Chapter 224: Ambiguous

“Since you picked the shoes… could you help me put them on?”

The girl tilted her head slightly, a hint of mischief flickering in her heterochromatic eyes. Her long, slender legs crossed lazily as they extended slightly toward him.

Help her change shoes?

Me?

The moment he heard that, Luo Shaotian’s lips tightened uncontrollably.

Under normal circumstances, faced with this kind of teasing prank, he would’ve rolled his eyes without hesitation, smacked that guy’s thigh, and cursed, “Idiot, change your own damn shoes.”

But…

When his gaze landed on that beautiful body, his throat tightened. The joke that had reached his lips refused to come out.

“Beep—beep—”

On his left wrist, the biometric monitor vibrated twice.

His heart rate was spiking.

Adrenaline surging.

He froze there. His usually calm and composed mind… actually crashed for once, completely unsure how to react.

Seeing his awkward state, the smile on Lin Yu’s face stiffened slightly.

“Ah… just kidding.”

She quickly pulled her legs back, forcing an awkward laugh. “I’ll do it myself.”

Lin Yu hurriedly gave herself an out.

The moment those words left her mouth, she had already felt something off about the atmosphere.

Letting her best bro kneel down and help her change shoes?

What the hell was she thinking?

“That’s messed up! What kind of unhealthy thought is that? Disgusting!”

To hide her embarrassment, she quickly bent down and took off her loafers.

A pair of small feet wrapped in short white socks were exposed to the air.

“Gulp…”

Luo Shaotian subconsciously swallowed, his dry throat bobbing.

His hand lifted slightly at his side, as if he wanted to help—but reason won in the end. It stiffly retreated back into his pocket.

Lin Yu took out the black square-toed flats from the box, placing them beside her feet for comparison. She frowned slightly.

“These shoes… what kind of socks should I wear with them?”

She nudged the shoes lightly with her toes and turned to him.

“I feel like these white socks don’t really match this kind of business-style black shoes… it looks too student-like, right?”

“Mm…”

Luo Shaotian forced his gaze away from her feet, staring straight ahead as he answered seriously:

“Barefoot… or maybe with stockings.”

“Huh? Barefoot? That doesn’t sound great…”

Lin Yu shook her head, looking troubled.

As a man at heart, she had always disliked the sticky, suffocating feeling of wearing leather shoes barefoot.

“I’m not used to that. It rubs and makes my feet sweaty.”

She looked around the messy discount shop.

“Do they even sell stockings here?”

“They should. Wait a second.”

Luo Shaotian turned and quickly walked to the cashier to ask the shop owner.

Soon, he returned with a small plastic-wrapped package.

“They have basic ones.”

He handed her a pack of black pantyhose, his gaze drifting away unnaturally.

“You… go change in the fitting room.”

“No need to go that far. It’s just changing socks, I’ll do it here.”

Lin Yu casually tore open the package.

To her, this was as normal as a guy changing socks courtside on a basketball court. Why bother hiding?

She bent down slightly, hooking her fingers under the edge of her white socks and gently pulling them down.

The socks slipped off.

A pair of flawless, jade-like bare feet were revealed under the lights.

A magical girl’s feet were simply too beautiful.

No calluses, no roughness. Her round little toes curled slightly, nails neatly trimmed with a healthy soft hue.

Even the subtle spaces between her toes carried a delicate, soft pinkness.

…

Luo Shaotian’s gaze lingered on those bare feet for only a second—

Then, as if burned, he turned his head away, not daring to look again.

His breathing grew heavier, uncontrollably.

And this scene was fully captured by Lin Yu.

This guy… is actually getting shy?

Used to his usual cold and stoic demeanor, seeing him forced to look away because of her feet—even his ears faintly reddening…

A strange sense of victory rose in her heart.

As if she had finally won something.

On impulse, she slowed down deliberately while putting on the stockings.

These were very thin pantyhose—about 20D in transparency.

She used her thumbs to stretch open the sheer black nylon, slipping her toes in, then slowly pulling it upward.

“Shhh… shhh…”

The delicate fabric brushed against her porcelain-like skin, producing a faint, almost suggestive sound in the quiet corner.

“Thump… thump…”

Whose heartbeat was that?

Lin Yu thought it might be her own. After all, she was the one messing around—and honestly, she felt nervous.

The stockings slid upward.

The semi-transparent texture didn’t fully hide her skin tone.

Instead, the faint black layer was like a veil over snow—subtly concealing while making her legs look even more alluring.

“Shhh… shhh…”

Up past her calves, over her knees, disappearing into the shadow beneath the A-line skirt.

Snap.

A crisp sound.

The waistband settled against her waist.

Done.

Lin Yu admired her legs wrapped in black, then slipped on the flats.

Perfect fit.

“Senior Luo, please inspect the results~”

She stood up, smoothing her skirt, deliberately raising her voice in a playful “junior office worker” tone.

“Why are you calling me that…”

Luo Shaotian sighed helplessly, turning back.

“…Mm.”

In his view—

Black stockings hugging her shapely legs, paired with those understated flats, and the gentle low ponytail…

A restrained beauty blending maturity and innocence.

His breath stalled for half a second. He nodded calmly.

“Looks good. Not bad.”

Five dry words—barely held together by all his self-control.

“Hehe…”

Lin Yu covered her mouth, laughing softly like a sly little fox.

She knew it wasn’t exactly fair to tease her best bro like this in this body—but…

It was honestly pretty fun.

“Because wearing this outfit makes it feel more immersive.”

She clasped her hands behind her back and walked lightly toward him.

“I remember in workplace dramas, interns talk like this, right?”

“You’re really getting into cosplay now.”

Luo Shaotian rubbed his temples, trying to hide his inner turmoil.

“Mm… maybe a little?”

Lin Yu tilted her head, poking her cheek absentmindedly.

“I don’t really know why… but ever since becoming like this… my resistance to wearing all kinds of fancy clothes has kind of… disappeared.”

“Before, I was the type who couldn’t even be bothered to buy a T-shirt—just one outfit all year.”

“That’s actually a good thing. You should improve your style and image management.”

Seizing the chance, Luo Shaotian steered the topic back to safer ground.

“When dealing with people, first impressions matter most.”

“Money and character only come later.”

“But appearance and demeanor are the stepping stones. Even if someone isn’t particularly handsome, dressing neatly and appropriately still leaves a good impression.”

“Mm… makes sense.”

Lin Yu nodded thoughtfully.

Then suddenly looked up.

“Hey, where did you learn all that?”

“Not really learned… more like experience from life.”

“Experience? From who? Your ex-girlfriends?”

Luo Shaotian paused.

“Don’t play dumb! Back in college—wasn’t there that model team senior chasing you? And that long-legged girl from dance club?”

He shook his head.

“Just friends. Nothing more.”

“Wow… you’re way too picky.”

Lin Yu clicked her tongue, then suddenly leaned forward—

Her face came right up close to his.

“So many pretty girls! If it were me, I’d have eaten them up already!”

“Are you some kind of monk?!”

Too close.

Close enough to count her eyelashes.

Close enough to smell that faint, sweet scent.

Close enough that—

If he leaned down just a little, he could touch those talking lips.

Hearing her words, Luo Shaotian’s breathing deepened.

His dark eyes narrowed slightly.

Deep inside, something he had long suppressed flickered to life.

“…Not really.”

His gaze locked onto her lips.

“…It’s not like I can always hold back.”

Lin Yu’s chatter stopped instantly.

Even with her dense straight-guy instincts, she sensed something wrong.

“Cough—! Th-that… let’s go! We’re running out of time! I’ll go pay!”

Snap.

A soft sound.

She had barely taken a step when—

Her wrist was grabbed.

Held tightly by a large hand—broad, rough, calloused.

Wait… shouldn’t I resist?

But…

She couldn’t muster any strength.

Where was her magical girl combat ability?

Why was she so weak?

Because she couldn’t use her spiritual energy?

“…Uh…”

Her breathing quickened.

His grip was so tight.

Without that power, the physical gap between a man and a woman… was this huge?

And why was her heart beating faster?

There was even a strange urge to stop resisting…

“Hey! Are you two buying or not?!”

From behind the counter, the shop owner called out impatiently.

“Ah…”

“Oh…”

Like waking from a dream.

Freed, Lin Yu stumbled forward slightly, rubbing her burning wrist.

Luo Shaotian quickly shoved his hand back into his pocket, clenching it into a fist.

Their eyes met for a brief moment—then both looked away guiltily.

That was… close.