BAI ZE stood frozen in the doorway. The inside of the place was a huge, shocking blast of bright, warm light, completely opposite from the dark staircase behind him. He blinked several tis to adjust his eyes. And in that mont, he imdiately understood exactly why Xia Li had called it a 'specialty store'.
The first thing that caught his eye was the wall directly across from the door. It was completely covered in huge, colorful banners. Each banner featured two drawn young n who were very handso. In one, they were sharing a single pair of headphones. In another, one man was feeding the other a piece of cake, their faces drawn close together and smiling warmly at each other.
Then his gaze dropped to the shelves and display racks. They were a crowded, colorful blur of rchandise—books, keychains, phone cases, acrylic stands, and more. Every single piece of visible artwork, every poster, every little trinket, featured n in pairs. They were often shown in romantice or intimate poses. The entire atmosphere of the store scread exactly what kind of the it had.
Bai Ze almost took a step back. He should have known this was exactly the kind of shop Xia Li had ant, especially when he thought about her hobbies. He suddenly rembered all the fan art he had seen on her Weibo page. Most of the things she drew were pairs of n looking very close and sweet, just like those banners. She even drew YUN and Noctis in those kinds of poses.
Xia Li then walked past him into the brightly lit store. She glanced back over her shoulder at him, her expression a mix of amusent and awkwardness. "So, now you know exactly what kind of place this is, do you still want to accompany inside?"
Bai Ze straightened his back and cleared his throat, trying to look perfectly natural. "Of course I do!" he said, his voice a little too loud. He forced a casual shrug. "It's not like there's anything wrong with this place. Isn't it just like any other hobby shop? It's fine."
As if to prove his point, he walked forward to stand beside her inside the store. He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to look relaxed. "So," he said, glancing around. "What exactly were you planning to buy?"
Xia Li seed to observe him. And then at the end, a radiant smile crossed her adorable face. Seeing that, Bai Ze knew that he made the right decision of coming with her.
"Just a couple of new books that just ca out, and maybe so of the new official rchandise they released," she said, her eyes already scanning the packed shelves.
Bai Ze nodded and followed Xia Li as she led the way. She first went to a nearby rack that was packed with comic books and started looking through them. When he casually glanced at the covers, his eyes landed on one. His whole face went hot in an instant. The cover art showed two half-naked young n locked in a passionate kiss, their bodies pressed tightly together.
He glanced away, but his gaze just landed on another cover. This one was even more intense. It depicted one man pinning the other against a wall, his hand tangled in the other's hair as they kissed fiercely. Both were clearly shirtless, their bodies sleek with sweat. Bai Ze felt his face burn even hotter.
After that, he decided the only safe place to look was at the back of Xia Li's head. He fixed his eyes on her black hair and kept them there, determined not to let his gaze wander again.
He just stayed quiet and followed a few steps behind her as she looked at different shelves. That was when he finally noticed the other custors. They were all mostly won, and several of them were looking right at him. So of them had openly curious looks. Others were whispering to each other and giggling. A couple of them were even smiling at him in a way that felt a little too knowing.
He felt incredibly awkward to be one of the very few guys in the whole place. The attention and the giggles made him want to shrink into himself. He also felt self-conscious and out of place. But he also didn't want Xia Li to think he was embarrassed to be seen with her here. So he tried to raise his chin a little and kept following her, even though his face was probably still as red as a tomato.
"Oh, it's this!"
Xia Li's excited voice caught his attention. He saw her carefully pick up what looked like a boxed figurine from a display. It was bigger than a normal action figure, about the size of a small vase. He couldn't really see what it looked like because she imdiately hugged it to her chest with both arms, a huge smile on her face. Then she practically skipped to another shelf that was stacked high with comic books. She must have really liked that thing.
He noticed Xia Li was trying to look at the comic books, but she was having trouble because she was holding onto the large box with the figurine inside with both hands. So, he quickly stepped closer. "Here," he said, holding out his hands. "Let hold the box for you so you can look properly."
Xia Li looked up at him, her expression a little unsure. "Are you sure?"
Bai Ze nodded, giving her what he hoped was a confident smile. "Yeah, it's fine."
Even though she still looked a little uncertain, Xia Li carefully passed the box to Bai Ze. He took it and looked down at the figurine, or rather figurines, inside the clear plastic. There were two of them inside. One was an angel with beautiful white wings, the other a demon with dark, leathery wings. Both figures were completely naked, with only their large wings covering parts of their bodies. The angel was sitting on the demon's lap, his head thrown back with an expression of pure ecstasy on his face.
He gulped hard. His hands jerked a little, and he almost dropped the whole box right there on the floor.
User Comments
0 comments from readers