Gu Yanjing returned to the living room to wait for Qiao Yuxian to change clothes.
He naively thought she was really just changing clothes, not realizing that this wait would last more than an hour before she finally came downstairs.
Not only did she change clothes, but she also did her makeup and styled her hair with a hairpin.
The hairpin had long silver chain tassels and a few small bells. Every step she took made the tassels sway and the bells ring.
She ran downstairs, and for the last few steps, she jumped straight down and ran up to Gu Yanjing.
Gu Yanjing was at the floor-to-ceiling window, just having taken a phone call.
When he heard her door open, he turned around to look.
Watching her run all the way over to him and stand in front of him.
"Take it easy." He put his phone into his pocket. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novｅlfire.net
Qiao Yuxian slightly tilted her head to look at him and asked, "How do I look?"
Gu Yanjing looked at her but said nothing.
Qiao Yuxian lightly patted her face with both hands and said, "I just learned a new makeup style. Do I have that cool and imposing aura, like I’m full of charisma?"
The eyeliner at the corner of her eyes was drawn slightly upwards, visually giving the illusion of upturned eyes, and her lipstick was a touch more vibrant than her natural lip color.
It wasn’t considered heavy makeup, just a bit more than her usual light makeup.
All Gu Yanjing could see was her adorable nature.
"Well, do I?" Qiao Yuxian’s small face started to puff up like a pufferfish, bit by bit.
"Yes," Gu Yanjing replied.
Qiao Yuxian immediately cheered up, then pulled him upstairs: "You go change clothes too, let me pick for you. Let’s go."
Gu Yanjing’s clothes, apart from loungewear and pajamas, were mostly various suits and shirts.
Qiao Yuxian seemed lost among the shirts in the closet.
After choosing for quite a while, she finally picked one she was satisfied with.
Holding the shirt in front of Gu Yanjing, she instructed him to try it on: "Wear this one. And then..."
She looked at the pants: "Wear these."
After picking the pants, she went on to select a belt, then cufflinks.
Tie pin, watch, suit, trench coat...
Gu Yanjing stood like a mannequin, letting her organize him as she pleased.
"Alright, put them on." Qiao Yuxian leaned against the glass cabinet, watching him.
Gu Yanjing, with clothes draped over his arm, looked at her.
Qiao Yuxian, seeing him just looking and not changing, was also puzzled as she looked at him.
After a few seconds of staring, Gu Yanjing calmly shifted his gaze, then raised his left hand, lowering his eyes, and started to unbutton his shirt without expression.
One button undone, then a second.
Qiao Yuxian suddenly stood up straight, watching him undo the third button. She swiftly rushed to him, pressed against his hand that was unbuttoning: "Wait a minute!"
Gu Yanjing raised his gaze to look at her.
Under his gaze, Qiao Yuxian swallowed: "I-I’ll go out first."
Gu Yanjing didn’t move.
The closet space was actually quite large.
But their positions were cleverly arranged.
Clothes lined both sides of the closet, with a glass display cabinet positioned inside in the middle.
The glass cabinet was wide, leaving just enough space for two people between it and the closet.
Gu Yanjing standing in this space just happened to block Qiao Yuxian.
And the other side was against the wall, a dead end.
Seeing he was unmoved, Qiao Yuxian was ready to squeeze past him from the side.
But Gu Yanjing seemed to sense something, casually placing a hand on the glass cabinet.
The movement appeared utterly nonchalant, not at all deliberate.
And Gu Yanjing himself...from top to bottom, inside and out, didn’t seem like the kind of person to do such things.
So much so that Qiao Yuxian dared not suspect it was intentional.
Gu Yanjing still showed no sign of movement while looking at her.
Qiao Yuxian looked up at him, and after a few seconds, folded her arms, her facial expression gradually becoming more fierce, looking at him with full momentum.
As fierce as an angry little fox.
Gu Yanjing’s expression never changed, just watching her.
After a moment of staring, Qiao Yuxian suddenly jumped forward, landing right in his embrace.
Gu Yanjing’s thoughts paused for a moment, but his arms instinctively wrapped around her.
Just as he was about to embrace her back, Qiao Yuxian took the opportunity to slide between him and the glass cabinet, squeezing out.
Gu Yanjing’s arms froze in midair.
After pausing for two seconds, he turned around to look at the person behind him.
Qiao Yuxian had stepped back a safe distance, and seeing him look over, she placed her hands on her hips and raised her chin.
A little expression of excessive pride and smugness.
Gu Yanjing ground his teeth slightly.
Qiao Yuxian stuck her tongue out at him, then hummed a little tune as she skipped out.
Gu Yanjing listened to her joyful singing and couldn’t help but smile.
Gu Yanjing was upstairs changing clothes.
Qiao Yuxian, feeling bored, went to see Shang Chen tending to plants.
And in the time it took him to change clothes, they had managed to trim a pot of azaleas bare.
The two stood in front of the azaleas, each holding a pair of scissors.
Qiao Yuxian suggested trimming this branch, but Shang Chen deliberately cut another.
With every snip he made, Qiao Yuxian’s temples throbbed. So she snipped somewhere else to try to salvage it, but Shang Chen had his own idea of how to fix it.
In this way...with her snipping once and him another, the azalea was left with only a bare stem, devoid of any branches.
Gu Yanjing finished changing and came downstairs.
Seeing Zhaocai next to them.
It would tug at one person’s clothes with its mouth trying to pull them back, then tug at the other’s clothes to pull them back too.
Trying to rescue the azalea from their hands.
But you can never stop determined people.
Watching the last branch fall, it turned and walked away with its tail hanging.
When the final branch fell, both Qiao Yuxian and Shang Chen stopped and looked at the solitary stem in the vase.
After a few seconds, they turned to look at each other, eyes clashing fiercely, sparks flying, ready to set each other’s minds ablaze through sheer will.
As they strained to stare each other down, out of the corner of their eyes, they noticed Gu Yanjing approaching.
Shang Chen quickly lowered his head.
Qiao Yuxian turned her head to look over.
The moment she saw him, her eyes widened slightly, a serious case of being starstruck.
Gu Yanjing always had a great body proportion, and although his usual suit styles varied, nearly never repeating, they always leaned toward formal, giving an impression of sharpness, seriousness, and meticulousness.
But the outfit Qiao Yuxian picked for him was very casual and relaxed, with a kind of devil-may-care attitude.
This relaxed style clashed with his naturally aloof, steady demeanor, creating a novel aesthetic.
Especially since he had fair skin and finely featured, handsome looks.
Qiao Yuxian felt he was so handsome it stirred impulsive feelings.
She watched him for a while, then ran up to him and looked closely again.
Then she raised her hand and beckoned Gu Yanjing closer with a finger.
Gu Yanjing looked at her with a mysteriously secretive little expression, hesitated, then leaned slightly forward.
As he leaned down a bit, Qiao Yuxian put her hand on his shoulder, slightly tiptoeing to get closer to him.
Gu Yanjing thought she was going to say something, so he lowered a bit more.
Then he felt a soft touch on his cheek.
Qiao Yuxian had kissed the side of his face, and then she ran out.
As she ran, she called out, "There’s lipstick on your face, wipe it off, I’ll wait in the car. Come out in ten minutes!"