Evening.
After class.
Xie Shu unexpectedly received a message from Ruan Nianxi, who took the initiative to contact him.
The message was sent about fifteen minutes ago, saying she was here to pick him up.
Seeing the message, Xie Shu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. She's here again?
It's quite far from here, isn't it? If she wanted to time her arrival perfectly, she would have had to leave much earlier.
For a moment, Xie Shu felt a warm sensation in his heart, realizing that being constantly on someone's mind was quite a pleasant feeling.
At the same time, he was a bit worried that she might be tired, considering she had been busy all day as well.
After reading the message, he immediately replied that he would be out shortly, and then he parted ways with the teachers and students in the studio.
He sped out of the art district and immediately spotted the familiar car.
He quickly walked over, and as he approached, he heard the sound of the car doors unlocking.
Sensibly, he went to the passenger side, opened the door, and sat down. Before he could even buckle his seatbelt, Ruan Nianxi, who was in the driver's seat, handed him a bottle of drink she had prepared in advance.
Xie Shu instinctively accepted it, feeling the coolness of the bottle, which dispelled some of the warmth from his hands.
He was indeed a bit thirsty.
After thanking her, he opened the bottle and began to drink.
Meanwhile, Ruan Nianxi started the car.
Near the entrance of the art district, there was a speed bump not far from a turn, and since the road here wasn't as wide as those in the city center, speed bumps were installed a short distance before the turn on both sides.
As the car went over the speed bump, Xie Shu was tilting his head back to drink. Holding the bottle by its body, with the bottom higher than the opening, the sudden jolt caused him to lose his grip, spilling some of the drink.
He let out an instinctive exclamation, and Ruan Nianxi, noticing something was amiss but unable to stop at the turn, drove past before pulling over to the side of the road.
Ruan Nianxi frantically pulled out tissues and began to clumsily wipe Xie Shu's arm and clothes, her voice filled with unstoppable panic:
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice just now, I…"
"It's not a big deal, don't be nervous."
Xie Shu took the tissues from her hand, his voice gentle: "It was my fault for not holding it steady."
Seeing that Xie Shu wasn't angry, Ruan Nianxi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shall we… go buy a new shirt nearby?" she suggested.
"Yeah, that's fine." Xie Shu didn't object.
The drink Ruan Nianxi had bought for him was colored, and if it had been plain water, he could have just waited for his shirt to dry.
But the colored drink had spilled mostly around his collar, which didn't look great, and the wet spot felt sticky and uncomfortable.
So, Ruan Nianxi quickly found a clothing store nearby on her phone and drove them there.
***
Once inside, Xie Shu casually picked out a short-sleeved shirt and also stopped Ruan Nianxi, who had already pulled up the payment code, ready to pay.
Occasionally accepting a treat is fine, but making a habit of it isn't good.
Besides, he wasn't penniless. Did she really think he couldn't afford a shirt?
After paying, he used the dressing room to change.
The clerk bagged his previous shirt for him.
While the clerk was bagging his shirt, Xie Shu's gaze aimlessly swept across the store.
Directly in front of them was the women's section, and he spotted several dresses hanging on the wall. He didn't know much about women's fashion, but they looked nice to him.
"Here's your shirt, sir."
The clerk had finished bagging his shirt and handed it to him.
Xie Shu's attention returned, and he took the bag from the clerk. He didn't rush to leave but pointed towards the women's section behind her: "Could you get me one of those dresses?"
"Ah?"
The clerk was momentarily confused, giving Xie Shu a strange look.
Xie Shu then looked towards the women's section, oblivious to the clerk's odd expression, and walked over first, the clerk following.
He went straight to the wall and pointed to a dress: "This one, could you get it for me?"
The customer's request was a command, and the clerk fetched the dress with a pole, handing it to Xie Shu.
He held the hanger carefully, making sure the dress didn't touch the ground.
He turned, intending to hold the dress up to Ruan Nianxi to check the length, but found her still standing dazedly at the cash register, watching him intently.
He paused, then said, "Do you want to try it on?"
"So it's for her," the clerk murmured in surprise.
Standing beside the clerk, Xie Shu thought: "…"
What else?
Was she thinking something strange just now?
The store was quite large but quiet enough that, despite the distance between them, Ruan Nianxi could clearly hear Xie Shu's words.
She froze for a moment. Was he buying it for her?
Although Xie Shu used to buy her gifts before high school, they were always treats or toys. This seemed to be the first time he was buying her clothes.
Out of habit, she hadn't considered herself at first, thinking he… might be buying for someone else.
Regardless of her initial thoughts, Ruan Nianxi was now delighted and walked over to Xie Shu.
Next, naturally, came Ruan Nianxi's fitting session.
Xie Shu didn't know if it was his good taste or if Ruan Nianxi was simply a natural clothes horse, but every dress he picked looked stunning on her.
Ruan Nianxi tried on several dresses, all fitting well, and Xie Shu had the clerk bag them up.
Of course, the total cost was within Xie Shu's budget.
The store they were in wasn't the kind where a single item would cost thousands; it was a regular clothing store where the most expensive dress was only a few hundred yuan, and several together were just under a thousand.
The dresses, in Ruan Nianxi's hands, seemed to become priceless treasures, each one cherished, even more than the expensive dresses her parents had bought her.
Ruan Nianxi really liked them. She came out of the fitting room again, looked at herself in the full-length mirror from all angles several times, and then turned to look at Xie Shu, who was sitting nearby, smiling warmly at her.
"Does it look good?"
She asked this question with every dress she tried on.
This time, Xie Shu didn't respond with a simple "It looks good" as before, but instead stood up from his seat and walked over to Ruan Nianxi.
He took out his phone from his pocket, faced the full-length mirror, and subtly moved closer to Ruan Nianxi, suggesting:
"How about we post it on our Moments?"
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan