Seeing Bai Liuyue still standing there, Xie Chengxiao took the initiative to lead her into a boutique that Xie Manyu often visited.
The shop assistant saw the Young Marshal and immediately walked up to greet him with a smile.
"Good day, Young Marshal." Her gaze shifted to Bai Liuyue behind him and she paused slightly, taken aback for a moment. "Hello, Miss. Is this your first time at our store?"
"She is... my younger sister."
Bai Baozhu's cousin could be considered his sister, too.
After saying this, Xie Chengxiao turned his head to glance at the little girl from the Bai family behind him. He thought she would be somewhat reserved and overwhelmed, but unexpectedly, she stood there with elegant poise.
Her gaze swept around the shop before she smiled and nodded at the assistant, saying:
"My surname is Bai. Just call me Miss Bai."
"By the way, do you have any clothes here that aren't Western-style dresses?"
The shop assistant glanced at the goose-yellow traditional ruqun dress she was wearing and immediately understood. This was a young lady from a traditional aristocratic family; she probably couldn't accept modern Western dresses yet.
Nodding repeatedly, she said:
"Yes, we do. That row over there consists of ready-to-wear qipaos tailored by our master craftsman. However, the sizing might not be a perfect fit."
"We also offer custom tailoring in our store. You can choose the fabric and color yourself, and after taking your measurements, the dress can be delivered to your residence in a week."
Bai Liuyue followed her gesture and looked over.
In the tall, transparent display cabinets hanging there, the qipaos came in various colors, with exquisite patterns that made it hard to look away.
There was a dark green one embroidered with silver intertwining branches, a moon-white satin one with red piping, and an indigo qipao adorned with pearls at the collar.
Her gaze swept over them and finally landed on the very last piece, a lotus-pink qipao.
"Do you like it?" Xie Chengxiao followed her gaze and told the assistant, "Take it down."
"Right away."
Just as the assistant was about to move, she heard Xie Chengxiao add, "Wait. Take down this entire row for my sister to try on."
Bai Liuyue hadn't expected the seemingly aloof Young Marshal Xie to be so attentive.
"Thank you, Brother-in-law."
Her soft, gentle voice rang out, as sweet as if she had a piece of candy in her mouth.
The corners of Xie Chengxiao's lips curved upward in a faint, pleased smile.
So easily satisfied? Truly a child.
Not long after Bai Liuyue entered the fitting room.
He heard her call out again:
"Brother-in-law."
Xie Chengxiao was sitting on the sofa, resting his head on his hand as he waited. Hearing her voice, he leaned forward slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The zipper seems to be stuck. I can't pull it up no matter what," Bai Liuyue said, her voice laced with a hint of helplessness.
"I'll call the..."
Xie Chengxiao was about to call the shop assistant to go in and help Bai Liuyue, but when he turned his head, he found that she had already gone to the other side to attend to other customers.
"Brother-in-law," came another soft call from the fitting room. "Help me."
Help?
Or not?
It was just helping to pull up a zipper. That was perfectly normal, right?
Xie Chengxiao hesitated for a moment before standing up and walking over.
However, he didn't pull back the curtain. He merely reached his well-defined hand inside slightly and asked, "How can I help?"
Bai Liuyue's voice carried a touch of frustration.
"Oh dear, I can't see the zipper on my back."
"Brother-in-law, come in."
Xie Chengxiao's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Come in?
That would probably be inappropriate.
Just as he was about to politely decline, he heard the little girl chattering away:
"I helped you sew your epaulets yesterday. Doesn't that count as doing you a favor? You can't repay my kindness with ingratitude."
"The zipper is stuck at my waist, and I can barely breathe."
As she spoke, Bai Liuyue lifted the fitting room curtain, opening a narrow slit.
She had her back to him. The qipao's zipper was stuck at the dimples of her lower back, revealing half of the ties of her moon-white dudou bodice, which trembled gently with her breathing.
"Right here, it's stuck..."
Her voice sounded a bit muffled as her fingers fumbled blindly behind her back.
Xie Chengxiao's Adam's apple moved again, and he quickly averted his gaze.
Was she really this defenseless around him?
He stepped into the fitting room, and the curtain fell shut behind him.
Blocking out all lines of sight.
It was a completely enclosed, tiny space.
Xie Chengxiao didn't dare look at her directly, relying only on his peripheral vision.
His knuckles pressed against the zipper pull, sliding it down half an inch.
Normally, when a zipper got stuck, one had to pull it down a bit before they could continue.
As Xie Chengxiao thought this, his gaze lowered, and his body stiffened slightly.
The waistline wrapped in the qipao was so slender that it could be completely encircled by his palm.
And the skin exposed through the gap of the zipper glowed like warm jade under the soft yellow lightbulb.
"Brother-in-law, are you done yet?" Bai Liuyue urged, a little impatiently.
As if she found him far too clumsy.
"Don't move."
Xie Chengxiao's eyes darkened. He lowered his gaze slightly, his voice turning husky.
His fingertips rested on the zipper once more, this time dragging it upward slowly.
The interlocking metal teeth made a crisp zipping sound. No matter how careful he was, his fingertips accidentally brushed against the warmth of her back.
The qipao fabric was a spring design and quite thin.
Even through the two layers of silk, he could still feel her delicate shoulder blades rising and falling with her breath.
Bai Liuyue suddenly shrank her shoulders.
The zipper pull was stuck right below her shoulder blades.
His fingertips inadvertently brushed across that patch of skin again.
"Does it hurt?" Xie Chengxiao withdrew his fingers, feeling a bit guilty.
Bai Liuyue shook her head. The pearl hairpin atop her head brushed past his chin, bringing a wave of tingling numbness.
"It doesn't hurt. It's just a little cold."
"Alright, then I'll be faster," Xie Chengxiao said, only realizing after the words left his mouth how terrible the conversation sounded.
It could easily lead to other intimate and romantic thoughts.
When the zipper finally bit into the top, Xie Chengxiao couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, acting as cautious as if he had just completed a massive engineering project.
"Done. It's not tight anymore."
Bai Liuyue turned around too quickly, and Xie Chengxiao didn't have time to step back.
By the time he reacted, his military boot had been stepped on by a light pink embroidered shoe, neither too hard nor too soft, just like a kitten scratching an itch.
"Ah, Brother-in-law, I'm sorry."
Bai Liuyue hurriedly stepped back, but before she could steady herself, she lost her balance and was about to fall.
With quick reflexes, Xie Chengxiao grabbed her wrist, but the momentum dragged him down, and he fell onto the long bench inside the fitting room.
She fell completely into his arms.
The hem of the qipao instantly flared open, revealing half of her fair, lustrous thighs.
Xie Chengxiao's palm was pressed against her lower back, and his nose was enveloped by the faint scent of lily of the valley. This posture was far too ambiguous.
He was sitting on the bench.
She was sitting on his lap.
Both of them froze.
Suddenly, the sound of the shop assistant's footsteps came from outside the door, snapping Xie Chengxiao back to his senses.
Bai Liuyue also hurriedly gathered her qipao.
"Miss Bai, are you done changing?"
"N-not yet. The zipper is a bit stuck."
"Oh, then do you need me to come in and help you?" the assistant offered enthusiastically.
"No need!"
"No need~"
Hearing two different voices coming from inside, the assistant outside the door was instantly dumbfounded.
The... the... the Young Marshal was inside too?!
