Chapter 222: Good Brothers, Buying Clothes

Luo Shaotian suddenly realized in a daze that this seemed to be the first time in his life he had ever accompanied a girl to buy clothes.

“Ah, assuming the good brother in front of me who’s frantically comparing prices can actually count as a girl.”

“You… still don’t like this store either?”

Luo Shaotian stood at the entrance of a delicately decorated women’s clothing shop and asked Lin Yu somewhat helplessly.

This was already the third branded store his good brother had rejected.

“Too expensive, too expensive! This is basically robbery!”

Lin Yu shook her head painfully while her fingers flew across the screen of her contract bracelet, pulling up a long series of price comparison pages.

“Look, look! This coat, this knit sweater… Taobao and Pinduoduo both have the exact same versions!”

“Even the model photos are identical!”

“And the price? Only one-third of what they’re selling here—sometimes even one-tenth!”

“There’s a reason physical stores can’t compete with online shops anymore.”

“Buying offline is ridiculously expensive, and if you want to return something you still have to watch the salesperson’s face.”

“How can that compare to the joy of seven-day no-reason returns online?”

“But…”

Luo Shaotian felt a little anxious and almost wanted to just pull out his card and say, “I’ll cover it.”

But he knew that would touch Lin Yu’s pride, so he could only try to persuade her more tactfully.

“Aren’t you going to meet Dr. Reed later?”

“He’s a huge figure in the academic world.”

“Online shopping may be cheap, but it won’t arrive in time now.”

“Relax, relax. I’ve got a trick up my sleeve.”

Lin Yu smiled slyly.

“I did my research on Xiaohongshu earlier.”

“There’s a hidden treasure store on the basement level of this shopping district!”

“The basement?”

Following her guidance, Luo Shaotian glanced at the recommendation post filled with exclamation marks and emoji, and several black lines appeared on his forehead.

“Isn’t that… the kind of discount wholesale area?”

“Exactly!”

“It’s one of those factory-direct outlet stores!”

“The prices are about the same as online—sometimes you can even bargain!”

Lin Yu counted on her fingers while calculating.

“Think about it. The money for one coat upstairs could get me several full outfits from head to toe down there!”

“That’s the art of cost-performance, you know?”

Luo Shaotian looked at her careful, penny-pinching expression and still felt somewhat worried.

“But… we’re going there to ask someone for help.”

“And the other party is the chief scientist of a top-tier institution like Ruikang Biotech.”

“If you show up wearing clothes from a discount wholesale shop…”

“Will it really look presentable?”

“Won’t it make them think we’re not taking this seriously?”

“Hiss— That’s… actually a good point.”

Lin Yu withdrew her smile, propped her chin with one hand, and squeezed her soft cheeks thoughtfully, making a cute little sound.

“Come to think of it, I remember your taste being pretty good.”

“Huh?”

Luo Shaotian froze for a moment.

“When we get downstairs, help me pick out clothes!”

Lin Yu looked at him with an expectant expression.

“Like… the kind that looks expensive and high-quality…”

“But actually only costs ninety-nine yuan with free shipping!”

“You should be able to pick that kind of style, right?”

“W-Wait, I’m picking clothes for you?”

Luo Shaotian’s heartbeat suddenly skipped, and an indescribable joy surged up inside him.

But he still forced his face to remain serious, pretending to hesitate.

“Is… that really appropriate?”

“What’s inappropriate about it?”

“Didn’t you always have pretty good luck with women?”

Lin Yu continued stabbing him with words without realizing it.

“I remember back in college there was a senior from the modeling team who chased you around asking you out every day.”

“Since you have real combat experience in this area, stop hiding it and help your bro pick some clothes!”

While they talked, the two of them followed the signs and arrived at the basement level of the mall.

The air here was noticeably murkier than upstairs, and noisy shouting from vendors rose and fell continuously.

After passing several small stalls selling phone cases and screen protectors, they finally found the shop tucked away in a corner.

It was a rather remote storefront.

In front of the entrance stood several extremely bold promotional signs with yellow characters on red backgrounds.

The original “10% Off” label had been crudely crossed out with black marker and replaced with a shocking “70% OFF.”

Several handwritten notices were also pasted nearby, their handwriting messy and urgent:

Boss ran off with his sister-in-law!
Everything must go!
Pay whatever and take it!
Once it’s sold out, we’re closing!

Looking at those signs, Luo Shaotian felt the veins on his temple twitch violently.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu beside him looked like she had finally found her homeland—like a fat guy seeing his fellow comrades and bursting into tears of joy.

“…Magnificent!”

“Hey! What are you doing?”

The vein on Luo Shaotian’s forehead twitched even faster.

“Don’t get so excited! This is a rare good store! Look what it says here!”

Lin Yu pointed at the sign enthusiastically.

“Are you stupid?”

“What do you mean ‘the boss ran off with his sister-in-law’?”

“And you’re actually saying ‘magnificent’?”

“That’s exactly why it’s magnificent!”

“Think about it—normally when stores do clearance sales, the boss is still here and will desperately stop you from picking defective items.”

“But in this store, the boss already ran away!”

“Doesn’t that mean we can pick whatever we want?”

“Lin Yu… what kind of crooked logic is that?”

“Ah, who cares if it’s crooked logic or not?”

“Just answer me this—Is seventy percent off a good deal or not?”

When Luo Shaotian thought about it, it actually made some sense.

Still, it felt oddly uncomfortable somehow.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go in quickly!”

“Otherwise all the good stuff will get picked clean!”

As she spoke, Lin Yu impatiently dragged Luo Shaotian into the store.

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Since it was a clearance sale, the interior was a mess.

Clothes were piled all over the floor, with barely any actually hanging on racks.

Lin Yu skillfully began digging through the small mountain of clothing, pulling out piece after piece.

Luo Shaotian took the clothes she handed over.

The fabric did feel fairly decent, but the workmanship was average, and as for the designs… they were hard to evaluate.

“Lin Yu, are you picking clothes for yourself…”

“Or for your dad?”

“Shh! Lower your voice!”

Lin Yu raised her head from the pile of clothes, looking slightly embarrassed.

“If you talk like that people will misunderstand and think I’m your dad’s!”

“Hmph.”

Luo Shaotian snorted coldly, but didn’t say anything further.

He simply stood quietly watching her continue picking clothes.

Before long, Lin Yu had selected dozens of pieces.

She then turned to Luo Shaotian and said:

“Now it’s your turn!”

Luo Shaotian sighed helplessly and plunged enthusiastically into the colorful racks of clothing.

The shop wasn’t big, and the clothes were packed tightly together, even somewhat chaotic.

The styles were indeed quite retro, filled with the lingering flavor of fashion magazines from decades ago.

“Feel free to browse and pick whatever you want. Don’t be shy.”

An older landlady sat behind the register scrolling short videos on her phone and greeted them without even lifting her head.

“Everything’s on clearance. Small profits, quick turnover.”

“If you like it, just try it on yourself.”

Her tone wasn’t particularly warm, carrying an easygoing attitude of “buy it or don’t.”

Since it was clearance, there were no store assistants.

Everything was self-service.

“Hmm…”

Standing before rows of clothes, Lin Yu felt a bit troubled.

Although she had plenty of experience shopping online, when it came to offline situations like this where she had to match outfits herself, she was suddenly at a loss.

After all, she had never really studied women’s fashion before.

So she very naturally turned around and cast a gaze full of trust—well, more like a silent plea for help—toward the “consultant” behind her.

Luo Shaotian stepped up to the rack.

His long, defined fingers slid across rows of cheap fabrics, his expression focused like a detective collecting evidence at a crime scene.

“Hmm… since you’re meeting an academic authority, it’s a relatively formal occasion.”

“We can’t dress too casually or too flashy.”

As he spoke, he calmly analyzed while selecting clothes.

“Hoodies and jeans are the first to be eliminated.”

“I think… a well-tailored business outfit or a slightly formal small suit would be better.”

“It shows respect without looking overly deliberate.”

“Ah… you mean a uniform?”

Strange images suddenly flashed through Lin Yu’s mind, and she blurted out instinctively.

“Like… that kind of uniform temptation?”

“Cough—”

Luo Shaotian nearly choked on her bold words.

“Although that doesn’t sound quite right… that’s roughly the idea.”

“What we want is a capable, professional atmosphere.”

After rummaging through a pile of flashy chiffon shirts for a while, he finally found a relatively normal-looking dark blazer and skirt set.

“How about this?”

“The cut looks decent, and the color is steady.”

He handed the clothes to Lin Yu.

“Go try it on in the fitting room.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lin Yu took the clothes without showing much embarrassment.

After all, after being a magical girl for so long, her sense of shame had already dropped lower and lower.

“Swish—”

The curtain closed.

Luo Shaotian stood outside the fitting room with his back to it, hands in his pockets, trying to maintain a calm appearance.

But in reality, his mind had already started automatically playing scenes he couldn’t control.

He was used to seeing his good brother in a sailor uniform.

Now she was changing into this mature, capable office-lady outfit…

That intense contrast alone was enough to make his heart race just imagining it.

But…

Was this really just for the mission?

Honestly, it was hard to say.

Maybe part of him simply wanted to see it for himself.

The image of his good brother wearing an OL outfit, shyly blushing while calling him “senpai”…

Just as his thoughts ran wild—

“Eh?”

A sudden exclamation came from inside the fitting room.

Luo Shaotian instantly snapped back to reality and asked nervously,

“What’s wrong?”

“Ugh— ah…”

The sound of fabric rustling came from inside, followed by Lin Yu’s somewhat discouraged voice.

“No… it still doesn’t work.”

“What doesn’t work? Did the zipper get stuck?”

“Not the zipper… the buttons…”

Through the curtain, Lin Yu’s voice sounded muffled, even carrying a trace of embarrassed irritation.

“The buttons… won’t close.”

“No way.”

“I thought you were so small—shouldn’t an S size fit you?”

“Ugh—”

A soft, pink, chubby little face popped out from the gap in the curtain.

Her mouth puffed up in a sulky pout.

“You’re the small one!”

“Go get me an M size!”