Before she could stop him, Shang Chenzhou had already paid.
In his hand were a bag of oranges and a box of strawberries.
On the way back.
Shuai Xihe kept muttering all the way:
“It would’ve been enough to just buy oranges, why did you also buy strawberries? We can’t finish them all at once.”
“We still owe money, we don’t have much left.”
“You don’t have any income for now, and I took several days off this month. I probably won’t even get much salary.”
“We need to save money. We can’t spend recklessly.”
“Shang Chenzhou, are you even listening? Shang Chenzhou… ah!”
Shang Chenzhou suddenly stopped.
Shuai Xihe bumped into his back. Her nose turned red and her eyes watered.
He froze for a moment, half raising his hand to check if she was okay, then pulling it back.
“Did it hurt?”
Shuai Xihe glared at him. “What do you think? Is your body made of iron? It’s so hard!”
A faint, unreadable emotion flashed in Shang Chenzhou’s eyes.
She sniffed and, once she felt better, looked up again.
“Did you even hear what I said?”
Shang Chenzhou replied helplessly, “It’s fine to buy it once in a while.”
Shuai Xihe pursed her lips and decided to stop while she was ahead.
She didn’t say more.
They returned home.
After Shuai Xihe came out of the bathroom, she saw Shang Chenzhou had already washed the strawberries, removed the green stems, and placed them neatly on a plate.
She picked one up and ate it.
It was indeed very sweet and juicy.
She liked fruit. When she first started working, she couldn’t even afford to buy it. Later, as her salary increased, she finally achieved “fruit freedom,” and there was always fruit at home.
After work, she would wash a plate of fruit, eat it while watching shows.
She took the plate from him and ate four or five strawberries in a row.
Then she looked up and met Shang Chenzhou’s dark eyes.
She suddenly remembered—he was the one who bought them.
She picked one up and fed it to him.
“You try it too. It’s really sweet.”
Shang Chenzhou opened his mouth and ate it.
Then he walked to the table and opened his laptop.
Shuai Xihe followed and stood beside him.
She picked up another strawberry and fed it to him again.
Shang Chenzhou shook his head. “I’m not eating. You eat.”
Shuai Xihe felt it wasn’t right to eat alone.
She pressed the strawberry against his lips. “Open.”
Shang Chenzhou sighed and opened his mouth.
But his lips accidentally brushed against her finger.
Both of them froze.
Shuai Xihe quickly turned away in panic.
Shang Chenzhou coughed awkwardly.
The touch just now had been soft, warm, slightly cool.
Shuai Xihe went to the kitchen. “I’ll get another plate and share it with you.”
Shang Chenzhou said, “No need. I’m not eating.”
But she still insisted on splitting it in half.
She took her half to the sofa.
In the end, Shang Chenzhou didn’t touch the half she gave him, and it all ended up eaten by Shuai Xihe.
Dinner was noodles—tomato and egg noodles cooked by Shang Chenzhou.
After eating too much fruit, Shuai Xihe wasn’t hungry. She took half her noodles and put them into his bowl.
“I can’t finish this. It hasn’t been touched. Don’t waste it.”
Shang Chenzhou said nothing and quietly ate.
She glanced at him.
He really didn’t talk much. They barely spoke more than ten sentences in a whole day.
That was fine. They weren’t close anyway—talking too much would just be awkward.
That night, after showering, Shuai Xihe lay in bed, tense as she heard the bathroom water running.
Tonight… it probably couldn’t be avoided anymore, right?
They were already married. Even if she wasn’t used to it, that step had to come sooner or later.
Fine. She’d treat it as an experience.
And he was a handsome man—she wouldn’t lose out.
She was lost in thought when the bathroom door opened.
Shang Chenzhou came out in home clothes: a white T-shirt and gray pants, hair still dripping wet.
He walked past the bed and went to the balcony.
After a while, he came back, bringing a faint cold breeze with him.
Then he lay down.
The room went dark.
Shuai Xihe lay there, waiting nervously.
But nothing happened.
Soon, only steady breathing remained beside her.
He was asleep.
She relaxed.
Maybe… he really didn’t have that kind of desire?
Impossible. He was the male lead of a novel—how could a male lead be “inadequate”?
He probably just wasn’t interested in her.
That made sense.
She finally relaxed and fell asleep.
The next morning.
Shang Chenzhou opened his eyes and looked down at the woman clinging to him like an octopus. He rubbed his temples.
Again… no proper sleep.
He pulled her arms off him and removed the leg draped over him, then went to the bathroom.
Shuai Xihe turned over and kept sleeping, completely unaware.
When she got up, he was already making breakfast.
At the table, she noticed dark bruises under his eyes.
“Did you sleep early last night? Didn’t sleep well?”
He paused for two seconds. “Mm.”
She nodded knowingly.
“Maybe you had dreams? I get really tired the next day if I dream too much.”
“Mm,” he replied again.
She continued, “You should go for a run when the weather warms up. You’ll sleep better.”
He suddenly looked at her. “You’re talking a lot today.”
“…”
“Am I?”
“You think I’m noisy?”
“No.”
She stirred her porridge.
Good. As long as he wasn’t annoyed.
If he didn’t want to sleep with her anyway, then things would actually be easier.