A Date with Emily (3)

During the trial, Shui remembered that Emily usually wore fancy clothing when he first met her, but gradually after becoming Nikolai's disciple, the clothes she wore became plainer. Her attire still consisted of expensive accessories, but that was only because those accessories could make it easier for her to study arrays by boosting her concentration. He hadn't explicitly asked, but Shui suspected that she did it in order to please their master so that he would continue to favour her.

In her family, she was allowed to buy almost anything she wanted, but she rarely met her own parents. She had tried to beg for their attention, but the best she could receive was new jewellery and cute clothes; not once did they actually take time out to spend with her. And so, when she became Nikolai's disciple, she subconsciously swore that she wouldn't let the same thing happen. Maybe she wasn't even aware of it, but she suppressed her own desire for cute clothes that was born from her circumstances in order to retain Nikolai's interest. In the trial, Shui would go out with her and watch her dress up on her birthdays, so he hoped that this would still be able to bring out that innocent smile he remembered.

After taking the magenta dress, Emily went behind a curtain to change and then came out soon after. It was just one dress, but it made a world of difference. She was already cute before, but now it seemed that she had been hiding her splendour. Her assets weren't particularly pronounced, but the slight bulges along with her petite stature was the perfect picture of cute and lovely. Rather than sensual, the snow white complexion of her exposed legs and forearms only further accentuated her preciousness. Like a butterfly, her extended wings mesmerised both Shui and the store attendant, leaving them speechless. Even Alia had to nod with an exaggerated expression.

And for the finishing touch, with her hands joined at her waist as she fidgeted in embarrassment and excitement, she looked up with those endearing eyes and asked, "How do I look?"

Like they were shot by an arrow, Shui and store attendant jerked and held their chests in pain while quickly saving this image in their heads. They then looked at each other, nodded and faced Emily with equally bright smiles.

"Absolutely adorable!"

At that moment, Shui was sure that even Serina with her cuteness sacred treasure would struggle to win against Emily.

The two of them then went on to have Emily dress up in a variety of outfits. From sweet to sexy, clumsy to graceful, Emily managed to pull off every outfit she wore no matter how silly it looked. At first, she remained humble and replied to their generous compliments with a shy expression, but with every excited cheer, a lock that was inside her cracked.

Objectively, she knew that she was a beautiful woman, but this was the first time since she was a child that she had been fawned over. And so, as if the compliments were dragging out the little girl who had suppressed herself, Emily eventually began to show her spoiled side.

"Amazing!"

"Too precious!"

"Oh well, I suppose I am. I'm so cute, aren't I?" asked Emily with a smug expression.

"So cute!"

"Too cute!"

"Aren't you glad you get to see me in these clothes?"

"This is the best present ever."

"I would pay for this."

Shui and the store attendant knew that the compliments were starting to give her a big head, but they poured them on anyways because smug Emily was like rare item that they couldn't miss.

Once Emily tried on most of the outfits, Shui bought everything she wore and they left. Furthermore, the store attendant was so pleased by Emily's fashion show that she gave Shui an amazing discount. If it was before, Emily would have stopped him from buying so many clothes, but while wearing a satisfied smile she looked past it. This was a good thing as even Shui's fat wallet took a hit from buying so many clothes.

However, despite knowing that he was on the way to becoming broke if he didn't start selling the goods he got from the dark auction, Shui brought Emily to a jewellery store next. Unlike the clothes, these jewels were actually artifacts and charms so the individual prices were in another league, but Shui couldn't stop himself from wanting to keep Emily's childlike excitement going.

The store was discreetly set up like an antique shop, but despite the dim lighting, the jewels filled the room with an artificial brilliance. There were a few other customers, but the collection of gems made their presences insignificant.

Unlike before when she was more reserved, as soon as they entered the jewellery store, Emily openly showed her interest as she searched for the right item. Even though it seemed that she had reverted to her child self, she was smart enough to know that jewellery wouldn't be cheap enough for Shui to buy them all like with clothes. Therefore, she needed to find that one jewel that sparkled in her heart. However, this choice was extremely difficult for her regardless of whether she prioritised functionality or appearance. It was then that she had an idea to solve her issue.

"Shui, could you choose one for me?"

"Are you sure?"

Once Emily nodded at his question, Shui quickly swept his gaze over the items on display. He looked for the prettiest one he could find with abilities that would be suitable for Emily and eventually his eyes stopped on a pair of pink teardrop earrings.

"What about those?" he asked while pointing at it.

The earrings had also interested her since not only did they look pretty, the explanation under it said that wearing them would improve her eyesight and concentration as well as the range and sensitivity of her spiritual sense. She had hesitated because there were other options as pretty and as useful as it was, but since Shui chose it she didn't reject his advice.

As Emily took up the earrings with the box, Shui offered to pay for it, but this time she refused. However, she didn't refuse because she didn't want to owe him even more than she already did, but because she was afraid of getting used to it.

"No, you've already given me more than enough presents. If I keep letting you buy them for me, I'll become a useless person."

"I don't think that's possible but, okay. I'll let you handle it."

Once she sorted that out with Shui, Emily cheerily brought the pair of earrings to the counter to pay for it, but that was where her cheer ended. When she heard the price for the earrings, her face froze, but quicker than Shui could notice she stopped her shock from showing. A part of her wondered if she should have taken Shui's offer to pay for it, but it wasn't as if she couldn't afford it, using a good chunk of her funds of course.

As she took a glimpse at the jovial expression on Shui's face, Emily hardened her heart and paid for it. Then, before they left the store, she put on the earrings and asked Shui how they looked, and naturally he answered, "Mhmm. Without a doubt, you're the absolutely cute!"