Chapter 16
The moment Shang Che’s words landed, the cotton doll in his palm suddenly moved, sending a faint sensation under his warm finger pad.
Copying his gesture, the cotton doll used its small round hand to “poke” the finger he had extended, as if sealing a pact with a high-five, going back and forth. Then it raised its head, looking at him with sparkling eyes: “Then Cotton… barely likes human too…”
…Copycat.
Shang Che watched as it slowly “clasped” his unretracted fingertip with those two tiny round hands. After wiggling its bottom in his palm to find a comfortable position, it pressed its cheek right against his hand.
Cotton Doll: (><).
The sensation on his finger pad was soft and light, like a feather sweeping across his chest, involuntarily setting off a faint quiver.
…Was it… acting cute?
The cotton doll rubbed against his hand a few times, having completely forgotten its earlier grievances and anxiety. In their place was an almost total reliance and closeness. “Human promised… to take good care of Cotton… okay?~”
Looking at the cotton doll using his finger as a bolster, Shang Che said helplessly: “A promise is a promise.”
“…Cotton will try hard… not to cause human… trouble,” the cotton doll, having received its guarantee, set its mind completely at ease. It raised a round hand as if swearing an oath, “And Cotton will try hard… to make human like Cotton…”
Liking won’t be necessary at all.
Shang Che nodded perfunctorily.
However, if he didn’t head out of this restroom soon, Lu Zeming would start getting suspicious again. Shang Che bent his knuckle, accidentally brushing past the cotton doll’s soft cheek as he withdrew his hand.
Curling his fingers into a loose fist, he paused for a moment and said, “We have to go out now. Remember, absolute quiet.”
The cotton doll immediately nodded forcefully, the tuft of hair on its head swaying along.
Though the misunderstanding was resolved, considering the cotton doll’s track record of making a fuss, Shang Che still felt somewhat uneasy. He confirmed repeatedly: “Promise me, you really, really won’t move around recklessly again this time.”
“Cotton promises!”
Shang Che had no idea how many times he had heard that line—it carried zero credibility whatsoever.
Seemingly sensing Shang Che’s distrust, the cotton doll voluntarily laid flat in his palm. Its golden eyes even turned into X’s, putting on a plain appearance of ‘I am truly just a cotton doll.’
Cotton Doll: (XX).
Looking at the cotton doll “playing dead,” a smile tugged at the corner of Shang Che’s lips despite himself. He placed the cotton doll into his crossbody bag, loosened the zipper slightly, and gave it a gentle pat.
“I’ll leave a small gap for you to look outside.”
“Okay~”
“Hmm?” Lu Zeming pushed up his glasses, looking at Shang Che as he sat back down, unable to stop himself from sizing him up from head to toe. “How did going to the restroom make you come back in such a good mood?”
Shang Che shrugged, answering completely off-topic: “Where has this gift-exchange game progressed to?”
“A person can only participate once. In the end, it should just be you and Lin Zhi left.” Lu Zeming gestured for Shang Che to look over; the main character on the sofa had clearly changed again.
“Fine.” Shang Che subtly adjusted the position of his crossbody bag.
Suddenly, Lu Zeming called out to him, “A-Che.”
“Speak,” Shang Che responded casually.
Lu Zeming spoke concisely: “Why don’t you just swing that bag directly around to your chest and be done with it?”
“…” Shang Che’s hand froze, looking down at the crossbody bag he had almost rotated all the way to his chest.
“Although wearing a bag like that looks super uncool,” Lu Zeming felt he was being extraordinarily understanding, “as your bro, I won’t judge you.”
Shang Che could practically hear the sound of his own gritted teeth: “Is. That. So.”
Lu Zeming smiled slightly, reaching out to pat his shoulder. “I just didn’t expect you to treasure a bag so much.”
“…” Shang Che was absolutely certain this guy had caught onto something.
Just as he was about to speak, Lu Zeming lightly switched the topic as if mentioning it offhandedly: “Let’s go, want to go see what Lin Zhi and the others are up to?”
An unexpected question tumbled from Shang Che’s throat: “Hmm?”
Lu Zeming spoke directly: “Lin Zhi and her friends hired a doll photographer, saying they’re taking photos next door. I want to go check it out.”
No wonder he hadn’t seen her around. Shang Che truly admired his friend’s curiosity. Feeling a bit of a headache, he said, “If you’re curious yourself, can you please not drag me along?”
Lu Zeming confessed honestly: “I’m embarrassed to go alone.”
“As if I’m not embarrassed.”
Even so, Shang Che still got up silently, letting out a sigh as he threw an arm over Lu Zeming’s shoulder.
Next door, a group of girls sat gathered in a circle. They were chatting away lively without sounding overly noisy, exclamations of praise bursting forth.
“Aww, whose baby is this? How can it be so adorable~”
“Who is this? Is this our baby?!”
“Its little hands are so fair, let me give them a squeeze! Its head is so round, let me give it a stroke! Baby, how can you be so cute, ahhh!”
“Little baby, come get a hug! What a good baby.”
“…”
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Zhi was currently changing the clothes of a cotton doll with chestnut hair and green eyes, chanting under her breath as she dressed it.
“Aww, what a good baby~”
“Put on your little shoes, and wear a little hair clip…” Lin Zhi measured it, shaking her head. “This one doesn’t look good. Let’s change it for our baby.”
Shang Che fell silent for a moment, asking slowly: “How long have they had these symptoms?”
“For a while now.” Lu Zeming crossed his arms, bumping Shang Che’s shoulder with his as he teased: “If you really break it down, your family is actually to blame.”
“…” Shang Che didn’t know what to say.
In the gap of looking for a hair clip, Lin Zhi raised her head and spotted the two of them. She generously waved them over: “Brother Shang, Brother Lu, why are you two here?”
Lu Zeming pushed up his glasses: “To expand our horizons.”
Lin Zhi burst out laughing: “For you guys, it really is a whole new ‘world’ you’ve never seen before.”
Shang Che nudged the person beside him with his elbow in awkwardness.
Lu Zeming clearly possessed a strong thirst for knowledge regarding this, asking humbly: “Please, elaborate.”
“Brother Lu saw a doll photo once before, right? That was just a casual daily shot I took myself.” The moment cotton dolls were mentioned, Lin Zhi’s desire to share flared up immediately. “This type here is a doll photo with a specialized set—there are dedicated doll photographers who set up the scenery.”
As Lin Zhi pointed to each miniature landscape, Shang Che and Lu Zeming’s line of sight followed along: “Traditional style, fairytale style, gothic style…”
The two of them wore expressions of having their horizons broadened, making the girls nearby unable to hold back their laughter.
Lu Zeming didn’t feel a shred of shame from being watched by so many people, continuing to press for answers instead: “So everyone here came to take doll photos?”
“That’s right,” Lin Zhi explained to him. “There are a lot of us, so it’s like a group buy. We set a time and place with the doll photographer, then everyone brings their own dolls. The photographer is in charge of setting up the scenes and shooting, while we’re in charge of dressing up our own kids.”
She held up her fully dressed cotton doll to display it to Shang Che and Lu Zeming, then pointed at a row of tiny clothes hangers: “These are all my baby’s clothes—strictly speaking, just a fraction of them.”
Shang Che swept his eyes over them. By a rough estimate, there were at least no fewer than ten sets of outfits on those tiny hangers, all in different styles, clearly intended to take photos across every single miniature set.
He then looked at the 20-centimeter cotton doll in her hand.
…Mm… it seemed the pink hair and golden eyes were still more to his liking.
The cotton doll with pink hair and golden eyes had no idea what the human was thinking. It only knew that as its line of sight swayed back and forth, the figure of another cotton doll suddenly appeared.
Cotton’s sky!
This was Cotton’s first time seeing another Cotton!
A real cotton doll, currently being dressed up by another human, and the exact same size as itself!
The cotton doll’s eyes inside the crossbody bag sparkled brightly.
That doll had a chestnut hairpiece, green eyes, and wore a complex, pretty little dress. It was held in the palm of a human named Lin Zhi, who called it “good baby, obedient baby” while measuring something against its head.
…Baby… what was that?
It watched as the human named Lin Zhi finally picked out a shiny item, carefully clipping it onto the chestnut doll’s hairpiece, then holding it up in satisfaction to rub it against her cheek, letting out an exclamation: “Baby, you’re so cute!”
Cotton’s sky!
A human actually proactively rubbed against a Cotton!
The cotton doll was left dumbfounded, feeling both shocked and shy, as if the Cotton getting its cheek rubbed were itself.
The other girls around also gathered by Lin Zhi’s side, letting out a chorus of admiring gasps.
“Woah! This hair clip goes ridiculously well with the green eyes!”
“Lin Zhi, you’re so good at coordinating! Baby is so pretty!”
“Quick, place it in that forest background for a photo! It’ll definitely have an amazing vibe!”
The chestnut doll was carefully placed into a miniature “forest” set covered in moss and ferns, leaning against a tiny tree stump.
Then the cotton doll saw a human holding a black box against it, making sound after sound of “click, click.”
So novel!
So the outside world was like this!
It wasn’t all things that scared Cotton.
Lin Zhi had already taken a few “forest blockbuster” photos, bringing her baby back in complete satisfaction, intending to change its outfit.
She raised her head to see Shang Che and Lu Zeming still standing there. Shang Che in particular seemed to let his gaze linger on the doll in her hand and that row of clothes for a few extra seconds. She teased with a smile: “Brother Shang, you’re looking so intently—want to try raising one yourself?”
Hearing her question, Shang Che subtly raised his right hand, resting it casually on his crossbody bag. His palm happened to cover the approximate location where the cotton doll was, his fingertips pressing down gently in an almost imperceptible movement.
Then he delivered a swift, decisive rejection: “No need. Not interested.”
Hearing this, Lu Zeming glanced sideways at Shang Che, a trace of playfulness flashing in the eyes behind his lenses.
“Dolls aren’t allowed to hear things like that.” Lin Zhi hastily covered her doll’s ears. “I know you guys don’t understand, but sometimes when you look up and see an adorable doll keeping you company, your mood just brightens up. Plus, changing clothes for a doll and taking photos are both really fun things to do.”
“Protecting my baby’s privacy—no peeking allowed.” As she spoke, she turned around to change her doll’s clothes. Once finished, she eagerly displayed it to Shang Che and Lu Zeming again: “Look, my baby can be both sweet and cool.”
Looking at that exquisitely crafted mini suit that even featured a tiny bowtie, the corner of Shang Che’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Dressing up a cotton doll—he had actually done that too.
Shang Che instinctively lowered his eyes, his gaze drifting toward the crossbody bag on his chest.
