Chapter 27

Cai Yu’s birthday was coming up, and Bai Zining decided to go to the mall to buy him a gift.

When Zhu Shizhou heard this, he expressed that he wanted to go along as well.

“You’re not going home?” Bai Zining glanced at him suspiciously. It was Saturday, after all, and Zhu Shizhou had already spent three consecutive weeks accompanying him at school without going home.

“I’m not going home. I’ll keep you company,” Zhu Shizhou replied.

Bai Zining recalled how Zhu Shizhou had mentioned before that his parents were often not at home, so he let it be and took him along.

Cai Yu had a favorite anime IP^[1]Anime IP refers to “intellectual property” (IP) related to anime. In this context, it typically means a franchise, series, or brand associated with anime, including its characters, … Continue reading that recently collaborated with a trendy toy store to release a series of blind boxes. When they arrived at the mall, Bai Zining headed straight to the destination and quickly purchased an entire set, which was six blind boxes.

Zhu Shizhou followed suit and bought an insect model from the same store as a gift for Cai Yu.

After they finished paying separately, Zhu Shizhou took both bags in his hands and asked Bai Zining, “When’s your birthday?”

“March.”

“Is there any specific birthday gift you want?”

“Dage^[2]Dage (大哥) literally means “big brother” in Chinese. The difference from “gege” is: Dage emphasizes seniority, respect, or hierarchy, particularly in formal or hierarchical … Continue reading, it’s only October now, my birthday is still half a year away.” Besides, was their relationship really close enough to warrant exchanging birthday gifts? But Bai Zining didn’t say the latter part out loud.

“I don’t like that title,” Zhu Shizhou said seriously. “You’re half a year younger than me, so calling me gege wouldn’t be unfair.”

Bai Zining gave him a push on the back. “Keep dreaming. Don’t think you can take advantage of me.”

As they passed by a headphone store, Bai Zining suddenly felt like checking out some headphones. After trying a few models, he finally took a liking to a pair of over-ear headphones with excellent sound quality.

Unfortunately, the Double Eleven discounts had already ended, and they were now being sold at full price, 1,388 yuan.

“Will there be discounts for Double Eleven?” Bai Zining asked the store clerk.

“Of course, handsome! The Double Eleven promotions are really great. Based on previous years’ deals, you can expect at least a 15% discount. How about adding me on WeChat? I’ll remind you once the promotion starts.” The clerk picked up the badge hanging around their neck, flipped it over, and showed the QR code on the back.

Just as Bai Zining was about to take out his phone to scan the code, Zhu Shizhou stopped him and said to the clerk, “No need, thank you. We’ll buy them now. Please get us two—one black, one white.”

Bai Zining was startled. “What are you doing?”

“Buying early means enjoying early.”

“Are you stupid? Double Eleven is only about twenty days away. A 15% discount would save at least 200 yuan! Isn’t your money still money?” If it weren’t for the crowd, Bai Zining would have smacked him to make him wake up. “Besides, we both already have headphones to use. There’s no rush.”

“It’s fine, I’ll buy it for you,” Zhu Shizhou said as he walked toward the counter.

“No way, that’s too expensive. I—I didn’t mean for you to spend money on me,” Bai Zining tried to stop him from paying.

“I know, this is my choice.” His attempt to stop him failed. Beep—the receipt was printed and slid out of the machine.

“Fine, I’ll transfer the money to you.” The transaction was already done, and Bai Zining could do nothing to change it.

“No need. Transferring back and forth is too much trouble. Just buy me something next time.” Zhu Shizhou took the shopping bags from the store clerk, grabbed Bai Zining by the arm, and headed out.

“Forget about next time; let’s do it today. What do you want?”

“There’s still plenty of time,” Zhu Shizhou glanced at his watch. “How about we go watch a movie?”

?

The turn of events always caught Bai Zining off guard. How had the conversation suddenly shifted to this?

Zhu Shizhou, on the other hand, was completely at ease. “We just spent half an hour in the car to get here. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of heading back already.”

Alright, that made sense. After deciding on a movie, Bai Zining quickly bought the tickets before Zhu Shizhou could.

By the time the movie ended, it was already past six, and it was time for dinner. Once again, Bai Zining insisted on paying the bill.

As they passed by a counter, Zhu Shizhou suddenly stopped, pointed at a ring inside, and said to the clerk, “Excuse me, I’d like to see this one.”

The ring he was looking at was a simple design, with a plain band adorned with subtle wavy patterns. The other ring, slightly smaller, had a tiny artificial diamond set on it, sparkling under the light.

Zhu Shizhou slipped the larger ring onto his middle finger and asked Bai Zining, “How does it look?”

His fingers were long and slender, with prominent veins on the back of his hand, giving a sense of strength without appearing bulky. Bai Zining studied it for a while and objectively commented, “It looks good.”

“Then try this one,” Zhu Shizhou said, handing the smaller ring to Bai Zining.

“Huh?” Bai Zining froze. “Wait, I don’t usually wear rings. I don’t need one.”

“This is a pair, not sold separately. Silver rings are on discount right now, and this set is just over 500 yuan,” the salesperson chimed in at the perfect moment. “And handsome, your hands are so nice, why not give it a try?”

Bai Zining glanced at Zhu Shizhou, who was holding the ring and smiling at him. Letting out a small sigh, Bai Zining reached out to take the ring from his hand.

But Zhu Shizhou dodged his hand. Instead, with his other hand, he lifted Bai Zining’s hand and personally slid the ring onto his middle finger.

The fit was perfect.

“You…” Bai Zining hadn’t figured out what to say when Zhu Shizhou praised, “It looks great, suits you perfectly.”

It was true. Bai Zining’s hands were slender and delicate, with long fingers and fair, smooth skin, making the ring stand out even more.

Zhu Shizhou placed his hand next to Bai Zining’s. His hand was a size larger, and while he wasn’t dark-skinned, the contrast with Bai Zining’s fair complexion made the difference in skin tone quite noticeable.

“Alright, let’s check out,” Zhu Shizhou said, turning to the salesperson.

“Wait a second…” Bai Zining still wanted to resist. How had he ended up muddle-headedly buying a pair of rings? But as he watched the salesperson briskly head to the checkout counter, the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly walked to the checkout area. Before Zhu Shizhou could react, he swiftly paid the bill.

The salesperson handed the receipt, box, and bag to Zhu Shizhou with a cheerful smile. “We look forward to your next visit.”

Zhu Shizhou carried all the variously sized bags in his right hand, raised his left hand to admire the ring, and said with satisfaction, “Thank you, baby, for buying me this ring.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Bai Zining’s eyes widened instantly upon hearing those words, bristling with indignation.

“Sorry, I’m used to saying it from before,” Zhu Shizhou said with a chuckle. “Forgive me, okay?”

The ring was still on his finger, and Bai Zining had probably forgotten to take it off. He focused on explaining his earlier actions. “Don’t overthink it, okay? I only bought the ring because the headphones you got me this afternoon were too expensive. I don’t want to owe you any favors.”

“Mm-hmm, I know.” Zhu Shizhou nodded, but the amusement in his tone felt perfunctory to Bai Zining. He let out a snort and quickened his pace, putting half a meter of distance between himself and Zhu Shizhou.