"Kiki, what do you think of this set of clothes?" Shi Man stood in front of a counter in the mall, grabbing Wang Qiqi, who was about to walk past that brand, and asking her to look at an outfit she had chosen.
Wang Qiqi was genuinely exhausted; anyone would have sore feet after walking around for an entire afternoon. Frankly, Wang Qiqi couldn't fathom why she had trailed after Shi Man through the mall for so long. What was worse was that the whole afternoon had been spent solely in the men's section, and they had only been picking out clothes for Dali Jun.
Originally, Wang Qiqi had thought they could sort out Dali Jun's clothes in two hours, maybe even snag a couple of outfits for her own man, and then browse the women's section to pick up a couple of winter pieces for herself. Since she hadn't been downtown shopping for clothes in ages, and today she even had a ready-made bag-carrier tagging along, she hadn't expected Shi Man’s buying impulse to run wild the moment they stepped onto the men's floor. At this moment, Wang Qiqi desperately wanted to summon her actual boyfriend; Shi Man’s stamina was terrifying.
As for today’s male protagonist, Dali Jun, Wang Qiqi estimated he was just as drained. After all, while he was trying on clothes, Wang Qiqi could sit on the sofa or stool specifically provided for resting customers at the counter to recover some energy. Then, after trying them on, he had to strike poses for Shi Man and Wang Qiqi’s appraisal, all while lugging the day's loot behind Shi Man. Wang Qiqi felt a headache brewing just thinking about it. In short, she made a firm resolution: unless absolutely necessary, she would never let Shi Man accompany her to pick out Han Tao’s clothes again; it was a truly miserable undertaking. As for Shi Man, Wang Qiqi guessed she hadn’t sat down for more than fifteen minutes the entire afternoon.
Shi Man noticed Wang Qiqi and Dali Jun lagging behind and shouted, "Kiki, Dummy, hurry up and come over! This is the last item, I promise."
Regarding Shi Man's promise, both Wang Qiqi and Dali Jun could only offer wry smiles. Wang Qiqi retorted irritably, "Your promises are useless now; you've already bought two 'last items' for Dummy."
"This is the last item after trying on about ten others," Dali Jun lifted the shopping bags in his hand high, letting Shi Man see clearly, showing her the extent of her 'combat effectiveness' for the day.
Shi Man had initially spoken to Dali Jun kindly, but when he completely ignored her, she snapped. "Dummy, are you unwilling to change? Do you actually want the girls you fancy later on to be snatched away by other men because of your stubbornness..."
Wang Qiqi let out a long sigh of relief—better them than her. So, Wang Qiqi patted Dali Jun's shoulder, took all the shopping bags from his hands, and amidst Dummy's surprised expression, she pointed toward the row of lounge chairs near the elevator. "I'm going over there to rest for a bit. Dummy, you listen to Manman and take your time picking clothes. I’ll keep these things safe for you."
When Dali Jun heard Wang Qiqi, his shoulders completely slumped. He knew Wang Qiqi wouldn't be that kind-hearted; she was finally showing her true colors. However, Dali Jun remembered that Kiki must have worked overtime just to accompany him shopping today, as she even had dark circles under her eyes. "Go rest for a while. I’ll treat you to dinner when you’re better," Dali Jun knew that Kiki accompanying him shopping like this was a level of treatment even Han Tao didn't receive. It wasn't that Kiki never shopped for Han Tao, but she was efficient; she could get both their clothes sorted in under three hours dragging Han Tao along. This time, just shopping for his own clothes had taken over three hours. Dali Jun was extremely curious about Han Tao's reaction when he found out Kiki had been shopping with him for this long—it would surely be envy, jealousy, and hate.
Shi Man watched Wang Qiqi shuffle over to the lounge chairs, laden with bags, head drooping low. It was clearly very different from the usual Kiki. She knew Kiki was tired, so Shi Man abandoned the idea of calling Kiki over to review clothes. Shi Man had originally thought that with Kiki, the burden, resting off to the side, she could pull Dali Jun along to continue browsing and maybe pick up a couple of things for herself. But when she saw Dali Jun's face drooping too, she became angry. "Dummy, what kind of attitude is that? Little Feng begged me to go shopping with him, and I didn't even agree," Shi Man declared haughtily.
Faced with Shi Man's excellent state of mind, Dali Jun could only grumble inwardly, It's probably because classmate Feng Xuanxiang didn't have time to accompany you shopping, right? Everyone knew that guy often had sudden emergencies pop up. However, Dali Jun was eagerly anticipating the reaction of Mr. Feng the day he accompanied Kiki shopping. The legitimate boyfriend might end up faring worse than Dummy, perhaps dragged from the mall's opening until closing. Of course, maybe Feng Xuanxiang would deploy the 'work emergency' card.
Shi Man dragged Dali Jun inside to try on clothes and missed the look of eager anticipation on his face. If she had noticed it, she would have pressed him further, and the result would have been Dummy spilling his innermost thoughts, leading to a very dire outcome for him, as everyone understood.
Perhaps it was in consideration of Dali Jun’s rare compliance, or perhaps Shi Man herself was tired, but after this item was secured, she said, "Dummy, go pay for this and then come back to collect the clothes. I’ll go find Kiki." Shi Man felt like her feet weren't hers anymore. Ah, she had truly sacrificed too much for Dummy this time. Shi Man had never had feet ache like this while shopping, especially when she hadn't even bought anything for herself yet.
Wang Qiqi was yawning, her eyes half-closed, desperately wanting to sleep but afraid to—what if someone made off with a few bags? She would truly suffer a double loss today. These clothes were one or two hundred each; she might end up owing over a thousand. For Wang Qiqi, who was currently tight on funds, that was a devastating prospect.
"Very tired?" Shi Man saw Wang Qiqi’s head dropping low, trying not to sleep. Suddenly, Shi Man felt she might have been too excessive. Knowing Kiki was strapped for cash recently, busy earning money for her mortgage, Shi Man had insisted on dragging her out shopping. Shi Man immediately felt she had acted terribly.
Wang Qiqi let out a small "Mhm." If they had kept walking and browsing, it might have been manageable, but once she sat down, Wang Qiqi felt she couldn't hold on any longer, only wanting to find a place for a proper sleep. As she squinted, she noticed the guilt on Shi Man’s face, and she smiled. "It's fine. Dummy is my friend too; I can’t just watch him stay depressed. The best way to forget one person is to find a girl who is better than the last one, although I feel bad for the latter option."
Shi Man hadn't expected that the suggestion to 'rehabilitate' Dummy would lead Wang Qiqi to such a thought. "Right! We should introduce Dummy to a girlfriend—she must be beautiful, and of course, have a good heart, not like some people," Shi Man thought that would be the biggest blow to Jiang Xin. But mentioning Jiang Xin made Shi Man feel uncomfortable. "She was such a nice girl, how did she turn out like that..."
Wang Qiqi was speechless too. She remembered the warm girl who helped her check in initially, but how had she become like this? Wang Qiqi didn't mind Dummy being with other men; she felt that was their personal choice. Even if she thought Cao Rui wasn't a good person, it was her business. But didn't she realize that one sentence, which might have been a joke in her mind, had stuck with Dummy? "Forget it, forget it. Maybe she didn't mean it. Let’s just treat her as an ordinary friend."
Shi Man shrugged, indicating she had no issue with that, but only as an ordinary friend. "Next, I foresee Nana having quite a few problems." That guy Cao Rui even said he would come over often to discuss things. When Cao Rui first visited, Shi Man was locked in her room reading French books, but she still caught fragments of conversation. From a student's perspective, what he said wasn't bad, but showing off in front of Juliana? Wasn't that asking for trouble? And with that air of 'my grades are superior.' "Let's take a cab back." Shi Man had planned to browse the women's section, but in this state, she had no energy left. Kiki wouldn't buy clothes, and Dummy had no interest. Shi Man wasn't keen on shopping alone either.
Dummy finally heard the words he wanted to hear and broke into a huge smile. "We can finally go back." As for why Shi Man stopped mentioning shopping, Dummy wouldn't ask, lest she immediately ask him to accompany her shopping for clothes.
Shi Man looked at Dummy's excited face and retorted sharply, "We ended up this exhausted because we were trying to buy clothes for you!" He didn't even thank them for doing him such a favor.
Wang Qiqi watched Dummy, who had just relaxed, get shut down by Shi Man’s words, and burst out laughing. "Alright, let's go home. Dummy treats tonight?" Shi Man had certainly let Dummy splurge today; her anger from Feng Xuanxiang should have mostly dissipated. It was a shame Dummy's wallet would be significantly lighter, and yet he offered to treat everyone to dinner tonight. Wang Qiqi genuinely worried for Dummy's finances.
Although they had spent a lot today, and his wallet was considerably thinner, Dummy still nodded. If it weren't for him, Kiki and Manman wouldn't have come shopping.
"Let Feng Xuanxiang treat us," Shi Man suggested. "Isn't he off today? Even if he has to work overtime, he has to clock out eventually in the evening." If Shi Man hadn't known Feng Xuanxiang was handling important business, she would have already lost her temper.
Wang Qiqi had no objection. Dummy looked at the suddenly murderous Shi Man and very meekly refrained from insisting on treating them, though he felt sorry for Feng Xuanxiang's wallet internally. But that didn't mean he would hold back when ordering food; there was no need to hold back when treating a big spender.
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