It wasn't until Lin Jinran and Aunt Ying had been shopping in the mall for almost three hours that she realized the meaning of Song Langqing's sympathetic look when they were about to leave. Seriously, Aunt Ying was such a shopaholic.
Lin Jinran was carrying the bags. She grabbed Aunt Ying, who was walking excitedly towards a clothing store, with one hand and said weakly, "Auntie, it's already past four. Shouldn't we go back? The evening gathering is scheduled for eight o'clock."
It would take half an hour to get back.
"Don't worry. Auntie will definitely not let you be late. It'll take you an hour to put on makeup and half an hour to get there. It's more than enough to get back before six." Aunt Ying intimately wrapped her arm around Lin Jinran's and looked down at the things they had bought.
"The pink down jacket, knitted long dress, white scarf, and a pair of Dr. Martens boots. Is there still something missing?"
Aunt Ying's gaze slowly moved upwards and landed on Lin Jinran's ears and head. "Oh, yes. We still need a beret and some jewelry. Maybe a necklace too."
Ah? Lin Jinran shook her sore arms from carrying the bags and said pitifully, "Auntie, actually, it's not necessary to have a complete makeover. And I feel bad that you've spent so much. This is already enough."
"Be obedient. These are not enough. Don't worry too much. We're all family. Why talk about spending money or not? Come on. I'll take you to buy the rest."
Aunt Ying's tone was non - negotiable. She dragged Lin Jinran to buy the remaining items.
Finally, the two got home before six. As soon as they opened the door, they saw Song Langqing sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, eating sunflower seeds in a rather unseemly manner.
Three pairs of eyes met.
Song Langqing trembled and immediately sat up straight. Then he got up to take the things. "Oh, you've bought so many things. Are you tired from shopping?"
"Auntie, I'll go change my clothes first. Please help me with my makeup later." Lin Jinran carried all the bags and went to the empty room to change.
Aunt Ying went to the bedroom and told Song Langqing to help her get out the cosmetics. Soon, the living - room table was filled with all kinds of bottles and jars.
Lin Jinran changed into a whole new set of clothes from head to toe. She looked at herself in the mirror several times, then opened the door and slowly walked into the living room.
Song Langqing stopped cracking sunflower seeds. It was as if the world had pressed the pause button. He stared blankly at Lin Jinran.
"Sure enough, I knew my taste was right. Langqing, look at you. You're completely stunned!" Aunt Ying said cheerfully and patted Song Langqing on the head.
It woke him up.
Song Langqing nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking rice and echoed, "Yes, this outfit really suits you, sister. You have a pure and innocent look. The clothes Mom chose match your temperament. They're so cute and pure."
"Really?" Lin Jinran felt a bit uncomfortable. She looked down at her clothes again. "It's still Auntie who has good taste. If I had to choose by myself, I definitely wouldn't have chosen well."
"Stop praising me. Come here quickly. I'll do your makeup." Aunt Ying beckoned her over. Lin Jinran sat obediently in front of Aunt Ying, closed her eyes, and let Aunt Ying do her makeup.
Aunt Ying chose a milky - apricot and innocent - looking makeup style, mainly a natural look.
Almost an hour later, Lin Jinran slowly opened her eyes. What came into view was Song Langqing's stunned expression.
She heard him mutter, "Sister, is this really you? You're so different from last night."
For the stage effect, last night's makeup was rather gaudy, all in the style of a host's makeup, competing on who had the better looks.
But now it was different. This makeup had been specially adjusted according to Lin Jinran's temperament and appearance, making it more suitable for her.
"Is it really that exaggerated?" Lin Jinran raised her eyebrows slightly and picked up a mirror to look at herself.
The girl in the mirror had a pair of clear and bright glass - like eyes. Her fair skin showed a faint pink tint. Under the living - room light, her skin looked even whiter than snow.
The earrings were in the shape of snowflakes, inlaid with many small diamonds, shining brightly.
Lin Jinran was slightly stunned. Then the corners of her mouth slowly curled up, and her glass - like eyes also curved. She looked so charming.
"Auntie, your makeup skills are really good."
The more Lin Jinran looked at herself, the more she liked it. The snowflake - shaped earrings swayed with her movements. "If you did Song Langqing's makeup, it would definitely amaze everyone."
"Hey, I'm a guy. I don't need makeup except for hosting." Song Langqing retorted.
"Okay, stop arguing. It's getting late. Ranran, it's time for you to go. Will you go straight back to your place after the evening event?" Aunt Ying asked.
Lin Jinran nodded. A look of apology flashed in her eyes. "Yes. It'll be too late if I come back here then. I'll disturb your rest."
"Well, I'll call a same - city courier to send your clothes here to you tomorrow, so you don't have to come and pick them up."
"Thank you, Aunt Ying~"
Aunt Ying was worried about Lin Jinran going alone, so she drove her to the hotel. After arriving at the destination, Aunt Ying drove back by herself.
Lin Jinran stood at the hotel entrance. Her exhaled breath turned into a puff of mist and dissipated between heaven and earth.
A few meters away from the hotel was the riverside in Wannan City. There was a fence around it to prevent people from going down.
The cold wind was blowing wantonly. The trees were withered, and everything looked gray. All things seemed desolate and lonely.
Lin Jinran took a glance and then strode in.
A waiter came to receive her. After asking about her destination, the waiter led her to the private room on the second floor.
Lin Jinran stopped at the door of the private room and looked at the time. It was 19:47. She wasn't late.
It was not yet the appointed time, but there were noisy voices coming from inside. It was really lively.
"Why are you standing at the door? Aren't you going in?" The smiling voice of the young man came from beside her. Immediately afterwards, the fresh scent of body wash surrounded her from all directions.
Lin Jinran's heart skipped a beat. She calmly blinked her eyes, turned sideways, and slightly raised her eyes to look at Su Qinian.
Su Qinian was also dressed quite formally. He was wearing a black knee - length overcoat. Inside was a black turtleneck knitted woolen sweater. Even his pants were in black. The only thing that stood out was the Klein - blue scarf around his neck, which was the finishing touch, eye - catching but not looking too heavy.
Without the black - and - white school uniform, this black outfit made him look tall and straight, with deep and profound eyebrows and a cold and handsome temperament.
"I was just about to go in." Lin Jinran buried her face deeper into the scarf. She lowered her eyes and glanced around, not daring to look directly at Su Qinian.
"This outfit..." Lin Jinran could feel the boy's gaze on her body, moving up bit by bit. He said slowly, not in a hurry, "It suits you very well. You look extremely good - looking."
Her face seemed to burn even more.
Lin Jinran buried herself deeper into the scarf and stared at the ground, saying in a low voice, "You look good too in this outfit."
Su Qinian's eyebrows twitched. Just as he was about to say something more, he heard Lu Youchuan's voice getting closer from inside.
"What's going on? Why haven't Brother Su and Sister Lin come yet? It seems they're the only ones missing..."
The voice stopped at the last word. The door of the private room was suddenly pushed open.
The two of them faced each other and were suddenly exposed in front of everyone.