“It’s just a street away, it takes only about ten minutes to walk there.”
Jiang Yumo lowered her head and sent a message to Yan Qing and Sun Mengting: [I have something to do, I’ll be late. You guys go ahead and have fun.]
Duan Ye walked beside her, paying attention to the road conditions, although it wasn’t necessary. He looked like someone not to be messed with, and even adults walking on the road would instinctively avoid him.
The pedestrian street was bustling, with several shops placing speakers outside, as if there was a competition going on, each one trying to be louder than the other, and the sound waves of the noisy music felt like a physical blow. Duan Ye thought Jiang Yumo was really going shopping for something… until she walked into a clothing store.
A store that specialized in men’s clothing.
For students like them, parents first consider sportswear and casual wear brands, which usually sell men’s and women’s clothing together. There are often incidents of students wearing the same clothes or shoes at Fifth High, probably because there are too few clothing brands to choose from at their age.
They had just passed by such shop earlier, and when they did, Jiang Yumo deliberately slowed down her pace.
She looked inside and hesitated, but shook her head in the end.
Duan Ye was a bit older than her. He was born in 1991, his birthday is in November, and he would be turning eighteen in about three months.
She just felt that the clothes of those brands were not quite suitable for him.
A bit too childish.
Duan Ye stopped in front of the men’s clothing shop and his face, which usually didn’t show much expression, showed a rare hint of surprise. The shop was air-conditioned and she was inside while he was outside. Seeing his reaction, she waved her hand to fan a little wind as she had broken into a sweat on the way over, and said, “Come in.”
In just a few seconds, Duan Ye stepped into the shop and asked, “Come here…to shop?”
Jiang Yumo pointed to his clothes, “I feel like they’re not wearable anymore, why not buy something new to wear?”
She paused for a moment, emphasizing, “I’ll buy it for you.”
Duan Ye looked around the shop and then looked at her, seeming somewhat helpless. “I don’t need clothes.”
“That’s your business,” Jiang Yumo turned around, her high ponytail tracing an arc in the air. She walked into the shop. There was a shop assistant there, idly looking at his phone. She looked up briefly when Jiang Yumo entered and casually said, “Check out the new arrivals, try them on if you like.”
After speaking, the shop assistant lowered her head again.
Perhaps she thought students like Jiang Yumo wouldn’t buy anything, so she didn’t want to waste her breath or time.
Jiang Yumo didn’t mind, she carefully looked and picked out clothes, occasionally reaching out to touch the texture.
The short-sleeved shirt she was wearing was already on the shorter side, and when she raised her hand, it revealed a slender waist.
Duan Ye stood not far from her, intently watching her.
Jiang Yumo had a genuinely good personality and a great popularity. In her third year of junior high school, she had prepared a thick classmate notebook, which was not enough for others to fill in. Her classmates had filled it out, and students from other classes also left their marks in her notebook. She almost never got into conflicts with anyone. Even if she had a quarrel with someone, she would take the initiative to write a note to her friend, solemnly saying, “Let’s make up!”
But she had grown up as an only child, pampered by her parents and relatives. She didn’t need to share what she had. Everything that was goof, from food to clothing and other expenses, was tightly centered around her. She could also be willful and indulgent, but this side of her was only seen by those close to her.
This girl seemed to be born to “be served.”
If she said she wanted to buy it, even Duan Ye couldn’t refuse.
From time to time, she would take a piece of clothing and press it against Duan Ye’s body to examine it closely, furrowing her pretty eyebrows as if she was struggling to decide.
Young boys and girls always caught people’s attention with their youthful aura, even if their appearance wasn’t particularly outstanding. Moreover, Jiang Yumo was extremely beautiful, while Duan Ye had a strong sense of presence among teenagers. Even the lazy shop assistant who had been lounging around in a corner looked over, perhaps reminded of something, with a gaze that was both scrutinizing and nostalgic.
Finally, Jiang Yumo picked out a few pieces of clothing and handed them to Duan Ye. “Go try them on.”
Duan Ye : “….”
Duan Ye could only withstand the shop assistant’s scrutiny from head to toe as he entered the fitting room.
Adults generally do not have a fear of children like Duan Ye. He was too young. After Duan Ye went into the fitting room, the shop assistant moved over to Jiang Yumo’s side and struck up a friendly conversation, “Is he your boyfriend? He’s quite stylish.”
Compliments are usually reserved for those who are handsome or beautiful.
Complimenting a teenager for being stylish… It’s strange, but also accurate.
Jiang Yumo ignored the first sentence and playfully asked, “Can you give us a bigger discount?”
The shop assistant chuckled, “We don’t have face discount here. But if you really buy something, we can give you some gifts.”
Trying on clothes in the summer is convenient, and Duan Ye came out soon after they had spoken for a short while.
The clothes looked pretty good, without any flashy patterns, but they were a bit short.
Jiang Yumo was slightly surprised and said, “I picked XL size.”
She had never gone shopping for clothes with a male friend before, and in her understanding, XL was really big. Moreover, she had just gestured a bit, and this clothes was really big. If she wore it, it would probably cover up to her thighs.
The clothes were too small for Duan Ye, who ended up making them look short.
The shop assistant turned around and got a larger size, explaining to Jiang Yumo, “Little sister, you don’t know this, but your boyfriend is probably over 1.8 meters tall. XL size is not suitable for him… with his body type, he should always take the largest size.”
Duan Ye looked up, and his eyes seemed to light up at some of the words.
Jiang Yumo was still amazed by Duan Ye’s size and didn’t notice the words “your boyfriend.” She responded, “I see. I was just thinking if XL would be too small.”
The shop assistant couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t you know how tall he is?”
Jiang Yumo looked at Duan Ye, their eyes met, and she felt a bit overwhelmed by his gaze.
Luckily, Duan Ye took the clothes from the shop assistant and went into the dressing room.
Even though the store had the air conditioning on, his palms were sweating.
Jiang Yumo was curious and tried on an XXL short sleeve shirt, “It’s so big.”
She just realized how large Duan Ye’s body was.
She knew he was tall. Every time they did morning exercises on the school field, he always stood out in Class 10 of the grade, catching people’s attention at a glance. But before today, she didn’t have a clear concept of just how tall he was. “Tall” was just tall… until she held up the clothes that fit him against herself and felt it for herself. It turned out to be like this.
Duan Ye came out of the dressing room.
The clothes fit him perfectly, not too long or too short, and looked even better on him than on the mannequin.
When he went in to change, she sneaked a peek at the price tag, which wasn’t cheap for a student. The label said 399 yuan, and even with the 20% discount the shop assistant gave them, it was still 320 yuan. Jiang Yumo brought 1000 yuan with her today and after some consideration, she asked Duan Ye to try on another piece of clothing.
They spent about ten minutes in the store, and Jiang Yumo picked out two short-sleeved shirts. The shop assistant liked them very much, as they were young students together, with no consideration for the dangers of young love, but the kind of concentration that youth has is really moving. So, she decided to give them an employee discount of 25%, so the two short-sleeved shirts cost 598 yuan.
Jiang Yumo opened her bag and took out her apricot-colored wallet, and was about to pay.
But Duan Ye put his hand on top of hers and shook his head. “No need.”
He asked her, “Do you like them?”
Do you like me wearing these?
Jiang Yumo looked at him.
He said again, “I’ll buy them myself.”
Unlike Jiang Yumo, who is still receiving pocket money from her parents, Duan Ye started making money for himself after the high school entrance exam.
Of course, he didn’t want to talk about how he earned his money, fearing that she wouldn’t like it.
Jiang Yumo was also stubborn. “I said I’m treating you, so I’m treating you. If you keep refusing, I’ll just go back!”
This was already a threat.
Her parents gave her money to treat her friends, which was part of her birthday fund. She could already imagine that Duan Ye had already planned everything for today, and she definitely wouldn’t get a chance to pay. He might have already considered this situation early on, and she didn’t want to argue about money in front of others or with him. As a shy girl who had watched too many TV dramas and read too many novels, she felt that talking about money with him was not a good thing, and she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She was getting frustrated.
She didn’t want to say it, but she was also worried that he didn’t have enough money to spend.
Finally, when she thought of buying clothes, he refused, which made her even more angry.
So what should she do then?
In her state of annoyance, a blush crawled up her fair face, and her clear eyes became even more watery. Duan Ye instinctively moved his hand, which was resting on the back of her hand, away.
Jiang Yumo had a childlike face, and she jumped up happily when she knew he had relented. She took out the money from her wallet with great gusto, paid for everything, and her whole body seemed to be emitting pink bubbles, as if she had done something great and made herself very happy.
After the shop assistant made the receipt, Jiang Yumo suddenly remembered, “Elder sister, didn’t you say you would give us a gift? Don’t break your promise!”
Maybe a pair of socks would be nice!
The shop assistant didn’t even look up and just pointed to a corner, “Go pick something from over there, but it can’t cost more than fifty yuan in total. The prices are marked on the tags.”
Jiang Yumo led Duan Ye happily to the corner, but as soon as she saw what was hanging on the shelves, her pretty face turned red, from her neck to her face, and a layer of red mist covered her.
Duan Ye… He was also embarrassed. He thought it would be something like socks, but he didn’t expect to see a row of…
“Forget it.”
His voice wavered a bit.
Jiang Yumao breathed a sigh of relief, but felt that something was off.
“You, you choose for yourself!” Jiang Yumo said, “I’ll go wash my hands at the opposite shopping mall, and we’ll meet at the entrance later.”
Anyway, she had already paid.
Duan Ye was about to say something, but Jiang Yumo interrupted him, “Don’t waste it, I’ll be back soon!”
After saying that, she ran away from the store as if something was chasing her from behind.
The shop assistant was confused, but she came over with the receipt and saw Duan Ye, the tall young man, standing in front of the row of items, clearly puzzled.
Ah, young man, this is youth!
Thank you for the chapter! Hm…I’m guessing it’s boxers/briefs?