It is a well-known fact.
People are prone to doing silly things when they are nervous.
Xie Chengxiao's pupils flickered. He couldn't believe the foolish thing he had just done. How could he have spoken out loud?
Bai Liuyue's nose wrinkled slightly.
She cast a sidelong glance at him.
She spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
The end of her sentence tilted upwards.
"Brother-in-law, you look a bit silly."
Outside the door, the saleswoman took it in stride. After all, anyone who could work in a department store in this era had undergone professional training.
Perhaps she was his sweetheart playing coy.
This was quite normal.
The saleswoman left them with a single phrase, "Alright, Miss Bai, take your time trying it on," before turning and stepping away.
A little while later, Bai Liuyue and Xie Chengxiao stepped out of the fitting room one after the other.
Both of their faces were flushed red.
In truth, they were incredibly innocent. Absolutely nothing had happened, but both still felt overwhelmingly shy.
"Does it look good?"
Bai Liuyue stood in front of the ornate mirror.
She had changed into the lotus-root pink qipao from earlier.
She asked this mainly to change the subject,
to ease the lingering awkwardness.
Xie Chengxiao followed her voice and looked over, his gaze pausing slightly.
The young girl before him stood by the mirror. The lotus-root pink qipao, like peach blossoms in a spring mist, was tailored diagonally from her shoulders down to her ankles, wrapping her figure in exquisite curves.
Even though it wasn't custom-made, the waistline was cinched perfectly.
Rising and falling gently with her breaths.
Her hips were full and plump, faintly tracing a rounded curve beneath the silk fabric.
Yet she remained completely oblivious to this, focusing only on looking down and adjusting the frog buttons.
Normally, Bai Liuyue wore loose ruqun dresses, making her look petite and thin. He never expected that wearing a form-fitting qipao would reveal such a curvaceous figure.
Her hair bun was loose, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears.
"Brother-in-law, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Does it not look good?"
Bai Liuyue looked at him, her almond eyes tilting up slightly.
Displeased by Xie Chengxiao's spacing out, she looked like an unhappy kitten about to bare its claws at any moment.
Standing not far away, the cuffs of his military uniform were buttoned meticulously, but his knuckles subconsciously tightened.
His breath hitched.
He quickly averted his gaze.
"Ah, what?"
He had genuinely spaced out.
Some strange thoughts had just drifted through his mind.
"Does it look good?"
Bai Liuyue was getting a little upset and suddenly leaned in.
Staring straight at him with her almond eyes.
Xie Chengxiao panicked.
He instinctively took a half-step back, his back bumping into the doorframe with a loud thud.
It was a solid hit.
Bai Liuyue hurried over to steady him.
"Don't come over."
Xie Chengxiao's expression was serious and aloof, but he couldn't hide the hoarseness in his voice.
Although he said that, he didn't pull away from her hands.
Bai Liuyue held onto his arm, able to feel the distinct, bulging lines of his muscles beneath the thin military uniform.
"Brother-in-law, did you stay up late last night?"
"Why do you keep spacing out today?"
"It's dangerous, you almost hit your head just now."
Bai Liuyue pointed at his head, her clear eyes full of innocence and confusion.
Didn't sleep well last night?
He had a dream.
Xie Chengxiao hadn't dreamed in a very long time.
But he did indeed have a dream last night.
And it was about her.
Looking at the young lady of the Bai family before him, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he replied:
"It looks beautiful."
Hearing this, a joyful expression instantly lit up Bai Liuyue's face.
She was just about to speak.
But then she saw Xie Chengxiao suddenly reach out to tuck the few stray strands of hair behind her ear.
The pad of his finger seemed to brush against her earlobe.
"It looks very beautiful."
His pitch-black eyes were deep, and a ball of flame seemed to faintly ignite within them.
After browsing this shop, Xie Chengxiao had several more bags in his hands.
He had swept up all the ready-made qipaos and even custom-ordered several more sets.
Bai Liuyue originally wanted to stop him. "Brother-in-law, this is too much. How could I possibly wear them all?"
Xie Chengxiao's voice was very soft.
"There will be chances."
"You can wear them all in the future."
......
After finishing their shopping, the two of them went to the restaurant on the top floor.
Bai Liuyue seemed quite excited about the steak Xie Chengxiao had suggested.
Taking her seat, she spoke cheerfully while waiting for the food to be served.
"Is it good? Back in Jinzhong, my mother never let me eat Western food."
"She said that was only for foreigners to eat, and she even scared me by saying that if I ate it, I would grow long body hair like them."
Xie Chengxiao was slightly taken aback.
"Grow body hair?"
Bai Liuyue smiled and said, "Yeah, foreigners have really long body hair."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and slightly rolled up the sleeve of her qipao, revealing a section of her smooth, fair forearm.
"See, I have very little hair."
What kind of proper girl would roll up her sleeves to let a man see if she had arm hair?
Xie Chengxiao indeed rarely interacted with women.
But one thing he could be sure of was that Bai Liuyue was truly a bit different.
Very special.
"Brother-in-law, it has to be fair."
"You've seen mine, what about yours?"
Xie Chengxiao: "......"
Did he have to roll up his sleeves too?
That seemed really silly.
"Brother-in-law, no cheating."
The little lady sitting across from him wrinkled her nose, her porcelain-white face looking at him with utter seriousness.
Xie Chengxiao: "......I'm wearing a military uniform. It's not convenient."
Bai Liuyue said matter-of-factly: "Then take it off."
Take it off?
Forget it, it wouldn't be the first time he took it off.
Xie Chengxiao quickly convinced himself, mostly out of fear that the little lady across from him would cry.
He casually draped his military jacket over the back of the chair, revealing the white dress shirt underneath.
Feeling Bai Liuyue's curious gaze land on him, his movements were a bit tense and slow as he undid his cufflinks.
Rolled up his sleeves.
The muscles in his forearms tightened slightly, and his veins were faintly visible beneath his wheat-toned skin.
"Look."
"Huh? Brother-in-law, your arms are so dark." Bai Liuyue said as she reached out her hand again.
Her fair skin and his wheat-toned skin created a stark visual contrast.
Her skin was delicate, while his was somewhat rugged.
Xie Chengxiao's eyes darkened.
Looking at that touch of white against his wrist, his Adam's apple bobbed.
Bai Liuyue was completely oblivious. After making the comparison, she intended to pull back, but just as she tried to retreat, her hand was caught by his rough palm.
Now, the color contrast was even more pronounced.
"Brother-in-law, what... are you doing." Bai Liuyue looked up, feeling a bit flustered and at a loss.
Xie Chengxiao spoke nonsense with a completely straight face.
"Mhm, I'm just comparing them."
"This way, it does seem like yours is whiter."
His palm slightly released its grip, and Bai Liuyue quickly retracted her hand.
Yet she met a pair of dark eyes as calm as an ancient well, as if he truly just wanted to compare the color difference in their skin tones.
And had absolutely no other wicked thoughts.
After all, how could the calm and self-disciplined Young Marshal Xie,
lie for the sake of some petty ulterior motive?
"Young Marshal, your steak is here." The waiter's voice rang out.
The arrival of the food interrupted the faint, ambiguous atmosphere between them.
Seeing the steaming hot steak sizzling on the black iron plate, Bai Liuyue was both excited and curious, her attention instantly diverted.
But faced with the silver knife and fork placed on the table, she fell into distress.
Pointing at them, she asked:
"How do I use these?"
"I'll teach you."
Xie Chengxiao's magnetic, pleasant voice fell from above her head.
