My Little Pink Crocodile - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Missing Person Advertisement

Under the cool white lights of the boutique, Qi Yan watched the girl’s hair shimmer with a crystalline luster.

Held tightly by Jiang Yu, they stood so close that the warm breath puffing against Qi Yan’s neck made her skin prickle with a slight itch. The fitting room was spacious enough for two, yet they clung together, allowing an ambiguous intimacy to fill the air, making Qi Yan’s heart skip an involuntary beat.

Qi Yan froze for a second, but once she recovered, a gentle smile curved her lips. “Alright,” she whispered. “I won’t say a word.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu happily kissed Qi Yan’s cheek. The touch was cool yet soft, a sensation that, surprisingly, Qi Yan found she didn’t dislike at all. Noticing this internal shift, Qi Yan’s eyes darkened slightly; she realized she had to re-evaluate her own feelings.

The necklace around her neck suddenly felt warm, causing her to frown. She pulled it out, rubbing the pendant between her fingers, her gaze downcast as she lost herself in thought.

When they emerged, Jiang Yu immediately rushed to the full-length mirror to show off the wedding gown. “Qi Yan, Qi Yan! Do I look good?”

Qi Yan had already seen her in the dressing room, but looking again, she was still struck by the girl’s beauty. “You look stunning,” she said.

The clerk walked over with a genuine smile. “You truly look like a princess. I’ve never seen anyone pull off this dress so well.” She paused, then added, “If I may ask, when is the wedding? We have several packages you might want to look at.”

Qi Yan, who was taking a sip of water, choked slightly. Before she could respond, Jiang Yu tilted her chin up proudly and beamed. “Today.”

The clerk froze. Maintaining her professional smile, she said hesitantly, “That’s… a bit sudden, isn’t it?”

Jiang Yu didn’t care at all. She toyed with a lock of her hair and looked at Qi Yan with a shy, playful smile. “I think it’s fine. Mainly because Qi Yan said we are getting our marriage certificate today.”

Qi Yan: …I never said that.

Seeing their “flirtatious” exchange, the clerk immediately understood (or thought she did). “Oh! So you two are the couple! No wonder I thought you looked so well-matched from the moment you walked in…”

To prevent the clerk from saying anything even more outrageous, Qi Yan interrupted. “Can we take a photo here?”

“Of course,” the clerk nodded. “We have professional photographers on site.”

After telling Jiang Yu not to wander off, Qi Yan stepped aside with the clerk. Jiang Yu was still too excited to notice anything was amiss.

“How can I help you, specifically?” the clerk asked.

Qi Yan thought for a moment. “Take a photo of us. Use a red background. Make it look… official.”

“Oh? Of course. But isn’t that usually for the Civil Affairs Bureau?”

Qi Yan glanced at Jiang Yu and sighed helplessly. “We aren’t actually going there. It’s just a souvenir for her to play with. Also… I’ll take the dress she’s wearing. I’m buying it.”

Though the clerk was confused, a sudden sale of a high-end wedding gown was a massive boost to her commission. She didn’t hesitate. “Understood! I’ll arrange everything immediately.”

While the staff prepared the set, Qi Yan walked up behind Jiang Yu and adjusted her train. She looked up to see Jiang Yu smiling at her through the mirror. An inexplicable emotion welled up inside her—something she couldn’t quite name.

Qi Yan hid the feeling and focused on the girl who looked like a porcelain doll. Noticing her bare neck looked a bit empty, Qi Yan reached up and unclasped her own necklace.

Jiang Yu blinked. “What are you giving me this for?” She gingerly touched the white jade pendant, her movements so careful it was as if she were afraid of it.

Qi Yan couldn’t explain the impulse, but she found herself saying, “Think of it as… a token of my affection.”

Jiang Yu looked at her in disbelief. “Really?” But before Qi Yan could confirm it, the girl began muttering to herself. “No, no… this won’t do.” She touched the jade one last time, then shook her head and handed it back.

Qi Yan was surprised by the rejection. The jade in her palm felt strangely warm. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Yu looked very serious. “Your constitution is actually quite weak; you’re prone to attracting ghosts. But with this, you only attract animals. Most of them aren’t intelligent yet, so it’s much safer if you keep wearing it.”

Qi Yan didn’t take the talk of ghosts and spirits seriously, but she took the necklace back nonetheless. “I see.”

She felt a bit silly for her earlier “token of affection” speech. This jade had been bought by her mother from a fortune teller at an exorbitant price because Qi Yan had been a sickly child who often talked to “people” no one else could see. Strange as it was, after she started wearing it, the “shadows” vanished, replaced by an unusual magnetism for cats and dogs. And now it’s attracted a crocodile, Qi Yan thought wryly.

The clerk returned. “We’re ready.”

Qi Yan, feeling the atmosphere becoming too intimate, took Jiang Yu’s hand casually. “Let’s go take the photo.”

“Okay!” Jiang Yu clung to Qi Yan’s arm like a spoiled child. The moment the clerk turned her back, Jiang Yu pecked Qi Yan’s cheek again. “Is Qi Yan not going to change clothes?”

Qi Yan smiled. “I don’t need to.”

Jiang Yu’s wedding train trailed behind her like a blooming flower. As they walked together, they truly did look as well-matched as the clerk had claimed.

The photo session was quick, but getting Jiang Yu to take the dress off afterward took some effort. Eventually, a pouting Jiang Yu went to the dressing room to change.

“No need for retouching,” Qi Yan told the clerk. “Just send the digital file to my phone.”

It was just a photo against a red background; as long as they weren’t blinking, it didn’t need work. While she waited, her assistant Fang Fang called out to her. “Boss? What are you doing at a wedding boutique? What photo?”

“Nothing,” Qi Yan replied as her phone buzzed with the image. Fang Fang knew better than to pry into her boss’s private life.

Jiang Yu emerged from the dressing room wearing the simple white dress Qi Yan had sent Fang Fang to buy. It was a plain dress, but on Jiang Yu, it seemed to glow.

“Qi Yan!” Jiang Yu ran over. Qi Yan naturally pulled her into her arms while quickly typing a message on her phone with one hand.

Qi Yan: Make a certificate for me.

Grace: You want a fake marriage certificate?

Qi Yan: Mhm.

“What are you playing with?” Jiang Yu asked, frowning when she saw Qi Yan looking at her phone instead of her. She reached out to grab the device.

Feeling a bit guilty, Qi Yan shut the phone off the moment she saw Grace’s reply. When Jiang Yu got hold of it, the screen was black. She tapped it, but it didn’t respond. “How strange,” she muttered.

Qi Yan was relieved Jiang Yu didn’t know how to use a smartphone yet. She patted the girl’s head. “I was just handling some work.”

Jiang Yu didn’t doubt her, but a wave of guilt washed over her. “Is it very expensive to keep me?” She lowered her head like she’d done something wrong, then looked up with determination. She stopped the clerk. “I don’t want the dress anymore.”

The clerk was stunned. “Your partner has already paid for it. Is there something you’re unhappy with?”

Jiang Yu believed that her insistence on the dress was forcing Qi Yan to overwork herself. Fang Fang, standing nearby, widened her eyes in shock. “Boss! Since when do you have a partner? Did you kidnap this poor girl?”

Qi Yan didn’t have time to explain. She pulled Jiang Yu back and smiled at the clerk. “The dress is fine. I’ll come by to pick it up later.”

They walked out of the shop. Fang Fang finally snapped out of her trance and chased after them. “Boss! You forgot something!”

Qi Yan opened the car door, helped Jiang Yu in, and buckled her seatbelt.

“Boss, you forgot the phone.” Fang Fang handed over a bag containing the smartphone Qi Yan had asked her to buy for Jiang Yu. Qi Yan thanked her and was about to get in the car when she paused.

“Don’t let a word of this out,” she whispered to Fang Fang.

Fang Fang was busy waving at Jiang Yu in the passenger seat. “Sure, sure. I know,” she said distractedly. Then she leaned in toward Jiang Yu. “How did you end up here with our boss, little sister?”

Jiang Yu looked around, deciding this should stay a secret. She beckoned Fang Fang closer. Fang Fang leaned in, eager for gossip, only for Jiang Yu to whisper mysteriously: “Qi Yan is buying me clothes, and then we are going to get our marriage certificate.”

“WHAT?!” Fang Fang’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. She looked at her boss in disbelief.

“What is it?” Qi Yan asked, feeling uncomfortable under the stare.

Fang Fang looked at the beaming Jiang Yu, then at her boss gently adjusting the girl’s seatbelt. She felt she had just discovered a massive scandal. Her mind immediately filled in the blanks: The boss’s family arranged a marriage, she didn’t recognize her own fiancée when she showed up with a dog, and she sent her to the police station thinking she was a lunatic!

“Nothing, nothing!” Fang Fang waved her hands frantically.

As Fang Fang turned to leave, she noticed a flyer tucked under the windshield wiper. She helpfully pulled it off. “Boss, let me throw this ad away for you.”

Qi Yan saw the flyer. “Thanks. You don’t need to work today. Just go back and close the shop.”

Excited for the day off, Fang Fang waved goodbye to Jiang Yu and headed toward a trash can.

“Huh… whose missing person ad is this? It’s so abstract,” she muttered, looking at the flyer. “A ‘Young Master’? More like a ‘Young Mistress’…” She looked at the drawing—a pink stick figure—shook her head, and tossed it into the bin.