"Shu, Shu, look at that!"
Kiana dragged Shu by the hand, practically pressing her entire body against the glass display case of a jewelry store.
The tip of her nose lightly touched the glass, her eyes wide and round as she stared at the sparkling diamond necklace inside.
"So pretty..."
Standing behind her, Shu looked at the price tag on the necklace.
It was a number longer than his lifespan. If placed anywhere else, this single necklace would put him at risk of falling into the execute threshold.
He was silent for a second.
"Let's go." He tugged on Kiana's hand.
"Wait a minute, let me look a little longer—"
"You can look, but we can't afford it."
"So what if I look!" Kiana turned back righteously. "Looking doesn't cost money!"
"Then don't press your face so close, the clerk is looking at you."
Following his gaze, Kiana saw that sure enough, the clerk behind the counter was looking their way with a professional smile, looking as if her next move was to step forward and ask Shu if he wanted to buy the necklace.
Uh...
If Shu was forced to say, 'We're just looking, not buying,' he'd probably die of embarrassment, right? He wouldn't forcefully buy it just to save face, would he?!
Startled by the thought, Kiana shuddered, shrank her neck, and decisively dragged Shu away.
Led by Kiana, they fled the extravagant jewelry section as if escaping for their lives, diving headfirst into the cosmetics area.
A cacophony of various fragrances mixed together—sweet, faint, strong, refreshing... It was like a palette of overturned perfume bottles.
Kiana took a deep breath, then sneezed violently.
"Achoo!"
Doesn't smell as good as the few bottles of perfume in Shu's room.
"So sharp... the smell is so strong..." She rubbed her nose, wrinkling her face as she muttered a small complaint.
"Let's go, we're heading to the second floor." Shu, the only one who heard Kiana's complaint, also exhaled somewhat uncomfortably through his nose and pulled Kiana toward the escalator.
"Wait, wait, wait," Kiana pulled him back. "Weren't we going to browse starting from the first floor? We've only seen jewelry and cosmetics. What about over there, what do they sell over there?"
She pointed to a minimally decorated shop in the distance, asking in confusion.
"They sell phones over there." Shu turned his head for a glance and gave the answer.
"Oh~ so it's for buying phones... uh... do I need one?" Kiana nodded in understanding, then turned to ask Shu.
Shu looked down at her and asked in return, "Do you think you need one?"
"Hmm..." Kiana fell silent, Kiana pondered, Kiana hummed in thought.
"I don't think I really need one..." She swung their joined hands and smiled at Shu. "Let's go then, off to the second floor!"
She started dragging him again.
Dragged for two steps, Shu suddenly stopped.
"Wait a minute."
"What's wrong?"
Shu looked at her. His gaze lingered on her face for two seconds before shifting away to scan the surrounding crowd.
"You..." He paused. "You stand out a bit too much."
Kiana blinked, not quite registering his meaning.
"Stand out how?"
"You..." Shu pointed at her hair, then at her face. "White hair, blue eyes, and you look... Anyway, you stand out too much. If someone recognizes you..."
Kiana paused, then realized what he meant.
"Oh~" She dragged out the sound. "Are you trying to say I'm pretty?"
Shu's ears turned slightly red.
"...I'm saying you easily draw attention."
"Isn't that still saying I'm pretty?"
"That's two different things."
"It's the same thing." Kiana shook her head smugly, her ahoge bobbing happily along. "You're just saying I'm pretty."
Shu was silent for two seconds.
"So are we going or not?" he asked.
"Let's go!" Kiana happily kept pace with him. "But you're right, I really do stand out too much. Um... is there any way to fix that?"
Shu didn't speak, simply leading her toward a hat shop.
The hat shop wasn't large, but it had a full variety.
Baseball caps, berets, bucket hats, straw hats, fedoras... Various hats lined the entire wall, making one feel as if simply speaking a word here would result in being crowned with a tall hat.
The clerk was a young woman. Seeing the two enter, her eyes paused on Kiana's face for a second. She was visibly startled by that face, but she quickly recovered her professional smile.
"Welcome, what are you looking for?"
"Do you have any hats that can be worn indoors and provide good coverage for the face?" Shu asked concisely.
This was a rather rare request. The clerk looked at Kiana, who was curiously looking around while being subtly shielded behind Shu, and suddenly understood Shu's "earnest intentions."
Ah, he's being protective—
"Yes, yes, take a look at these models—"
Shu nodded and began scanning the hats on the wall.
Kiana stuck by his side, looking around curiously.
"How about this one?" She picked up a pink baseball cap and measured it against her head.
The hat was quite cute, and the light color matched Kiana's hair color, but her ahoge stubbornly poked out from behind the brim, sticking straight up.
Shu took one look and decisively shook his head.
"It can't suppress it."
Looking in the mirror, Kiana also noticed the problem.
"Oh, you little—!" Feeling a bit defiant, she reached up to press it down, but the moment she let go, the ahoge stubbornly sprang back up.
"Heh, the ahoge is your true main body," Shu chuckled at Kiana, who was currently wrestling with her own hair.
Kiana glared at him and turned to try others.
But an ahoge will always find its way out from under a hat.
"..."
Kiana stared thoughtfully at the forever-unsuppressible ahoge in the mirror.
"Is it doing this on purpose?"
"I told you, that's your main body."
"What main body! I am... mmph..." Kiana really wanted to loudly announce her illustrious name and have Shu bow in reverence, but leaving aside whether Shu would be scared by her name, he had just said she stood out too much.
Kiana muffled her voice, swallowing her name back down. She glared fiercely at Shu, then turned her head away, deciding to ignore this big meanie for three seconds.
Seeing she still hadn't let go of his hand, Shu smiled. He turned and took a hat off the wall.
It was an off-white wide-brimmed hat with a slightly drooping brim, adorned with purple carved patterns. The overall material was relatively soft and could be reshaped.
"Try this."
Before the three-second penalty time was even up, Kiana very naturally took the hat and placed it on her head.
Shu reached out and helped Kiana press the brim down a bit, then gathered her hair back so the hat completely covered the top of her head.
The ahoge was suppressed.
Although a slight curve was still visible, it was at least no longer in a state of "open rebellion."
Kiana checked herself left and right in the mirror.
"Woah—it really held it down!" She first checked the effect of the hat, then squinted at the mirror, confirming she was still the same beautiful girl, just a bit more low-key.
The clerk watched their entire interaction from the sidelines, wearing an enigmatic smile.
"This gentleman makes a very good point," she said. "Soft hats are indeed better suited for people with thick hair. Plus, this is our new arrival for the year. The material is very breathable, so it won't feel stuffy, and it looks truly beautiful on you, Miss."
Hearing this, Kiana grew even happier and turned to Shu.
"We're buying this one?"
"Up to you."
"Then you pay."
"..."
Kiana righteously adjusted her hat and dragged Shu to the checkout counter.
Shu sighed and pulled out his phone.
As the clerk scanned the code, she couldn't help but steal another glance at the two.
"You two have such a wonderful relationship," she said with a smile.
Kiana paused for a moment, then smiled even brighter.
"Right?!"
Shu's ears turned red again.