It didn’t actually feel that great for the three of them to be going to the shopping mall together, especially since they didn’t know each other that well. The atmosphere felt a bit awkward, so they ended up gravitating toward more populated areas where each of them could buy their own stuff and feel less awkward about the whole thing.
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Shen Lan’s main motivation for attending the masquerade ball was to capture Count Ravel. So he only bought some simple masks. It wasn’t that realistic for him to also put on a full face of makeup.
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But Su Tang was different. He was excited by everything he saw. It seemed like there was everything on the racks: ghostly headgear, witches’ capes and brooms, and even the fangs of vampires and cat ears. All of them were made quite exquisitely, almost lifelike with their details.
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“This one’s so realistic.” He said to Shen Lan as he couldn’t help but put the cat ears on his head.
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“Yeah.” Shen Lan nodded and pointed at the tail with a smile. “If you added this too, you’d really look like a cat.”\n
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Su Tang hadn’t really figured out what was going on, so he got closer to take a better look. “How do you wear this. Tie it on?”
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“No idea.” Shen Lan said carelessly, bringing out his phone to point at Su Tang. “Look here.”
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Su Tang stared for a moment before realizing that Shen Lan had snapped a photo of him in cat ears. He blushed, embarrassed, leaping closer to him and making a fuss. “How could you do this? Delete that picture.”
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“Why would I do that? Look at how cute it is.” Height-wise, Su Tang was no taller than Shen Lan’s shoulder. When he raised his hand, he couldn’t grab the phone away at all. Shen Lan glanced at him with a smirk, setting the picture as his screensaver. “Good boy. It’s cute. I like how it looks on you.”
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Su Tang had been prepared to throw a tantrum. When Shen Lan praised him, he couldn’t help but feel a little warm inside. But not being able to see the picture still worried him, so he raised his head and asked, “Really? Then show me.”
 \n“Nope. This is a valuable picture. I’m charging if you want to see it.” Shen Lan stuffed his phone into his pocket.
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Su Tang glared at him, reaching out toward his pocket. But Shen Lan caught his hand in a grip. He wanted to pull his hand away but was stuck and couldn’t get out.
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“It’s my picture,” Su Tang protested.
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“You’re right.” Shen Lan nodded, seeming to think for a moment. “Does that mean you’re charging for it too?”
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Su Tang didn’t know what he was getting at. He felt like a rabbit being tracked down: surrounded by traps, doomed to get trapped in a corner and eaten up.
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But he couldn’t think about all that right now. He wasn’t really being trapped after all. So he nodded heartily. “Yep. I charge for it too!”
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“I think so.” Shen Lan looked at him, thought for a moment, and gripped his hand tighter, stepping up so they could walk side by side.
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After their shopping trip, An Shiyu said that she was feeling a little unwell and wanted to go home first. Making sure she was safe and sound and had a taxi ride home, Shen Lan finally started shopping once more with Su Tang.
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During this season the sky always grew dark very early. The streetlights by the side of the road lit up one after another, like stars embedded in a dark night sky.
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It wasn’t as crowded as it was during the day on the streets, and the air outside was so refreshing. Leaves fell from the trees, shuffling along the pavement, making a calming sound.
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Neither of them were in a hurry to go home, so they paced along the streets slowly. The billboard ads next to the streets kept changing color, reflecting onto their interlocked hands. They leaned close to each other, whispering a word or two to each other every once in a while.
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Su Tang’s hand was cold, but since Shen Lan had been holding it tightly he felt warmer, both inside and out. It was so nice to stroll along like this. The atmosphere was peaceful, but also romantic. He leaned in closer to Shen Lan, who immediately embraced him.