The three of them made another round through the store, this time looking more closely to find something that would fit Shangguan Yu while still being suitable for a first date. Things weren’t so easily solved though. What Shangguan Yu liked wasn’t really approved by his sister, what their mother liked wasn’t her son’s taste, and Shangguan Xin just couldn’t find anything at all. After an hour more of picking up random things and having Shangguan Yu once again, all three of them were vexed.

"This isn’t working." Shangguan Xin brushed through her hair, trying to come up with a better idea. "Maybe we should go to another store?"

Her brother only smiled wryly in return. "Even if they have different things, it’d still be the same style. That’s just what’s in this season. Maybe we should adjust our expectations and take something that’s just alright." He shrugged his shoulders, feeling that this should be acceptable. "Anyway, it’s not an actual first date. He might not mind too much."

Shangguan Xin pursed her lips, clearly still unhappy even if she seemed to come around.

Madam Shangguan seemed anxious though. Looking from one child to the other, she just didn’t know what to do. Neither of them seemed happy. How could they just leave it at that? She pondered for a moment and finally, her expression lit up. "Well, why don’t we just take the t-shirt Xiao Yu chose before and then go and look in another shop? It’s not a problem to have more than just one outfit to wear. Anyway, if the first date goes well, he’ll have to wear something to the second one as well, right?"

Shangguan Xin’s face also lit up when she heard that suggestion. "Yes, let’s do that." Anyway, she didn’t really think that she wouldn’t be able to find the perfect outfit for her brother in a second store either. They just couldn’t have that much bad luck.

Shangguan Yu also nodded, feeling that at the very least, that was a step in the right direction. Although … "If we don’t find anything in the second store, then I suggest we just go with this then. There’s no use in running through even more of them if we don’t have an idea what exactly we want."

His sister pursed her lips but still nodded in the end. "Okay, deal. I guess it’s also not good to stress you out too much today. You’ll have to reserve some energy so you’ll be able to pay enough attention tomorrow on that date." She patted his arm and the three of them went over to pay before leaving the store and looking around the mall to decide where else to go.

Strolling down the main corridor, Shangguan Xin finally motioned at a small one that was nestled between a cafe and perfumery. "Let’s go there. Judging from the display windows, it seems like they have a few cute things."

Shangguan Yu looked at her, wondering if he had understood that correctly. "What am I going to do with something cute?"

His sister looked at him, raising her brows. "What do you mean? If it’s a store with cute clothes for girls, then it’s definitely the kind of store where somebody would take their girlfriend. So they should also have something nice for guys."

Shangguan Yu heaved a sigh of relief at that explanation. Well, that was much better than what he had expected.

Their mother had on a thoughtful expression though and went to one of the display racks as soon as they entered, pulling out a t-shirt with a print. "Actually, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you took something that was cute. Isn’t he older than you? Maybe he would like it if you were looking a little cuter. How about this one?" She turned around, showing the t-shirt to the two of them.

Shangguan Yu’s lips twitched when he saw just what kind of print it had. "Mom … Isn’t that a chick?" He didn’t even want to imagine what Ao Jing would say if he saw him in that.

Shangguan Xin went over and took it from their mother’s hands though before turning around and holding it up in front of her brother’s chest. "Well …" Looking from the t-shirt to his face and back again, she barely managed to hold back a smile. "Actually, I think mom does have a point."

Shangguan Yu took the t-shirt from her hands and hanged it back. "I really don’t think we need to buy this one. The one from the store before seems to be alright."

"It’s really cute though."

"Didn’t you just say the cute clothes were for the girls? Honestly, I’d be embarrassed to wear that."

Shangguan Xin still picked the t-shirt up again and looked it over. "It seems to be for men though." Once again, she held it in front of him and then grabbed his arm, draping it over it. "You just try it on. Maybe it will look good on you."

Shangguan Yu sighed but still kept the t-shirt and then followed her through the rest of the store. Thankfully, his sister didn’t insist on picking out some more 'cute' things for him. The other pieces she chose were some t-shirts with a nice pattern or even some dress shirts which were a mix of casual and more elegant.

Thinking of Ao Jing’s picture on that website, Shangguan Yu felt that the latter would probably be a better choice. Thus, when he went to the cubicles, he put them on first, hoping that his sister would already be convinced by one of them and not make him wear that t-shirt with the chick.

Unfortunately for him, Shangguan Xin had the patience of a goddess when she felt that the result would be worth the effort. After seeing him try one piece of clothing after the other, and nodding her head every now and then, she still motioned to the t-shirt when it was the only thing left hanging there. "Alright, not put that on."

Shangguan Yu’s brows twitched but he still closed the door and changed again. This time, he didn’t come out immediately and instead turned to look in the mirror. Well … It didn’t look as horrible as he had thought it would. In fact, he couldn’t deny that his sister was right by saying that this did look cute on him.

If he was a couple years younger, he might not even have a problem was wearing this. But now … Ao Jing and he weren’t that far apart in age. And he had sometimes felt that maybe he wasn’t able to give him as much as Ao Jing was giving him because he was behind him in terms of work and studies.

He definitely didn’t want to seem cute in front of him. Instead, he’d much rather try to make himself look a bit more mature. He just felt that that would shorten the distance between them a bit.