In Chapter 33, she leaned down and kissed him in the locker room.

The date was on a Saturday. The weather was great, sunny and bright. Li Baidong had checked the weather forecast a long time in advance and specially chose this day.

With the year-end approaching and many holidays approaching, the entire shopping street is beautifully decorated, with various shapes of small colored lights hanging in front of the shops.

The boutique window displays a row of rainbow bears, with colors gradually changing from left to right, clearly arranged with care by the staff.

Li Baidong stared at the candied hawthorn stall on the street for a long time. As soon as he got out of the car, he grabbed Xing Lan's wrist and walked over to the stall, stopping at the edge of it.

"Sister, how much is a skewer of candied hawthorns?"

"Hawthorn berries are eighteen yuan a bunch, and strawberries are twenty-five yuan a bunch," the stall owner explained.

"Huh? So expensive." Li Baidong lowered his eyes and looked at it carefully. Each small bunch only had four or five strawberries, and they were quite small. Selling them at this price was outrageous.

Xing Lan stood to the side with her hands in her pockets, glancing briefly at Li Baidong, who looked hesitant: "What's wrong?"

Li Baidong pouted pitifully and whispered, "It's too expensive."

"How much?"

"Twenty-five."

Xing Lan said indifferently, "Buy it if you want to eat it."

A hint of surprise immediately flashed in Li Baidong's eyes.

He intimately linked arms with Xing Lan, rested his head on Xing Lan's shoulder as if no one else was around, and said in a light, sweet voice, "Brother, you're so good to me?"

Xing Lan raised her head and looked around. There were many people shopping on this street, mostly young people walking in groups. The two tall men stood out in the crowd because they were standing so close together.

However, he still didn't push Li Baidong away. It was a rare opportunity to go on a date, and he didn't want to spoil the fun.

Xing Lan didn't waste any words. She simply took out her phone, scanned the QR code, and paid in full for a string of candied strawberries for Li Baidong.

"Which one do you want?" the girl selling candied hawthorns asked after the money was deposited.

Li Baidong hesitated for a moment, then carefully selected the reddest skewer from a pile of tempting candied hawthorns, and said cheerfully, "I'll take this one! Thank you, sister."

"Okay." The girl quickly wrapped the candied hawthorn.

Although Xing Lan paid, Li Baidong's eyes lit up, and he looked very interested in the candied hawthorns. After the girl finished packing, she handed him the candied hawthorns.

Li Baidong carefully took the candied hawthorn, but turned around and handed it to Xing Lan's mouth, saying very politely, "Brother, you paid for it, you eat it first."

Xing Lan frowned at the glistening sugar coating and turned her face away, saying, "No, it's too sweet."

"Just one bite, just one bite!" Li Baidong chased after him enthusiastically, feeding him with bright, expectant eyes.

Xing Lan glanced at him, and seeing that he was really insistent, she reluctantly opened her mouth slightly and bit off a little bit of the candied hawthorn tip.

The winter street scene was quiet and cool in color. When the cold wind blew, Xing Lan's face became even whiter than usual, with only her lips showing a faint blush.

His face was small, and every feature was exquisitely shaped. With each chewing motion, his lips moved slightly, like a little rabbit eating, which was especially adorable.

Li Baidong stared intently at him, watching as Xing Lan's lips were stained even redder by the strawberry color, with a few traces of clear sugar stains at the corners. Because of his clean and pure demeanor, the few sugar stains on his face didn't look dirty at all; instead, they gave him an innocent and alluring charm.

“Brother…” Li Baidong’s voice was hoarse, and he said awkwardly, “You are so handsome.”

Xing Lan chewed on her candied hawthorn, glanced at Li Baidong with a puzzled look, and raised her hand to wipe the sugar stains off her lips.

However, Li Baidong acted even faster.

He took the initiative, lowered his narrow phoenix eyes, and carefully wiped away the strawberry candy stains on Xing Lan's lips.

Warm fingertips brushed against soft lips, like feathers fluttering in the palm, bringing a slight tickle.

The sugar stains were too sticky; wiping them with dry fingers was futile, and instead, they stuck to Li Baidong's fingertips as well. When he withdrew his hand, several fine, transparent strands of sugar were pulled into the air.

Xing Lan frowned and looked up at Li Baidong with mixed emotions.

This kid is making things worse by trying to help.

After his meticulous efforts, the sugar stains on Xing Lan's lips were almost frozen.

In the end, Xing Lan took out a wet wipe from her bag and carefully wiped her lips clean.

-

The two strolled aimlessly along the commercial street. Li Baidong was particularly happy, like a primary school student on a spring outing. He bought a lot of snacks to feed Xing Lan, but Xing Lan only tasted a tiny bit of each one from the very top and threw the rest back to Li Baidong.

Passing by a stall selling trinkets, Li Baidong held up a fluffy cat hair clip on Xing Lan's head and said with a smile, "Brother! This is so cute! It suits you so well!"

Xing Lan dodged backward repeatedly, preventing him from putting that particularly childish hair clip on her head, and retorted seriously with a stern face: "What nonsense are you talking about? It's not suitable at all."

"No way! It suits you perfectly!" Li Baidong's smile didn't diminish at all; instead, it grew even wider. Like catching a kitten trying to escape, he grabbed Xing Lan's arm and, with quick eyes and hands, stubbornly clipped the hair clip onto his head.

Xing Lan's face darkened. He lowered his head slightly, about to pull the hair clip off his head, when he heard the female shop owner of the jewelry stall exclaim dramatically, "Wow! So cute! Can I take a picture? Very few boys can wear this hair clip so cutely."

“Listen, even his older sister said that.” Li Baidong smiled and winked, then leaned close to his ear and praised, “It looks really cute and suits you very well.”

Xing Lan glared at him silently, shook her head, and took off her hair clip.

He had just put the cat ear hair clip back into the bamboo basket when Li Baidong, who was beside him, quickly picked it up again.

Li Baidong stroked the soft fur on the hair clip, nodded, and said with satisfaction, "It's so cute, I must buy this today."

"Whatever." Xing Lan subtly tugged at the corner of her mouth, her gaze gradually falling on the various hair clips on the other stalls.

Since he couldn't stop Li Baidong from buying him a hair clip, he decided to give him a taste of his own medicine and buy him one too.

He looked at it for a while, and finally picked up a brown curly hair clip and asked the shop assistant, "What's this? Bear ears?"

The shop assistant came over to take a look and replied, "These are puppy ears."

Xing Lan nodded and said casually, "Then I'll buy this." She then turned to Li Baidong and said, "I'll give it to you when I get back."

"Puppy ears?" Li Baidong leaned closer, staring at the thing in Xing Lan's hand, and tilted his head happily, asking, "Brother, don't you think I'm as cute as a puppy?"

Xing Lan glanced at him coldly, thinking to herself that he was more like a talkative puppy.

The only difference is that the puppy barks every day, while Li Baidong barks every day.

-

As noon approached, the streets became increasingly crowded.

Around midnight, Xing Lan checked the time and decided to find a restaurant that suited her taste to have a meal.

However, it seemed they had gone to the wrong area. Looking around, all they could see were fashion boutiques, and the air was filled with the delicate scent of high-end perfumes. There wasn't a single place to eat.

Xing Lan was checking the mall map on her phone when she looked up and suddenly saw a familiar figure.

Xing Yi and his family of three walked out of a luxury store, chatting and laughing. The chubby little boy in his arms was his most beloved youngest son, Xing Chen. Lin Ya, wearing a pure white mink coat and carrying a designer handbag, followed behind with a smile, occasionally reminding the father and son to slow down and not fall.

Xing Lan's eyes darkened, and he subconsciously stopped in his tracks.

"Brother?" Li Baidong noticed something was wrong and stopped to ask, "What's wrong?"

The shopping mall was huge, but fate had other plans. Xing Yi and his group were walking slowly toward where Xing Lan and Li Baidong were standing.

As they drew closer, Xing Yi's gaze began to sweep over them almost imperceptibly. Xing Lan clenched her fist slightly, then suddenly grabbed Li Baidong's arm and pulled him into a nearby shop to hide.

The incident happened so suddenly that he didn't even look carefully at which store he had entered before rushing inside with his head down.

Until they entered the store, he didn't sense anything was wrong and led Li Baidong into a more secluded dressing room.

Only Li Baidong was completely bewildered. He stared in utter astonishment at the scantily clad, sexy lingerie on the mannequins in the store, unable to comprehend why the usually serious Xing Lan had suddenly dragged him into the women's lingerie shop without a second thought.

He frowned, somewhat puzzled.

Xing Lan, this is...

Is she implying something to him?

Entering the locker room, Xing Lan carefully locked the door and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After he calmed down, he finally noticed something unusual about the store.

This locker room looks a bit strange.

It was small in size, with dim lighting, a purple tinged with pink.

Turning his head again, he saw Li Baidong staring straight at him, his gaze particularly obscure under the dim light.

"..."

Xing Lan remained silent for a moment, just about to explain to him, when the next second, he was suddenly pinned against the wall of the dressing room by Li Baidong. His slightly rough palms gently rested on Xing Lan's slender waist, his handsome eyebrows lowered, and his long eyes stared intently at him.

In that instant, Xing Lan inexplicably felt a strong and undeniable aggression. This powerful aura spread rapidly in the silent air, irresistibly enveloping his entire body.

The emotions hidden in Li Baidong's dark eyes were too deep, completely lacking his usual softness and friendliness. Instead, he resembled a lion cub that had been lying in wait for a long time, finally revealing its sharp fangs to its prey.

The clumsy prey was completely unaware of what it was facing. Xing Lan steadied herself, tried to remove Li Baidong's hand from her waist, and hesitated before saying, "You..."

"Hmm..."

Li Baidong quietly lowered his eyelashes, and before Xing Lan could finish speaking, he leaned down and kissed him the instant Xing Lan opened his mouth.

This is not a cautious attempt at touching the lips, but a fierce exploration deep into the tongue cavity.

Xing Lan was so startled by his sudden kiss that her whole body trembled slightly, and the tips of her ears turned so red they could bleed.

His hand instinctively gripped the shoulder of the person in front of him. The more he tried to calm his breathing, the more Li Baidong kissed him until he couldn't breathe at all.

Li Baidong still had one hand tightly gripping Xing Lan's waist, with great force, as if afraid he would escape. His other hand was bent at the elbow and braced against the wall of the changing room, his whole body seemingly transformed into a tall prison, domineeringly and tyrannically confining Xing Lan to this small space.

As their lips and tongues intertwined, the air grew thinner and thinner, and the surrounding temperature seemed to rise to a level that Xing Lan could no longer bear.

His usually rational and clear gaze gradually became hazy and unfocused. The hand on Li Baidong's shoulder unconsciously tightened its grip, as if only by grasping something could he barely concentrate his energy and maintain his remaining clarity.

Xing Lan was like a block of ice, while Li Baidong, who pried open his lips and kissed him passionately, was a young and passionate fire.

Scalding hot, assertive, yet tender at heart.

The boy's tongue was soft and nimble, with a hint of sweetness from the candied hawthorn.

Xing Lan, this block of ice, is slowly melting in front of Li Baidong, just like his heart.

-

Footsteps, neither too light nor too heavy, came from outside the door. As the voices of the people outside grew louder, they drew closer and closer.

A few minutes ago, a customer came into the store, took a liking to an innerwear piece, and turned to ask the sales assistant, "Do you have a fitting room? I'd like to try it on to check the size."

The sales assistant, who had just returned from the restroom, looked up at the sound and said, "Yes, I'll take you there."

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Author's Note: Thank you so much for your support, everyone! [kiss][heart] This novel will be available for purchase starting tomorrow. A new chapter combining two chapters will be updated tomorrow morning. After that, I will update daily.

I'm recommending my pre-order novel, "The Honest Man's Crossdressing Livestream Reveals His Identity." It's a story of a powerful, self-assured CEO (gong) and an introverted, honest, and obedient boy (shou). It's a love triangle between two wealthy brothers, and overall, it's still a sweet urban romance. [Milk tea][Milk tea]