Ye Qingli hadn't eaten dinner yet, and there was a shopping mall not far away.
But her makeup was ruined, so she asked Xiao Yu to go back to the convenience store and buy her a mask to wear. She also pulled the hood of her padded jacket over her head, covering herself up tightly, leaving only her eyes exposed.
Walking on the dark street felt fine, but the bright lights of the mall stung her eyes, making her blink. She turned to Xiao Yu and said, "How do I look now?"
Xiao Yu looked down: "What do you mean?"
Ye Qingli pointed a finger at her eyes: "My eyes! Don't they look ugly like this?"
Xiao Yu lowered his eyes as if carefully examining her, then said, puzzled, "Why are you always worried about this? I'm holding your hand, and I haven't even called you ugly."
"..." The dangling heart finally died.
She confirmed she was dating a straight guy.
It was unbearable. The mall was so warm, yet she was wearing a hat and mask like an idiot. Ye Qingli shook their joined hands and said, "I'm going to the bathroom to remove my makeup. Go see what you want to eat first, and then send me your location later."
Before Xiao Yu could respond, she ran off holding her head. Xiao Yu squeezed his now-empty hand, which still felt warm, and smiled.
Why was this stubborn girl so hung up on her face?
Ye Qingli didn't want to be like this, but now that she was in a relationship, it was only natural to care about her appearance. Besides, this was their first day together, and she didn't want Xiao Yu to see her looking so ridiculous.
There were plenty of restrooms in the mall. Ye Qingli found one not far away. The moment she took off her hat and mask, she herself was amused by her funny reflection in the mirror. She could only say she was glad she had taken the initiative; if she had shown this face to Xiao Yu, he would definitely have made fun of her.
But as soon as the water hit her face, she encountered a new problem.
She hadn't brought makeup remover.
Without makeup remover, she couldn't clean her face properly; the cosmetics were smudged into patches. Ye Qingli started to feel a bit frustrated. She might as well have removed her makeup in the dorm before coming out. If she went out with this face, she would make a bigger fool of herself tonight than in her entire life.
Just as she was feeling down, her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Ye Qingli sighed, took it out, and saw it was Xiao Yu. Was he rushing her? She gritted her teeth and answered, "Hello?"
"Come out," he said, simply and directly.
"What for? I haven't finished removing my makeup yet."
"How can you remove your makeup without makeup remover?"
She paused. So he had brought her makeup remover. Ye Qingli pulled her hat back on and ran out: "I'm coming, I'm coming."
Xiao Yu stood outside holding a bag. Ye Qingli covered her head, the hat hiding most of her face, so she could only see his lower body. She reached out to him: "Give it to me."
Xiao Yu had wanted to lift her hat to see her, but seeing her like this, he felt embarrassed to reach out. He let out a snicker and handed her the bag: "There's also a moisturizer in there. Take your time and come out when you're done."
Ye Qingli opened it and saw it was a popular brand, supposedly suitable for all skin types without allergies. She lifted her hat a bit, peeking at him with one eye: "You're really thoughtful."
She felt pretty pleased with herself, thinking she had hidden well, but the moment she looked up, Xiao Yu saw everything. He covered her face with his big hand and pushed her inside, stifling a laugh: "Go on, go on. You're scaring me."
"..."
Teased like that, Ye Qingli's face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple. She turned and darted into the restroom like a rabbit.
Xiao Yu still had a smile on his lips. He suddenly felt he was really bad; it wasn't nearly as exaggerated as he had said. He just wanted to tease her.
Fortunately, Ye Qingli wasn't the type to hold a grudge. When she came out, she was even a little afraid to look at him.
At first, Xiao Yu didn't understand, but then it hit him—she must have believed his nonsense and was convinced she had looked really ugly. So he had to pinch her cheek again and say something especially silly.
"I was wrong just now. You're the most beautiful."
"..."
She wished he hadn't said anything. Ye Qingli really wanted to sew his mouth shut.
They wandered around for half an hour, going up and down the floors, but still hadn't eaten. No matter what Xiao Yu suggested, Ye Qingli shook her head. He was puzzled: "With all these options, there's nothing you want to eat?"
She answered his question with a question: "What about you? What do you want?"
"Anything's fine with me. It's up to you."
"Then let's get mixed rice."
"What's so good about mixed rice?"
"..." Ye Qingli's eyes widened. How could he say something like that?
"Didn't you say it's up to me?"
"No, I mean, why do you always pick the cheap stuff? Before we were together, I could understand if you didn't want me to spend money on you, but it's different now."
Xiao Yu looked down at her, reached out, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her skin was white and smooth, and he couldn't help pinching her cheek twice: "I'm your boyfriend now. I think you should take advantage and squeeze some money out of me."
In the past, the girls he dated would have been thrilled to hear him say that, because they knew how hard it was to get this "love" and how easily it could be lost. So they wanted to buy as many things they normally wouldn't dare to buy as possible, to comfort themselves in this "love."
Back then, even though Xiao Yu couldn't say such words, if they were thick-skinned enough, he would usually agree.
Of course, there were some who were especially thick-skinned—stingy with themselves but immediately after confirming the relationship, they would pester him to take them out for lavish meals and shopping. He wasn't a fool; if there was no intimacy or physical contact, he wouldn't spend a cent on such wolves.
Now, he finally met someone he wanted to spend money on, but she wouldn't let him.
It was really contradictory.
Just as Xiao Yu was pondering this, he suddenly remembered that Ye Qingli had gone to see Huang Xu earlier. That bastard Huang Xu had to blab about everything, showing off even the smallest things, as if his reconstituted family was something glorious.
With someone like Xiao Qu, even before marrying Liu Jie, he had already fooled around with countless women. After marriage, he didn't calm down either—often giggling at his phone, but the moment he put it away, his face would turn sour toward his family.