Chapter 31: Buying Clothes for Him
The next day, the first thing Sophie Wexler did after getting up was return the Crystal Stone to the Wexlers Family.
She felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she came out. When she got into the flyer and saw Cillian Forrest, her eyes curved into a smile.
"Do you need to go to the military district today?"
"I don’t," Cillian Forrest replied, his eyes lowered.
’During the battle with the Swarm, he had been in his Disorder Period, but victory hadn’t been entirely out of reach. He was just one step away from forcing the Swarm to retreat when he was hit by a surprise attack at the critical moment.’
’Their battle plan was an Advanced secret. Officers of an ordinary Level wouldn’t have known it. For a leak like that to happen at such a crucial time could only mean one thing: there was a mole.’
’To catch this person, I have to bide my time and wait for them to act, lest I tip them off.’
’Therefore, my identity can’t be exposed for now. I can’t return to the Capital Planet yet, and of course, I can’t show up at the Seventh Legion’s base.’
Upon hearing his answer, Sophie Wexler said, "Okay, since you’re not going to the base, I’ll take you shopping."
’Shopping?’
"That’s right, shopping," Sophie Wexler affirmed.
’The Crystal Stone was from Cillian Forrest, so she no longer needed to spend her own money to buy one.’
’She had a bit of money in her pocket now—she was practically a rich girl.’
—
The flyer took them all the way to the mall. Before going in, Sophie Wexler remembered being recognized last time, so this time she had the foresight to put on a mask and a hat.
Sophie Wexler led Cillian Forrest inside, heading straight for her destination.
Cillian Forrest stood at the entrance, looking at the clothes inside. Sophie Wexler turned and waved him over. "Come on in."
Then she looked at the sales associate. "Hello, could you please grab a few outfits that would fit this gentleman?"
"Of course, ma’am."
Cillian Forrest watched Sophie Wexler’s enthusiastic expression, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking. "So this is what you meant by ’shopping’?"
"Yep," Sophie Wexler nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Buying clothes for you counts as shopping. Besides, you need clothes."
’This was a problem she’d only realized last night after applying his medicine and watching him get dressed.’
’It wasn’t that he was intentionally going without a shirt. His only other set of clothes was hanging outside to dry, and he’d had no choice but to go get it like that.’
’That’s when Sophie Wexler realized he barely had any clothes.’
’She mentally kicked herself for being so careless. She hadn’t even noticed this last time they went shopping.’
’That made sense. Cillian Forrest had been penniless when she saved him, and he’d paid her back with the Crystal Stones from a military warship.’
’And he had given her so many at once. He was probably dirt poor now.’
’Why else would he always be wearing the same outfit?’
For Cillian Forrest, whose clothes were all nearly identical in style, this was truly a beautiful misunderstanding.
Seeing him remain silent, Sophie Wexler thought he was feeling self-conscious and said considerately, "Don’t worry, I have some money now."
"Besides, you gave me so many Crystal Stones. It’s only right that I buy you a few things."
After speaking, she started picking out clothes with gusto. "This one, this one, and this one. Have him try them all on!"
Sophie Wexler looked at the clothes the sales associate brought over and pointed out several in one go.
She took them and handed them to Cillian Forrest. "Go try them on."
Cillian Forrest’s lips were pressed into a thin line. Under Sophie Wexler’s intense gaze, he finally relented, taking the clothes into the fitting room.
While waiting outside, Sophie Wexler picked out another huge pile. ’She’d been so broke for a while. Now that she had money, she was going to spend it!’
Sophie Wexler was busy picking out more clothes when she heard a gasp of admiration.
When she turned and saw Cillian Forrest standing not far away, a flash of astonishment lit up her eyes.
Cillian Forrest was already very tall—well over six feet—with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. Any outfit he wore seemed to become instantly more expensive.
Sophie Wexler couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. "So handsome."
’No wonder so many rich women in her circle liked to keep pretty boys. Looking at someone so handsome really did put one in a good mood.’
Then, with a grand wave of her hand, she declared, "I’ll take them all."
Round and round the mall they went. Sophie Wexler bought a mountain of things. By the end, if she saw something she liked, she wouldn’t even let him try it on—she’d just buy it!
’For a moment, she was reminded of what they’d said at the Wexlers Family home: "kept pretty boy."’
’She didn’t know if Cillian Forrest was a pretty boy, but she was certainly acting like the rich woman who’d keep one.’
Back in the flyer, Cillian Forrest immediately activated the piloting mode and set the navigation for home.
A second later, he was interrupted by Sophie Wexler. "Wait, don’t go back yet. I still have to buy something."
Cillian Forrest froze.
Sophie Wexler changed the destination on the flyer’s controls.
When they arrived, a puzzled look appeared on Cillian Forrest’s face. He asked slowly, "What is this place?"
"A place for treasure hunting," Sophie Wexler said with a mysterious expression.
"Let’s go," Sophie Wexler said, walking ahead. Cillian Forrest followed.
The entire street was lined with old-fashioned shops filled with all sorts of strange and curious trinkets, giving it a very dated feel.
Noticing Cillian Forrest’s somewhat puzzled expression, Sophie Wexler took the initiative to explain, "I found the guitar I played last time here."
’The musical instruments in the Galaxy were all strange things she didn’t recognize, and most of them relied on AI, which she didn’t like.’
’So she came back to try her luck again, to see if she could find anything she could use in her future streams.’
While Sophie Wexler was searching for instruments, the StarNet was in an uproar.
The Entertainment Zone’s page, in particular, had been completely taken over by a few songs uploaded by a new streamer.
During her stream that day, many viewers in the chat had said they couldn’t find her songs on the StarNet and hoped she would record a version.
Sophie Wexler thought it was a good idea, so after her stream ended, she recorded herself playing and singing the few songs from her broadcast and posted them on her personal page.
After uploading them, she didn’t think about it again. She hadn’t logged back into the StarNet since and had no idea that the Entertainment Zone had been turned upside down.
The once-obscure Entertainment Zone was now experiencing an unprecedented surge in popularity across the entire StarNet.
And it was all because of the few songs uploaded to a new streamer’s page.
At first, only the fans from her stream were listening. They used Sophie Wexler’s songs to create many video edits and used her music as a soundtrack for other videos.
Then, one of those videos miraculously went viral. Its background music, in particular, was soul-stirringly beautiful. Despite its relatively gentle rhythm, people listened to it again and again, unable to stop.
Everyone wanted to know who sang the song, but after searching the StarNet for ages, they couldn’t find the original track.
It wasn’t until viewers from Sophie Wexler’s stream explained it that they learned it was sung by a new streamer in the Entertainment Zone.
In an instant, countless people clicked on the Entertainment page, entered the Singing section, and flooded Sophie Wexler’s personal page.
In just a few short days, Sophie Wexler’s page gained innumerable followers. The songs she uploaded were played countless times, and fans shot them straight to the top of the popular music charts.
Meanwhile, the supervisor of the Entertainment Zone stared at the unprecedented traffic. "What’s the status? Have you contacted Sophie Wexler?"
"Not yet," a staff member said.
The supervisor practically beat his head against the wall, deeply regretting that he had only tried to contact Sophie Wexler through the platform instead of getting her direct contact information!
The hype was this huge, yet he couldn’t find the person to go live. He was worried sick that he’d miss out on this wave of traffic!
"Keep sending Miss Wexler messages! The second she replies, notify me immediately!"