Rong Lan fell silent. It must be that Si Mo had used some kind of magic, like an invisibility spell. She was certain that when Chu Hengyuan first called her name, he was still sitting right beside her.
They were sitting under a streetlight, and under normal circumstances, Chu Hengyuan couldn't have missed seeing Si Mo.
She was so envious of those who could use magic at will. She wanted to be able to do it too!
Not hearing her response, Chu Hengyuan thought she was really feeling unwell. After all, he had no idea how long this skinny little girl had been inside the mascot suit. He grabbed her wrist and half - pulled, half - supported her to her feet. "Let's get back to the car quickly. Then you can take off the headgear. We don't want you to get heatstroke from all this."
Rong Lan nodded and said okay. Then she turned around and looked everywhere, but still couldn't see Si Mo.
Only after the little fox had walked far away did Si Mo reappear. He had subtly altered everyone's memories in the vicinity, making them think he had been sitting there all along and had never disappeared.
He had used the same invisibility spell earlier and also erased the little fox's fiancé's memory of seeing him. At first, the fiancé could indeed see him sitting beside the little fox, but when he turned invisible, he wiped that memory away. That's why when the little fox asked, the man said there was no one beside her.
"Really... What a nice little fox. How could she be engaged to a human..."
"I've got to talk some sense into her when I see her tomorrow..."
——
Chu Hengyuan's car was parked in a roadside parking space. He supported Rong Lan to the car by the curb. As soon as he opened the car door, he realized an embarrassing problem.
Rong Lan rubbed the headgear that had been lightly bumped by the car door. The little fox was in a bit of a pickle. "I can't get in, can I!"
When her fortune - telling shop started making money, she'd definitely buy Chu Hengyuan a new car! It must be because the car door was too narrow that she couldn't get in. It definitely wasn't because she looked too fat in the mascot suit!
Chu Hengyuan coughed lightly. "Given the current situation, yes. Why don't you take off the headgear? It's too big. If you take it off, you should be able to fit in."
Rong Lan hesitated. It might take her less than a minute to take off the headgear and get in the car, but what if her biological father showed up nearby during that minute? Wouldn't her five - hour disguise be a laughingstock?
But the problem was that Chu Hengyuan couldn't get a new car right away. If she wanted to get in the car, she had to take off the headgear.
Even though Chu Hengyuan couldn't see the little girl's expression through the fluffy fox headgear, he could more or less guess what she was hesitating about. "I'll keep an eye on the area. If your relatives happen to show up, I'll put the headgear back on you right away. How about that?"
"Okay." With this assurance from Chu Hengyuan, Rong Lan nodded immediately.
Chu Hengyuan held both sides of the headgear with his hands. "Do I just lift it straight up? Is there any hidden buckle on the headgear?"
Rong Lan knew that Chu Hengyuan was much taller than her and that he could take off the headgear while she was standing, but she still bent her knees and squatted down a bit. "You should be able to just lift it up. The lady who helped me change into the mascot suit just pulled it on. There's no special technique."
"Okay." Chu Hengyuan held the headgear firmly and lifted it up with a bit of force.
It didn't take much effort for him to take the headgear off the little girl's head.
Without the obstruction, Rong Lan didn't hesitate and climbed straight into the back seat of the car.
Before Chu Hengyuan could react, the little girl was already sitting upright in the back seat. He couldn't help but laugh. He didn't tell her that when he took off the headgear and saw her bright, shining eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Her hair was wet and hanging on her shoulders, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks. She looked both pitiful and funny.
He stuffed the headgear into the car at an angle. "I'll go with you to return the mascot suit first."
"Sure. I'll give you the address." Rong Lan took the headgear Chu Hengyuan handed her.
After Chu Hengyuan got in the car, Rong Lan simply took off the mascot suit in the back seat. Since the car's space was limited, she couldn't stretch her limbs properly, and taking off the suit became extremely difficult. By the time she took off the whole suit, she was sweating profusely, but it was still better than being stuck inside.
She pressed the button on the side of the car door to open the window for some fresh air. However, the cool autumn wind made her nose itch, and she sneezed twice in a row.
Chu Hengyuan looked worriedly at the rear - view mirror. "Close the window. If you catch a cold with all this sweat on you, you might get a bad cold tomorrow."
Rong Lan knew that the human body was extremely fragile, so she pressed the button to close the window. "It's so cold outside."
She had been wearing a short - sleeved T - shirt inside the mascot suit and was boiling hot. It was only now that she felt the chill of autumn.
Chu Hengyuan shook his head helplessly. "You didn't bring a coat with you, did you?"
"No, I did. But it was inconvenient to wear a coat under the mascot suit, so I left it with the shopkeeper. I'll pick it up later." Rong Lan rubbed her itchy nose.
Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of the mascot suit rental shop.
Chu Hengyuan got out of the car first and carried out the neatly packed mascot suit from the back seat. Only then did Rong Lan get out.
The shopkeeper sitting behind the cash register looked up when he saw someone come in. After confirming that it was his shop's mascot suit, he didn't even bother to put down his game controller. "Congratulations."
He still remembered that the little girl had said she was renting the suit for a marriage proposal. Seeing a man come in with her, he thought the proposal had been successful, so he blurted out "congratulations".
Chu Hengyuan didn't understand what the shopkeeper meant by "congratulations" and stayed silent.
Rong Lan, however, replied with a smile. "Thank you, boss."
The shopkeeper didn't even look at Rong Lan. His eyes were fixed on the computer screen, and his game controller was clicking loudly. "You two sit down for a minute. I'm almost done with this game."
Neither Rong Lan nor Chu Hengyuan was in a hurry, so they didn't say anything. Rong Lan even found her coat that she had left there and put it on.
Less than a minute later, the shopkeeper put down the game controller, stood up, and stretched. "Little girl, show me your mobile payment QR code. I'll refund your deposit."
Rong Lan nodded and showed her payment code.
After refunding the deposit, the shopkeeper slowly went to check if the mascot suit was still in good condition.
Rong Lan could have left after getting the deposit back, but she waited until the shopkeeper had checked the suit and confirmed that it was undamaged before pulling Chu Hengyuan out of the shop.