Chapter 45

After finishing her night shift on Friday, Xu Qiao went straight to a nearby comprehensive supermarket. She had already informed Lu Yang last night to have breakfast by himself.

After parking her bicycle, Xu Qiao headed directly to the second floor of the supermarket, where the clothing section was located, offering a variety of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing.

Having studied the wedding scenes from TV dramas and searched for relevant fashion tips, Xu Qiao had several outfit options in mind, but she still needed to see if they were available in the store or if she might come across a dress that captivated her at first glance.

As she passed by a light green dress, Xu Qiao couldn’t help but stop.

Two lotus petals flew out, sticking to her eyes.

She already had many pieces of lotus green clothing in her wardrobe and wasn’t allowed to buy anything green. The pink and white petals were also very pretty.

Xu Qiao reluctantly gave up on the green dress.

Considering that she now had a million points in savings, Xu Qiao bravely walked toward a few high-end brand stores.

Wearing something too casual at a wedding held in the central district wouldn’t be appropriate, but looking overly formal would also attract unnecessary attention.
—-
On Saturday morning, the four-person team met up in their aircraft.

Sun Fushan sat next to Xu Qiao on her right and chatted with her through the group chat: 【Have you chosen the dress you’re going to wear tomorrow?】

Xu Qiao had already noticed that their team leader was just shy and quite eager to chat.

She nodded.

Sun Fushan: 【Do you have a picture?】

Xu Qiao had shared outfit ideas with her two roommates, so she also posted a photo in the group chat, showing a dress still on the mannequin in the store.

It was a white silk blouse paired with a light pink mermaid skirt, suitable for both the wedding and everyday work.

Sun Fushan nodded repeatedly: 【Nice, it matches your lotus color perfectly.】

Xu Qiao typed with a smile: 【What a coincidence! All three of us roommates chose outfits in the colors of our spirit entities.】

Meng Li: 【You could add a pair of pearl earrings.】

Xu Qiao looked surprised at Meng Li on her left: “You know about this kind of stuff?”

Meng Li replied quietly: “My grandmother liked them when she was young.”

Her young grandmother was a beauty. Although the family’s conditions were average, she could still create beautiful effects with inexpensive clothing.
—-
In the photos left by her mother, even before awakening her spirit entity, her style was quite exquisite, with some seemingly taken during a romantic relationship, making her look radiant.

Xu Qiao touched her earlobe: “Forget it; I don’t even have pierced ears. It’s not worth it just for one wedding.”

Mainly, there wasn’t much time left. She was training outside today, and tomorrow noon she had to attend the wedding.

Qin Chi didn’t participate in this discussion.

However, when they returned to the base at six in the evening, after completing their tasks and exchanging points, Qin Chi suggested, “We’ll pass by a jewelry store on the way back to the community. Would you like me to accompany you to take a look? They seem to have ear clips that don’t require ear piercing.”

Xu Qiao: “…How do you know more about this than I do?”

Qin Chi explained with a smile: “I overheard the salesperson introducing them to other customers while buying cufflinks.”

During the time they were away from the Northeast base to shop for clothes, Huo Long had shown interest in various types of jewelry, so Qin Chi had lingered in the store and unintentionally listened in on several transactions.

Thinking of Meng Li’s suggestion, Xu Qiao said, “Then let’s go take a look.”

Qin Chi drove, and they didn’t take any detours. Sure enough, there was an elegantly decorated jewelry store along the way, with advertisements featuring celebrities playing on the screens.

Xu Qiao followed Qin Chi inside. The store was brightly lit and filled with sparkling jewels, making Xu Qiao instinctively breathe more quietly.

“What kind of jewelry would you like to see?” The sales assistant approached with a smile.

Qin Chi calmly replied, “Pearl ear clips.”

The sales assistant led them to a counter.

There were several types of ear clips made from various materials, including gold, silver, and jade. Xu Qiao hesitated, and Qin Chi chose a pair of gold ear clips inlaid with pearls for her, the round, shiny pearls being about the size of longan seeds.

The sales assistant took out the ear clips, and there was a makeup mirror next to the counter.

Xu Qiao appeared calm on the surface, but she was quickly thinking about how to wear them and how much pressure to use to clip them on.

Her nervousness didn’t escape the keen-eyed sales assistant.

The sales assistant glanced at the male companion of the customer. At this moment, wouldn’t it be more interesting if he helped?

Qin Chi appropriately said, “You try them first; I’ll go look at something else.”

Without his gaze on her, Xu Qiao relaxed a lot and easily put them on after a few adjustments in front of the mirror. The ear clips were secure and didn’t pinch her earlobes.

The marked-price items allowed Xu Qiao to directly pay with her points. After putting the jewelry in a bag, she walked over to Qin Chi, only to find the counter next to them filled with gold necklaces.

The sales assistant wisely didn’t follow too closely.

Qin Chi quietly suggested to his teammate, “Perhaps you could pair it with a necklace; otherwise, your neck will look a bit bare.”

Xu Qiao first looked at the price tags. Even in the New Era, the price of gold was only second to a few metals suitable for crafting battle armor and supernatural weapons.

But it really looks good.
—-
After considering her savings, Xu Qiao chose a necklace with a lotus pendant. The necklace was quite delicate, and the pendant was only the size of a thumbnail.

Once back in the car, Xu Qiao remarked to her teammate, “Having few friends has its advantages. I usually just travel between the clinic and home, avoiding the social obligations of weddings, so I don’t need to spend money on jewelry.”

Qin Chi smiled, “It really depends on whether you like it. As long as you like it, buying jewelry is just a way to treat yourself.”

Xu Qiao thought for a moment and replied, “That makes sense. In the past, I hesitated to buy things, but now that I go out to complete tasks once a week, I occasionally buy something as a reward for myself.”

Qin Chi asked, “Where is the wedding being held? I also need to go to the central district tomorrow for a friend’s dinner, so it works out perfectly to drop you off.”

Xu Qiao was surprised, “What a coincidence! But I have a roommate who drives us, and we’re going to meet at a subway station to wait for her to pick us up, and then we’ll all go together.”

Qin Chi replied, “Then I’ll take you to the subway station.”

Xu Qiao smiled and accepted her teammate’s kindness.

On Sunday morning, after Lu Yang finished breakfast, he went to the school playground to practice his physical fitness. Xu Qiao changed her clothes at nine o’clock and looked in the mirror before contacting Qin Chi: 【I’m about to head out. Is it too early for you to go to the dinner party now?】

Qin Chi replied: 【Not really; I need to stop by the library, so I’ll see you at the entrance.】

Xu Qiao took one last look in the mirror. It was the first time she was dressing so formally in front of her teammates, and she felt a bit shy.

Picking up her handbag, Xu Qiao took a deep breath and stepped outside.

Perhaps she was mentally prepared when she contacted Qin Chi. When she pushed the door open, he hadn’t come out yet. After waiting for about half a minute, she heard a door open from the opposite side.

Xu Qiao tried her best to appear natural.
—-
As the door swung open, Qin Chi stepped out, wearing a black shirt with the top two buttons undone, subtly revealing his collarbone.

Feeling Qin Chi’s gaze sweep over her, Xu Qiao immediately sensed her cheeks getting warmer.

She looked at his chest while hearing a gentle teasing voice from above: “Dressed like this, you finally look like a graduate.”

Xu Qiao: “…”

Qin Chi had already walked out of the building and opened his sun umbrella.

Xu Qiao bit her lip and followed him.

Two of Xu Qiao’s roommates lived in the south and east districts, respectively. They had agreed to meet at the subway station near the south gate of the central district.

Qin Chi drove for more than twenty minutes before they arrived.

Through the car window, Xu Qiao spotted her roommate in a white dress standing by the subway entrance. As she unbuckled her seatbelt, she said to Qin Chi, “Thanks! That’s my roommate.”

Qin Chi replied, “I won’t get out of the car. Are you going back with your other roommate?”

Xu Qiao responded, “Yes, we still want to go shopping, and after we’re done, she and her boyfriend will take us back.”

“Little Mint” brought a plus one, while she and “Dandelion,” who was also single, kept each other company.

Qin Chi said, “Okay, feel free to contact me if you need anything.”

Xu Qiao bid him farewell once more and got out of the car.

Qin Chi watched her reunite with her roommate. The two young girls embraced closely and smiled at each other before he drove away.
—-
The Dandelion roommate, named Wang Lanlan, praised Xu Qiao’s beautiful outfit and her even more beautiful appearance. Then she squinted at the direction the black car had departed. “Come on, be honest. Did you get a boyfriend?”

Xu Qiao shook her head, “No, he’s just a neighbor from the same building. We bumped into each other when heading out, and he kindly gave me a ride for a bit.”

Wang Lanlan remarked, “Your neighbor seems pretty wealthy. But your whole neighborhood is wealthy; it’s not like our place, which is just separated from the third ring by a wall.”

Her parents were both D-grade ability users, and they were fortunate enough to have her, a C-grade daughter. However, her salary was not enough to buy a house in the short term.

Xu Qiao replied, “Let’s not talk about that. Your salary is definitely higher than mine now.”

Wang Lanlan worked in a public hospital; though it was busy, her income was considerable.

Wang Lanlan inquired again about Xu Qiao’s reason for leaving the central hospital. Xu Qiao had to come up with an excuse: “The patients there are all family members of high-level ability users, and I heard they can be quite temperamental. I’m worried about causing trouble.”

After chatting for a while, “Little Mint,” Chen Fei, arrived with her boyfriend. They had him drive while the three girls chattered excitedly in the back seat.
—-
Around ten o’clock, the four of them arrived at the hotel where the wedding was being held. Along the way, Xu Qiao had already been impressed by the villas and high-end apartments, and now she felt numb to the hotel’s luxury.

The bride, named Yu Zhu, stood with the groom at the front of the hall to greet guests. Upon seeing the three roommates, she rushed over to embrace each of them.

While introducing the groom, Xu Qiao couldn’t help but feel that he looked at her with a strange smile.

The bride was quite busy; after leading the four of them to a table behind the main table, she quickly left again.

Wang Lanlan exclaimed, “Wow, we’re sitting so close to the front! I thought we’d be at the back.”

Chen Fei added, “Looks like Yu Zhu doesn’t have many relatives from her family.”

Xu Qiao listened to their conversation as she sat down at her seat, which was next to the aisle, with another table across from hers.

She tilted her head to chat with her roommates when suddenly, both Chen Fei and Wang Lanlan looked surprised and turned to the diagonal back.

Xu Qiao turned around, puzzled, to see what caught their attention.

On the red carpeted aisle stood four male guests, led by a man in a crisp black suit. Just a few days ago, he had silver-white short hair, which he dyed back to black, making him appear more composed. His slightly tanned skin added a mature man’s charm to his former military school appearance.

Zhao Feng looked cold without a smile. When his gaze landed on Xu Qiao’s face, he appeared stunned for a moment before a smile spread across his face.

The massive snow wolf spirit first stepped onto the red carpet and quickly bounded to Xu Qiao’s side. As it lay down, the intimidating presence of its large body eased, and its gaze, looking up at Xu Qiao, resembled that of a loyal and harmless pet dog.

Xu Qiao was still in a daze when Zhao Feng approached, extending his right hand toward her with a warm gaze. “What a coincidence to run into a fellow alum here.”

Xu Qiao didn’t reach out to shake his hand. Instead, she looked toward the end of the red carpet, where the bride was standing to welcome guests.

Others might not understand, but could Yu Zhu be unaware of Xu Qiao’s aversion to Zhao Feng?

Behind her, Wang Lanlan frowned and asked Zhao Feng, “What are you doing here?”

Zhao Feng calmly retracted his hand, which Xu Qiao had ignored, and explained with a smile, “The groom is a member of our team. He doesn’t talk much and hasn’t mentioned his girlfriend to us. I just saw the bride and thought she looked familiar, but it was Yu Zhu who recognized me first. What a coincidence, don’t you think?”

Wang Lanlan rolled her eyes.

Zhao Feng didn’t take it to heart. He glanced at the table nearby and took a seat next to Xu Qiao.

As he recalled his snow wolf spirit form, Zhao Feng meaningfully said to Xu Qiao, “All these years, it has always remembered you.”

Xu Qiao pursed her lips, and her lotus spirit form extended a lotus leaf, shooting a water arrow at Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng was a B-level ice-type ability user; even if the lotus slightly concealed its power, it wouldn’t be able to harm Zhao Feng, who had been a professional mercenary for two years, even if it exerted itself fully.

Zhao Feng had already anticipated this and raised his hand, instantly turning the water arrow he caught into an ice arrow, the crystalline sharp tip only a millimeter away from his face.

After playfully twirling the ice arrow a few times, Zhao Feng praised, “Your water abilities have indeed improved. You almost got me this time.”

Xu Qiao: “……”