18 : Girlfriend?

 He needed to calm down. He softly picked up his new pants and headed to the bathroom, without turning on the light. He

poured cold water on himself, closed his eyes, and began to repent.

After calming down a bit and hanging up the clothes, even though he spoke very softly, Song Shi, a light sleeper, was still woken up.

He covered his ears and asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing?"

The person who had just lifted the covers paused for a moment: "Nothing, sweetie, go to sleep."

After the other person stopped responding, Chen Zhoumu looked at his sleeping face. He wasn't fierce at all; who said his deskmate looked fierce?

As time passed, Chen Zhoumu remained perfectly awake, without a trace of sleepiness, lying on the bed like a corpse.

The sounds of pedestrians outside gradually grew louder; the unbearable night was finally over.

Song Shi had gone to bed early last night, so his head wasn't as sore as yesterday. Sure enough, not staying up late made him feel a bit more energetic.

He turned to see Chen Zhoumu still asleep, got out of bed to wash up, and after he finished, seeing the other still asleep in bed, he stood on the side where the other was sleeping and looked at him.

"Aren't you getting up?"

He Xi had arranged to go sightseeing together this morning, and the other had just texted him that they were all ready and would be going down for breakfast together soon.

Song Shi poked the other with a pillow: "Get up, we'll be down in a bit."

Chen Zhoumu then opened his eyes groggily, as if he had just woken up: "Okay."

He didn't dare look at the other's face, so he quickly changed his clothes and washed up, only to see the other sitting casually in a chair waiting for him.

After watching the other come out, Song Shi put away his phone: "Let's go."

By the time the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs, most of the others had arrived.

"Finally down! To make this trip more meaningful, we're planning to take some photos together, what do you think?"

He Xi said, looking at the two who had just come down.

Song Shi had no objections, but he rarely took photos.

The person standing next to him didn't refuse either, just nodded.

Song Shi noticed Chen Zhoumu was acting strangely today; he seemed much quieter. He turned to look at him, but Chen Zhoumu seemed half-asleep and didn't react.

After everyone made their decision, they set off together. Song Shi and Chen Zhoumu walked at the back of the group. Song Shi started to walk towards the back, but the person who was supposed to be walking beside him didn't follow.

"What's wrong with you?" Song Shi frowned at the person still standing there.

As if just realizing what was wrong, Chen Zhoumu replied, "Nothing, let's go."

He didn't know what was wrong with him either, and could only attribute it to not sleeping well the night before.

After breakfast, everyone set off for the photo studio. Coincidentally, it was the same studio the restaurant owner had mentioned the day before.

And coincidentally, that owner was him.

Upon entering the studio, the owner immediately spotted Song Shi and Chen Zhoumu and enthusiastically introduced them to the photo packages.

"Don't let our small shop fool you, all our equipment is top-notch. Costumes and styling, photos plus ten retouched shots—how about 300 per person?"

He Xi looked at the photos on the wall: "Boss, 300 per person? Are you robbing us?"

"Young man, you can't say that. Everything is guaranteed. If you're not satisfied, we can give you a full refund." The boss wasn't annoyed by this and patiently explained.

"We have more than one person wanting to take photos," Zhang Jingxiao said, looking at the photo package in her hand.

She, Tan Qi, Song Shi, and He Xi made a total of six people.

The boss thought for a moment: "How about 1500 for all of you? Considering these two young men ate at my place yesterday, I'll give you a free retouched group photo, okay?"

His shop was on the outskirts of the scenic area, with low customer traffic and always losing business to neighboring shops, so he had to make sure the customers stayed.

Chen Zhoumu finally recovered. The shop had all sorts of clothes, from ethnic costumes to clothing from the Republic of China era.

After Zhang Jingxiao and He Xi finished discussing, the staff inside led them to choose their outfits.

He smiled at the expressionless man standing to the side: "Never had your picture taken before?"

Song Shi glanced at him. He rarely came to photo studios like this; he usually went out with Tang Ze. He didn't like visiting tourist attractions; he often went hiking with Tang Ze.

Chen Zhoumu also rarely went into such shops. He found the various outfits quite interesting. He picked up a long white dress not far away and held it up against himself.

This dress was more suitable for a slender figure. He then held it up against Song Shi.

Song Shi gave him a speechless look. This guy should go back to how he looked this morning.

Chen Zhoumu nodded in satisfaction, seeing that the dress suited him perfectly.

Someone walked over and smiled: "These are women's clothes; boys' clothes are over there."

It was a woman, probably the shop's makeup artist.

"Really? I think it suits him quite well." Chen Zhoumu held Song Shi up and down.

"Haha, this customer's figure seems quite suitable, but this is a backless design, it's for women," the makeup artist explained good-naturedly.

Song Shi looked at the other person expressionlessly, withdrew his hand that was about to slap her, and walked past the two of them.

Backless... Chen Zhoumu looked at the long garment in his hand; there was indeed a large hole in the back. He suddenly remembered those almost transparent white butterfly bones from last night.

He shook his head violently. What was this all about? He felt like he was under a spell. Could Song Shi really be some kind of demon in disguise?

Chen Zhoumu felt like he was going crazy.

Finally, at the girl's recommendation, Song Shi put on Han Chinese clothing: a white round-necked robe, a waist belt adorned with tassels, and a black wig with a high ponytail, from which two long strands of hair were pulled out and styled into whip shapes.

He casually draped them over his shoulders, holding a fan in his hand, looking like a noble young master. Coupled with his face, which was less made up but even more exquisite and outstanding,

he was extremely attractive.

Chen Zhoumu beside him was equally dashing, wearing a white inner shirt and a black outer robe, a waist belt adorned with several jade pendants, and a soft sword in his left hand, resembling a young general.

However, his nonchalant demeanor and straw hat made him look more like a dashing rogue.

The group, full of handsome men and beautiful women, quickly attracted many customers to the shop.

The owner stood at the door, smiling incessantly as he watched the customers enter.

After they changed clothes and had their makeup done, the shop's photographer, carrying a camera, led them towards the tourist attraction; fortunately, it wasn't too crowded in the morning.

Song Shi wasn't interested in any of that; he'd been busy taking pictures of other people the whole way. He sat under the shade of a tree; thankfully, his clothes, though cumbersome, were breathable and kept him from getting too hot.

Suddenly, he felt a chill on his face and looked up.

He saw Chen Zhoumu standing behind him, a bottle of ice water gently pressed against his cheek. Chen Zhoumu was no longer as listless as he had been that morning; his eyes and brows shone brightly in the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

A slight smile played on his lips, and his wig hung loosely, some strands tangling around Song Shi's head. It had to be said, the outfit suited him very well.

He looked like a refined young gentleman.

Song Shi took the water, and Chen Zhoumu sat down beside him, tilting his head back to drink. Song Shi stopped looking at Chen Zhoumu and focused on the group of people taking pictures in the distance.

"Why aren't you going over to take pictures?" Chen Zhoumu asked after finishing his water.

"I'm tired, let's sit for a while."

Chen Zhoumu looked at the other person and saw that he didn't like taking pictures. He nodded and pondered for a moment, "How about we go for a walk around the area?"

"Where to?"

"We can't just sit here forever, it's so boring."

As he spoke, Chen Zhoumu stood up, turned around, and held out his hand to the other person. Song Shi glanced at him, didn't reach out, but just stood up on his own and walked into an alleyway away from the sun.

Chen Zhoumu withdrew his hand and followed his back.

The scenic area was full of winding alleys, and the two of them walked aimlessly forward.

The things sold in the alleys were all very strange. Chen Zhoumu looked at the strange things at the stalls, and every time he picked one up, he would hold it up to Song Shi's head, holding up a fox ear accessory to his head.

Then he picked up a wooden hairpin and put it on Song Shi's head. Finally, when Chen Zhoumu held up a pair of ridiculously pretentious red earrings to Song Shi's ears, just as Song Shi

was about to punch him in the face, he couldn't take it anymore.

Song Shi's clothes were tugged, and he looked down to see a little girl around his waist. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. It wasn't

until the girl smiled and asked, "Brother, do you remember me?"

that he remembered—it was the little girl who sold flowers last night. "Yes," he replied

. The little girl's smile deepened, revealing a shallow dimple beside her smile. Song Shi half-squatted down. "Need to buy flowers again?"

"No, it's the bracelet I promised you." The little girl pouted and reached into her pocket.

Chen Zhoumu put away his earrings and turned to see Song Shi squatting down with a little girl standing in front of him. He walked over.

The girl took out two bracelets from her bag. A black bead was strung on a red cord, with white dots on it.

"I made these myself. In our Kazakh culture, they're called 'koz,' which you translate as 'black eye.' In our culture, it symbolizes protection and will bring you happiness and peace."

The little girl placed the bracelets on Song Shi's hands.

"I made two in total, and the other one is for the person you like," the little girl said, looking at Chen Zhoumu standing beside her.

She gestured for him to extend his hand, then placed the other flower in his hand.

"That night I saw him take that bouquet of flowers, and I thought this brother must be your 'girlfriend,'"

the little girl smiled innocently. "So I made two."

"Flowers can only be given to the first person to receive them; that's for a lifetime."

Then the girl clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and said, "Wishing you eternal happiness."

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →