Going Out to Have Fun

Saturday morning.

The sky was clear for miles, and the breeze was pleasant.

Ye Qing, who had no sense of fashion, casually threw on an all-black everyday outfit and stood at the entrance to the bustling shopping street.

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

"A little slow, aren't you?"

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's store.

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

Ye Qing didn't want Ye Yuyan to latch onto him over that and make him go through the trouble of explaining himself.

If anything unexpected happened, he would have to coax her, too.

Tap, tap...

"What are you looking at?"

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

He slumped at the waist and tilted his head back, 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 dealing with someone he knew well.

"Yeah, I've been waiting a long time. So you knew that, huh? Good job." Ye Qing gave her a thumbs-up in praise.

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

Ye Qing straightened up and turned around, sizing up Ye Yuyan's outfit for the day. She wore a carefully coordinated dress brimming with a gentle style.

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

His gaze swept briefly over her clothes before settling on Ye Yuyan's face, carefully studying the differences.

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

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

"Hmm...?" Ye Qing rubbed his chin. After seriously examining her, he arrived at his conclusion with a sigh.

"You don't look as good as you do without makeup. And you usually look so cool, so doesn't this outfit not really suit you?"

"You... idiot! Moron!"

The moment she finished speaking, the world spun!

The girl next door had grown up, her strength capable of pulling mountains and overwhelming rivers!

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

Good heavens, a perfect over-the-shoulder throw!

Bang!

Ye Qing felt his entire body take flight, the ground slowly rising into the air. When he opened his eyes again, all he could see was the azure sky.

For a moment, he was so confused that he didn't want to move.

What did I do wrong this time?

Were 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 with her arms crossed, fuming, already walking away on her own.

She had painstakingly put on makeup, racked her brain to coordinate her outfit, and tried every possible way to look completely different from her usual image.

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

Even a simple, fool-like compliment that she looked pretty would have made a girl bloom with joy.

Unfortunately, Ye Qing's straight-man brain hadn't been equipped with that particular chip.

Ye Qing climbed up from the ground, caught up with her, and offered another evaluation.

"That move just now felt more like you. Strong. Powerful."

Ye Yuyan's little hand clenched tightly into a fist, to the point that veins were nearly bulging.

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

"What did I do wrong?" Ye Qing rubbed his chin in bewilderment.

So hard to understand.

They really were a little hard to understand.

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

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

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

Once people knew each other well enough, the only topics left for casual conversation were the amusing things happening right in front of them.

And there were only the same old things to talk about while shopping.

Ye Qing looked on without much interest as Ye Yuyan kept changing dresses and repeatedly showing them off in front of him.

He couldn't wholeheartedly support her or provide her with plenty of emotional validation. The most he could do was avoid raining on her parade.

"Looks good!" Ye Qing said without hesitation after carefully looking her over from his seat on the store's resting bench.

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

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

Not everyone liked going out shopping, but being willing to change one's plans on a day off and come shopping with someone was already enough to say a lot.

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

At least it was a sincere sort of perfunctory. Ye Yuyan decided Little Qing had passed.

Though their weekend outings were always full of repetitive experiences, every repetition still held obvious differences.

That was what everyday life was like: plain and repetitive, yet not without warmth.

Ordinary was what was real.

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

If he truly found it irritating, he wouldn't agree to Ye Yuyan's requests every week and accompany her shopping.

Besides, games after going out had a special flavor of their own.

Even seasoned shut-ins could run into periods of gaming ED. Only proper entertainment and relaxation could stabilize electronic ED.

Life would not always remain as calm as water. Sometimes, ripples would inevitably rise upon a tranquil 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 doubtfully.

Once someone had a stable income, there was no need to suppress the urge to spend. If money could bring them joy, then it was money well spent.

Ye Yuyan was the type to spend more when she had more and 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.

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

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

Ye Qing was an easygoing, laid-back person. Wherever she said to go, he went, without a single complaint. He usually didn't bring his brain when going out to have fun.

That way, Ye Yuyan could arrange their outing plans neatly, and neither of them would feel the other was spoiling the mood.

If Ye Qing found a place boring, they would leave early. If he thought it was alright, 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 wasn't satisfied with this one, they would 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 reached into her little handbag for her phone, intending to check what else she wanted to do on her plan.

Suddenly, a piercing danger alarm rang throughout the mall, interrupting everyone inside.

"The evil organization Abyss Return has invaded. For your personal safety, citizens, please leave the supermarket immediately..."

"The 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.

Resentment immediately filled Ye Yuyan's heart, and she spoke rapidly to Ye Qing.

"I left my phone at the clothing store just now! Little Qing, evacuate first. I'll catch up with you later!"

"How can something outside your body compare to your life? What if you get caught up in this? Escape first," Ye Qing urged.

"But our photos from all these years are on that phone! I can't lose it!" Ye Yuyan stared intensely at Ye Qing and spoke with firm resolve.

Logically speaking, when an evil villain organization invaded, the correct choice was to leave the mall immediately for the sake of 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 area.

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

You could call it dangerous, but it was actually quite safe.

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

"Then be careful."

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

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Yuyan ran off so quickly that she was nearly out of sight.

Her physical fitness really is impressive. Seeing this, Ye Qing couldn't help sighing.

His childhood friend could beat five of him, so it wasn't his place to worry about her.

If real danger arose, he should hurry outside instead and not make her worry.