Chapter 67 Valentine's Day - He really is gay.
Li Baidong didn't find the hidden model, but he was still very happy.
He knew that this blind box was very hard to get right now, and Xing Lan was an "outsider" who had never bought trendy toys before, so he must have secretly put in a lot of effort to buy a whole box of popular new products.
He kissed Xing Lan's lips, and Xing Lan lowered her head to respond. The two naturally shared a gentle kiss.
Although Li Baidong was very satisfied with the gift, Xing Lan was still a little disappointed, and her face darkened.
From Li Baidong's reaction, he quickly realized that he had most likely been tricked by that smooth-talking old man. He gritted his teeth, stared intently at the toys on the ground, and asked unwillingly, "So these are all just regular models? There are no hidden models?"
That scalper used this as a pretext to overcharge him a lot of money.
Seeing that Xing Lan seemed unhappy, Li Baidong immediately guessed that this poor newbie had probably been scammed by scalpers who specialize in reselling blind boxes online.
Not wanting Xing Lan to be disappointed, he rolled his eyes and coaxed her softly, "No, I saw it, there's a little hidden one."
"Xiao Yin?" Xing Lan frowned, a little confused by the technical jargon in this blind box. "What does it mean?"
"It's this blue one. It's a hidden item in this blind box set, and the probability of it appearing is even lower than the regular ones," Li Baidong said after thinking for a moment. "So it can be considered a hidden item."
Xing Lan looked at the so-called "Xiao Yin" in Li Baidong's hand. Although she didn't think it was any different from the others, she felt a little better and comforted.
Seeing that Xing Lan's expression had softened slightly, Li Baidong blinked and continued to coax him with sweet words: "Actually, The Great Hidden Ones isn't that great. Of all the series, this Little Hidden Ones is my favorite."
He picked up the little blue doll with obvious delight, held it up to Xing Lan's cheek, smiled with narrowed eyes, and said in a light tone, "It's very cute, just as cute as your brother."
Xing Lan frowned and looked at it, still thinking the doll was ugly. He subconsciously took a step back, avoiding Li Baidong's hand that was holding the doll close to his face.
Li Baidong neatly arranged all the other dolls on the table, but he carefully hung the little blue one on his bag.
His bag already had two zippers; one held the blind box doll, and the other held the keychain he'd won from a sushi restaurant, making the black backpack look adorable and perfectly complete.
They had a quick breakfast and then went out on their date.
It just so happens that a new shopping mall opened near the apartment, and there is a trendy brand store inside, which is a niche brand that Li Baidong has been a fan of for a long time.
Ever since that store opened, he'd been pestering Xing Lan to go shopping there, but Xing Lan always complained about being tired and made excuses, never agreeing. Today is Valentine's Day, and he finally found an excuse to drag Xing Lan along.
Compared to Xing Lan, who has a very mild personality, Li Baidong has many hobbies. He likes playing ball, playing trendy toys, and rehearsing plays. He also loves to dress up, like a peacock that frequently displays its tail feathers, changing his outfit from head to toe every few days.
Xing Lan had never seen anyone who loved buying clothes as much as Li Baidong had ever done. Ever since Li Baidong moved in with him, his wardrobe had never been empty, always crammed full of all sorts of clothes. Xing Lan's few neat black and white shirts could only survive among a pile of colorful trendy clothes that were clearly several sizes too big for him.
When they arrived at the mall, Xing Lan put her hands in her pockets and watched Li Baidong walk into each clothing store with ease. Every time he came out of a store, he would have one or two shopping bags of various colors in his hands.
While Li Baidong was picking out clothes, he sat on the sofa in the store and looked at his phone.
Li Baidong would pick out several nice-looking clothes at once, then excitedly run over to ask him which one looked best. He looked a bit like a puppy in the park, excitedly carrying a new and interesting treasure to its owner's feet.
Xing Lan casually glanced up and said, "They're all pretty."
Li Baidong looked at him, and the corners of his mouth immediately turned down. He looked aggrieved and stood still, probably because he thought Li Baidong's words were perfunctory.
Xing Lan had no choice but to look him over carefully again from head to toe, racking her brains to say a few more words: "Then let's go with this brown one. Yellow is too bright, it doesn't look good." It looks like a big bee without wings.
Li Baidong was delighted and chuckled, agreeing, "I also think the brown one looks better! Bro, wait for me to try it on!"
Half a day had passed, and Li Baidong was having a great time trying on and buying clothes, like a large butterfly flitting among the brightly colored garments, while Xing Lan felt extremely tormented.
Today is Valentine's Day, and the rest area in the store is filled with young girls who have come to buy clothes with their boyfriends. They are all quite young, wearing pretty dresses, chatting and laughing, sharing funny stories and little conflicts with their boyfriends, as well as some things that only girls share, such as which brand of body lotion smells particularly good and that their boyfriends like.
Xing Lan sat with them, and although he was some distance away from the girls, he was forced to hear a lot of girls' private thoughts that he shouldn't have heard. He felt strange, as if he had silently become one of them.
Suddenly, a girl pointed at Li Baidong, who was looking in the mirror not far away, and asked Xing Lan, "Hey, handsome, was that your brother just now? He's so handsome."
The other girls nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, he's tall and handsome."
They were all strangers he had only met once, so Xing Lan didn't intend to explain anything to them. He simply nodded and continued looking down at his phone.
Just then, he heard them whispering and discussing something, and vaguely caught a word that seemed unusually strange in this context.
"orthopedics".
Xing Lan: "..."
He silently searched for the meaning of "orthopedics" on his phone. After finding it, he noticed the subtle yet ambiguous glances the girls gave him and Li Baidong, and his expression changed slightly.
"Actually, he's not my biological brother." To avoid misunderstanding, Xing Lan thought for a moment, coughed lightly, and carefully corrected herself, "He's my junior from school; we went to the same school before."
The girls nodded in sudden realization.
Xing Lan turned her head again, and just as her gaze returned to her phone, she heard their voices ringing in her ears once more.
"He really is gay."
"She's sitting here so sweetly waiting for her husband to try on clothes, she's so adorable."
Xing Lan: "…………"
He and Li Baidong didn't do anything, so how come these girls have such sharp eyes and saw through their relationship at a glance?
That makes sense. The chances of true brothers going out shopping together on Valentine's Day seem a bit slim.
He felt a little embarrassed listening to the girls' unrestrained chatter. He stood up with a dark face, grabbed Li Baidong, who was still admiring himself in the full-length mirror, and pulled him back by the back of his collar. He gritted his teeth and whispered in his ear, "Stop shopping, I'm starving."
Li Baidong, still wearing his new clothes with the tags on, turned around and looked at him, his puppy-like eyes sparkling: "Oh, brother, are you hungry? Then I'll change my clothes back, let's go eat first."
Xing Lan's face was sullen, her ears were red, and she slowly released her grip on his collar.
The two finally left the clothing store and went to a restaurant for a meal together.
They arrived too early; the restaurant wasn't crowded when they ate, and the atmosphere was a bit quiet, but that didn't affect how delicious the food was.
Xing Lan had just taken a bite of salad when he suddenly remembered that Li Baidong hadn't given him a gift all day.
The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. He didn't pay much attention to it, nor was he angry that Li Baidong might have forgotten to prepare a gift for him.
After all, Li Baidong is still a student and hasn't graduated yet. His parents don't give him much living expenses, and he mostly earns money from his self-media work and part-time jobs to cover his food, clothing, and other needs. Xing Lan knows his situation well; if his account doesn't produce any viral videos this month, he won't be able to save much money.
Xing Lan is four years older than Li Baidong and has already started working. Even if they aren't in a romantic relationship and are just friends, he naturally needs to take care of Li Baidong financially. Therefore, he doesn't need Li Baidong to buy him any gifts, especially anything too expensive. Even if Li Baidong were willing to give him a gift, he wouldn't want to accept it.
However, after finishing the meal, Li Baidong took out a very exquisite shopping bag from behind his back, pushed it in front of Xing Lan with his fingertips, and said to him with a smile, "Brother, I forgot to mention, this sweater is for you."
The Valentine's Day gift he gave Xing Lan was a finely crafted white sweater.
This sweater belongs to the private brand of a very famous sweater designer abroad. All the sweaters under the brand are hand-knitted by the master designer himself, so each one is a unique piece.
Xing Lan wiped her hands with a wet wipe, took the sweater out of the bag and looked at it. After seeing the particularly outrageous design, her face stiffened and she looked confused.
"Why...why are there so many holes in this?"
The sweater was a beautiful one, white and soft to the touch, but it had holes of varying sizes all over the front and back, making the amount of wool fabric seem pitifully small.
Xing Lan was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but purse her lips.
Is it really safe to wear this kind of clothing out in public? It's even less fabric than what a beggar wears, with skin showing everywhere and wind blowing in all directions. I feel like I'd get arrested by the police on duty for affecting the city's appearance if I took just a few steps.
Li Baidong smiled mysteriously at him, then cleared his throat and innocently joined in the guessing, "Maybe... this is meant to be worn with the base layer underneath?"
But Xing Lan looked down and rummaged through the bag. Inside was only a bare sweater; Li Baidong hadn't bought him a base layer at all.
For some reason, as Xing Lan lowered her eyes to examine the sweater intently, a waiter stood not far from their table, silently watching them. His gaze shifted back and forth between Li Baidong and Xing Lan, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Li Baidong glanced at him subtly, and the waiter immediately suppressed his gossipy gaze and pretended to be busy as he walked away.
Xing Lan, oblivious to the waiter's gaze, carefully folded the strange sweater again, completely bewildered, and put it back into her shopping bag.
Regarding the puzzling sweater, Li Baidong promised to teach him how to wear it when he got home that evening.
After dinner, the two went to see the latest animated film together. By the time the movie ended, it was quite late, and their date was coming to a close.
Just as Xing Lan was about to leave the mall, Li Baidong, who had been holding his hand, suddenly said in a great hurry that he needed to go to the restroom and asked Xing Lan to wait for him there, saying he would be right back.
Xing Lan had a large bucket of popcorn forcibly stuffed into her hand by Li Baidong, and she stood alone at the mall entrance, waiting for him to come back from the restroom.
As spring arrived, the weather gradually warmed up, but the evening breeze still carried a chill. Xing Lan turned her head and couldn't help but sneeze.
He recalled the first time he went out to eat with Li Baidong, in a cramped and dimly lit French restaurant. Li Baidong had chosen the location, and he was the one paying.
At that time, he and Li Baidong were not very close, and their relationship was lukewarm. He never thought that he would be with a boy who was four years younger than him.
To get the set meal Li Baidong wanted, the two had to pretend to be a couple in front of the staff, almost getting caught. Unexpectedly, after so long, their fake relationship became real.
A few minutes later, Li Baidong returned, running from the exact opposite direction of the public restroom. He skipped and hopped his way to Xing Lan's side, his long, narrow eyes slightly upturned, and a radiant smile on his face.
Xing Lan turned her head casually, but before she saw Li Baidong's figure, she smelled a very strong floral fragrance.
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