One day in high school, Jialin, who had just finished his lunch, suddenly appeared in the seat next to Pipi's and invited her to go shopping.
"What do you need?" Pipi asked, surprised. Generally, the boys in class never took the initiative to talk to a girl. Especially when it came to a boy like Jialin - the idol of the class.
"I want to buy some clothes."
They agreed to meet at the school gate. Avoiding the suspicious gazes, Pipi followed him out of the East Gate towards the clothing market. It was a long street, full of merchants who came from the countryside to buy goods.
Jialin asked, "Would you wear these?"
"You'll... buy them for me?"
"Sure."
"W-what?" Pipi blushed and stuttered.
"Well..." Jialin made a few noises, but without replying he turned to the owner of the store and said, "I was this in black, yes, give it to her to wear. You're the tailor here, I'm sure you know her measurements."
At that time, both Pipi and Jialin were wearing watery-grey uniforms. Normally one person would have a couple of sets, but Pipi's family was poor, so she had only one set which she wore every day. Fortunately in Spring it was mandatory to wear a round-necked shirt which did not get too dirty and didn't need washing frequently.
The two were not good at bargaining. When they paid the money, they could see the tailor's mouth curl into a smile ever so slightly. Pipi thought that Jialin was going to suffer for his kindness.
At a public toilet next to the road, Jialin handed her the clothes and said, "Try it on. See if it fits."
The toilet was not very clean and Pipi was rather reluctant. She asked awkwardly, "Do you really want to check right now?"
He looked down at his feet and responded, "Just give it a try."
Pipi went in and unfolded the clothes to reveal that he had bought a long tampon. Looking at her own pants, she saw that there was a conspicuous red stain on them. She had been in the cafeteria and stood in a long queue. No doubt everyone had seen.
Blushing furiously, she changed her clothes and exited the toilet to see Jialin waiting for her outside the door. She quickly took out two dollars and dragged him to a cafe, saying "I'll buy you a popsicle."
Jialin accepted happily, but when Pipi went to buy one for herself, Jialin stopped her and asked the waitress, "Do you have hot fruit?"
That was one of Pipi's favorite memories. Coming back to reality, she opened one eye and looked down at her toes.