Chapter 17: with translation of chapter title

Ye Xi'an of course knew this wasn't good, but if Bao Jing still didn't protect her, she would die here.

"Huff, hurry up, hurry up, hold me."

Seeing Ye Xi'an's anxious appearance, Bao Jing hesitated before embracing her.

"I've held, I've held."

Bao Jing loosely placed his arms on Ye Xi'an's waist, his whole body stiff, afraid to touch her body.

"Do you know how to hug or not!"

Even though he was holding her, it was as if he wasn't; Ye Xi'an could still smell the people around, so she simply grabbed both of Bao Jing's hands and wrapped him around herself like a blanket.

Due to their great height difference, Bao Jing's chin rested directly on Ye Xi'an's head.

"Is it a bit too tight?"

Feeling the warm temperature where their bodies touched, Bao Jing verbally resisted, but the corners of his mouth couldn't be kept down.

"Not tight at all."

If it weren't for being in a public place, Ye Xi'an would have wanted to bury her head in Bao Jing's armpit.

"Where to go?"

"Back to the first-floor Mission Hall."

The two walked with a strange gait, step by step back to the Mission Hall, looking like two penguins waddling on ice, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

However, no one paid much attention, assuming they were a loving couple.

"They're all looking at us."

Bao Jing pressed his lips, the corners of his eyes slightly raised; it was his first time being watched by so many people, and he felt it wasn't bad.

"Then why aren't you walking faster! With such long legs, why are your steps so small."

Ye Xi'an felt terrible; she was always sensitive to gazes, had long noticed many people looking at her, but as a socially anxious person, she could only pretend not to know, her gaze stiffly fixed straight ahead.

She just wanted to hurry to the first floor to turn in the mission and leave, but Bao Jing walked behind her as slowly as a snail.

With difficulty, they finally reached a machine, and Ye Xi'an inserted the key into the identifier.

Because when she previously accepted the mission, the system had already bound the key to her family information, inserting the key caused the machine's page to automatically pop up Ye Xi'an's information.

Under the "to be completed" column was the requirement to turn in ten pineapples.

Bao Jing lay on Ye Xi'an's back, pointing at the two words after the mission: "Click to submit."

Ye Xi'an nodded, and just as she clicked, an empty basket appeared beneath the machine.

Ten pineapples fit perfectly; a flash of light passed, the pineapples disappeared, Ye Xi'an raised her hand to check the balance, gaining 475 Contribution Points, but compared to the twenty thousand, it seemed hardly enough.

"Wasn't it supposed to be 500?"

"You forgot, although this mission has no spatial fee, there is a submission ratio; the Divine System could never run a loss-making business."

Bao Jing's eyes swept around, then returned to Ye Xi'an, probing: "You, do you still remember what the first thing to do upon returning is?"

"Of course, to buy you clothes. Just....."

Bao Jing held his breath, waiting intently for Ye Xi'an's continuation; this scoundrel female wouldn't go back on her word, would she?

"Can we shop online here?"

Bao Jing let out a heavy sigh; Ye Xi'an's words, spoken with a big gasp, almost scared him to death.

"Of course you can, but if you want to shop online, you also need to buy a Light Brain first."

Ye Xi'an tapped the blue light on her arm: "This one?"

"Certainly not; this is the companion communicator implanted in females at birth, with only positioning, communication, and the ability to check family balance. If you want to buy clothes and other things, you need to go to a Light Brain store to buy a dedicated Light Brain."

"But we can't afford a Light Brain now; even the cheapest Light Brain costs fifty thousand."

"Ah~"

Ye Xi'an's bitter face scrunched up; how could everything in this world be so expensive?

She sighed, resigned: "Then let's go buy clothes first."

Coincidentally, she also wanted to buy herself an outfit.

The stores on Divine God Star are concentrated in the Third Ring; here rent is cheap and there are many people.

The two boarded the floating train from the First Ring to the Third Ring; the scenery inside was completely different from when they came.

When they came, they took the train from the Free Zone to the center of the First Ring; most passengers were ordinary beastfolk, dressed simply, hardly exchanging greetings, like a group of white-collar workers worn down by life.

The entire train had only Ye Xi'an as a female.

On this train, almost everyone sat in clusters; the splendidly dressed females were protected by males in the center like stars around the moon, those males likewise dressed luxuriously, each with broad shoulders, narrow waists, and long legs.

Ye Xi'an watched enviously; she turned her head to look at Bao Jing, discovering he too was gazing enviously at those males.

"What are you looking at?"

Bao Jing's face showed sorrow: "Once, I also had three sets of clothing."

On Divine God Star, males are all beauty-loving; their whole lives they strive diligently to raise their ability levels and to buy splendid clothes to adorn themselves.

Because only if they are handsome can females take a liking to them, and only if females like them can they truly live well.

Those three pieces of clothing were his, earned piece by piece after five years of grinding missions, yet Ye Xi'an sold them off cheaply just to buy a two-meter lobster freshly shipped from Ocean Star?

Thinking of this, Bao Jing's face instantly darkened; he turned his head and gave Ye Xi'an a fierce glare, vowing that when they bought clothes later he would surely fleece her badly.

Ye Xi'an was suddenly glared at; knowing she was being boring, she stopped asking where to get clothes, guessing it was probably sold by the Original Owner.

Look at what the kid is wearing now: a tight-fitting vest patched together from a few rags, and the only pair of pants with more fabric, the black ones, are covered in patches.

And look at the shoes—the soles have even come off?

Ye Xi'an hadn't noticed before, and hadn't realized that Bao Jing had actually been wearing just a shoe upper all along.

She sat up straight, embarrassed, not daring to glance around, but her mind uncontrollably wandered: Bao Jing's life is so hard, he doesn't even have a proper set of clothes—does he even wear underwear?

The two got off the train and walked to the clothing store.

The shop was filled with a dazzling variety of splendid garments, leaving Ye Xi'an dazzled.

The women's area was split into several sections: cute loli, cool older sister, sweet-and-salty, noble princess.

The area is quite small, only about a quarter, after all, females are scarce on Zhu Shen Xing.

The other sections were all men's wear: celibate CEO, tempting high official, Federation colonel, cute puppy dog, sunny college guy, and even uniform temptations.

Is this a proper clothing store?

Ye Xi'an hastily looked away, afraid to see what she shouldn't. Earlier, on Diqiu, she had browsed Taobao hoping to buy a uniform for a job hunt, but the sight was utterly horrifying, giving her nightmares for several days.

Still, better to look at women's wear. Ye Xi'an casually picked up a dress, but upon seeing the price tag, she was frightened and quickly put it down.

Who would have thought a puffball skirt would cost fifty thousand Contribution Points?

The shop assistant noticed and hurried over to promote: "Ah, this female, you have great taste—this dress is made from the only remaining silkworm silk on the Doomsday Blue Star Planet; feel the quality, it looks gorgeous but is actually extraordinarily light, perfect for someone petite and lovely like you."