Chapter 40 Part 2

“Trust me, this set is perfect for you. It suits your vibe so well.” The sales associate eyed Zhu Ran like she was dressing her own BJD doll. “Sure, it’s a bit formal for everyday, but life has moments that deserve special treatment, right? And Qixi is coming—if you wear this on a date, it’ll be a huge surprise for your date.”

Zhu Ran: “…”

A shock, more like… He couldn’t imagine Huo Boyan’s face if he saw him in a skirt.

Zhu Ran silently took the clothes into the fitting room, then realized belatedly, Why didn’t I refuse? Her sales skills must be top-tier!

He tried the outfit he’d picked first. It was about what he’d expected, and the discounted price wasn’t outrageously high, so he planned to buy it.

As for the set the sales associate had handed him, Zhu Ran hesitated, thinking no one would see anyway, so he steeled himself and tried it on.

Even though he’d prepared mentally, he was shocked by how revealing it was once he put it on—his entire waist and thighs were exposed, and the skirt was so short it’d flash if he sat. Even worse, with no expression on his face, just wearing it made him look like he was out to seduce Huo Boyan.

Terrified, Zhu Ran quickly changed out and left the fitting room, shaking his head firmly at the sales associate. “Sorry, I don’t want this one.”

She looked regretful, but Zhu Ran was resolute. He paid, grabbed his shopping bag, and hurried out.

Even more frightening was that even after changing back, the shameful feeling from trying it on lingered on his body. He never should’ve listened to her sweet talk.

Zhu Ran shook his head, trying to banish the awful image forever. But as he turned, he spotted Huo Boyan in the atrium.

Huo Boyan seemed to be working, walking with a group in suits—maybe inspecting a project or just passing through.

The shame hadn’t faded from Zhu Ran’s face yet, so he didn’t want to say hi. He quietly ducked to the side, avoiding Huo Boyan’s line of sight. But Huo Boyan had already seen him and walked over proactively.

Zhu Ran: “…”

He silently hid the shopping bag behind his back. The gift for Huo Boyan was explainable, but buying new clothes to see the guy? Too weird.

Fortunately, Huo Boyan didn’t notice the bag. He just greeted him calmly. He looked busy, with subordinates around, so he confirmed tomorrow’s meeting time again and left with his group.

Zhu Ran breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t dare shop more and took a cab home.

That evening, the niuniu store welcomed a super VIP customer. The manager closed the store to serve him personally. The generous guest signed a huge order, reportedly for his younger brother and sister for the season change.

“Oh, right, one more thing,” the customer said after selecting clothes. He pulled up his phone album with a smile. “This gentleman came to your store this morning. Could you tell me about his preferences? I’m afraid he might not like what I buy.”

Everyone passed around the photo. The manager pointed to the sales associate who’d helped Zhu Ran. The girl clasped her hands in front of her, grinning with eight teeth showing. “This way, Mr. Huo. Let me introduce you—this set caught the young sir’s eye especially.”

Zhu Ran was oblivious to what happened at the store. He went home, ate dinner, showered, agonized over whether to get a haircut (and gave up, scared of messing it up), restrained the urge to contact Huo Boyan, and finally went to bed.

Then he lay awake until the wee hours.

Zhu Ran dozed off groggily. When he came to again, it was already 10 a.m.—he’d slept through all his alarms!

His meetup with Huo Boyan was at 10! Ahhhh!!

Zhu Ran scrambled up and immediately called Huo Boyan to apologize. “Huo Boyan, are you there yet? Sorry, I was insomnia last night and overslept. Can you wait a bit? I’ll be down in 10 minutes.”

“No rush,” Huo Boyan’s steady voice came through the phone. “I just left too. Take your time.”

Zhu Ran finally relaxed but didn’t dawdle. He brushed his teeth, washed up, changed, and hurried downstairs.

A black mid-size sedan was parked by the road. Huo Boyan stood by the car in a deep gray suit, holding a huge bouquet of pink roses. His suit today was looser than business style, less formal and very stylish. He’d switched to silver thin-framed glasses, looking fashionable and elegant. Standing by the car with the flowers, he was romantic like a movie star in a shoot.

Zhu Ran stared blankly, taking several seconds to snap out of it and jog over. He inwardly regretted it a bit—knowing Huo Boyan would dress up this much, he should’ve prepared more seriously.

Huo Boyan heard the footsteps and looked up, roses in his arms.

The evening before, Huo Boyan had bought lots of niuniu clothes based on Zhu Ran’s taste. But seeing Zhu Ran in the morning light now, he felt he’d bought too few.

Zhu Ran matched niuniu’s aesthetic perfectly, looks and vibe. Today, he wore light gray loose suit pants, a white high-waisted long-sleeve shirt, accented with just-right accessories—youthful, pretty, alluring, with a rebellious artist-student edge. He was a walking brand mannequin.

“Huo Boyan, you’re here?” Zhu Ran reached him and called his name, tilting his head up slightly, eyes sparkling. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I just got here too,” Huo Boyan said, his gaze landing on Zhu Ran’s face with a smile. “Can I give you the flowers today?”

The sweet scent of pink roses filled the air, turning the area into an idol drama set. Zhu Ran inhaled the roses’ sugary fragrance and realized he and Huo Boyan were in matching color schemes—like couple’s outfits at first glance.

Zhu Ran’s face heated up. He took the flowers from Huo Boyan to hide his flushed cheeks, then ducked into the sedan.

Huo Boyan got in the other side. The partition rose, and the driver headed to their destination.

Zhu Ran had walked this road countless times before, but today, with Huo Boyan by his side, it felt exceptionally tense and uncomfortable.

The car was very quiet, with no music playing, so Zhu Ran could hear his own somewhat heavy breathing.

He lightly clenched his hands on his knees, feeling a faint embarrassment. His usually quick-witted mind suddenly froze, and he couldn’t come up with a single decent thing to say to break the silence.

“Zhu Ran,” Huo Boyan suddenly spoke up, his gaze crossing over the bouquet of roses between them as he said very seriously, “Can we put the roses in the trunk?”

“Ah?” Zhu Ran froze. “I’m fine with it either way, but why?”

“They’re in the way,” Huo Boyan glanced at the roses and calmly said something foolish. “This bouquet is blocking the space between us, but I want to be closer to you.”

Zhu Ran burst out laughing with a puchi, and the embarrassment and politeness vanished in an instant. “Huo Boyan, you’re so silly.”

—

Author’s Note: The outfit Zhu Ran tried on was the Miu Miu 2022 spring ready-to-wear set with the super-short top and low-waist mini skirt—super spicy, but it’s out of season now. In the main story, I used niuniu to avoid any issues.