CH 30

After seeing off He Zhong, Tang Cuo moved into Tang Xu’s house, although he was still hesitant and had to be coaxed by Tang Xu to stay in the guest room.

“Are you sure you want to stay here?”

Tang Cuo nodded while sitting on the bed.

After Tang Xu left, Tang Cuo pinched his own thigh and thought to himself, “I don’t know why you’re pretending to be reserved.”

Because there were various things to do during the days leading up to the New Year, Tang Xu had scheduled an early departure, so in reality, Tang Cuo would not be staying at Tang Xu’s house for very long.

Two days before departure, Tang Cuo searched for the weather in Harbin and was surprised when he saw the number displayed on his phone screen. Holding an apple, he exclaimed and showed it to Tang Xu, “Minus twenty-eight degrees?”

He had no concept of what it would feel like to be at minus twenty-eight degrees Celsius.

Tang Xu nodded and glanced at the clothes that Tang Cuo brought over, flipping through them with one hand. “So these clothes won’t do.”

When it comes to clothing, Tang Cuo is a conservative dresser. His only requirement for himself is that he should not feel cold, no matter how many layers he wears. He would never sacrifice warmth for fashion during the winter. Nevertheless, his thickest outfit is just a double-layered pair of warm autumn pants.

Tang Xu closed the cabinet door and turned around, saying, “Let’s go out and buy something.”

“Buy clothes?”

Tang Xu nodded, “Buy two pieces. It’s not enough to wear a coat when we get there, and I don’t think your down jacket can withstand the cold. If you wear this outfit, you’ll definitely freeze.”

Although Tang Xu wanted to take Tang Cuo to buy clothes, he carefully thought about it after getting in the car. If it were for Tang Cuo to wear clothes, the target store should be different from the one he would go to for himself, considering their age difference.

He took a glance at Tang Cuo, who was wearing a “child-like” short coat with a light grey base and a few horn buttons. There was also a small bear on the left chest. Tang Cuo already looked younger than his age because of his baby face, and wearing this coat made him even more so.

Tang Xu looked at himself in the rearview mirror and suddenly felt a strange feeling. Although time couldn’t be turned back, why did he feel like he was luring a precious flower of the country like this?

He chuckled and shook his head lightly, asking, “Where do you usually buy clothes? The places I shop at are quite monotonous and may not be suitable for you.”

After hearing what Tang Xue said, Tang Cuo didn’t understand what “not quite suitable for him” meant. “Um… when I’m with He Zhong and the others at school, we usually go to Zhongguancun, Xidan, and Wangfujing. With my parents, we go to more places.”

“Oh,” Tang Xu nodded and started the car. He asked casually, “Did you buy this coat yourself?”

“Ah? No, my mom bought it for me,” Tang Cuo replied. Then he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Tang Xu laughed while turning the steering wheel. “Nothing; it’s quite… childlike.”

As a third-year university student, Tang Cuo was called “childish” by Tang Xu, which he interpreted as being childish. He lowered his head and tugged on the hem of his coat, whispering, “My mom likes to buy me these kinds of clothes…”

Everyone wants approval from their loved ones, and Tang Cuo was no exception. Moreover, he was sensitive to anything that might create distance between him and Tang Xu, though not to an extreme degree.

Tang Xu glanced at him distractedly and said, “But you look good in them.”

When they arrived at the mall, Tang Xu only cared about the thickness of the clothes, not the style. They visited several stores before finally finding some down jackets that they both agreed had the appropriate thickness, with the help of a salesperson’s recommendation.

The salesgirl recommended a simple and elegant style for the customer and explained that it was the longest style and very warm. She then pointed to another style and said that it was their best-selling item in the store, and even though their clothes were usually more mature, this particular style was a collaboration with another brand and had added many fresh elements, specially designed for students. She suggested that the younger brother (referring to Tang Cuo) should try it on and see how it feels.

Tang Xu looked at the recommended style and was satisfied with it. She turned to Tang Cuo and said, “I think it looks good; why don’t you try it on?”

Tang Cuo’s lips moved slightly, but after taking another glance at the two pieces of clothing, he silently nodded and took his own.

Tang Xu has always been very casual when it comes to buying clothes for himself. He only sticks to a few colors and prefers simple and clean styles. In other words, he relies on his appearance and doesn’t bother much about dressing up. After putting on the down jacket, the salesgirl complimented him on how good he looked in it. Tang Xu turned around and thought it matched his taste as well.

“How about it?” Tang Xu asked Tang Cuo beside him.

After putting on their respective clothes, Tang Cuo and Tang Xu stood side by side in front of the mirror. Tang Cuo looked at Tang Xu’s slender figure in the mirror and felt that the designer’s intention was not in vain.

“It looks good,” he said.

Tang Xu gave himself a nod of approval, then asked Tang Cuo how his own clothes looked. Unlike Tang Xu’s casual approach, Tang Cuo hesitated for a long time, dragging his feet. Finally, he grabbed the clothes and turned around several times before telling the salesgirl, “I want to try that one.”

Before Tang Xu could answer, the salesgirl smiled and said, “That style probably doesn’t come in your size. Because of the design, the sizes for that one are all a bit bigger; they are not really suitable for you.”

This statement was straightforward, meaning that he was too short to wear it.

Tang Cuo suddenly became a bit embarrassed, not only because of his height but also because he had finally mustered up the courage to voice his hope, only to be disappointed.

Tang Xu said to him, who was beside him, “Why don’t you take off this first?”

“Hmm?”

“If you don’t really like it, try something else.”

It’s not that I don’t like it, Tang Cuo thought.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Tang Xu looking at him with a smile. The smile seemed to have a deeper meaning, and the way he looked over with a raised eye made Tang Cuo feel like his little thoughts had been seen clearly, just like the spotless glass window next to him.

He lowered his head and silently took off his clothes. He heard Tang Xu saying to the salesgirl, “Could you please bring the one on the other side for him to try on? The one with the red pocket.”

Tang Cuo didn’t pay attention to which one Tang Xu picked for him. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he felt about what happened earlier. He thought to himself that he shouldn’t have said anything. As he was burning with embarrassment and fixing the clothes in front of his body, he suddenly felt a heavy down jacket covering him.

He was still standing in front of the mirror, so when he looked up, he saw himself wrapped up in the mirror and Tang Xu behind him, supporting his shoulder.

The down jacket he was wearing was the one Tang Xu had just tried on.

“You know, if you wear your own jacket, we can be wearing a couple outfits too.”

Tang Xu’s hand was always on his shoulder. When he said this, his eyes and eyebrows were filled with a smile. It wasn’t teasing, but the kind of smile that could turn into honey.

Tang Cuo’s face turned red, and he heard the salesgirl calling him, ” Little brother, please try on this one…”

Sometimes, when you like someone who is too smart and attentive, it’s not good because they can’t hide anything from you. Wrapped in the coat, Tang Cuo couldn’t say anything else, so he changed the subject and said, “I can wear this…”

If it can be worn, then it can be worn. Tang Xu wore it and could still reveal a bit of his calf, while when Tang Cuo wore it, it almost reached his ankles.

Tang Xu’s low laughter came from his ear, “It can be worn, and it looks especially good. But it seems that matching couple outfits from the same series in different styles are more popular now. Shall we follow the trend?”

Tang Xu’s voice was very small when he said the latter sentence, even the salesgirl didn’t hear it.

rue : We’ve reached 30th Chapter!! Yay~ I was excited that’s why  i posted 4 chapters in one go~ tomorrow there will be more updates! Hope y’all enjoy reading and Please support the author!