“Where are you?”
Amid the noisy background sounds of the night market, Shang Hanzhou’s voice carried an unexpectedly cool clarity.
Cen Xi looked up at the crowds moving around her and immediately realized that he had gotten lost. This was an area he had probably never set foot in before.
“I’ll come find you.”
She never would have imagined that President Shang would one day lose his way.
Suppressing the urge to laugh, Cen Xi continued, “Send me your location, or tell me what noticeable billboards are around you.”
She was familiar with this area. She often came here with Lin Xingyou after work to grab something to eat.
Summer nights in Jing City remained oppressively hot.
Shang Hanzhou was tall. If he appeared anywhere within sight, he would definitely be noticed immediately.
Just as she finished speaking, she raised her head again. Before the person on the other end could reply, she spotted the tall figure.
The man had his back to her. His shoulders were broad and straight. The black dress shirt he wore was of exceptional quality, making his already outstanding physique appear even more impressive.
Cen Xi lightened her footsteps and quietly approached him.
When she was only one step away, she raised her arm, intending to tap his shoulder.
Unexpectedly, the man who had been facing away from her seemed to sense her presence. Without warning, he turned around.
Cen Xi’s hand froze in midair.
His dark eyes first landed on her clean, delicate face. The faint red mark she had worn on her neck at the hospital was already gone.
His gaze moved downward once more.
The V-shaped neckline exposed her collarbones clearly.
Shang Hanzhou silently rolled his throat.
She had not expected him to notice.
Embarrassment immediately washed over Cen Xi. She could only lower her hand awkwardly, then casually turned around as if nothing had happened and walked forward.
“It’s just ahead.”
The later it got, the more crowded the night market became.
The street itself was not particularly wide, and with so many people, it felt packed.
Cen Xi walked absentmindedly and failed to notice a family approaching from the opposite direction. Caught off guard, she was nearly shoved aside.
A large hand promptly grasped her wrist.
She was pulled away and unexpectedly collided against a man’s chest.
A sweet bergamot scent flooded her senses.
Her heart suddenly trembled.
It was Shang Hanzhou.
“Be careful.”
Cen Xi’s cheeks warmed.
It was the first time she had been this close to him.
Close enough that, if the surroundings had been any quieter, she could almost have heard his heartbeat.
She pressed her lips together.
“Thank you.”
Shang Hanzhou did not respond. His hand remained wrapped around her slender wrist, refusing to let go as he guided her forward protectively.
Lin Xingyou had already ordered the skewers.
Just as she was beginning to suspect that the two of them had somehow gotten lost together, she finally spotted them returning.
Cen Xi was not short.
She stood at a respectable 167 centimeters and usually stood out wherever she went.
Yet standing beside Shang Hanzhou, she barely reached slightly above his shoulders.
The contrast gave her an inexplicably petite appearance.
Lin Xingyou’s eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, she grabbed her phone and quickly snapped a candid photo.
Then she immediately opened Cen Xi’s WeChat profile and sent it to her.
Yuzu: 【You have to admit it! You two really match!】
The moment the message was sent, Cen Xi’s phone vibrated.
Since she was already holding it, she opened the picture directly.
When her gaze fell upon the image of herself walking side by side with Shang Hanzhou, something she had never dared imagine had actually become reality.
Her fingertips unconsciously curled.
“What are you looking at?”
Noticing that she had suddenly slowed down to look at her phone, Shang Hanzhou asked calmly.
Cen Xi immediately felt guilty.
“Nothing.”
She quickly turned off the screen.
The two returned to the stall.
There were too many people around, and seating was limited.
After considerable effort, they had managed to secure a few red plastic stools.
Shang Hanzhou glanced at the stool and subtly furrowed his brows. He remained standing instead of sitting.
Lin Xingyou did not notice at all and simply found it strange that he was not taking a seat.
Cen Xi, however, understood his habits.
She pulled a pack of wet wipes from her bag and carefully wiped down the slightly greasy surface of the red stool.
Looking up at him, she smiled gently.
“I already wiped it several times before you came. It’s clean.”
Afraid he would not believe her, she unfolded the wet wipe she had just used. It was not particularly dirty.
Shang Hanzhou’s thin lips tightened slightly.
“Thank you.”
Rare.
This time, he was the one thanking her.
A smile spread across Cen Xi’s lips as she sat down beside him.
“President Shang.”
Lin Xingyou had no idea how else to address him, so she simply used the title everyone else did.
“I wasn’t sure what you like to eat, so I ordered according to what Xi Bao and I usually enjoy.”
Shang Hanzhou often appeared cold, but he was not an arrogant person by nature.
Although he could not quite understand why his wife and her friend would choose to eat at a place like this late at night, he still responded politely.
“I won’t be eating. Enjoy yourselves.”
His leg was injured.
Cen Xi knew that.
Lin Xingyou had always been straightforward. Whenever she was curious about something, she asked directly.
“President Shang, you probably never come to places like this. So why did you suddenly decide to join us today?”
Back then, when she invited him to eat skewers with them, she had merely been making polite conversation.
She had never expected Shang Hanzhou to agree so readily.
Cen Xi was busy chewing on a freshly grilled slice of pork belly.
Upon hearing the question, her long curled eyelashes trembled slightly.
Shang Hanzhou sat beside her without eating anything.
“Ahem…”
She hurriedly set down her skewer, intending to change the subject.
But Shang Hanzhou answered first.
His deep voice remained calm.
“Husband and wife should understand each other better.”
Besides, he had left for overseas immediately after obtaining their marriage certificate and had stayed away for two years.
After returning, Cen Xi had never once made a fuss about it.
She had already handled things very well.
Naturally, he needed to fulfill his responsibilities as well.
Only then would it be fair.
The hand resting on her lap tightened slightly.
It was the answer she had expected.
Cen Xi could not say she felt any other emotion.
Mutual respect and courtesy were exactly what Shang Hanzhou wanted.
It was an agreement they had made before getting married.
“I’ll go buy you a bottle of water.”
She stood up.
There was a convenience store nearby.
It felt inappropriate for him to sit there without eating anything.
Cen Xi quickly headed toward the convenience store behind them.
She selected the most expensive brand of bottled mineral water from the refrigerator and brought it to the counter.
“Hello, that will be twenty yuan.”
Just then, the tightly shut glass door was pulled open from outside.
A wave of hot night air rushed in.
Shang Hanzhou walked over with long strides.
Seeing him in her peripheral vision, Cen Xi merely glanced at him before looking away.
She held up her phone to scan the payment code and completed the transaction.
Just as she was about to slip her phone back into her pocket, she accidentally knocked into a shelf in front of her.
A small rectangular box fell with a soft thud.
It landed directly between where she and Shang Hanzhou were standing.
Cen Xi immediately bent down to pick it up.
Shang Hanzhou bent down at the same time.
Their hands touched the edges of the box simultaneously.
The slight hardness of the packaging could be felt through their fingertips.
Across the center of the box, four bold words were clearly displayed:
Ultra-Thin, Ultra-Lubricated.
A condom package.
The words shamelessly entered their field of vision.
Cen Xi’s hand trembled.
The box she had just picked up nearly slipped from her grasp again.
Fortunately, Shang Hanzhou’s hand was steady.
He caught the small box firmly.
Then, without changing expression, he placed it on the counter.
In a calm, composed voice, he said,
“Add this to the bill. We’ll take this one.”
Cen Xi instantly lifted her head.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him in shock.