Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Jiang Li stepped into the elevator still half-doubting everything, and when the doors slid open on the first floor, Kakayan was already there—slouched against the tiled wall, toying with a strand of her hair in utter boredom.
"What took you so long? I've been waiting forever."
She lifted her gaze and scowled at him, as if she were the one who'd been abandoned.
Jiang Li pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to dull the headache. "Don't you have anything to explain?"
"Explain?" Kakayan gave a small shrug. "Oh, right."
After a moment's thought she told him, in a rush of words, why she'd slipped away.
Jiang Li listened, half-laughing and half-crying at the idea that she'd tried to ride an elevator back to her own world. He spelled it out for her: an elevator was nothing more than a glorified staircase that happened to move; it definitely didn't hide a teleportation array.
Kakayan's lips twitched, but she didn't look disappointed. Apparently she'd already sensed the lack of mana in the metal box.
"So what was that announcement about?" Jiang Li pressed.
Kakayan's eyes slid away, guilty. Slowly she explained: she'd been waiting near the elevator, but Jiang Li never showed. A staff member noticed her anxiety and asked if she needed help. Kakayan had promptly lied that her "little brother, Jiang Li," had gone missing...
...and that was the call that had blared across the mall speakers.
Jiang Li's brows knotted. The story felt uncomfortably familiar—he'd used the same line himself when he sent her to find Uncle Policeman.
"Why do you keep calling me your little brother?"
He exhaled, feeling increasingly short-changed—first in snacks, now in seniority.
"You really are younger," Kakayan said, waving a hand with a mischievous smile that passed for apology.
Jiang Li couldn't find a good comeback; he just shook his head and motioned for her to follow.
"Where to next?"
"Time to buy my silly older sister some clothes."
...
The fourth floor of the mall was one sprawling women's-fashion district. After settling the bill for their haul of daily necessities, Jiang Li led Kakayan into a budget-friendly boutique. Since he had zero talent for styling women, he left the choosing to her.
The moment Kakayan heard she could try on anything she wanted, her eyes lit up. She'd never worn human-world clothes before. Right now she was draped in Jiang Li's plain white T-shirt and black shorts—two rectangles of cloth, in her opinion, utterly unworthy of her beauty.
She had no idea that, by human standards, the simpler the outfit, the more it could turn heads. A white tee and short shorts were devastatingly effective—provided the wearer had the looks to carry it off. Kakayan did.
"Jiang Li, how does this look?"
After rummaging through the racks she emerged from the fitting room and spun in front of him. She wore a crisp cream-colored open-collar shirt under a burgundy knit cardigan trimmed with lace at the cuffs, paired with sky-blue skinny jeans. The outfit traded her usual innocence for a quiet sophistication, and the jeans traced the long, clean lines of her legs—impossible to ignore.
"How much?" Jiang Li asked the attendant without commenting. The unspoken verdict: perfect—if the price was right.
Kakayan didn't catch the nuance. When he didn't praise her, she puffed one cheek and went back to admiring herself in the mirror.
She noticed, again, that Jiang Li never looked at her the way other men did. Walking side by side, most males stared at her first, not him. In the elevator, he'd barely glanced at her, and when she'd sneaked off earlier he hadn't even realized until the announcement forced him to come find her.
Strangely, the thought stung.
While she brooded, Jiang Li checked the price tag. His wallet winced—this was steeper than planned. But Kakayan kept twirling in front of the mirror, clearly in love with the outfit, and Jiang Li couldn't bring himself to make her put it back. Clothes were a necessity; she couldn't keep wearing his forever.
He gritted his teeth and paid.
Bag in hand, he returned to her side and told her to hold still. Carefully he snipped off the tags with the counter's scissors.
"There—now it's yours."
He stepped back, folded his arms, and studied her modern new look with quiet satisfaction.
Kakayan cleared her throat. Amethyst eyes flicked toward him. "Don't you have anything to say?"
Jiang Li scratched his cheek. After a long pause he managed, "Looks decent."
"Time to go." He turned toward the exit. Kakayan didn't protest. Watching his retreating back, she let a translucent smile curve her lips, as if she'd just discovered a private joke.
They lingered on the fourth floor a little longer, then reached Jiang Li's final stop—the lingerie shop.
Underwear, after all, had to be replaced often, and it was hardly something he could ask about point-blank. The rainbow of styles on display made him halt at the entrance.
"Pick what you need," he said. "Call me when you're ready to pay. And remember—tell the clerk to recommend the cheapest ones."
Kakayan blinked. "What's 'cheapest'?"
"..."
Jiang Li sighed and followed her inside after all. With this clueless woman, who knew what "fashionable" horrors she might select. If she came out with something outrageously risqué he'd have to return it—awkward for everyone. Better to supervise.