Cheng Ran has recently taken to adding items to her home, such as a dressing table, a refrigerator, and a black and white television...
He wanted to bring home anything that would make things more convenient for the family, freeing up his and Jiang Wanqing's hands, and anything that would allow them to relax and have fun after work or study.
So, whenever Jiang Wanqing is not home and it happens to be his vacation, he will go to the state-run shopping mall to stroll around, and today is no exception.
"Hey comrade, wanna check out the latest trendy camera brand?"
"I haven't thought of any uses for the camera yet," Cheng Ran waved to the enthusiastic salesperson.
"I'll come back to look at it later. I'll look at other things first."
After browsing through each area, Cheng Ran unknowingly arrived at the women's clothing section. Since the ice was broken with the United States, more and more fashionable items have entered the domestic market. Cheng Ran has seen huge changes in the women's clothing section every time he has come here.
The clothing features bold colors and designs, and the effect on the models is top-notch.
He couldn't help but stop in the women's clothing section, thinking that Jiang Wanqing had been so busy with work and studies lately that she hadn't had time to buy a new outfit...
He looked up and saw a display item hanging high: a light blue fishtail skirt made of suit fabric. The style of the dress was dignified, yet it also had some clever little design details.
Even Cheng Ran, who didn't know much about women's clothing, thought it was perfect to call it a dress.
Jiang Wanqing has been attending a lot of events lately, going on stage to introduce her factory and products, and to solicit cooperation. This dress is sure to come in handy, so buying it as a gift for her is perfect.
"Comrade, could you help me take that dress down so I can take a look?"
The sales clerk in her uniform looked in the direction he was pointing and immediately nodded.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go get it."
He hummed in agreement and waited patiently in front of the counter. In less than a minute, the dress was in his hands. Just as it looked from afar, the quality and design were impeccable. He was already planning to buy it.
"I've taken a good look at it. Please wrap this dress up for me..."
"Hello comrade, I'd also like to see this dress."
Cheng Ran was taking out his money when a sudden female voice interrupted, and she even reached out to touch the dress.
The sales clerk apologized and explained to her, "I'm sorry, sir, if you want it, I can get you a new one. This one was bought by this gentleman."
Upon hearing the voice, Cheng Ran looked up, somewhat displeased, as the woman in front of him seemed unfamiliar.
She was dressed very fashionably, including her makeup, which was different from most people in the mall; she was very avant-garde.
“I’ll take this dress, please let go.” He maintained basic politeness.
Thinking it might just be a misunderstanding, I didn't want to cause any more trouble.
But the woman's hand remained firmly pressed against her skirt.
"Don't you recognize me?" she asked, still smiling.
"What?"
Cheng Ran was a little confused; he couldn't remember ever meeting such a woman before.
"Comrade, you've mistaken me for someone else." With that, Cheng Ran handed the money to the sales clerk: "Please wrap this up for me."
"Eh."
Seeing that she wouldn't let go, the salesperson, having received the full amount of money, tried to pry her hand away.
"Do you have another one of these dresses? I want a small size."
"Oh, I'm sorry, this is the last one in the small size. Would you like a medium size?" The saleswoman said, "We have new medium sizes. I can get them for you in a bit."
"No, I won't wear clothes that don't fit."
"But this..."
Cheng Ran frowned, but as a gay man, he couldn't physically confront a female comrade, so he could only convey his displeasure through his expression.
“I can talk to this man, you can wait a moment,” the saleswoman said.
"Well... okay then."
Neither of the two looked like someone to be trifled with, so the salesperson excused herself to serve other customers and left.
Cheng Ran's expression darkened: "Comrade, everything is about first come, first served. If you like it, you can wait until it's in stock before buying it. Why are you fixated on this one? I bought this as a gift for my lover. As a fellow woman, it's not right to take what someone else loves, is it?"
"Comrade Cheng, you really don't remember me?"
"Who are you……"
Cheng Ran was somewhat shocked that the other party could actually say his name, but he was still puzzled, since he couldn't find any clues about her identity after searching his mind.
“I am Ye Luo.” She stretched out her hand: “When I was fifteen, I fell into the lake. You happened to be on a mission and saved me. If you hadn’t given me CPR, I probably would have drowned. I even placed an ad in the newspaper to find my savior, but you refused to accept any reward. As a result, I was unable to see you again after I went abroad. This has always been my regret.”
She's Ye Luo?!
Cheng Ran thought about the information he had found about the Ye family. The photos were from several years ago, and there were indeed some differences.
He gave a slight smirk: "Oh, it's you. It was nothing, don't worry about it."
His indifferent attitude, compared to Ye Luo's excitement and joy, was truly a bucket of cold water.
Ye Luo tightened her grip and steered the conversation back to the dress.
"Ah, you just said this dress was for your lover. How do you know it suits her? And what about first come, first served? Comrade Cheng, how do you know I wasn't here first? I just went to look at other things first, and when I came back, this dress was snatched away by someone else. That's not fair to me."
Ye Luo smiled, but her eyes held regret and resentment. Her hand remained on the dress.
Cheng Ran really liked this dress, and he thought it suited Jiang Wanqing very well.
But his wife wasn't only suited to this one outfit, and besides, someone else had touched and rubbed it, so he didn't want it anymore and simply took the money back.
"Then you can take it, I won't buy it."
"Aren't you going to look at something else?"
“No need, I’ll bring my wife next time to buy what she likes,” Cheng Ran replied naturally.
Ye Luo swallowed hard. He loved his wife more than she had imagined. How could things have changed so much in just a few years? They had only been married for a little over a year. It was an arranged marriage. This was unreasonable!
"I……"
"Is there anything else?"
"Can I treat you to a meal? It would be a way to thank you," Ye Luo suggested.
He refused decisively: "No need, we're not that close, there's no need."
A single sentence, "It's unnecessary," completely dampened her enthusiasm.
"Is this also for your wife's sake that you keep your distance from other women?" she asked persistently.
"You've overstepped your bounds."
"I'm sorry, I... I just returned from studying abroad, so I might be a bit blunt. I'm just curious about what kind of person your wife is that deserves your all-out love and care."
Cheng Ran felt offended that a stranger was asking her such a question. She frowned, didn't answer, and turned to leave.
That camera was great. I'll buy it and use it to take pictures of Jiang Wanqing on important occasions in her life.
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