Chapter 19. [First Update] He felt it was pretentious, and also from...
He Yan and the sales assistant both breathed a sigh of relief.
Even without Wu Yuejiang's reminder, He Yan knew that his younger brother was different from his younger sister. He was genuinely worried that Wen Xue wouldn't come along, but there was nothing he could do about it; he couldn't exactly carry her in.
The sales assistant was even more relieved than he was. She had seen this kind of thing many times. Men would often come and buy clothes on their own initiative, only to find that their partners didn't like them at all, and then they would come back to make trouble for returns and exchanges, which would greatly increase her workload. Who could she complain to?
Wen Xue walked over, ignoring He Yan, and said apologetically to the sales assistant, "Please put these back where he picked out."
The sales assistant understood immediately and smiled, "Okay, then, would you like to look around yourself, or should I make some recommendations?"
"I'll see for myself, thank you."
He Yan didn't expect her to leave none of the clothes behind, but he didn't say anything and ignored the helplessness on her face. He said in a low voice, "You choose for yourself." He paused and added, "Don't be perfunctory. The clothes are for you to wear."
Wen Xue knew he was determined to buy her clothes, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She nodded sullenly, raised her eyes, and began to carefully examine the clothes in the store. Usually, the seasons in shopping malls are several months ahead of real life. It was the dead of winter, but the store had already put on its new spring collection.
He Yan looked around and set his sights on the sofa in the store. He walked over and sat down, but his gaze followed Wen Xue wherever she went.
She seemed interested in a velvet dress, looked at it for a while, and then reached out to touch the fabric.
Then she quietly reached inside her skirt to look for the price tag, trying to sneak a peek.
He Yan coughed lightly.
Wen Xue immediately straightened up as if she had done something wrong, looking in the direction of the cough. She met his deep eyes; although he hadn't said a word, his meaning was clear: don't worry about the price, just consider your preferences. Their eyes met, and she pursed her lips. Despite feeling a little embarrassed, she still asked the sales assistant to get her size.
Guided by the sales assistant, she took the dress and went into the fitting room.
He Yan looked away and glanced at the clothes he had carefully picked out for her. He was a little puzzled. They were all very nice, so why didn't she like any of them?
Before he could figure out the problem, he heard the curtain suddenly being pulled open. He glanced up and paused for a moment. The spotlights in the store were bright yet soft, shining on Wen Xue. She had taken off her sweater and coat and put on a pretty dress, revealing her fair and slender legs. Perhaps to make it easier to zip up the dress, she followed the sales assistant's advice and casually tied up her long, smooth hair that reached her waist, letting it hang loosely as she walked towards him step by step.
He Yan paused for a moment, then nodded calmly: "It's alright."
Wen Xue had given up hope in his despairing gaze. She ignored it and walked towards the full-length mirror. She didn't even notice that the flowing hem of her skirt was brushing against his bent knee. The sales assistant was very considerate and chatted with her, praising her and the dress.
Fortunately, she has been eating well during this time, and her complexion has improved a lot, making her look less thin and flimsy in this dress.
"This is the one?"
He Yan appeared behind her without her noticing, and the two figures squeezed into a mirror. He calmly looked down at her and said, "Pick a few more."
The sales assistant's smile became even brighter.
Wen Xue shook her head and hesitated before saying, "How about I look at something else?"
Before He Heng's unexpected death, she was just like the girls in her dormitory, enjoying shopping for trinkets and buying pretty clothes. However, she strictly regulated her living expenses every month. Whenever she wanted to buy new clothes, she would always compare prices, styles, and textures. She would shop around and shop around.
Moreover, she had seen the price tag when she changed clothes, and even with a 20% discount, it wasn't cheap.
In her life experience, she would never impulsively buy any clothes that cost more than four figures.
Her impulses were limited to amounts under fifty yuan.
He Yan: "..."
He didn't understand. It's just buying a piece of clothing, not a house. Why make such a fuss?
After looking her over again, he made his decision and said, "It's fine, I'll buy it."
After saying that, he looked at the sales guide and asked, "Where do I pay by card?"
The sales assistant beamed and shouted to her colleague, "Lingling, quickly process this gentleman's order!"
Wen Xue was so anxious she wanted to stomp her feet, desperately wanting them to stop, but she could only watch helplessly as he went to the cashier to swipe his card and pay. Her mind was in turmoil, and she didn't notice how vivid her angry expression was in the mirror.
…
"Let's browse around some more." After leaving the store, He Yan showed no sign of leaving. "Since we've come all this way, let's buy everything we need."
Wen Xue glanced at him and protested softly, "I'm not buying it."
I will never go shopping with him again.
He asked, puzzled, "What?"
“Winter is almost over,” she explained softly. “If you buy a down jacket or coat now, you won’t be able to wear it for more than a few days, and many stores are still stocking last year’s spring clothes.”
Actually, Wen Xue's excuses were just that. After all, the clothing stores in the mall were never where she would shop. She had no choice just now; if she hadn't picked out one item, he really would have bought all the clothes.
He Yan didn't care at all. "It's already the beginning of spring, but there's still a cold snap. We'll wear it for as many days as we can."
Wen Xue: "..."
Does he really not understand what she's saying?
The two looked at each other. He Yan saw through her little thoughts and wanted to laugh. She really wore her heart on her sleeve. He wasn't blind, so how could he not see that she really liked that dress?
He tilted his head slightly, gesturing for her to follow, and said, "Let's go."
“Hey…” she called out helplessly from behind.
Next, He Yan used the same trick again. It was Wen Xue's first time shopping in this kind of street. She had clearly told him before she went into the dressing room to change her clothes, and he had nodded in agreement. But when she came out after changing into her coat, he had already swiped his card and paid for the clothes.
Wen Xue rarely had unstable emotions. She was gentle and mild-mannered, and rarely argued with anyone. Faced with his unreasonable behavior, she became more and more silent, and eventually simply stopped saying anything. Whatever he said was the truth.
In less than an hour, He Yan was carrying shopping bags in both hands, returning home with a satisfied smile.
But his smile quickly faded. He clearly didn't know the mall's layout as well as Wen Xue. He followed her up the escalator, but after only a few steps, when he realized that the entire floor sold men's clothing, it was too late to turn around and leave.
Wen Xue said gently, "Since we're already here..."
He frowned slightly: "I don't need to buy it."
"It's okay." She raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, a smile playing on her lips, and mimicked his tone from before, saying, "If you can't make up your mind, I'll pick one for you."
He Yan: "?"
He wanted to politely decline, but Wen Xue had already gracefully entered a men's clothing store. Compared to the women's clothing downstairs, this floor was much quieter. It was rare to have a customer, and the sales assistants rushed over to greet Wen Xue. Several women were whispering among themselves when suddenly Wen Xue turned her head, pointed at him, and from her lip movements, she could hear a few words floating over. She was probably saying that she wanted to pick out clothes for him. The other two women turned to look at him, scrutinizing him from head to toe with their eyes.
He Yan tensed up uncomfortably, feeling as if they had touched him all over, while the culprits looked at him innocently.
Their gazes locked for a moment before he steeled himself and awkwardly approached her, stopping in front of her. She seemed quite happy and smug, letting out a light, cheerful laugh.
He sighed helplessly.
He Yan is a perfect clothes hanger. He is tall with long legs, broad shoulders and a wide back. In addition, he has strong features. Any clothes he wears look good on him. The originally listless sales assistants became interested. It has nothing to do with sales performance. How many women don't want to dress up a good-looking and tall man?
One by one, they surrounded Wen Xue. After all, they were professionals and enthusiastically helped her put together outfits, one after another. He Yan wasn't completely indiscriminate; apart from dark colors, he wouldn't touch any light colors.
Wen Xue seemed to have found some kind of enjoyment.
As he went into the dressing room, she raised her chin slightly and said softly, "I bought both of the outfits he tried on."
The sales assistant couldn't help but chuckle and asked in a cooperative tone, "Okay, ma'am, will you be paying by card or cash?"
"Swipe your card!"
Wen Xue bent down to take her wallet from her small handbag, but suddenly stopped, dumbfounded. Where was her bag?
Splash—
He Yan flung open the dressing room curtain and strode confidently toward her. His discarded shirt and coat were draped over his left arm, while his right hand held her bag, which he had been hiding. Seeing her look at him with surprise, a faint, composed smile flickered across his face.
He asked deliberately, "What's wrong?"
Wen Xue felt stifled, recalling what Nana had said that morning, and she deeply agreed. She couldn't bring herself to snatch the bag from him either; he was clearly just trying to avoid making her pay—too cunning.
The other sales assistants tried hard to suppress their laughter.
Both of them made some purchases during the shopping trip, filling the back seat of the car to the brim with shopping bags. Wen Xue drove on the way back. Her anger dissipated quickly, vanishing by the time they returned to the tenement building. He Yan, sitting in the passenger seat, would glance at her from time to time. Seeing her go from being completely silent with her lips tightly pursed to smiling again, his nerves relaxed as well.
He inappropriately recalled something from his past life.
At that time, she and He Heng were both freshmen in college. Wu Yuejiang had a birthday party, and He Heng came over. After saying a few words absentmindedly, he huddled in a corner drinking beer, his head drooping like a stray dog. His wretched appearance was infuriating to look at.
As always, Wu Yuejiang acted as a peacemaker, gently asking He Heng what bad thing had happened so that his brothers could have a good laugh.
After much coaxing, He Heng finally spoke up, saying in a low voice that he had angered Wen Xue and that she hadn't spoken to him for a day.
At that time, both he and Wu Yuejiang wanted him to go somewhere cool and get lost, as long as he didn't go crazy here.
He Heng said in a hoarse voice, "Brother, you don't understand. I'm scared when she ignores me."
He Yan's feelings were complicated now, because he understood.
Wen Xue thought she drove better today than yesterday, giving herself a perfect score in her mind. She happily unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, standing aside to wait for He Yan. After locking the car, they walked into the building one after the other, as usual. He escorted her to the third floor, but when he handed her the shopping bags, he looked hesitant.
For a man like He Yan, many three-word expressions of emotion are not in his vocabulary; he finds them pretentious and has never said them to anyone.
For example, I'm sorry.
He couldn't bring himself to say it, no matter what he did.
Wen Xue looked at him, puzzled, wondering what else he wanted to say.
He swallowed those inexplicable emotions and told him, "Get some rest."
"Um."
He Yan picked up his shopping bags and turned to leave, his steps hesitant and steady, unlike his usual unwavering pace. Wen Xue leaned against the door, watching his figure recede into the distance. She knew he meant well; of all the people she had met, he had been the kindest to her. She was younger than him and should give way to him. With that thought, she no longer hesitated. She took a few steps forward, gripped the railing, and craned her neck out, calling down into the quiet night against the cold wind, "Hey!"
She calls him "Hey" instead of "Brother," which means she has a temper, and she's a little angry today.
Because he was somewhat domineering, and also because he only allowed officials to set fires while forbidding ordinary people to light lamps.
He Yan was searching for her keys in her pocket with a sullen face when she suddenly heard a familiar voice. After a brief moment of surprise, her body moved faster than her mind and she was already at the railing looking up. The night was dark, and she was backlit, but her eyes were clear and bright.
She smiled and said, "Thank you."
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