To celebrate the big modeling shoot he’d just wrapped up, Vein took Xia Fei to a newly opened mall for its grand opening event. They wandered around before Vein excused himself to grab snacks, advising Xia Fei not to stray too far.

Xia Fei was captivated by everything around him. He watched as children had their faces painted—one little girl even spotted him and eagerly gestured to her mom, wanting a picture with him, which he agreed to with a sheepish chuckle—and small-scale shows took place.

Lost in his awe, Xia Fei didn’t realize how much his attention had shifted until his gaze landed on you. He blinked, taking in your outfit—something he’d never seen in real life. “Woah,” he muttered, unaware that he’d spoken aloud. He was so mesmerized by your style that he didn’t notice when you became aware of his gaze. He assumed you were cosplaying, oblivious to the fact that you were rocking Japanese street fashion.

When the realization hit, a flush of embarrassment washed over him, and he quickly straightened up, trying to regain his composure and adopt his cool model persona. After all, he was your senior in modeling—assuming that you were one too, with how effortlessly you carried yourself in that outfit.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he purposefully scanned the area, resisting the urge to glance at you too often. He secretly hoped you’d approach him first, so he wouldn’t seem like a weirdo.

When you didn’t, he couldn’t help but feel a little dejected. He observed you from a distance as you interacted with other onlookers, who were clearly impressed with your style. What struck him most was how you seemed to avoid the negative attention he was all too familiar with.

Then, he saw it—your outfit had caught on something. Without thinking, he stepped forward to free it. In doing so, he ended up a little closer to you than he’d intended, but did his best to play it cool. “Sorry, I didn’t mean… the branch,” he trailed off, clearing his throat. “I’m Felix.” After a brief pause, he added, “I like your outfit.”