Chapter 28: Matching Outfits

Early in the morning, Wen Liang received a message from He Tianran.

He was asking for advice on how to dress to be more photogenic, as he would be appearing on camera with her. It was clear that He Tianran cared quite a bit about this joint shoot; he had even carefully laid out several outfits and accessories to photograph and send over, all of which they had bought together during their last trip to the mall.

"Looks like his awareness has improved..."

Seeing the boy's rare initiative, she stretched her gracefully curved figure languidly, then climbed out of bed. Her bare feet touched the plush pink carpet as she sent a voice message back.

"Swap the jeans from the first picture with those khaki straight-leg trousers I bought you. Wear a white T-shirt underneath, with that red-and-black color-blocked baseball jacket over it. For shoes, wear those black Vans canvas sneakers."

The message whooshed off, and moments later, He Tianran replied with a voice message of his own.

"Did you buy that jacket a size too big for me?"

When she heard the question, Wen Liang was drinking water. She shook her head with a smile. A moment later, He Tianran sent a selfie taken in front of a mirror as evidence.

Looking at the boy in the photo, whose style was completely different from his usual self—his outfit appearing more natural and gentle—Wen Liang was very satisfied. She brought the phone to her lips and said, "The essence of Japanese retro style is 'oversized'! This look suits you; don't worry about it. I give it my official seal of approval!"

After sending the message, Wen Liang turned to her closet; it looked like she would have to carefully consider what she was going to wear as well!

Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, He Tianran had already begun his preparations.

...

A.M. 10:00

He Tianran stood punctually in the plaza in front of the mall. He was tall and slender, his guitar case prominent on his back. Coupled with the fact that the facial cleanser and masks Wen Liang had bought him a while ago seemed to be working, he looked clean and refreshed. With his outfit for the day, he was every bit the artistic youth.

A few young women walked past him. One had been eyeing him from the moment they approached, and even as they brushed past, her head turned to look back.

"...Look, that's your type."

"Cut it out. Isn't corrupting little 'milk dogs' your specialty?"

"Haha, if you’re not going to go for it, I will..."

Hearing the whispering behind him, He Tianran’s face flushed red. It was his first time encountering such a situation. The footsteps that had been moving away suddenly turned back, and he heard a female voice behind him say:

"Um, excuse me, handsome, would you mind sharing your WeChat?"

"I..."

He turned around, momentarily bewildered. Just then, he felt someone approach his side, followed by a tightening on his arm as he felt something soft brush against him.

"Thanks, but he's not available."

He tilted his head to see Wen Liang smiling.

The young woman who had approached them scanned the two of them, offered an apologetic smile, and then shyly ran back to her friend.

"Haha, so you have moments of failure too."

"Stop it, I just got a mouthful of 'dog food'—let's go, how embarrassing..."

He Tianran didn't quite understand the look in the young woman's eyes as she left, but when he turned, he found Wen Liang staring at him, and he immediately looked away in a daze.

As her arm loosened, the two put a bit of distance between them.

"Don't tell me you hired an actor to do that?" the girl asked coldly.

"I can't afford to spend money on that."

"...Fair point."

The artistic youth gave a reason that even Wen Liang couldn't refute.

It wasn't until He Tianran looked at Wen Liang properly that he finally understood the look in the girl’s eyes as she fled.

Today, Wen Liang was wearing a pale yellow jacket over a white shirt, with a black casual tie around her neck and a simple denim skirt. Combined with her short hair, she looked lively, adorable, and full of energy.

To put it professionally, their outfits were unified in color and style, making them visually harmonious.

To put it more plainly... the two were wearing couple outfits.

"I... let's go. Boss Park is waiting..." He Tianran didn't dare think too much and walked toward the mall first. Wen Liang followed behind with her hands behind her back, teasing, "You were staring at me for a long time last time. Now that we're meeting, you can't even say a word? Hmm... let me think, how did I teach you last time..."

The boy stopped in his tracks and stammered, "It... it looks good."

The girl walked up to him and cupped her ear with her hand. "What?"

"It... it looks very good!"

"That's more like it! I specifically dressed this way to match you for the video today. I’d be very sad if you didn't say anything."

Wen Liang enjoyed seeing how shy He Tianran was in front of her; it gave her a small sense of accomplishment. After saying this, the two walked side by side again, drawing quite a few glances along the way.

"So, now that you're more confident, have you noticed that the way people look at you is different?" Wen Liang asked.

"It’s just the accessories adding a bonus... besides, they aren't looking at me, they're mostly looking at you, right?" He Tianran replied quite clearly.

"Then you should be even happier!"

"What do you mean?"

Wen Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "Just... that you have a friend like me!"

"Well, that is indeed something to be proud of."

When they arrived at the guitar shop, they found the door shut tight.

Wen Liang didn't mind, humming the lyrics to the song they were going to sing, but He Tianran was on the verge of a breakdown. He quickly called the lazy, overweight boss, even though they had agreed the night before that he would be at the shop.

"Ah, I stayed up all night cultivating immortality. By the way, have you played that new cultivation game? It’s such a grind!"

Boss Park’s lethargic voice came through the phone, but He Tianran had no desire to discuss games right now.

"I don't want to talk about that. You’re a member of society, you jerk! What time is it and you’re still not open? Are you not doing business?"

"Oh, I'm coming, I'm coming. I just left the house, give me five minutes. Say, why does your tone sound so much like a 'normie' today?! It's the weekend, why are you in such a rush? Are you...?"

He Tianran hung up. He knew people like Boss Park too well; when he said five minutes, it meant at least half an hour, and that tone clearly indicated he was still lying in bed!

Too much laziness is a death sentence!

This was perhaps one of the reasons why He Tianran, no matter how tired he was, always forced himself to wake up instantly when talking to others.

"Boss Park said he'll be here in a minute..."

"Then let's go to that milk tea shop nearby and get something to wait. We can buy one for him too, since we'll need his help later." Wen Liang pointed to a shop nearby, and He Tianran nodded.

With Wen Liang, he didn't seem to need to think about how to communicate; he felt as if he were being led by her, which made him feel relaxed and free of any guilt.

Forty minutes passed before Boss Park finally arrived, late as expected.

When he saw the young man and woman appearing together, he was stunned for a moment, then gave He Tianran a subtle smile. After Wen Liang entered the shop, he whispered to the boy behind him:

"Young man, you've betrayed the organization..."

"What?" He Tianran was confused.

Boss Park silently mouthed the words:

"Damn it, you normie!"