"Miss, you two in these outfits are just perfect together! Honestly, it's like you were made for each other!"
Inside the Gucci boutique, a salesgirl looked at Evan Lin and Selina Shi, both freshly changed into new outfits, and couldn't help but praise them from the heart.
Selina was confident in her ability to pull off any style, but after checking out Evan's look a few more times, her eyes lit up with surprise.
With Selina's touch, Evan looked even more handsome—now with a sharper, trendier vibe, like a top menswear model straight off Weibo.
Especially now, after cultivating the Grand Dao Foundation Art, Evan's whole aura had become a bit otherworldly—just one glance, and he already gave off movie star vibes.
"Not bad. I have to admit, you've got a solid base to work with."
Selina was very satisfied with the clothes she picked out.
Before this, Evan was wearing clothes picked out by Lynn Chen, but he’d never cared much about fashion—his usual look was just clean and simple. In Selina's chosen outfit, though, his whole vibe leveled up.
Evan glanced at himself in the mirror and couldn’t help feeling a bit impressed.
"You and I dressed like this—aren't you worried people will get the wrong idea?" Evan asked, a little curious.
Selina's outfit was basically the same style as Evan's—except his was blue, and hers was a bright red that really stood out.
"That's exactly what I want—let people jump to conclusions," Selina replied, a sly glint in her eyes.
"We'll take these two sets. Wrap them up for us."
Selina called out, and the salesgirl came over with a beaming smile. "That'll be thirteen thousand for both. Card or cash?"
"Card."
Before Evan could even reach for his card, Selina had already handed hers over.
She pulled Evan over to the mirror, pointing at their reflections. "Take a good look at what you're wearing. Remember: trench coat inside, vest on top—that's how you get the layers right. And next time, wear gray socks. Pay attention to the details. The day after tomorrow, you show up in this exact outfit, got it?"
"If you forget, don't blame me for kicking you out of the car," she added.
Selina shot Evan a look, speaking so casually it was like she was just talking about the weather.
After paying, Selina had Evan change back into his old clothes—she was worried he'd mess up the new ones before their big debut.
"Alright, mission complete. You can go home now!"
Once they left the mall, Selina even thoughtfully hailed a cab for Evan. Only after he got in did she grab her own bags and call another taxi for herself.
"Hey, kid, is that your girlfriend? She looks pretty cool! You better treat her right," the taxi driver joked, still impressed by Selina's looks.
"Yeah, something like that," Evan replied half-heartedly, leaning back and getting comfortable in his seat.
When the cab stopped at his building, Evan grabbed his bags and headed upstairs.
As soon as he opened the door, Evan spotted Irene Xu sprawled on the living room sofa, face covered in a sheet mask.
Irene was wearing shorts and a loose T-shirt, probably fresh out of the shower—her skin still had a hint of moisture.
"You're back."
Stella Huang was sitting cross-legged on the rug, tapping away at her laptop. When she heard the door, she turned to look at Evan standing in the entryway.
"Whoa, went shopping? You bought a ton of stuff! Don't tell me you finally got yourself a girlfriend?" Irene, still lounging on the sofa, propped her head on one hand and shot Evan a mischievous grin. "Is she in your class? Is she super pretty?"
"Nope," Evan shook his head, not bothering to explain further.
Before Irene could say anything, Stella grinned at Evan and chimed in, "If she isn't pretty, she wouldn't be good enough for you."
She remembered that night at the Shangri-La—superstar Serena Tong was drop-dead gorgeous, and her sister Queenie Tong was stunning too. Both seemed interested in Evan, but he barely reacted to either of them.
That made Stella even more curious about where all Evan's shopping bags came from—and especially about the girl who could go out shopping with him.
But she quickly remembered something, nudging Irene on the sofa. "Hey, weren't you waiting for him to come back? You said you had something to ask him, right? Go on!"
"Oh." Irene sat up straight, a little flustered, and looked at Evan with some anticipation. "So, um... are you free the night after tomorrow?"
"Nope, I'm busy that night," Evan replied. He'd already promised Selina.
"Oh, okay. No big deal then," Irene said, nodding and flopping back onto the sofa. With her face mask on, she stared up at the ceiling, zoning out and giggling to herself every now and then.
Seeing Evan's confused look, Stella explained, "Irene's meeting someone important the night after tomorrow, so she wanted to see if you could go with her."
"I heard the place has lots of fun stuff and good food. She wanted to take you along to check it out."
Stella just smiled.
Before she finished, Irene gave her a nudge. "It's not anyone important!"
"If anything comes up, just call me," Evan nodded, about to head to his room.
"Wait, take these!" Irene grabbed a huge box of snacks from beside the sofa and shoved it into Evan's arms. "I bought these on my last flight to the States—they're really good, and they're supposed to help you grow. You're still a student, so eat up and don't skimp on nutrition!"
"And these vitamins—they're not just for nutrition, they're supposed to boost your brain too. You study so much, you need them!"
After shoving everything into Evan's hands, Irene flopped back onto the sofa, making sure not to mess up her face mask.
Evan, arms full of bags and boxes, finally headed into his room.
He set everything down, then took his backpack and pulled out the Soul‑Sacrifice Beauty Scroll, giving it a quick look.
The scroll had been seriously depleted during the fight with Master Whitecloud. Even after all this time, it had only recovered a little, and the Three Maiden Spirits hadn’t come out much lately either.
"I’ll have to find a chance to reforge you soon," Evan muttered.
He glanced out the window, thinking for a moment, then put the scroll away in his bag.
Shouldering his backpack, Evan leapt straight out the window.
Outside, the cold moon hung high in the sky.