Jiang Sui stood beside Su Qing, lips tightly pursed, silent. But within him, a wave of suffocating emotion surged fiercely, assaulting his heart, leaving him feeling uncomfortable and bitter.
From his repression, veins bulged at the boy's temples.
Su Qing reached out and tugged at the hem of Jiang Sui's shirt, then sat down on the bench, her eyes slightly agitated.
"The clothes here are too expensive. I can't afford them."
The girl's voice was hesitant. Poverty had never seemed difficult to face, but now, sitting beside Jiang Sui, beside the boy, she suddenly felt inferior.
The store clerks' fawning over him, their disdain for her, none of that mattered. What mattered was that Su Qing felt a surge of bitterness in her chest, wanting to escape, but she didn't want to.
She wanted to face it head-on.
Her vulnerability and humility were laid bare, unconcealed.
"Qing Qing, I didn't mean to..."
Jiang Sui's voice faltered. He simply wanted the best for her, looking at the hand tugging at the hem of his clothes.
"Jiang Sui, there's no need to blame yourself. I'm already poor, and I don't have the money right now to buy such expensive clothes. Even if you buy them for me, I feel like it's a burden. Even if you earned the money yourself, may be my pride is getting in the way. I don't want to pay for something I can't afford, and I think it's unnecessary."
It's not that she doesn't want to, but that extra goodness is something she can no longer offer.
She wants a relationship of equality, and she will work hard to catch up. She knows her pride is at work, but she just can't accept it right now.
"A burden?" the young man muttered to himself, his heart swollen with grief. His thick black eyelashes trembled slightly, shaking, and the emotion in his eyes poured out involuntarily.
His fingertips turned white, and he didn't know how to raise his head to look at the girl. This reminded Jiang Sui of the last time they had dinner together. She had already bought the vouchers, but his own blindness had made her so sad.
To be with her, Jiang Sui would be willing to have nothing.
"Qing Qing, it's not a burden. If I can be with you, I can have nothing. I'll have as much as you have, as long as you have money and possessions."
His eyes were so bright, and his foolish words stunned Su Qing for a few seconds. Then she looked at the bewildered boy, half-crouched in front of her.
Shocked, Su Qing pinched the tip of his nose.
"What are you thinking?"
She couldn't help but laugh, moved, and heartbroken. It wasn't possible to do this. The gap existed. How could she deny it? It was unrealistic.
The boy had been close to Su Qing before. When her finger brushed his nose, Jiang Sui's heart fluttered.
"Qing Qing."
His eyes were shimmering with traces of scattered pain, and his whole demeanor was somewhat cold. The tip of his delicate, white nose had turned a faint red from being pinched by Su Qing.
"Jiang Sui, you didn't understand me. I'm very upset."
Seeing him like this, Su Qing frowned and stared at him with a fierce and cold look, "There's always a gap between you and me, but when I said I only had one dollar, how could I possibly accept it if you bought me something worth ten thousand dollars? So, just because I can't accept it, you're going to throw away the remaining nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars? That's unreasonable."
The girl sat on the bench, her eyes half-closed, a faint glint in her gaze.
"What should do then?"
Jiang Sui was a little unsure what to do.
"Jiang Sui, wait for me, until I can stand beside you in all my glory."
"If you really want to buy clothes here, that's fine, but we can buy something more affordable, or I can take you to another mall, okay?"
Su Qing still wanted to buy clothes for Jiang Sui, but the stores here seemed beyond the reach of a student like her.
Usually, Su Qing liked to go to those markets where they had everything, all at very reasonable prices.
Jiang Sui was delighted. Hearing Su Qing's words, how could he not want to? Without a word, he dragged Su Qing along.
However, once they arrived, Su Qing had oversimplified everything. The young man stood tall and graceful, his youthful elegance and demeanor so striking and outstanding that he didn't seem like an ordinary person at all.
When they reached the market entrance, the crooked signs looked so out of place against the young man.
Because of his radiant presence, many people's gazes gradually converged on them.
Jiang Sui must have grown tired of hearing those words like "so handsome" and so on. But Su Qing knew that while these people often discussed him, they wouldn't be so blatant. Perhaps it was because he was so handsome, most people simply stared at Jiang Sui.
The young man didn't look away, his attention focused on Su Qing.
"Qing Qing, we can buy some couple outfits, right?"
The young man seemed preoccupied with couple outfits, not paying much attention to the furnishings.
In the noisy air.
Su Qing squeezed his fingers and nodded.
Pulling him into a store, Su Qing didn't know if this store sold couples' clothing, but when she was buying things, she remembered that there were couples' clothing in this store.
The stores here were relatively small, the largest probably only about ten square meters. Empty bags and packaging were strewn everywhere, and the aisles were filled with all kinds of goods. There were the cries of vendors and the sounds of clearance sales.
In short, it was a bit messy, not as bright and glamorous as a big shopping mall.
The young man stood in the cramped space, meticulously selecting clothes. His slender, white fingers felt the fabric and examined the ingredient list.
Su Qing's heart was filled with bitterness. He was so good, so perfect, he shouldn't have come to a place like this.
Remember, he was a mysophobe.
All of this seemed to be tolerable.
Jiang Sui had truly never been to a place like this. In his heart, he was compromising with Su Qing, wanting to relieve her of such a burden, even though he disliked the noise, the clutter, and the gazes of so many people, as if glued to his face.
His unfurrowed brows made Su Qing's heart squirm.
Just as Jiang Sui was about to ask the shopkeeper for a piece of clothing, Su Qing pursed her lips and grabbed Jiang Sui's wrist.
They ran out like the wind.
The boy was puzzled, but he naturally accepted the girl's willingness to do whatever she wanted, allowing Su Qing to lead him as fast as she could.
Su Qing stopped only when they reached the curb.