“Welcome.”
The shop assistant greeted the customers immediately upon their arrival, walking toward the entrance as she spoke.
But as she reached the doorway, her breath suddenly caught, and her gaze involuntarily fixed on the tall man standing there.
His handsome and delicate features, strong yet not bulky physique—all of it made the shop assistant’s heart skip a beat.
More importantly, it was his aura.
Despite his silver hair, he didn’t give off the rough, delinquent vibe typical of someone who dyed their hair just to follow a tacky trend.
Instead, he exuded a heroic presence.
If she were five or six years younger, she might have thought this man was simply good-looking—perhaps even less impressive than some celebrities or the school bullies from the neighboring class.
However, after years of living in the real world, she could instantly tell that this was a man with a story.
His aura was like that of a Western cowboy walking into a chaotic bar in a novel she had read just yesterday.
No matter how much fighting and brawling was going on inside, this man simply came over, ordered a drink from her, the bartender, and drank in silence—making her want to know the story behind him.
Such a presence.
The shop assistant had seen all kinds of people, but she had never encountered anyone quite like this—especially not in… a lingerie store.
Then, in the next instant, her gaze shifted to the man’s female companion.
“!”
Just one look, and the shop assistant felt a strange sensation.
It wasn’t because the woman’s appearance or figure intimidated her or sparked any jealousy—nor was it about the obviously expensive clothing that even someone half-experienced like her could recognize at a glance.
It was a… indescribable, inexplicable warmth.
Not as blazing as the sun, nor as gentle as the moon, just a simple warmth that made one feel refreshed and bright.
Back in that bar, in that chaotic world, as the bartender, she had felt an inexplicable calm just by wiping the glass in her hand and watching a delicate young noblewoman in a bright dress fearlessly walk through drunken brawlers, gun-wielding shooters, and shouting thugs, only to sit beside this storied cowboy and order some bread.
The two didn’t speak, nor did they need to.
Their hearts were connected.
In this noisy, chaotic world, it was only the two of them, silently drinking their wine and eating their bread.
And as the bartender, she felt like the luckiest witness to a legend being born—an event she could tell her descendants about for days.
Of course, although the shop assistant had many feelings, her thoughts were not overly complicated.
At this moment, she had no worldly desire for the man, nor any spiteful jealousy toward the woman.
As a fanfiction author who also created works in her spare time, her mind held only one thought:
“Wow! Even though I don’t know who these two are, they look so good together!!!”
Having made up her mind, no matter who these two were or why they had come here, the shop assistant prepared herself to ship this couple hard.
She maintained a delicate balance—close enough to provide attentive service and witness their interactions firsthand, yet giving them enough space.
“What would you like to look at?”
The words just slipped out.
Though she was only working here part-time without any real sense of belonging, a sudden wave of embarrassment hit her.
After all, lingerie was a private, somewhat taboo thing.
If this had been a shoe store or a clothing shop, things would be much easier.
“…”
The man seemed hesitant to speak.
After a moment’s silence, his female companion took the lead.
“Hello, you should have a tape measure, right?”
Jiang Lingwei tapped Jiang Cheng’s waist.
“Please measure his size, and then just buy a few pairs of breathable, loose-fitting underwear—say, ten pairs.”
(Measuring size?)
The shop assistant’s mind flickered with confusion.
Generally, once you’re this grown, you wouldn’t come here just to get measured and then pick out the right clothes, right?
(Could it be?!)
She was shocked.
At that moment, she took another look at the man’s tense expression, barely concealed beneath his stoic face, and the confident, even slightly teasing look on the woman’s face.
Her mind immediately fired up with memories of countless classic scenes from shoujo manga and novels.
And she found her answer!
(It’s that legendary—)
(The childhood friends, tsundere noble lady and the aloof guy?! Just waiting for one of them to confess and win over the other?)
Joy, pure joy—how could she not be over the moon?
A pairing that had once only existed in her fantasies was actually appearing in reality!
For the shop assistant, it was like a shaken believer witnessing a miracle.
In the past, reality had dealt her many blows, making those stories seem like mere illusions.
But now, she wanted to shout aloud:
“Gods above, you really do exist!”
If not for her mature professionalism, she might have already dropped to one knee, shedding tears of reverence for this honorable pairing!
Even as she forced herself to stay composed, her lips twitched into a wide grin, her whole body trembling.
She no longer saw any awkwardness here.
After all, lingerie and swimwear stores were golden places for deepening relationships between men and women!
Perfect, this place was perfect!
Meanwhile, Jiang Lingwei looked at the suddenly strange shop assistant with a puzzled expression, reaching out a hand slightly.
“Hello? Are you feeling unwell? What’s wrong?”
“No, no, not at all.”
Afraid of missing something, the shop assistant quickly turned and took out the tape measure from behind the counter to begin measuring.
There was no need for Jiang Cheng to take off his pants—the thickness alone was enough for her to calculate.
After finishing the measurements, the assistant blinked and asked,
“You only need men’s underwear, right? Our shop doesn’t have many styles…”
Usually, those who care about underwear styles enough to shop both online and offline are women.
So even though the store claims to sell both men’s and women’s lingerie, the selection for men is pitifully small.
Not that it’s about profit—the shop assistant mainly hoped they might pick out some women’s lingerie as well, so scenes like “Darling, look how this looks on me,” or “Brother XX, do you like this?” could naturally unfold!
“Mm.”
Jiang Lingwei nodded. “I don’t need any. Just get him some dark-colored ones, mainly black or dark blue.”
She then nudged Jiang Cheng with her elbow.
“Is it your birth year animal? Do you want a red pair just in case?”
“No… no, it’s not…”
(Oh no.)
The shop assistant silently groaned.
(Why can’t she just let it go? Was my hint too subtle?)
While the assistant went to find the underwear, Jiang Cheng lowered his head and whispered,
“So straightforward?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Jiang Lingwei lightly bumped him on the head before saying,
“Relax. Buying this isn’t any different from buying clothes.”
“But…”
Jiang Cheng looked despondent, having stared mostly at the ceiling from the start.
The shelves around him were filled with either the tops or bottoms of women’s lingerie.
With a conspicuous man standing here, he already felt many eyes on him just from a short moment ago.
Even the shop assistant kept glancing at him multiple times!
His memory and common sense didn’t include anything about men coming to lingerie stores, so he was completely stuck.
If not for Jiang Lingwei accompanying him, he would have run away long ago.
As for Jiang Lingwei? She couldn’t relate to this “Xiao Chunan” mentality at all.
She had been to stores like this countless times when out shopping with others.
Once or twice might be embarrassing, but after many times, it simply didn’t matter.
Many places once mysterious to men were already familiar and re-explored endlessly.
With that experience, anyone would be desensitized.
Later on, Jiang Lingwei could even join in on private women’s conversations without batting an eye.
—She could even participate.
Soon, the shop assistant came back with a few pairs of underwear and asked,
“Sir, would you like to try them on?”
“Try?”
Jiang Lingwei glanced at Jiang Cheng.
“No, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Jiang Cheng had nowhere to put his hands or feet and just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
(—-)
The shop assistant was desperate.
(This is exactly when I should have insisted on a fitting and started the try-on session!)
(Damn… Is there no other choice…)
“Alright then, Chengzi, you…”
“I-I’ll wait outside.”
Watching Jiang Cheng flee in panic, Jiang Lingwei was completely baffled.
What exactly was he afraid of?
The shop assistant’s twitching smile as she tried not to laugh made her feel even stranger.
If it weren’t for her quick glance confirming that no one outside was acting strangely, she would have almost thought this was some kind of magical attack.
“Please wrap these up for me. I’ll pay now.”
“Alright!”
The shop assistant responded loudly, as if making a firm decision.
Not long after, she handed over the bag and quickly glanced outside at Jiang Cheng, then whispered to Jiang Lingwei,
“Good luck, I support you.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Lingwei stepped out of the store, puzzled by what exactly she was supposed to be cheering on.
Well, the shop assistant probably meant well—she must have misunderstood something.
“Whew.”
Sitting down, the shop assistant relaxed completely as if she had just completed a crucial mission.
“Burned out… really burned out…”
“Hopefully, all the products I personally stocked here won’t have been wasted.”
“Come on, come on, keep it up!”