Under the sycamore tree by the school gate, a graceful girl stood in the shadows.
She rested one hand naturally behind her back, her beautiful eyes scanning the passing students as she searched for the figure she was expecting.
The girl’s lips gradually curved into a smile when a black-haired girl appeared in her vision, looking somewhat in a hurry.
“Sister Xiaoli! I didn’t make you wait too long, did I?”
Qi reached her and panted slightly, her gaze appearing a bit restrained as she looked at the older girl.
“I only just arrived myself. Your outfit today is very different from before.”
“Ah… yeah.”
The black-haired girl nodded unnaturally.
She knew exactly what Jiang Wanli was referring to; the White Silk Stockings on her legs were simply too conspicuous.
Suddenly, Jiang Wanli leaned down, bringing her face close to Qi’s eyes to look at her carefully.
“Have you… been crying?”
“Ah, is it that obvious?”
The black-haired girl took a step back.
She raised both hands to cover her eyes slightly, but she left a small gap between her fingers to peek at Jiang Wanli.
“My results for the Monthly Exam were terrible, so I was a little sad.”
The older girl seemed like she wanted to press further, but Qi hurried to wave her hands.
“Sister Xiaoli, please don’t ask any more. It’s embarrassing, after all.”
Seeing this, Jiang Wanli chuckled and nodded.
“Alright.”
Qi let out a long breath.
As if gathering her courage, she said to Jiang Wanli, “Sister Xiaoli, are you free in a bit?”
“If I weren’t free, I wouldn’t have agreed to meet you.”
“Then, can you go clothes shopping with me? I won’t be a bother. Just think of it as hanging out together, going out for some fun…”
The black-haired girl’s voice gradually trailed off as she spoke.
“Of course. Shall we head out now?”
Jiang Wanli agreed with a nod.
“Really? Then let’s go now!”
Hearing the girl’s reply, Qi’s eyes sparkled, and she seemed very happy.
She even appeared a bit impatient, carefully grabbing the edge of Jiang Wanli’s sleeve to lead her away quickly.
However, in the next moment, she felt something placed on top of her head.
“Mmph~”
Qi touched it.
It felt like a hat?
“I accidentally took it with me before and kept forgetting to return it. Since you took the initiative to find me this time, I brought it along.”
It turned out to be the hat that belonged to the Academy Uniform.
No wonder Jiang Wanli had kept one hand behind her back earlier; had she been hiding this the whole time?
To be honest, Qi had been a little bothered when she first realized the hat was gone, but after that feeling passed, it hadn’t really mattered anymore.
Now that the hat was back, however, she still acted very happy and let out a deliberate, feisty huff.
“I thought Sister Xiaoli didn’t plan on giving it back to me~”
“How could that be? Let’s go.”
Jiang Wanli naturally took hold of the hand that was tugging at her sleeve.
“Huh? Wait—”
The black-haired girl seemed startled.
“Is something wrong?”
Jiang Wanli tilted her head slightly.
“Since we’re going shopping, holding hands makes us look more intimate, right?”
“I—I suppose so…”
Qi lowered her head and pursed her lips.
She had intended to avoid holding hands as much as possible this time, which was why she had substituted it with the seemingly close gesture of grabbing a sleeve.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Wanli’s hands to be so fast.
As she walked hand-in-hand with the girl beside her, that strange feeling surfaced in her heart once again.
This time, however, Qi did not resist it.
She needed to play the part of someone who liked the other girl anyway, so there was nothing wrong with following along with this illusion.
“Speaking of which, this is the first time you’ve proactively come to find me, Qiqi,” Jiang Wanli suddenly said as they walked.
“Even though you’re always very enthusiastic, you always keep a great distance. Why is that this time?”
‘Did she still sense my avoidance?’ Qi lowered her eyes.
She thought she hadn’t been that obvious.
“I was afraid of disturbing you, Sister Xiaoli. Besides, you’re confident, gentle, have great grades, and you’re so proactive. You even became the President of the Learning Committee right after transferring to this School. On the other hand, I’m just… well, I’m stupid and don’t have many strengths.”
“Every time I see you, I feel like you’re glowing. Even though I admire you and really want to stay by your side, I still…”
Her voice died out as she spoke.
The black-haired girl kept her head down, her expression hidden by the shadow of her hat.
“Is that how you think?”
“Ah! I’m just talking nonsense! Sister Xiaoli, don’t mind what I just said. I’ve just been a bit busy with my part-time job lately, haha…”
Qi lifted her head again and gave Jiang Wanli a bright smile.
“Sister Xiaoli, do you know if there are any places nearby that sell dresses? I rarely buy them. Ah, it’s best if they aren’t too expensive. I don’t have much money right now…”
“If it’s dresses, I do know a place.”
After a moment of thought, Jiang Wanli led Qi around a corner and toward a street on the other side.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a clothing store.
“You should be able to find many nice clothes here that fit your size.”
The black-haired girl quietly checked the brand of the shop.
After confirming it wasn’t the one owned by Bai Qiaoyu’s family, she felt safe enough to step inside.
“Welcome!”
The Boss greeted them warmly.
“Are you bringing your younger sister to buy clothes?”
Jiang Wanli smiled and nodded.
“Can you recommend a few suitable dresses for her?”
“No problem at all!”
The Boss gave Qi’s figure a quick once-over before heading into the store to pick out some items.
The black-haired girl followed along.
She checked the prices and found they were generally between 300 and 500, which was a bit expensive for her, but barely acceptable.
From the dresses the Boss recommended, she picked a few relatively cheaper ones to try on.
They all looked excellent once she put them on.
“This young lady is a natural clothes hanger. Most dresses won’t look bad on her,” the Boss couldn’t help but praise.
“She feels very suited for work as a Clothing Model.”
“Haha…” Qi gave a dry laugh.
‘Why are you cursing me, Boss?’
“I’ll take these.”
The black-haired girl quickly made her choice.
About 30 minutes had passed since she started trying things on.
She didn’t intend to spend too long on the actual shopping.
She hadn’t specifically invited Jiang Wanli out just to watch her buy clothes; time needed to be spent on more meaningful things.
With the dresses chosen, she still needed to buy some stockings.
She planned to get a mix of Black Tights and white ones.
“How about this? Sheer Stockings. They’re very cool to wear and are a very popular product in our shop.”
“Isn’t this… a bit too revealing?”
“Haha~ You’re an interesting little girl. It’s fine to have bare legs normally, so why do you think Sheer Stockings are revealing?”
Qi didn’t know how to defend herself.
In the end, she followed the Boss’s recommendation and bought a few of each style to try out.
The pair she was currently wearing, which Luo Qing had given her, was made of very thin fabric but wasn’t sheer at all.
She didn’t know what material they were made of.
She suspected that her legs’ level of acceptance for stockings likely had to do with their thickness.
If the stockings were too thick, the final effect would probably be the same as wearing trousers, which would interfere with her normal movements.
But if they were too thin, it would make her feel ashamed and uncomfortable.
It was like two scales on her legs; one side was her sense of shame, and the other was her sensitivity.
Leaning too far in either direction was no good.
It was incredibly difficult to manage.
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