The moment he was dragged inside, Lin Yu did panic for a second.
He thought this girl was really going for it today, planning to jump his bones right then and there.
However, the darkness that followed calmed him down.
Sure enough, the girl’s voice, thick with panting and trembling, soon reached his ears.
“C-Can you help me take a look… how is this lingerie set?”
This reaction almost made him laugh out loud. Although it seemed like Xia Yanran was the one taking the initiative in their relationship, she was actually always being led by Lin Yu without realizing it.
It had been the same way the first time they were together.
“I say, Classmate Xia Yanran, you’ve covered my eyes. How am I supposed to see?”
Xia Yanran, who was already extremely shy, realized she had done something stupid in her panic after hearing him say that. How was he supposed to see if his eyes were covered?
But… but…
The thoughts in her head and her actual actions were always two different things.
She looked down at what she was currently wearing. The thought of letting go and letting him see her in such a defenseless state made her heart feel like it was going to leap out of her throat, and her cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg.
More importantly, she wasn’t very confident. This lingerie wasn’t her usual style at all. What if…
“T-Then I’ll let go, but you can’t laugh at me…” Xia Yanran’s voice was so quiet she could barely hear herself.
The clerk hadn’t lied; the soundproofing really was excellent, but Lin Yu heard her clearly.
“I won’t laugh. And if you don’t want me to see, I can just close my eyes and walk out.”
After saying this, Lin Yu also felt he was being a bit too calm.
But there was nothing he could do. When facing this girl, trying to act out the naivety of a young boy felt like he was being too hard on himself.
Xia Yanran didn’t have the mind to notice that right now. Her heart was filled with anxiety and shyness as she slowly moved her hands away and took a step back.
She forced herself not to cover up, keeping her arms stiffly at her sides like she was awaiting execution, waiting for her sweetheart’s evaluation.
Lin Yu slowly opened his eyes, his vision going from blurry to clear.
Even though he was somewhat prepared and had seen her more times than he could count, the sight before him still made him freeze for a moment.
Xia Yanran was wearing a set of purple lace lingerie he had never seen before.
It wasn’t flashy; it was a dark, mysterious lavender purple, completely different from her usual energetic image.
The delicate lace pattern wound down from her chest, outlining a full yet slightly youthful silhouette.
The thin straps left faint marks on her fair shoulders, and the matching bottoms were adorned with exquisite lace edges.
The style of this lingerie definitely carried a sexy flavor that surpassed her age.
On her, it carried a sense of contradiction, mixing maturity with a lingering innocence.
But perhaps she had forgotten, for the thin white silk stockings on her legs strangely neutralized that effect. This unseen contrast made Lin Yu’s heart skip a beat.
Xia Yanran didn’t look at him. She stared at a spot on the fitting room wall, her eyelashes trembling violently, her cheeks so red they looked ready to drip blood.
She stood there like a purple bud that had just barely opened its petals, shivering in the night wind.
The silence persisted, their breathing—one deep and one shallow, both slightly hurried—intertwining in the small space.
“H-How long are you going to look… say something…” Xia Yanran squeezed out the words while biting her lip.
“Oh, oh! Um…” He leaned back against the door.
Lin Yu could clearly see what she was thinking, but now he faced a very serious problem.
Should he praise her or not?
Praising her would definitely make her happy, but if she got happy, it wouldn’t be good if something happened between a lone man and a lone woman in this place.
But if he didn’t… she would definitely be sad. And making her sad…
He found his conscience fighting with his survival instinct, and the battle was deadlocked.
While Lin Yu was entangled in silent hesitation, every second felt like an eternity to Xia Yanran.
What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he saying anything? Is it not good?
I wanted to try a style like my mom’s, but it really doesn’t suit me…
Her expectant and shy mood gradually turned into disappointment. The mist of excitement in her eyes slowly condensed into a single teardrop that slid down amidst her wild thoughts.
“Hmm?”
That teardrop completely shattered the balance of Lin Yu’s thoughts. His conscience received a massive boost and sent his survival instinct flying.
“W-Why are you crying?” He quickly reached out to wipe the teardrop from her face, but the more he wiped, the faster they fell.
“I don’t know!” Xia Yanran sobbed out.
She really didn’t know. She just felt something blocked in her heart. If she didn’t cry it out, she felt she would suffocate from the sensation.
This outburst caused Lin Yu’s expression to shift, somewhere between a frown and a smile.
For a while, neither spoke. One cried while the other hurriedly wiped away the tears.
After a while, Xia Yanran stopped crying. Her nose twitched as she looked at him with eyes full of grievance. “Tell me… is it pretty…”
Lin Yu was truly afraid of her now. He smiled and nodded. “It’s pretty, it’s pretty, okay? It’s not something to cry over, really.”
“Hmph, perfunctory… Out!”
“Hey, wait!”
They say a woman’s face changes faster than flipping a page. After she was done with him, Lin Yu was pushed straight out.
With a helpless expression and eyes full of doting, he looked at the fitting room door. “This girl…”
Just then, a tissue was suddenly handed to him.
Lin Yu subconsciously said “Thanks,” then turned to see the shop assistant’s ambiguous, smiling face.
“Uh… we…”
“Shh…” The clerk made a silencing gesture and whispered, “I understand, I understand. Young people like to seek excitement. And it looks like you’ve got some good handiwork, classmate. Tsk tsk.”
Obviously, she had misunderstood something because of Lin Yu’s wet hands.
“No, this is…”
“Shh…” The clerk didn’t give him a chance to speak. She made the gesture again and said, “No need to explain, I get it. But… you have to buy any products you’ve used.”
“…?!”
Only then did it dawn on him as he looked around, noticing that this lingerie store had an unusually large number of fitting rooms.
“You guys…”
Seeing that he understood, the clerk just smiled without a word and walked away.
Looking at her back, Lin Yu felt that her smile was full of the scent of a crafty merchant.
***
“Welcome back next time.”
After paying and coming out, Lin Yu glanced back at the storefront once more. It made sense why they could make money.
Just these two pieces of cloth cost over eight hundred yuan.
“I say, you’re really willing to spend, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be better to do something else with this money?” Lin Yu glanced at the girl beside him, who seemed quite satisfied.
Xia Yanran tilted her chin up, her ponytail almost swishing. “Hmph, I felt like it.”
Lin Yu didn’t hold back in teasing her. “Right, right. Then don’t go asking me for a loan later, Sister Xia.”
“Tsk, lunch is on you.”
“On what grounds?”
“I let you have quite the eyeful, didn’t I? What’s wrong with buying me a meal?”
“Hey, wait…”
“Hahaha~” Xia Yanran laughed, her mood bright.
She didn’t actually like this lingerie that much, and it seemed like Lin Yu didn’t think it suited her either.
But… seeing the genuine panic from the bottom of his heart when he saw her cry let her know that she did have a place in his heart after all.
That was enough. That goal wasn’t something that could be achieved in a short time. She had the patience to slowly pry open the door to his heart and squeeze her way inside.
The two of them didn’t know that on another floor, a tall person and a short person had run into each other again.