory response, she still felt quite satisfied inside.

Not everyone liked going out shopping, but being willing to alter one's plans on a day off to accompany someone shopping already said enough.

Perfunctory was fine. How could childhood friends not understand each other's personalities?

At least it was a sincere kind of perfunctory. Ye Yuyan decided to let Little Qing pass.

Although weekend outings were always filled with repetitive experiences, every repeated experience still had clear differences.

That was what daily life was like: ordinary and repetitive, yet not without warmth.

The simple and ordinary was what was real.

After several days of tedious work, having someone familiar accompany him outside was something even homebody Ye Qing did not dislike.

If he truly found it unpleasant, he would not agree to Ye Yuyan's requests every week and accompany her shopping.

Besides, games felt especially good after going out.

Even seasoned shut-ins would occasionally run into ED periods. Only proper entertainment and relaxation could keep one's gaming ED stable.

Life would not always remain as calm as still water. There would always be times when ripples stirred across a peaceful sea.

"Let's go, Little Qing." Ye Yuyan changed back into her original dress and patted Ye Qing on the shoulder.

"You're not buying clothes this time?" Ye Qing asked in confusion.

Once someone had a stable income, there was no need to suppress the urge to spend. As long as money could bring happiness, it was money well spent.

Ye Yuyan was the type to spend more when she had more and spend less when she had less. Eighty percent of her monthly salary went toward all kinds of purchases, while the remaining twenty percent was saved.

"How could I have any money lately?" Ye Yuyan pulled a miserable face.

"Fair enough. Where are we going next?" Ye Qing asked casually.

Their childhood-friend relationship had always been stable, and not merely because of their shared experiences as children.

Ye Qing was easygoing and laid-back. Wherever she said to go, he went without a word of complaint. He usually did not bring his brain when going out for fun.

That allowed Ye Yuyan to arrange their outings in perfect order, and neither of them would feel that the other was ruining the fun.

If Ye Qing found somewhere boring, they would leave early. If he thought it was pretty good, they would stay longer. She never made things difficult for him.

Because every place they went was somewhere Ye Yuyan herself wanted to visit.

If she was dissatisfied with one place, they would simply go to the next.

In some ways, the two of them got along exceptionally well, respecting and accommodating each other.

"Next... let me see..." Ye Yuyan replied.

She prepared to take out her phone from her little bag to check what else she had planned to do.

Suddenly, a grating danger alarm blared throughout the mall, interrupting everyone's activities.

"Evil Organization Abyss Return has invaded. For your personal safety, citizens, please leave the supermarket immediately..."

The same announcement played several times before stopping, while the echoing alarm proved the situation was real.

Neither of them felt anxious panic at first. Instead, they were annoyed that their shopping had been interrupted.

Ye Yuyan immediately grew resentful and spoke rapidly to Ye Qing.

"My phone is still in the clothing store we were just in! Little Qing, evacuate first. I'll catch up with you in a moment!"

"How can possessions be more important than your life? What if you get caught up in this? Escape first," Ye Qing urged.

"But it has all the photos we've taken together over the years! I can't lose it!" Ye Yuyan stared at Ye Qing with blazing eyes and spoke firmly.

Logically, when an evil villain organization invaded, the right choice would be to flee the mall immediately for safety.

But as an Abyss Return executive, Ye Qing knew perfectly well that Abyss Return would not attack ordinary people.

And they would only fight magical girls after ordinary people had evacuated to a safe distance.

The odds of being caught up in it were about the same as winning a sizable lottery prize.

You could say it was dangerous, but it was actually pretty safe.

Even though he had heard this excuse many times before, he still agreed without suspicion.

"Then be careful."

"Don't worry, don't worry. Nothing will happen!"

The moment she finished speaking, Ye Yuyan ran off so quickly that she was nearly out of sight.

She really has great physical fitness. Seeing that, Ye Qing could not help sighing.

His childhood friend could take on five of him. There was no need for him to worry about her.

Instead, if real danger appeared, he should hurry outside so she would not worry about him.