Something he has come to noticed that the way people dressed in this world was drastically different from his previous life. Back then, clothing had generally been conservative and modest. The older generation would have described the fashion here as outlandish or eccentric.
In New Eridu, it was entirely common to see women with their legs or backs on display, along with all manner of distinctive outfits. The girl who had just collided with him was wearing a full maid outfit, for instance.
If she had appeared in his previous life, younger people probably would not have given her a second thought. But if she had crossed paths with an older person who disapproved, she would have been subjected to a relentless, completely unreasonable lecture.
That did not happen here. People might glance twice at a girl in a maid outfit, but there was no hostility in it.
For Ye Qingfeng, it had taken a small adjustment period at first. Now he had no objections whatsoever. If anything, he had come to appreciate it.
This was, in fact, one of the reasons he enjoyed strolling through the streets.
"U-um..." At that moment, Corin finally remembered there was still a person lying on the ground. She tiptoed over to him in small, cautious steps, bent down, and instinctively grabbed the edges of her skirt. She asked shyly, "Sir, are you alright?"
Hearing a voice beside him, Ye Qingfeng's unfocused gaze slowly sharpened. What came into view was a girl with chestnut twintails, standing near his head and blocking most of the light. Tilting his head slightly, he could see her thighs, a little soft, with several band-aids scattered across them. Looking further up, all he could make out was a pair of white shorts.
That was as far as the view went. He was mildly disappointed.
Corin, meanwhile, had no idea her skirt had been assessed. All she knew was that the man she had knocked over had not responded. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her soft voice took on a faintly sobbing edge.
"U-um... sniffle... are you okay?!"
Ye Qingfeng suddenly felt a small drop of water land on his lips. He instinctively licked them. Salty.
A pitiful sound reached him from above. He looked up and saw that her eyes were full of tears. He immediately understood where the drop had come from.
So who, exactly, was the injured party here?
"I think I can still be saved." Ye Qingfeng struggled to sit up and said hoarsely, "Can you help me up?"
"Ah! O-okay!"
Corin set her shopping basket down at her feet, circled quickly to his side, grabbed his arm, and lifted with everything she had.
He had not expected her to be that strong. With her help he made it upright. The sudden movement caught his chest wrong, and the sharpened pain made him hiss through his teeth.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Corin's eyes filled again immediately. "Should we go to the hospital?"
Ye Qingfeng felt a sharp sensation in his thigh and looked down to find a tearful little face at close range and a skirt hem lined with serrated metal edges.
Who puts spikes on a skirt? Luckily they were just pressing into him rather than moving. If she shifted suddenly, it would be a much messier situation.
"It's fine, nothing serious." He was sweating despite himself but kept his voice reassuring. Then, more urgently: "Miss Corin, please do not move. Whatever you do, do not move."
In his mild panic he had used her name without thinking about it, and did not notice he had done so.
"Huh? Okay."
Corin blinked at suddenly hearing her name, but she obeyed immediately. Even the tears that had been building in her eyes seemed to pause. She went perfectly still.
Ye Qingfeng took two careful steps back and exhaled.
From a safe distance, he finally had a proper look at her.
A delicate, doll-like face with very fair skin. Probably because he was staring, her cheeks had taken on a faint blush, like cherry blossoms in early spring, giving her a shy and endearing quality. Her eyes were a clear purple, bright and slightly uncertain, with a trace of genuine innocence in them. Her soft chestnut hair was tied into twintails, and, he noticed with some interest, her eyebrows were the same warm color as her hair.
He filed that observation away.
Corin had held perfectly still the entire time he was looking. Being watched for that long was clearly affecting her. A nervous quality crept into her eyes, and she bit her lower lip very lightly.
The maid outfit she wore was classic in construction, black and white with a full pleated skirt. It looked composed and put-together, right up until you noticed the metal accessories attached to the hem, chest, and headpiece. The skirt hem in particular now made considerably more sense as a recent hazard.
Very cute overall. That was the dominant impression. And the expression currently on her face made a specific secondary impression, which was that teasing her would produce enormous guilt and would also be extremely tempting.
From the moment he had stepped back, Corin had not moved. He had been looking at her for a solid ten seconds, and she still had not moved.
"You can move now."
There was only one explanation. He said it gently.
The sight in front of him was oddly refreshing, and even the pain in his chest had faded a little.
Corin's posture relaxed immediately, but her expression remained cautious, if anything more nervous than before.
"Okay... Um, does your chest still hurt?" She looked briefly at his face and then away, unable to hold the eye contact. "How did you know my name? And why were you staring at me earlier?"
In his experience, that kind of question usually arrived at volume and with an edge.
*You know my name?! And you were staring at me?! Explain yourself!*
That was the usual register. He had not expected it to come out like this instead, quiet and careful, as though she was worried about phrasing something wrong.
Teasing her would absolutely come with a substantial wave of guilt. It would also be very entertaining.
If Nicole were called by name out of nowhere, she would be on high alert within the second. Corin had quietly, carefully asked. The contrast was striking.
"I did not expect Miss Corin's head to be quite that solid, but I am fine now." A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "How do I know your name? That is a secret. As for why I was staring at you, do you really want to know?"
"Oh, I am so relieved you are okay!"
Corin let out a long breath. Knowing he was genuinely fine settled something in her, though outwardly very little changed.
"Um. Corin would like to know."
She turned her head to look at the shelf beside her. Her faintly flushed cheeks communicated what her expression did not. Both hands gathered the edges of her skirt. She drew a small breath and asked, in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
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