。
The moment she stepped outside, she saw Jiang Cheng already waiting for quite some time, standing there in an awkward posture—deliberately looking away, then wanting to glance back to see if she had come out, only to purposely look away again.
His gaze kept flickering between the crowd across the street and then back to her.
How to put it… it was kind of adorable.
Jiang Lingwei truly thought so in her heart.
Without mixing in any inexplicable affection or natural instinctive reaction, she was genuinely amused by Jiang Cheng.
“Hey, that tall guy over there? What’s he doing?”
“Gah!”
Hearing her words, Jiang Cheng shuddered slightly all over. Only after recognizing it was her did he relax his tense body and say, “You scared me. I thought someone else had come to chase me away. Just now, I saw someone watching me from afar.”
“That’s nonsense.”
Holding a paper bag containing underwear in one hand, Jiang Lingwei reached out with the other to pat his shoulder.
“If you were just staring into the store, no one would say anything. At worst, they’d just call you a pervert.”
“That still counts as ‘saying something’ though…”
Seeing Jiang Cheng’s expression, Jiang Lingwei couldn’t help but pat his arm again.
The reason was simple: it felt good to the touch, like one of those sculptures displayed in parks.
And it wasn’t overly hard—just the warmth of flesh, the perfect balance of softness and firmness.
Just like certain spots on bronze statues that tourists often touch until they gleam, Jiang Lingwei found herself liking this feeling a little too.
At that moment, Jiang Cheng reached out to take the paper bag from her hand, but Jiang Lingwei lightly dodged.
“I’ll carry it; it’s not heavy.”
Seeing Jiang Cheng’s expression, Jiang Lingwei said, “You’ll have your turn to hold it later, don’t fight me on this.”
“Alright then.”
Jiang Cheng said helplessly, “I just feel weird watching you carry stuff while my hands are empty.”
“Hmph~”
Jiang Lingwei raised an eyebrow ambiguously and took the lead, stepping toward the electronics and digital devices section.
She still wasn’t used to being cared for.
It was that feeling—before she even reacted, others subconsciously assumed she needed help and prepared to take care of her.
Perhaps that was the benefit of being a woman.
But Jiang Lingwei just didn’t want to rely on such benefits!
If she truly needed help, she would seek it out. But for small things she could easily handle herself, she refused to face other people’s unconscious desire to take care of her.
“Let’s go, shall we pick out a phone?”
Still in a good mood, Jiang Lingwei pointed ahead.
Although she didn’t want to accept this kind of help, she wasn’t angry at Jiang Cheng. After all, she had treated her own companions the same way for a long time.
If she swapped places with Jiang Cheng, she probably would have done the same. In the end, it was just her own mindset that differed from others, so how could she expect others to think like her?
“Phone…”
Jiang Cheng mumbled the word.
“Mm.”
Jiang Lingwei nodded and walked ahead while explaining, “You didn’t see it in the store, but you should’ve seen how I paid at McDonald’s. In this day and age, a phone is basically an essential item to take out. Even payments are made directly through online banking.”
“And, there are lots of other functions too. Recently, they even released a foldable phone at half price, feels almost like a computer now. But personally, I don’t think it’s very practical—you can check it out later.”
There were also high-tech glasses, watches, even projection belts and other gadgets.
When she first learned about those things, Jiang Lingwei was stunned for quite a while. Worried Jiang Cheng might have a hard time adapting, she didn’t say more.
She stuck to just using the phone as an example.
After hearing all this, Jiang Cheng crossed his arms, lowered his head slightly, and began to ponder.
At the same time, his whole demeanor changed.
At one moment, Jiang Lingwei felt as if she saw an indomitable warrior standing atop a mountain of enemy corpses.
She hardly dared to believe her own senses.
Not just a buddy, just buying a phone, and you’ve already leveled up to phase two?
Jiang Lingwei quickly said, “What’s going on? Chengzi?”
“…”
Faced with her question, Jiang Cheng broke out of his silent pose, smiled goofily, and honestly said, “Um… I don’t think I’ve ever used a phone before.”
“Huh?!”
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
Pressed tightly against the wall, Wen Yanquan’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.
She was gasping for air, a cold drop of sweat sliding down her cheek.
Just now, after seeing Jiang Lingwei walk into the lingerie store with that man, she was shocked and immediately made up her mind:
“Follow them! I have to see what’s going on!”
At a moment like this, she even started doubting whether there really was such a thing as a hypnosis app in this world.
Back then, when Little Aurora and the others went out together, she was always shy, using a dressing room alone, refusing to undress if others were nearby. When buying underwear, it was even worse—she would sound so logical about it but refuse immediately if asked to try on in front of others.
Even when going to baths or swimming, she would wait until everyone else had changed, at least putting on a swimsuit or a towel before going in.
And even then, she looked extremely nervous.
Even though everyone was a girl, she always hid herself at certain moments. She couldn’t even bear to look at others—it was so embarrassing.
Yet now, that very same Little Aurora was walking into a lingerie store with a man?!
Without realizing it, Wen Yanquan and a certain store clerk had connected via brainwaves.
(What will happen next? Is it a try-on? A changing room scene?)
Without needing to expend much brainpower, Wen Yanquan immediately saw through it—these two were on a date!
Her mind naturally conjured a scene of Jiang Lingwei lifting her skirt to reveal her body wearing O0: “Honey~ How do I look in this outfit~”
As for the truth that she actually went in to buy underwear for that man, Wen Yanquan never considered it. In her impression, only women shopped in mall lingerie stores.
Even if she knew, her shock wouldn’t be much less.
“We didn’t even play with Lao Lin, tsk tsk!”
“I mean, what’s really going on, and what’s going to happen next?!”
Wen Yanquan didn’t understand what was happening with Jiang Lingwei, nor did she know the specifics of her friend’s situation, so she made the only decision she could at the moment.
That was—
To watch!
Finally arriving at the scene, Wen Yanquan cautiously poked half her head out around the corner of the corridor.
If you changed her position relative to the wall, it looked like a potato mine slowly rising, revealing only a pair of eyes.
(Look… look! Huh?!)
At some unknown moment, the man had already come out of the lingerie store while Jiang Lingwei was still inside.
Then, something impossible happened.
Even though he had been looking in another direction all along, as soon as Wen Yanquan looked at him, it was as if he sensed her gaze.
He immediately turned his head, twisting his body as well, striking a faint fighting stance, his eyes shooting lightning-like sharpness.
In an instant.
Their eyes met for only a moment.
As an ordinary person, Wen Yanquan felt as if an electric current surged through her entire body, bringing an unparalleled pressure and fear.
Before she could even think, her body had already retreated behind the wall.
Wen Yanquan was afraid.