Before she could get an answer, Qiu Wu had already stood up. The woman touched the ointment on her back to make sure it had dried, then immediately put on her pajamas. “Alright, stop thinking about it. It’s not like it’s an important question. Let’s go make breakfast; we still have a date to go on today.”
“Mm.” Luo Bai watched the woman’s flustered figure retreat, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
Since their last date had been planned by Luo Bai, based on the principle of fairness and equality, it was now Qiu Wu’s turn to organize.
Naturally, Qiu Wu could not drag Luo Bai back to West Luocheng to tour her family’s farm the way Luo Bai had dragged her to a lecture. She did not know much about District 5 either, so while browsing boredly in bed last night, she had simply searched on a social networking app for “places in District 5 suitable for couples to visit.”
The result left her deeply disappointed. In Luocheng’s urban planning, District 5 was the concentration area for high-tech industries, even housing several of Future Technology’s research institutes. With so many enterprises, the population was naturally dense, and a place that wasn’t very large to begin with could not squeeze in many amusement facilities.
Qiu Wu scrolled through posts for a full hour, and the most recommended spot turned out to be the chain shopping mall, Luochuan Mall.
The comment below read: You still have the mood to go on a date in a corporate slave grinding ground like District 5? Go watch a movie, eat a meal, and rush back to work overtime, sisters.
Qiu Wu: “What a terrifying place.”
Although in her heart she felt shopping malls had nothing fun to offer, to avoid messing up, Qiu Wu still chose to follow the crowd.
After eating breakfast, the two of them drove toward Luochuan Mall.
Shopping malls all over the world were actually identical, essentially gathering the most profitable and space-efficient projects together in categorized sections.
Luochuan Mall in District 5 was several times larger than the one by Qiu Wu’s school gate. The decoration was a cold, hard sci-fi style, and the shops inside were much the same, except for an exceptionally large number of luxury storefronts.
“Do you want to watch any movies?” Qiu Wu pulled up the currently showing movie catalog, about to hand it to Luo Bai, when she noticed that the people passing by kept glancing at Luo Bai, their gazes filled with curiosity mixed with envy.
Luo Bai paid no attention to other people’s gazes, taking the phone from her to browse the catalog on her own.
Qiu Wu, however, could not just turn a blind eye, and followed the passersby’s gazes to look at Luo Bai’s clothing.
It was an unbranded version of Future Technology’s work uniform. Luo Bai seemed to only have this kind of clothing; she wore the branded version at work and changed into the unbranded one after getting off.
Having stayed with her for so long, Qiu Wu had grown numb to it, but seeing it now through the odd gazes of passersby, she realized that the cut and material of this clothing were noticeably different from regular clothes.
“Let’s go buy you a set of clothes first.” Seeing the people nearby showing signs of eagerly wanting to come over and strike up a conversation, Qiu Wu looped her arm through Luo Bai’s and pulled the bewildered, head-raising woman into the nearest shop.
“Why buy clothes?” Luo Bai was somewhat puzzled.
It wasn’t like she had nothing to wear, and moreover, the comfort level of Future Technology’s work uniforms should be superior to most clothing on the market.
“You’re always wearing all white. I want to see you wear something else.” Qiu Wu didn’t really want Luo Bai to understand that normal people wouldn’t exclusively wear work uniforms, nor did she want to explain those strange looks, so she casually made up an excuse.
“Oh.” Having accepted her reasoning, Luo Bai raised no further objections. The two of them entered an affordable chain store primarily focused on casual windbreakers and everyday wear, where an enthusiastic clerk greeted them warmly. “Welcome.”
Qiu Wu pulled Luo Bai over, as the latter was looking around in curiosity. “Could you please recommend a few outfits suitable for this lady?”
The clerk met Luo Bai’s expressionless face, then looked at her clothing, first showing astonishment before professionally breaking into a smile. “No problem at all. Do you have any specific requests?”
Luo Bai pondered for a moment. “They must use A1-grade materials mandated by the Luocheng Clothing Production Regulations, and require inspection certificates related to clothing safety.”
The clerk: “Huh?”
With a head full of black lines, Qiu Wu pulled Luo Bai aside. “Comfortable and loose is fine, something a bit more youthful.”
Putting aside the fact that clothes on the market must have passed inspections, even if they genuinely didn’t comply, the store wouldn’t admit to it anyway.
“Oh, oh, alright.” By this point, the clerk could already tell that the relationship between the two was unusual, and furthermore saw that Qiu Wu was the one calling the shots, smiling as she said, “This lady is naturally very young anyway. Still in university, right?”
Probably feeling that there was no need for a stranger to know her personal information, Luo Bai didn’t answer. Qiu Wu muttered an ambiguous assent, feeling a faint sense of reflected glory as she smiled warmly at Luo Bai.
The woman’s skin and figure were both impeccably maintained, coupled with that aloof gaze, making her look even younger than the vast majority of college students.
The clerk quickly picked out two outfits for Luo Bai. Qiu Wu checked that the matching and sizing were fine, pulled a light pink coat from the pile, and handed it to her. “Put this on and try it out?”
Luo Bai weighed the clothing in her hands, examining it repeatedly. “We’re not changing the rest?”
“Wait until we get home and wash them once, just in case you’re allergic.” Qiu Wu blinked.
Luo Bai’s earlier words had reminded her; the woman would throw up from eating spicy hot pot, so wearing clothes straight from outside might give her a rash. The uniform pants weren’t overly conspicuous; as long as she changed out of the outer coat, probably not many people would pay attention to Luo Bai.
“Okay.” Luo Bai took the clothes and prepared to enter the fitting room, but Qiu Wu followed right behind her with lingering worry. “You haven’t really worn clothes from outside before, I’ll go with you.”
The clerk, who had watched the whole process, was left speechless, words hanging on the tip of her tongue.
The two of them looked like a couple, yet acted like a mother and daughter.
The fitting room was quite spacious. Qiu Wu stood to the side holding the coat while Luo Bai took off her outer layer, revealing a black tight-fitting base layer underneath that outlined the woman’s lean, athletic contours and set off her skin to be even snow-white.
Luo Bai’s figure was truly incredible; she seemed to have vestigial ab muscles. Must not look, must not look!
Qiu Wu guiltily averted her gaze, missing the hand Luo Bai extended.
“Qiu Wu? The clothes.”
“Oh, here.” Coming back to her senses just in time to catch Luo Bai’s puzzled gaze, Qiu Wu hurriedly shoved the garment over.
Luo Bai put on the coat. “Changed.”
Sure enough, people with fair skin looked even fairer wearing light colors.
Qiu Wu stepped forward to help her adjust the coat, turned her body to face the fitting-room mirror, and smiled. “How does it look?”
Luo Bai looked at herself in the mirror. Objectively, aside from the outer garment, nothing had changed, yet it seemed as though something else had shifted.
It was a feeling she couldn’t accurately define, but instinctively felt was good.
Just like the smiling Qiu Wu standing beside her.
When the two of them came out, the clerk had already packed the remaining clothes into a bag.
“I’ll pay.” Qiu Wu fished out her phone. She still had some money left over from the part-time job where she bought her sister a phone, and the clothes at this shop weren’t expensive, so it should be enough to cover it.
After settling the bill, Qiu Wu carried the bag, glanced at her dwindling balance, and then looked at Luo Bai, who was still examining her new coat, feeling a swell of satisfaction and pride.
It was just that she felt she was doing a pretty good job raising Luo Bai.