The weekend sun was bright.
Although the wind still carried a bit of a chill, the sunlight shining on her body did much to drive away the cold.
Lin Lu stood at the entrance of the Commercial Shopping Center, holding a large bag of milk tea—four cups in total.
“Little Lu! We’re here!”
Su Tang’s voice came from a distance.
Lin Lu looked up and saw Su Tang and Chen Xingye walking towards her.
Su Tang was wearing a pink sweatshirt today, while Chen Xingye was bundled up in a thick down jacket.
Lin Lu looked left and right but didn’t see Lin Shuiyue’s figure.
“Huh? Where’s Lin Shuiyue?”
“Lin Shuiyue said something came up last minute, so she asked the two of us to accompany you to buy a dress,” Su Tang and Chen Xingye said, glancing at each other.
“What kind of thing? Is she okay by herself?”
“Don’t know. She didn’t tell us. It probably isn’t anything major.”
Su Tang shook her head.
Lin Lu didn’t dwell on it too much.
After all, it was possible she had some personal matters to attend to.
As for buying the dress, having Chen Xingye, Su Tang, and Chen Yuwei was enough.
“Alright then.” Lin Lu opened the bag of milk tea in her hand.
“Here, I bought you all milk tea. Take your cup.”
“Wah! Thank you, Little Lu!”
Upon hearing this, Su Tang and Chen Xingye quickly stepped forward to take a cup of milk tea each from the bag.
“Ah~ I really want to marry Little Lu and take her home. Such a considerate and warm-hearted Little Lu would definitely make a qualified good wife and mother.”
Chen Xingye sighed after inserting the straw into her milk tea and taking a sip.
Lin Lu glanced at Chen Xingye, who was happily squinting her eyes as she drank, and her face flushed slightly as she glared at her.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Even milk tea can’t shut you up.”
“That’s right, that’s right! If anyone’s marrying her, it’s me! Chen Xingye, go find somewhere cool to hang out!”
“Hey! Are you going to fight me over Little Lu too?!”
“Thump!”
Seeing the two of them joking about her and inexplicably starting to argue, Lin Lu directly gave them two solid punches on the tops of their heads.
“Ouch!!”
The two covered their heads with pitiful expressions.
“Hmph! Who told you two to make fun of me? Now you know it hurts, right?”
Su Tang rubbed the top of her head and muttered softly, “If it’s Little Lu… I really could…”
“Huh??!”
“Ahaha… it’s nothing, nothing…” Seeing Lin Lu raise her fist again, Su Tang quickly waved her hands and laughed awkwardly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Chen Yuwei walking over from the subway entrance and pointed.
“Ah! Little Lu, look! Chen Yuwei’s here!”
Lin Lu turned to look at the subway entrance.
Chen Yuwei was wearing a beige coat today with a light gray scarf, her pace neither hurried nor slow.
“Huh? Why are you all here so early?” Chen Yuwei raised her wrist to check the time.
It was still five minutes before the agreed meeting time.
“Looks like next time I have a date with you, Lu, I’ll have to arrive a bit earlier. And also… Why are you dressed so lightly? What if you catch a cold?”
“Da-date… who’s dating you!” Lin Lu turned her head away, her face reddening.
“The sun’s out today, and there’s air conditioning in the mall. It’s not that cold.”
“Still not acceptable.” Chen Yuwei took off her own scarf and, without another word, moved closer to Lin Lu, personally wrapping the scarf around her.
“Hmm… now your neck won’t catch a draft. The competition is coming up soon; catching a cold wouldn’t be good.”
Lin Lu still wanted to resist, but Chen Yuwei’s movements were quite assertive and she managed to get the scarf on Lin Lu.
The scarf still carried Chen Yuwei’s scent and warmth—a faint fragrance of gardenia—and it was very cozy.
“O-okay, I get it.” Lin Lu took a cup of milk tea from the bag in her hand and handed it to Chen Yuwei.
“Here, your share of milk tea. Everyone has one.”
“Mhm~ Thank you.” Chen Yuwei smiled slightly and accepted the milk tea.
The last remaining cup was originally for Lin Shuiyue, but since Lin Shuiyue couldn’t make it, Lin Lu kept it for herself to drink.
“Alright, alright! Everyone’s here. I know a really nice dress shop. GOGOGO, let’s go!”
Su Tang hooked her arm through Lin Lu’s and pulled her into the mall.
Warm air rushed to meet them.
The mall was quite crowded.
Because it was the weekend, there were many students and couples everywhere, people carrying shopping bags, chatting and laughing.
Quite a few Beijiang University alumni recognized Lin Lu and her group, nodding and greeting them.
“This one.”
Su Tang led the group to a stop in front of a shop.
Several very luxurious dresses were displayed in the window—white, black, or champagne-colored, of various styles, shimmering softly under the lights.
“Let’s go in and take a look.”
Chen Yuwei pushed the door open.
Seeing customers arrive, a shop assistant came forward to greet them.
She was wearing a black professional suit with a standard customer service smile on her face.
“Welcome. What can I help you with today?”
“We’re here to look at dresses, for wearing during a competition.”
“Alright.” The assistant gestured inside.
“The dress section is over there. They’re all new arrivals, and the prices aren’t too high, very suitable for students like yourselves. Would you like me to recommend something for you?”
“No need! We’ll pick them out ourselves.” Su Tang shook her head.
“Very well. I’ll be at the counter. If you need anything, feel free to call me.”
Lin Lu felt a slight sense of relief at the service attitude.
Judging by the scale of the shop Su Tang had brought her to, it should be a luxury brand store.
The assistant’s service attitude was quite good; it wasn’t like in novels where they look down on customers just because they’re a group of students.
But then again, the higher-end the brand, the more training the staff receives.
How could they possibly show a bad attitude to customers on the surface?
“Little Lu, try this one.” After pulling Lin Lu to the dress section, Su Tang picked a champagne-colored long gown from the rack and held it up against Lin Lu.
“How about this?”
Lin Lu glanced at it.
The dress was indeed beautiful, so she nodded, took the dress, and went to the fitting room to change.
“Little Lu, why are you taking so long to change? Can’t you figure it out? Let me come in and help you!”
Hearing Lin Lu rustling around in the fitting room for a long time without coming out, Su Tang asked with a hint of excitement.
“N-no! Don’t! I’m already changed.” Lin Lu quickly stopped Su Tang from coming in.
After all, if that girl came in, she’d definitely take advantage.
She quickly finished changing and pushed open the fitting room door to step out.
“H-how does it look?”
“Hmm…”
Su Tang and the others examined her carefully.
“It doesn’t really suit Little Lu’s vibe. The champagne-colored gown feels a bit incongruous on her, and it makes her look too mature.”
Chen Xingye shook her head as she gave her evaluation.
The others didn’t refute her.
“Try this one.”
Chen Xingye then picked out a red strapless dress for Lin Lu.
Lin Lu took it and tried it on, but everyone still felt it wasn’t quite right.
Lin Lu then wandered around on her own.
Soon, she saw a white dress on a display stand.
It was also a long gown with a fitted waist, the hem reaching her ankles, and the collar had embroidery.
She reached out to touch the fabric; it felt quite comfortable.
“Could you help me take that one down to try on?”
Lin Lu turned to ask the assistant.
Hearing Lin Lu’s voice, the assistant walked over and inquired.
“That one?”
Lin Lu nodded, “Yes, this one. Please help me take it down to try on.”
“Of course.”
The assistant took down the pure white dress and handed it to Lin Lu.
Lin Lu took it and went into the fitting room to change.
When Lin Lu walked out, Su Tang looked her over and finally nodded.
“Mhm, mhm! Little Lu, you really do suit white best. This dress on you feels both pure and alluring.”
“Hehe, Little Lu still can’t let go of the white color palette, huh?”
Chen Yuwei also nodded, “This one, then. It’s quite suitable.”
Lin Lu turned in front of the mirror and felt it suited her well too.
So, she called the assistant over to ask about the price.
“This one… is a bit on the expensive side. The price is one hundred and ninety thousand.”
“Ah??!”
Lin Lu was slightly stunned upon hearing the price.
She didn’t have much concept of dress prices and didn’t expect a dress she picked at random to cost one hundred and ninety thousand!!
“It’s fine. Please wrap it up.”
Chen Yuwei nodded, instructing the assistant to pack it.
“Hey… Chen Yuwei, does the Piano Club have that much money?? This is one hundred and ninety thousand!” Lin Lu gently tugged on Chen Yuwei’s sleeve and whispered, “Maybe… let’s forget it and look at something else.”
“The Piano Club… indeed doesn’t have that much in its budget.”
“Then why did you…”
“If I don’t use the Piano Club’s money, won’t that work? I’ll buy it for you with my own money.” Chen Yuwei smiled slightly.
“Just one hundred and ninety thousand, it’s fine. If it’s for you, any amount is okay.”