Chapter 45

Chapter 45

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

Parking her bicycle, Xu Qiao headed directly to the second floor of the supermarket, where the clothing section was located, offering a wide range of men's, women's, and children's clothes.

Having researched the wedding scenes from TV dramas and searched for related fashion advice, Xu Qiao had several outfit options in mind. However, she still needed to see what was available in the stores here or if there would be any dress that would instantly catch her eye.

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

Two lotus flower petals flew out and stuck to her eyes.

Her wardrobe already contained many pieces in lotus green, so no more green dresses were allowed. The pink and white petal colors were also quite lovely.

Xu Qiao reluctantly gave up on the green dress.

Considering she had millions of points saved up, Xu Qiao bravely approached a few designer stores.

For a wedding held in the central area, dressing too casually wouldn't be appropriate, nor would it be good to stand out too much and attract unnecessary attention.

On Saturday morning, the four-member team met inside the aircraft.

Sun Fushan sat next to Xu Qiao on her right and chatted with her through the group chat: "Have you picked out the dress for tomorrow?"

Xu Qiao had long noticed that their squad leader, despite his stutter, was quite keen on chatting.

She nodded.

Sun Fushan: "Do you have a picture?"

Xu Qiao had shared her outfit with her two roommates and posted it in the group chat. It was a photo of the clothes still on the mannequin at the store.

A white silk blouse and a light pink fishtail skirt—perfect for both the wedding and regular workdays.

Sun Fushan nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, it matches your lotus color well."

Xu Qiao typed with a smile: "It's quite coincidental; all three of us chose outfits in our spirit body colors."

Meng Li: "You could pair it with a pair of pearl earrings."

Xu Qiao looked unexpectedly at Meng Li on her left: "You know about this?"

Meng Li whispered: "My grandmother liked these things when she was young."

The young grandmother was a beauty. Although their family wasn't wealthy, she could create beautiful looks with inexpensive clothes.

In the photos left by her mother, even before awakening her spirit body, her style was meticulous. Some photos taken during her suspected romantic period were particularly dazzling.

Xu Qiao touched her earlobe: "Forget it; I don't even have pierced ears, and it's not worth getting them done just for one wedding."

Mainly because there was no time left; they were training outside today and had to attend the wedding tomorrow afternoon.

Qinchi did not participate in this discussion.

However, when they returned to the base at six in the evening, after completing their tasks and exchanging points, Qinchi suggested: "We'll pass by a jewelry store on the way back to the neighborhood. Would you like me to accompany you? There seems to be a type of ear clip that doesn't require piercing."

Xu Qiao: "…How do you know more than I do?"

Qinchi explained with a smile: "I heard the salesperson introduce it to other customers when buying cufflinks."

During the time they were selecting clothes outside the Northeast Base, the fire dragon showed interest in various jewels, so Qinchi lingered in the store and overheard several transactions.

Thinking of Meng Li's suggestion, Xu Qiao said: "Let's go then."

Qinchi drove, and indeed, they didn't take a detour. On the roadside, there was indeed an opulent jewelry store with celebrity endorsements playing on the advertisement screens.

Xu Qiao followed Qinchi inside. The bright lights and glittering jewels made her instinctively breathe more lightly.

"What kind of jewelry would you like to see?" asked the salesperson with a smile.

Qinchi calmly replied: "Pearl ear clips."

The salesperson led them to a counter.

Inside were several types of ear clips made of gold, silver, jade, and pearls. Xu Qiao hesitated, but Qinchi chose a pair of gold-embedded pearl ear clips for her, with pearls as large as longan seeds.

The salesperson took out the ear clips, and there was a makeup mirror beside the counter.

Xu Qiao appeared calm but quickly pondered how to wear them or how much force to use when clipping them.

Her unease did not escape the observant salesperson.

The salesperson glanced at the client's male companion. At this moment, perhaps the male companion helping would add to the experience?

Qinchi said timely: "Try them on first; I'll look around."

Without his gaze, Xu Qiao relaxed. After a few attempts in front of the makeup mirror, she managed to put them on. The ear clips were secure and didn't hurt her earlobes.

With clearly marked prices, Xu Qiao paid the points directly, packed the jewelry, and walked to Qinchi's side. She noticed that the counter here was full of gold necklaces.

The salesperson wisely kept a respectful distance.

Qinchi whispered to his teammate: "Perhaps we could add a necklace to match, otherwise, the neck area might look a bit bare."

Xu Qiao checked the price tags first. Even in the new era, gold was only slightly less expensive than the metals used for battle armor and psychic weapons.

But it was indeed very beautiful.

Thinking of her savings, Xu Qiao chose a necklace with a lotus pendant. The chain was very fine, and the pendant was only the size of a thumbnail.

Xu Qiao got back into the car and sighed to her teammates, "Having fewer friends has its perks. I usually just go between the clinic and home, so I don't have to attend weddings or social gatherings, which means I don't need to spend money on jewelry."

Qinchi smiled, "It depends on whether you like it or not. If you enjoy it, buying jewelry is simply a way to please yourself."

Xu Qiao thought for a moment, "That makes sense. Before, I was hesitant to buy anything, but now that I go out on missions once a week, I can treat myself occasionally as a reward."

Qinchi: "Where is the wedding being held? I'm also going to the central district tomorrow for a friend's dinner party. I can drop you off."

Xu Qiao: "What a coincidence! But my roommate is driving, and she asked us to meet her at a subway station. We'll all go together."

Qinchi: "Then I'll take you to the subway station."

Xu Qiao smiled and accepted her teammate's care.

On Sunday morning, Lu Yang went to the school playground to train after breakfast. At nine o'clock, Xu Qiao changed her clothes, checked herself in the mirror, and contacted Qinchi, "I should be leaving now. Isn't it a bit early for you to head to your dinner party?"

Qinchi: "It’s fine. I’ll just stop by the library first. See you at the entrance."

Xu Qiao took another look in the mirror, feeling slightly embarrassed about dressing up formally in front of her teammate for the first time.

She picked up her handbag, took a deep breath, and went out.

Perhaps she had prepared herself before contacting Qinchi, but when she opened the door, he hadn’t come out yet. She waited for about half a minute, then heard the sound of a door opening from across the hallway.

Xu Qiao tried to act naturally.

As the door opened, Qinchi walked out wearing a black shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing a hint of his collarbone.

Feeling Qinchi’s gaze sweep over her, Xu Qiao immediately felt her cheeks heating up.

She looked at his chest and heard a gentle tease from above, "Dressed like this, you finally look like a graduate."

Xu Qiao: "…"

Qinchi had already stepped out of the building and opened an umbrella.

Xu Qiao bit her lip and followed him.

Xu Qiao's two roommates lived in different districts; one in the south and one in the east. They had agreed to meet at a subway station near the southern gate of the central district.

Qinchi drove for about twenty minutes to get there.

Through the car window, Xu Qiao saw her roommate in a white dress standing next to the subway entrance. As she unbuckled her seatbelt, she said to Qinchi, "Thanks. That's my roommate."

Qinchi: "I won't get out. Are you coming back with the other roommate's car?"

Xu Qiao: "Yes, we're going to other places afterward, and her boyfriend will drive us back."

"Little Mint" brought her partner, and she kept "Dandelion," who was single, company.

Qinchi: "Alright, contact me if anything comes up."

Xu Qiao said goodbye again and got out of the car.

Qinchi watched her join her roommate. The two young girls hugged each other warmly, and he smiled before driving away.

The roommate named "Dandelion" was Wang Lanlan. After complimenting Xu Qiao on her beautiful outfit, she squinted her eyes and asked, "Come clean, do you have a boyfriend?"

Xu Qiao: "No, he's just a neighbor from the same building. We happened to run into each other, and he offered to give me a ride."

Wang Lanlan: "Your neighbor seems quite wealthy. But everyone in your neighborhood is rich, unlike our place, which is only separated from the third ring road by a wall."

Both her parents were D-level psychics, and they were lucky to have a C-level daughter like her. However, her salary alone couldn't afford them a new house anytime soon.

Xu Qiao: "Let's not talk about that. Your salary is higher than mine now."

Wang Lanlan worked at a public hospital, where she was busy but well-paid.

Wang Lanlan asked again about why Xu Qiao left the central hospital. Xu Qiao had to make up an excuse, "The patients there are mostly family members of high-level psychics. It's said that many of them have bad tempers, and I’m afraid of causing trouble."

After a while, "Little Mint" Chen Fei arrived with her boyfriend. He drove while the three girls chatted animatedly in the backseat.

Around ten o'clock, the four of them arrived at the hotel hosting the wedding. Along the way, Xu Qiao had been impressed by the villas and luxury apartments lining the streets, making even the grand hotel seem less impressive.

The bride, Yu Zhu, stood with the groom at the entrance of the banquet hall, greeting guests. Seeing her three roommates, she rushed over to hug each one.

When introducing the groom, Xu Qiao felt, perhaps mistakenly, that the mercenary's gaze held a peculiar smile.

The bride was busy and quickly led them to a table near the main table before rushing off again.

Wang Lanlan: "Wow, our seats are so close to the front. I thought we'd be sitting at the back."

Chen Fei: "Looks like Yu Zhu really doesn't have many relatives on her side."

Xu Qiao listened to their conversation, sat down at her assigned seat by the aisle, facing another table.

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

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

Four male guests appeared on the red carpeted aisle. The leader wore a sharp black suit, and his previously silver-white short hair was now black, giving him a more mature appearance. His slightly tanned skin added to the air of a former military student turned sophisticated man.

Zhao Feng looked cold when not smiling, but when his gaze landed on Xu Qiao, surprise turned into a warm smile.

His massive Snow Wolf spirit form was the first to step onto the red carpet, running over to Xu Qiao and lying down beside her, reducing the threat of its size. Its gaze, looking up at Xu Qiao, resembled that of a loyal, harmless pet dog.

Still stunned, Zhao Feng approached, his eyes burning with warmth as he extended his right hand, "What a coincidence, meeting an old classmate here."

Xu Qiao didn't reach for his hand but instead looked toward the end of the red carpet, toward the bride welcoming guests.

Others might not be aware, but how could Yu Zhu not know about her disgust towards Zhao Feng?

Behind them, Wang Lanlan frowned and asked Zhao Feng, "What are you doing here?"

Zhao Feng calmly withdrew his hand that Xu Qiao had ignored and explained with a smile, "The groom is part of our team. He's quiet and hasn't mentioned his girlfriend much. I just found the bride familiar, and it was Yu Zhu who recognized me first. Isn’t this a coincidence?"

Wang Lanlan rolled her eyes.

Zhao Feng paid no mind and glanced at the nearby table before taking a seat next to Xu Qiao.

As he recalled the Snow Wolf spirit, Zhao Feng said to Xu Qiao with a meaningful tone, "After all these years, it still remembers you."

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

Zhao Feng is a B-level ice ability user. Even if the lotus flower had hidden its strength slightly, it wouldn't have been able to harm Zhao Feng, who had been a professional mercenary for two years.

Anticipating it, Zhao Feng raised his hand, and the water arrow instantly turned into an ice arrow, its crystalline tip mere millimeters from his face.

Twirling the ice arrow playfully, Zhao Feng praised, "Your water abilities have indeed improved. This time, you almost got me."

Xu Qiao: "…"