Rong Lan twitched the corner of her mouth. The shopkeeper looked exactly like a die - hard fan of Lingnabeier. But although little Beier was cute, the Lingnabeier headgear the shopkeeper had here was definitely a pirated one. "Little Beier is very cute, but I need a fox plush suit to blend in with the crowd. If I propose in a Little Beier plush suit, Little Beier's fans will definitely cry their hearts out."
"Propose?" The shopkeeper, who could hardly keep his eyes open just now, instantly woke up. There was a big "gossip" written in his eyes. "You, a skinny little girl, plan to propose in a plush suit? Although it's not hot to wear a plush suit in this weather, it's stuffy and uncomfortable. Do you, a delicate girl, really need to make such a big sacrifice?"
Rong Lan told lies without any psychological burden and was extremely calm. "It's okay. I can bear it. Shopkeeper, just tell me if you have any other fox plush suits. If not, I'll go to other shops."
How could she go to propose? She just wanted to put on a plush suit to hide herself. After all, she came here today to observe her blood - related relatives. She didn't plan to stage a heart - wrenching scene of father - daughter reunion in the small garden.
So she had to hide herself well and not let the other party recognize her first.
"Yes, yes, yes!" The shopkeeper clapped his hands. "I remember there's a white fox plush suit in the warehouse. Wait for me for five minutes. I'll go and get it."
Rong Lan nodded. "Okay. Thank you, shopkeeper."
In less than five minutes, the shopkeeper dragged the plush suit back into the shop. He patted the dusty plush suit from the warehouse. "Take a look and see if this one is okay. I made this plush suit for fun when I was bored. Since it didn't ride on any popular IP, few people rented it. Later, I just threw it into the warehouse."
When she saw the plush suit, Rong Lan's eyes lit up. "This one will do!"
Although the fox on the plush suit looked nothing like her, it was delicate and good - looking. It was a nice fox.
The most important thing was that its pure - white color was just like her elder brother. She felt a strange sense of familiarity when she looked at it.
"That's good then." The shopkeeper walked behind the cashier counter and started to calculate on the abacus. "Tell me how many hours you need to rent it for. I'll calculate the fee first."
Rong Lan glanced at the time on her phone screen. "Five hours."
It was almost three o'clock now. If she was unlucky, she might have to wait until eight o'clock to see the person she wanted to see. In theory, five hours was just right.
The shopkeeper glanced at Rong Lan's small arms and legs. "You've never been inside a plush suit before, have you?"
Rong Lan shook her head.
The shopkeeper let out a soft scoff. "Then you'd better take off the headgear to get some fresh air every two hours, or you'll have trouble breathing and might even faint."
Rong Lan made an OK gesture. "Okay, I'll remember that."
After the shopkeeper finished calculating the fee, Rong Lan didn't hesitate to take out her phone and scan the QR code. The shopkeeper said again, "I'll ask my wife to come and help you change into the plush suit. Wait a moment."
Rong Lan nodded obediently and reached out to touch the soft fur of the white fox headgear. "Okay."
She liked this shopkeeper. He knew she was a girl, so it was inappropriate for him to help her put on the plush suit. And the heavy plush suit was not something she could handle alone, so he would ask his wife to help.
She had chosen the right shop after all, even though it wasn't the biggest plush - suit rental shop near here that she had found out about.
After more than ten minutes, the shopkeeper's wife came to the shop. Seeing Rong Lan, she gave Rong Lan a friendly smile. "Let's go to the changing room. I'll help you put on the plush suit."
Rong Lan picked up the headgear. "Sure, thank you."
Less than a minute after she put on the plush suit, Rong Lan thought this might be a bad idea.
It was extremely stuffy inside the plush suit, but she could bear the stuffiness. The only thing she wasn't used to was that it was very inconvenient for her to move around. She felt so restricted.
When the white fox walked out of the changing room, moving both arms and legs on the same side, the shopkeeper couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Little girl, you're moving your arms and legs on the same side."
Rong Lan: "..."
Moving arms and legs on the same side? It couldn't be that bad, could it?
The white fox plush suit awkwardly waved its paws and stomped its feet, just like a person who had just learned to walk on two legs.
The shopkeeper's wife supported the white fox plush suit. "Is this really okay? Little girl, if you really can't get used to it, you'd better give it up. I heard you're going to propose. If you can't even walk properly, how can you hold the bouquet for the proposal?"
Rong Lan, who "couldn't even walk properly", felt like an arrow had hit her heart. The shopkeeper's wife was so gentle, but why were her words so hurtful? Of course, she didn't really plan to propose. She just needed to learn to walk properly and then she could go back to the small garden and wait for the right person.
"I believe I can do it! Give me another ten minutes!" Rong Lan struggled to stretch out the short paws of the plush suit to adjust her headgear.
The shopkeeper's wife let go. "Then you can try. Be very careful. The material inside this kind of plush suit is rather hard. If you fall, you'll probably get hurt. So don't fall down."
"Don't worry!" Rong Lan said and walked with a clatter to a relatively open space in the shop to practice walking.
After ten minutes of practice, she walked smoothly. She lifted her short fox paws. "I can control myself now. I'll leave first. Thank you, shopkeeper and shopkeeper's wife."
The shopkeeper looked at the lively fox plush suit and raised his eyebrows. "Is the place you're going far from here? If it's far, I can give you a ride."
"It's a bit far, about five kilometers." Rong Lan adjusted her headgear again. "But can I get into the car?"
She thought it was a normal and ordinary car. After putting on the plush suit, she was much fatter than a normal person, and the headgear was very big. She didn't think she could get into an ordinary car, unless it was a Land Rover with a relatively larger interior space.
"Sure. Come with me." The shopkeeper put his phone in his pocket and picked up the car keys.
Rong Lan politely waved to the gentle shopkeeper's wife and then trotted to follow the shopkeeper. When they got outside the shop, Rong Lan was silent for a few seconds when she saw the shopkeeper straddle the driver's seat of the vehicle. "Shopkeeper, this is the car you were talking about?"
The shopkeeper looked back at the fox. "What else? Hurry up and get in. I still need to come back to watch the shop."
Rong Lan struggled to lift her leg and climb into the back carriage of the small tricycle. She plopped down on the seat and grabbed the railing of the carriage with both hands, afraid that the shopkeeper would drive too fast and throw her out.
"Are you seated?" The shopkeeper looked back again and only saw the fluffy fox head.
Rong Lan nodded and tightened her grip on the railing. "I'm seated. Thank you, shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper didn't say much. He inserted the key into the keyhole and started his tricycle, which he had used for many years.
"By the way, how did you come up with this way of proposing? I've been running this shop for three years. It's not that no little girls have rented plush suits, but they only rented them for fun. It's mostly young men who rent them to surprise their girlfriends."