An Instant of Deep Affection

Chapter 2: Caught Red-Handed

Jiang Shiyu was about to turn and leave, still feeling the weight of his decision, when a panicked voice called out behind him. Before he could react, a*****e employee, Su Nianyao, rushed up to block his path.

"Hey, you can't just walk out with that limited edition Lego!" she exclaimed. "If you don't have the money, you should settle for a new Star Wars Black Knight Lego set instead. A new Black Knight helmet is only about $15."

She paused for a moment, catching her breath before continuing. "Why are you insisting on taking the 30368 Lego Red Knight helmet? I've told you before—it’s basically the same as the Black Knight helmet, except for the color. And on top of that, it’s used... and ridiculously expensive. Something that should cost $15 is priced at $5000 because it's limited edition."

Su Nianyao’s eyes narrowed, staring at the girl clutching the limited edition Red Knight helmet. "Why would a reasonable boyfriend let you buy this? I’ve told you it’s too expensive, it’s not for sale, and you just keep saying ‘money is no problem.’"

The Red Knight helmet had only arrived in the store the previous evening, and to her shock, the manager had insisted on adding extra security, treating it like a precious treasure. Su Nianyao had thought the manager was crazy, but now she was beginning to see just how serious this was. The helmet, though made from the same plastic mold as others, had skyrocketed in price simply due to its color and its limited release. It went from a $15 toy to a $5000 collectible.

She sighed to herself. The owner had paid a small fortune for it, buying it from an auction in the U.S. But she couldn’t help thinking the owner must have been a fool with too much money to waste on such a ridiculous price. If the girl liked red so much, she could have painted a Black Knight helmet herself for a fraction of the cost. Only someone with too much money and too little sense would pay $5000 for a used piece of plastic.

"What’s wrong with you?" Su Nianyao continued, her voice rising with frustration. "You can’t just come in here, grab the limited edition, and walk out. You’ve already taken it, but you’re acting like this is no big deal. You really think it’s okay to just swipe something like this? No wonder your boyfriend broke up with you."

At this point, another employee, Wang Xiaomei, caught up with them. She too was upset, and together they blocked the girl from leaving.

"The store manager’s not here, and if we let you walk out with this, we’re both going to be in trouble. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be paying off your mistakes for the next two months!"

The two women were resolute. The girl’s initial polite demeanor, when she’d walked into the store asking for the rare Lego piece, had given them the impression that she was a knowledgeable fan, maybe even a collector. But now, they couldn’t believe what they were witnessing—an entitled shopper trying to leave with an item worth $5000 without even paying for it.

"This isn’t even about the price," Wang Xiaomei added, crossing her arms. "It’s about the fact that someone’s trying to steal from the store. $5000 for a plastic helmet—people like you really don’t have any sense of reality, do you?"

The girl, looking embarrassed and caught in the act, quickly tried to defend herself. "I wasn’t planning on stealing it! I was just… I finally found the limited edition, and I wanted to take it home with me. You don’t understand… I just wanted to buy it for my… boyfriend—"

At the mention of her "boyfriend," the girl faltered, her words trailing off as if she had just realized something.

Jiang Shiyu, who had been standing off to the side, still processing everything, suddenly stepped forward. "Wait," he said, his voice cutting through the tense silence. "What’s the problem here?"

The two women, surprised by his interruption, looked at him as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

"You can’t just let her walk away with this," Su Nianyao said, glaring at the girl. "She was trying to steal it!"

Jiang Shiyu hesitated, then spoke again, his words somewhat jumbled but clear enough to make an impact. "I’ll... pay for it. Just, uh, let her go. I’ll buy it. All four of them."

Wang Xiaomei and Su Nianyao exchanged bewildered glances. They had not expected this turn of events.

"Wait, hold on, what? You’re buying them? You’re going to pay $5000 for one used Lego helmet?" Su Nianyao asked, wide-eyed, her disbelief palpable.

Jiang Shiyu, his expression a mixture of exasperation and awkwardness, muttered, "I just want this to end. I don’t care about the price, just... please. Let her go."

He seemed genuinely flustered, as though he was trying to make some sense of the situation, but his attempt to save the girl from further embarrassment only seemed to add to the surreal quality of it all. He was stepping in to defend her—after everything that had just happened, after their breakup—but here he was, in front of a crowd of onlookers, acting like the hero.

The two women, taken aback by the boy’s sudden intervention, stood silent for a moment, as if trying to process what they had just heard.

A small crowd of onlookers, intrigued by the commotion, had gathered around. Some murmured amongst themselves, clearly entertained by the drama unfolding before them.

One person in the crowd, a man with a skeptical expression, shook his head in disbelief. "What kind of i***t pays $5000 for a red Lego helmet? I mean, really. It’s just plastic."

Another woman, clearly appalled, whispered to her companion, "I can’t believe she’d try to steal it. No wonder her boyfriend dumped her—who could put up with someone like that? If she had money, fine, but this? It’s just pathetic."

But none of the bystanders showed any sympathy for the girl. They were too busy judging her actions, as if the entire situation was simply an amusing spectacle.

Jiang Shiyu, now standing there awkwardly, glanced at the girl who had just moments ago been so desperate to avoid his eyes. His face was red with frustration, but he didn't back down. Instead, he stepped forward, hands outstretched. "I’ll pay for it. Just don’t make this a bigger scene than it already is."

The girl, still clutching the Lego pieces, seemed almost paralyzed by the sudden turn of events. "You—you're really going to buy them?" she asked in a low voice, as if she couldn’t quite believe it herself.

Jiang Shiyu didn’t respond immediately, but his actions said it all. The crowd was watching, the store employees were waiting, and he could feel the weight of his own decisions. The past few months had led to this moment, where everything—his feelings for her, his frustration, his desire to escape—seemed to culminate in this strange, awkward exchange.