"Hehe, just kidding," Wang Mingyu smiled faintly.
"Alright, alright, it was my fault for letting my temper show. My treat, I'll buy you drinks!" said Mu Yunxi.
"Sure, anything's fine. But I'm definitely getting the osmanthus lemon tea!"
"Tsk tsk, so your fetish is feet," Mu Yunxi said, seeing right through it.
Indeed, this was a rather perverted fetish.
"Feet?" Lin Linyu looked down at her own petite feet.
She felt a nameless flicker of happiness because she thought her feet looked quite pretty too.
If Wang Mingyu liked feet...
"Aiya, don't just say it out like that! People will think I'm some kind of total pervert," Wang Mingyu said shyly.
"Cut the act, let's go, time to get bubble tea!" Mu Yunxi gave a wave of her small hand and led the two of them off to another shop.
They hung out together for a long time. The girls went shopping, while Wang Mingyu was reduced to being the luggage carrier.
Accompanying female leads shopping? He supposed his luck was finally turning around.
"Yunxi, what do you want to buy?" asked Lin Linyu.
"Just some clothes," Mu Yunxi replied. "We'll browse first, try some on, and if they're good, we'll buy them."
"How about buying some stockings?" Wang Mingyu chuckled.
The girls buying stockings and then trying them on for him to see—heh heh heh.
"No way! Pervert!" Mu Yunxi strongly protested.
She wasn't about to let Wang Mingyu get his way!
"I... yeah, that's not really a good idea," Lin Linyu said, very shyly.
If it were just the two of them, showing Wang Mingyu would be fine.
But with Mu Yunxi around, she didn't want Wang Mingyu looking at Mu Yunxi as well.
She wanted Wang Mingyu's attention entirely on herself.
Otherwise, Mu Yunxi would steal the spotlight!
Besides, she had a vague feeling that the relationship between Wang Mingyu and Mu Yunxi wasn't ordinary.
At the very least, it was much better than she had imagined.
"Fine, fine, let's just have a normal shopping trip then," Wang Mingyu said, deeply disappointed.
He'd just have to go back and have Wang Qingying fulfill his wish instead.
After telling her stories for so long, asking for something a bit perverted shouldn't be a big deal, right? Hehe.
Next, both Mu Yunxi and Lin Linyu took turns trying on different outfits and showing them to Wang Mingyu.
Wang Mingyu was pleasantly surprised. He had expected it to be dreadfully boring, but watching the girls change into pretty clothes actually had a unique charm of its own.
The only time he had ever accompanied anyone shopping as a child was with his mother.
Back then, he had only cared about roadside toys and the chairs inside clothing stores.
Doing this with girls his own age was a first for him.
He hadn't changed at all—he still cared about roadside toys and clothing store chairs.
Except he had added one more item to the list: he discovered that getting to watch beautiful girls change clothes for free without spending a dime wasn't half bad either!
"Does this look good?" Lin Linyu walked out wearing a JK uniform and asked.
"Looks great! Really suits you, full of youthful energy," Wang Mingyu applauded and praised.
"Hehe." Lin Linyu hurried back into the fitting room.
Mu Yunxi emerged from another fitting room wearing a little dress. She spun around once and asked, "How's this?"
"Stunning! A runaway princess from Disney!" Wang Mingyu applauded and praised.
As the girls tried on outfit after outfit, Wang Mingyu soon found himself in a bind.
Because he discovered that his vocabulary simply couldn't keep up with the speed at which the girls were changing clothes.
In the end, it all boiled down to two words: "Looks good!"
"Pfft." Both girls burst out laughing simultaneously.
"Let's not torture him anymore," Mu Yunxi said.
"Agreed, we've tried on just about enough anyway," Lin Linyu nodded.
They left the mall and walked down the evening streets.
Wang Mingyu's hands were full of paper bags, all containing the clothes the girls had bought.
He remembered how he used to help his mother carry bags back then.
His mother would bargain with the store clerks for a long time, a behavior he used to find utterly incomprehensible.
Only after growing up did he understand just how hard it was to make money.
Mother...
Your son has been unfilial and failed to provide for your old age.
"Mingyu, hurry up."
Ahead of him, Mu Yunxi turned around, her fingers gently brushing through her hair as she smiled faintly.
Wang Mingyu snapped out of his trance, a trace of a smile touching the corner of his mouth as he called out, "Coming!"
Ah, yes. There was no going back.
All that pain would just have to be left for nighttime and his own reflection.
Returning home that evening, he happened to run into Shen Ruoyun (his stepmother) drinking black tea in the living room.
"You're back? Have you eaten? I can have the servants make something for you."
Shen Ruoyun beckoned to Wang Mingyu, and he walked over to take a seat.
"No need, I ate on the way back. Thank you for always caring about me so much," Wang Mingyu said.
"Heh, I am your mother after all," Shen Ruoyun said, covering her mouth with a chuckle.
Strictly speaking, she and Wang Mingyu were in the same boat—both outsiders in this household.
That was why she paid him special attention.
"Mom, you're always so good to me. I recently learned how to give massages, let me give you one?"
"Is that so? How impressive. Then I'll have to trouble you."
"Alright."
Wang Mingyu smiled, stepped behind the sofa, and began massaging Shen Ruoyun's shoulders.
"Mom, your skin is so nice."
"Haha, aren't you a smooth talker."
As a woman, receiving compliments naturally brought her immense joy.
Especially coming from a young, handsome fellow.
"Mingyu, you really are so different from before," Shen Ruoyun suddenly mused with emotion.
She still remembered the taciturn, gloomy Wang Mingyu of the past.
Back then, her care and concern would never receive any response.
Ever since Wang Mingyu came out of the hospital, however, he had changed completely.
"I just suddenly felt that... the people who love me should receive my love in return. I don't want you to keep giving blindly without ever getting any response, Mom. I'm sorry, it was my fault for being so clueless in the past."
"Oh, it's nothing. I used to just feel like you were such a pitiful child." Shen Ruoyun reached up and placed her hand over Wang Mingyu's hand on her shoulder. "But now I think you're a wonderful child, and I feel like... you deserve all my affection."
"Hehe, it's Mom who's wonderful. Thanks for always giving me allowance money." Wang Mingyu blinked playfully.
Shen Ruoyun smiled faintly, patted Wang Mingyu's hand, and said nothing more.
She liked the current Wang Mingyu.
She liked him very much.
He knew gratitude, had a kind heart, and most importantly... he was extremely handsome.
It was getting to the point where she was starting to feel a burning desire rising within her.
If she ever divorced the household head in the future, she might just consider taking Wang Mingyu away with her.
After all, the head of the family was already quite old.
Ever since she was married into this house, she had never truly experienced what it felt like to be a real woman.
Yet her body was gradually growing old.
Even so, she couldn't bear to let go of this status and identity.
Fortunately, there was Mingyu, who let her experience the feeling of motherhood.
That in itself could be considered a blessing.
"What are you two doing?"
A voice suddenly rang out from behind. Turning around, they saw Wang Qingying.
She had just come down from upstairs, her brows slightly furrowed as she stared fixedly at their actions.