Walking out of the hat shop, Kiana was still preening, checking her reflection again and again in the mall's glass windows.
This hat did an excellent job of covering her conspicuous hair. Coupled with the wide brim obscuring part of her face, even Kiana's vibrant aura was somewhat subdued.
"How does it look?" She tilted her head up confidently so Shu wouldn't just be looking at the hat.
"It's alright." Shu stared at the face beneath the brim for quite a while before slowly spitting out an answer he knew would leave Kiana unsatisfied.
Yes, he did it on purpose.
"Just 'alright'?!" Kiana took the bait hook, line, and sinker, her eyes widening in indignation.
"Mhm... it looks good." Shu let out a soft chuckle, finally shifting his gaze away from Kiana's face.
"That's more like it."
Satisfied, Kiana withdrew her gaze. Holding his hand, she marched toward the escalator with high spirits and a triumphant strut.
The second floor was the women's clothing section.
It was even more dazzling than the first floor—an absolute ocean of clothes.
All colors, all styles, all designs were densely packed on racks, spread out on display tables, and worn by mannequins.
It wasn't that Kiana had never seen such a scene before. As the daughter of the Kaslana family head, and being close friends with the young miss of the Far East MEI Corp, she had seen scenes far grander than this.
But... she had never actually tried shopping for clothes herself.
Before she ran away from home, Cecilia would dress her little white furball beautifully every single day. Aside from the few outfits Kiana particularly liked, she rarely wore the same thing twice.
After running away, she did experience a period of "wandering," but Mei soon came along to take care of her food, clothing, and daily life, raising her to be plump and happy, leaving her with virtually zero life skills.
And the only period that could be considered as honing her skills a bit... well, she had to go to school, right? It was so convenient to just cycle through a few school uniforms!
"Shu..." Kiana's eyes started spinning in spirals.
"Yeah?"
"So many..."
"Yeah."
"So, so many..."
"I see them."
"I don't know where to start..."
Shu whipped his head around, staring at Kiana's dizzy, spiral eyes in silence for a second.
So you weren't excited at all!
"Ugh—what should I pick for the first one!"
Kiana looked around blankly, her gaze drifting from dresses to blouses, from denim jackets to floral skirts.
"This one looks good... that one looks good too... that color is so pretty... I've never tried a style like that..."
She turned her head and looked pitifully at Shu.
"Shu, how about you pick for me."
Shu froze.
"Me?"
"Mhm, mhm!" Kiana nodded frantically. "You pick for me! You have a good eye!"
"How do I have a good eye?"
"You did a great job picking the hat just now! And—" She paused, pointing towards his apartment. "That whole wardrobe of figures you picked were all me, which proves you have a great eye for picking me!"
What kind of logic is that?!
"Pick them yourself." Shu shook his head in refusal. "Your clothes, your decision."
"But I can't decide!"
Kiana tugged at his hand, swaying her whole body.
"Shu~ please pick for me~ just this once~ it's so rare for me to visit a mall~ do you have the heart to let me wander around confused all by myself~"
Her voice was even sweeter and more cloying than when she was acting spoiled this morning.
Shu performed another tactical lean backward. He felt that a few more times of this and he might develop antibodies.
Besides, no matter how "rare" it was for Kiana, her experience in malls was definitely more abundant than his, whether counting the last time she visited one or the total number of times.
"You—"
"Just try a few! Just a few! You pick a few for me, and I'll do the rest myself!"
"You'll do the rest yourself?"
"Mhm, mhm! Just get me started! Once I get started, I'll know how to choose!"
Shu fell silent.
This reason sounded somewhat logical, but he couldn't help feeling something was off.
Just then, a voice spoke up from the side.
"Is the gentleman helping his girlfriend pick out clothes? How sweet."
They both turned their heads simultaneously.
A young woman in a clerk's uniform stood nearby, watching them with a bright smile.
Shu: "No—"
"Yeah, yeah!" Kiana spoke up before him. "He won't help me pick, Miss, please help me talk to him!"
Shu immediately leaned his head in, his eyes full of disbelief.
Squad Member Kiana! What are you doing?! Are you in your right mind?!
"Do you know what you're saying—"
Shu gritted his teeth, wanting to give Kiana a warning, but Kiana completely ignored him, continuing to ask the clerk for help.
Um... her method of asking for help involved holding onto Shu's arm with both hands and acting very frail and helpless.
Her tactics were formidable.
The clerk paused for a moment, then smiled even brighter.
"Sir, it's very normal to help your girlfriend pick out clothes. Many boys here help their girlfriends choose, and some even do a better job than the girls themselves."
"I'm not—"
"Plus, your girlfriend is so beautiful, she'd look good in anything. Whatever you pick will definitely suit her."
"She's not my—"
"Just give it a try, Sir. It doesn't matter if you pick wrong, your girlfriend won't blame you."
Shu opened his mouth and found he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Beside him, Kiana was nodding enthusiastically.
The clerk looked at Shu with a beaming smile, wearing the exact same enigmatic expression as the clerk in the hat shop earlier.
Shu was silent for a full three seconds.
Then he sighed and shot Kiana an exasperated glare.
Just to get out of doing it yourself, you actually used this kind of method? Kiana, you menace.
Kiana suddenly felt a bit guilty, experiencing the awkwardness of having her true intentions seen through.
"Just a few," Shu answered helplessly, not even daring to let out a hmph.
Kiana's eyes lit up.
"Yay!"
Shu let go of her hand and walked toward the nearest rack of clothes.
Only the clerk, the sole person who hadn't seen through the game beneath their "ambiguous" facade, smiled wider and wider.
It's been so long since I've seen such a textbook couple interaction~
---||---
Three minutes later.
Shu demonstrated to both Kiana and the clerk what it meant to have an eye for aesthetics, and what it meant to be efficient.
In just three short minutes, Shu was holding several outfits of completely different styles.
It was as if he didn't even need to think. He just casually swept his gaze over the racks, precisely picked out several exceptionally good-looking pieces from the piles of clothes, held them up against Kiana to measure, and nodded.
A loose-fitting knit sweater that looked like a piece clipped from the sky, soft to the touch and looking very comfortable.
A pair of off-white straight-leg casual pants adorned with delicate, fine chains that didn't look overly complicated at all.
It was clearly a versatile, everyday piece, but when Shu held those pants up against Kiana, they looked incredibly fitting.
A light-colored tracksuit with white stripes. Just looking at it exuded vitality—that was the one Kiana liked the most.
And one more piece—uh, an evening gown.
A light purple long dress with draped fabric, the hem flaring out slightly, covered in fine sequins like wearing the night sky.
The neckline featured a simple off-the-shoulder design. Paired with another shawl Shu held, it wouldn't be overly revealing at all and exuded an elegant temperament.