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However.

She found it a little strange. ’How did Ye Ling know my feet are so ticklish...’

"How did you know I’m so ticklish? Did that girl, Luo Yue, tell you?"

Ning Ruoxi eyed Ye Ling with suspicion, finally voicing the question on her mind.

"I was just testing the waters. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive."

For once, Ye Ling didn’t throw his friend under the bus, simply replying with a calm expression.

"Is that so?"

Ning Ruoxi pouted and shot a glare at Ye Ling. "Well, if you dare to randomly touch my feet again, you can forget about holding me when you sleep."

"Ah? Is that really necessary?"

Ye Ling said, sounding helpless.

"Hmph! You can try me. One touch, and you’re not allowed in my bed for a whole month."

With a delicate huff, Ning Ruoxi padded off in her slippers to the bathroom to wash up.

’Looks like I can’t just use that trick whenever I want anymore,’

Ye Ling muttered, shaking his head regretfully.

He’d finally found a way to get the upper hand with this little minx, but after a threat like that, he really didn’t dare to use it recklessly.

’A whole month without holding my wife in my arms while we sleep... I don’t think I could stand that...’

With that thought, Ye Ling also got out of bed.

It was the weekend, and they had planned to go out for a bit.

Ye Ling started on breakfast while Ning Ruoxi got ready at her vanity. She didn’t bother with foundation or anything like that, just applied some toner and lotion and combed her hair, so it was a quick process.

By the time Ye Ling had breakfast ready, Ning Ruoxi was just about done as well.

"How do I look?"

Ning Ruoxi bounced over to Ye Ling, grinning from ear to ear as she spoke.

"Mhm, you look great."

Ye Ling nodded.

"That’s such a half-hearted answer. You used to give me a little kiss, but now you don’t."

Ning Ruoxi grumbled immediately.

’Figures. Men are all the same!’

"Alright, alright. Come here and get your kiss, then."

Ye Ling chuckled helplessly and leaned in.

"No! You haven’t brushed your teeth yet!"

Ning Ruoxi, however, pushed him away with a little huff.

"You little minx, are you saying I stink?"

Ye Ling pretended to be annoyed.

’You were the one who wanted a kiss, and now you won’t let me? How does that make any sense?’

With that thought, Ye Ling turned off the stove, wrapped an arm around Ning Ruoxi’s waist, and moved in to kiss her face.

"Hey, stop..."

Ning Ruoxi immediately began to struggle. "You stink! Go brush your teeth! You can kiss me after you do."

"Nope. I smell great! Where do I stink?"

But Ye Ling paid no attention to her protests, peppering her face with smacking kisses.

"You jerk, now my whole face stinks."

Ning Ruoxi said, dissatisfied.

"It does not."

As Ye Ling spoke, he planted another quick peck on her pouting lips.

"Go away!"

Ning Ruoxi pushed Ye Ling away and wiped her lips with a look of mock disgust.

"So, the love is gone, is it?"

Ye Ling immediately put on a heartbroken expression and sighed dramatically.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. Hurry up and finish breakfast."

Ignoring her drama-king boyfriend completely, Ning Ruoxi just huffed.

After finishing breakfast, Ye Ling and Ning Ruoxi headed out.

"Where are we off to today?"

Ye Ling looked at Ning Ruoxi beside him. She was wearing a fluffy white little jacket that made her look adorably pudgy, and her hair was tied in pigtails, making her look exceptionally cute.

"Umm, let’s just wander around."

Ning Ruoxi breathed warm air into her palms. Feeling a bit cold, she pulled Ye Ling into a random clothing store.

Most of the clothes in the store were from unknown brands, but Ye Ling couldn’t care less about labels. If you could wear it, it was good enough for him.

As for the idea that you couldn’t wear shoes without a certain swoosh on them... in Ye Ling’s eyes, that was just pure pretentiousness.

Having reached his current station in life, he’d met plenty of high-level figures, and the truth was, most of them dressed very simply.

Take Ning Tianliang, for example. When Ye Ling saw him the other day, his entire outfit looked like something you’d get off an online marketplace, probably costing less than five hundred yuan in total.

As the chairman of Ning International, could Ning Tianliang not afford Nike or Adidas?

It was just that a man like him didn’t care about such things.

From what Ye Ling had observed, most of the people who cared so much about brands weren’t actually wealthy at all.

Designer labels were mainly to satisfy one’s vanity, and vanity was something only the weak needed external things to validate.

Of course.

If someone simply liked an item for what it was, that was a different matter entirely.

"Hurry, come try this on!"

Once inside the store, Ning Ruoxi seemed to get very excited, constantly picking out clothes for Ye Ling to try on.

Even though the clothes were all from unknown brands, he had to admit that by his standards, they looked much better than many designer labels and came in all sorts of styles.

Ning Ruoxi picked out a layered-look hoodie and handed it to Ye Ling.

"This thing looks so weird. Can it possibly look good?"

Ye Ling couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose.

"I told you to wear it, so wear it. I picked one out too. They’re a matching set."

Ning Ruoxi grumbled, pulling a pink version of the same hoodie off the rack.

"Alright, fine."

Hearing that, Ye Ling shrugged. ’If she likes it, I’ll wear it for her.’

But when he pulled the hoodie on and looked at himself in the mirror, he was unexpectedly surprised.

He had to admit, it actually looked quite sharp.

The layered-look gave the outfit more dimension, making him appear more energetic than before.

"See? I have good taste, right?"

Ning Ruoxi, who had also put on her hoodie, stood beside Ye Ling and nodded in satisfaction.

"Mhm, you do. You can pick my clothes from now on. And pick out more of these matching couple’s outfits."

Ye Ling glanced from Ning Ruoxi’s hoodie to his own, a slight smile touching his lips.

"Men are so fickle. A minute ago you said you didn’t like it."

Ning Ruoxi pouted, then took out her phone and snapped a few selfies of them in the mirror.

Girls just love to take pictures. As Ning Ruoxi would say, it was to "capture life’s happy moments."

"Go pay for these."

Ning Ruoxi pointed to the checkout counter nearby.

"Okay."

Ye Ling nodded. Although they had picked out quite a few pieces of clothing, the total only came to a few hundred yuan, so he paid without a second thought.

"It’s about lunchtime. What do you feel like eating?"

Ye Ling asked, looking over at Ning Ruoxi.

"Whatever. I’m fine with anything,"

Ning Ruoxi said offhandedly.

As they walked out of the shop, Ye Ling felt a gust of cold wind shoot down his collar, making him shiver. He quickly pulled his collar up, then wrapped an arm around the fluffy-jacketed Ning Ruoxi beside him and let out a sigh of contentment.

"Let’s get hot pot. It’s a little cold out, so it’d be perfect to warm us up, don’t you think?"

Ye Ling suggested.