After the agreement, Gu Xuan stopped at a 24-hour shopping mall.
“Each of you picks an outfit, I’ll pay for it, and you’ll all give me the clothes you change out of, including Tang Yuxin’s—I want to burn them.”
Tong Xiaosong was a bit uncomfortable accepting things from others and hesitated, “Wh-why…”
Wu Mabo sighed, “Because it’s inauspicious, Young Master! Buy the expensive ones! Don’t save money for anyone, got it, Tong Xiaosong!”
Tong Xiaosong:…
Gu Xuan smiled, “Buy whatever you like, even luxury items, and I’ll foot the bill. Let’s go.”
The group entered the mall.
Three shirtless young men and a girl still attracted a lot of attention, especially the only girl who looked tired and weary, her eyes red as if she had just cried.
Gu Xuan and the others followed Tang Yuxin to the women’s clothing section first.
Worried about Tang Yuxin’s safety, the mall staff frequently gave her meaningful looks.
Tang Yuxin broke into a smile, finally feeling less afraid.
After changing into the new clothes, they moved to the men’s clothing section. Gu Xuan, Tong Xiaosong, and Wu Mabo picked out clothes together.
Gu Xuan casually chose a set of casual wear and changed into it, presenting a tall and straight figure with a lofty demeanor.
Wu Mabo also made a swift decision, directly selecting the most expensive sportswear in the store, which cost Gu Xuan over ten thousand yuan.
Tong Xiaosong looked at the dazzling array of sparkling branded men’s clothing, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
He had never bought clothes from a place that looked expensive before. In the past, he usually bought whatever was cheap and wearable from street vendors.
Now, suddenly presented with so many choices, he didn’t know what to pick.
Hesitating, he reached out toward a rack of clothes in front of him, touching the sleeve of a sportswear piece, unsure if it suited him.
As his fingers touched the cuff, a tag came into view, displaying a price of 3,200 RMB.
It felt like an electric shock, and he quickly withdrew his hand.
Seeing this scene, a store employee approached Tong Xiaosong, saying considerately, “How about looking over there? They’re currently on sale…”
Tong Xiaosong’s gaze involuntarily shifted in that direction, and just as he was about to take a step, a hand rested on his shoulder, and a clear voice sounded above him, “No need for the discounted ones; he needs something higher-end. Please help him choose a casual shirt suitable for school. Money is not an issue, but it must suit him.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Tong Xiaosong:…
After saying that, Wu Mabo ran in the direction of the store employee, clearly determined to oversee Tong Xiaosong’s purchase and make sure to buy the most expensive set.
Gu Xuan chuckled, took something out of his pocket, and unfolded his hand in front of Tong Xiaosong, saying, “This is for you. You probably need it now.”
Tong Xiaosong lowered his gaze and saw a black, ordinary-looking thin headband that could be found anywhere.
His heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but look up at Gu Xuan.
Gu Xuan smiled, “I saw it over there just now and thought it suited you.”
Tong Xiaosong’s heart skipped a beat again.
No!
He immediately covered his heart. This was Gu Xuan!
Tong Xiaosong shook his head cautiously, “I don’t need it, thank you.”
He closed his eyes, trying to recall Zhi Xian in his mind, attempting to use Zhi Xian to override the palpitations in his heart.
A few seconds later, he despairingly realized that Zhi Xian had unexpectedly overlapped with the current Gu Xuan.
If Zhi Xian were in front of him, it would probably be like this.
Tong Xiaosong opened his eyes, took several steps aside as if avoiding a ferocious beast, not wanting to have any more contact with Gu Xuan.
Tang Yuxin, who was silently watching on the side, felt that Gu Xuan didn’t seem as bad as Tong Xiaosong described. Wasn’t he quite gentle? Moreover, he could even say sweet words, and surprisingly, they weren’t cheesy.
Gu Xuan looked at the profile of Tong Xiaosong, wanting to say something. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and swallowed back all the words.
He handed the headband to Tang Yuxin, saying, “This is for you. Give it to him.”
Tang Yuxin: …?
Gu Xuan wasn’t as gentle with Tang Yuxin, his tone somewhat chilly, “Hurry up.”
Tang Yuxin: … Tong Xiaosong was right; this person is arrogant and nasty!
Considering she still needed Gu Xuan’s help with the Immortal Hall, Tang Yuxin silently swallowed her pride. Holding the headband, she came behind Tong Xiaosong, lifting her hand to tie a few strands of troublesome hair behind his head.
Although Tong Xiaosong wanted to evade, Tang Yuxin whispered, “Consider it a gift from him to me, and I’ll give it to you. A simple headband, just think of it as something he owes you! Alright, look at yourself in the mirror.”
There was a full-length mirror nearby, and as Tong Xiaosong turned his head, he saw his own appearance.
Because he was shirtless, he did look a bit funny now.
Fortunately, he wasn’t as frail as before. His upper body was covered with slender muscles, and it didn’t look too disheveled.
Moving his gaze upward, he saw his own hair. He had never carefully examined himself under the lights before.
The mall was never lacking in bright lights, and for the first time, he realized that his hair was so smooth and shiny.
The slightly curled curvature of his hair unexpectedly gave off a somewhat noble feeling. A simple headband neatly tied up the stray hairs behind his head, miraculously adding a touch of artistic atmosphere, making him look like a well-off art student.
Tong Xiaosong couldn’t believe it and touched his hair, feeling doubtful. Was this really him?
During the usual washing up in the dark mirrors of the washroom, he didn’t look this good.
At this moment, the shop assistant came back with the clothes, all of them carefully matched as sets.
Gu Xuan glanced at the clothes and said in a good mood, “Try them all on, and keep the ones that look good.”
Tong Xiaosong snapped back to reality. Lowering his head, he quickly took a set of clothes from the shop assistant, whispering, “Just this one, I don’t want the others.”
After saying that, afraid to meet Gu Xuan’s gaze, he immediately went into the fitting room. Anxious, he even felt scared of himself.
Wu Mabo felt a bit regretful and said, “They will all look good. If you don’t buy now, when will you?”
Gu Xuan looked at Wu Mabo, lips curved in a smile.
Wu Mabo glanced at Gu Xuan, skeptical, “Aren’t you angry? Why do I feel like you… have changed a lot?”
Gu Xuan raised his eyebrows, “Really? I’ve always been generous to Tong Xiaosong.”
Wu Mabo thought about it, and it made sense. He couldn’t trap a wolf when unwilling to part with the child. Perhaps Gu Xuan had changed his seduction strategy.
But this scumbag wouldn’t get Tong Xiaosong.
He snorted coldly, “No matter how generous you are to Tong Xiaosong, it’s useless. He definitely won’t like you.”
Gu Xuan smiled, said nothing, and turned to pick shoes near the shoe cabinet.
After a while, Tong Xiaosong walked out of the fitting room. Because he was not used to the clothes on his body, he walked a bit awkwardly, feeling a bit restrained.
Wearing a casual-designed shirt and long pants, he had achieved an extreme level of low-key. The outfit had subtle embellishments in small details, making Tong Xiaosong exude a high-end and elegant feeling.
Although he naturally possessed an air of elegance, it didn’t appear sharp; instead, it added a touch of innocence and softness.
The shop assistant was already stunned.
Tong Xiaosong, somewhat embarrassed, asked, “How is it?”
Wu Mabo and Tang Yuxin were somewhat immune, but they also looked surprised.
“Go-good looking…” Wu Mabo stammered, “Your, your outfit… fuck, I should have chosen clothes from that side just now. Why does it look so good!”
Gu Xuan returned with a pair of genuine leather sandals. After glancing up and down at Tong Xiaosong, he said to the nearby shop assistant, “The same style of pants, but change them to shorts.”
The shop assistant snapped out of it and quickly responded, “Sure.”
Gu Xuan placed the sandals at Tong Xiaosong’s feet and said, “Put these on.”
Tong Xiaosong’s heart trembled. He took a step back, biting his lip and resisting, “I won’t wear them; there’s no need to change shoes.”
“Why not change? The shoes need to be burned too,” Gu Xuan turned around and instructed Wu Mabo and Tang Yuxin, “You two also go pick shoes, then give me the ones you take off. We’ll burn them together later.”
Wu Mabo and Tang Yuxin:…
Wu Mabo snapped back to reality and immediately said, “You said that! I’ll go pick sneakers then!”
Gu Xuan nodded, “Whatever.”
Everyone knew that Gu Xuan was doing this on purpose. Tong Xiaosong wanted to retort, but his teammates switched sides too quickly.
After hesitating for a moment, Tang Yuxin said, “Then later, can you accompany me to the women’s shoe section to pick a pair of shoes… Is it okay if they cost over 5,000 yuan?”
Gu Xuan nodded, “You can go with Wu Mabo; he can give you some advice.”
“Thank you!” Tang Yuxin immediately went towards Wu Mabo, not forgetting to give Tong Xiaosong a meaningful look, signaling him to give Gu Xuan a good punch.
Tong Xiaosong:…
Ahhh Zhi Xian being the sugar daddy for his baby!💝💝
I feel frustrated for our ghost gong, he wanna tell his true identity to tongtong so bad 😩💔
ZHI XIAN SPOILING HIS WIFEEEEEE HDUDHDHDHEHS
Kudos to the author for managing to very naturally slip the ol’ ML-takes-the-MC-shopping trope into a horror story. 🤣