Fang Xihe didn’t have time to stop him, Shang Chenzhou had already paid.
He carried a bag of oranges and a pot of strawberries.
On the way home,
Fang Xihe muttered the entire way: “Just buying some oranges would have been fine. Why did you have to buy strawberries too? We can’t eat that much at once.”
“We’re still in debt and don’t have much money left.”
“You haven’t had any income recently, and I’ve taken several days off this month. I probably won’t have much in hand.”
“We need to save can’t be spending recklessly.”
“Shang Chenzhou, are you even listening to me? Shang Chenzhou… ah!”
Shang Chenzhou suddenly stopped.
Fang Xihe bumped into his back, her nose turning red and tears welling in her eyes.
Shang Chenzhou froze, reaching out halfway to check if she was okay, then quickly withdrew his hand.
“Did it hurt?”
Fang Xihe looked up at him angrily. “You tell me! Are you made of iron? So stiff!”
Shang Chenzhou’s gaze darkened slightly, something unreadable in his expression.
Fang Xihe sniffed, feeling a little better, then looked up at him again, returning to the previous topic.
“Did you even hear what I said?”
Shang Chenzhou sighed helplessly. “Buying it occasionally is fine.”
Fang Xihe pressed her lips together, choosing to drop it and stopped nagging.
Back at home,
Fang Xihe went to the bathroom, and when she came out, Shang Chenzhou had washed the strawberries, removed the green stems, and arranged them on a plate.
Fang Xihe picked one up and popped it into her mouth.
It was indeed very sweet, juicy.
She liked eating fruit. When she first started working, she couldn’t afford it. Later, as her salary increased, she achieved fruit freedom, and there was never a shortage of fruit at home.
After work, she would wash a plate of fruit, watch a show, and eat.
Fang Xihe picked up the plate and ate four or five strawberries in a row.
She looked up and met Shang Chenzhou’s dark eyes.
She had forgotten these strawberries were bought by Shang Chenzhou.
She picked one up and held it to his mouth. “You eat too, it’s really sweet.”
Shang Chenzhou opened his mouth and ate it.
Then he went to the dining table to open his computer.
Fang Xihe carried the plate over and stood beside him.
She picked another strawberry and held it to his mouth.
Shang Chenzhou shook his head. “I’m not eating. You eat it.”
Fang Xihe didn’t like eating alone.
She held the strawberry to his mouth again. “Open up.”
Shang Chenzhou had no choice and bit it.
Their lips accidentally brushed against her hand.
They froze simultaneously.
Fang Xihe panicked and turned away.
Shang Chenzhou coughed awkwardly.
The skin he had just touched was soft, delicate, and slightly cool.
Fang Xihe walked to the kitchen. “I’ll split the plate for you.”
Shang Chenzhou: “No, I won’t eat.”
Fang Xihe insisted and divided half for him.
She carried the other half to the sofa and sat down to eat.
In the end, Shang Chenzhou didn’t eat the strawberries she gave him; that half ended up in Fang Xihe’s stomach anyway.
For dinner, Shang Chenzhou made two bowls of tomato and egg noodles.
Fang Xihe had eaten too many fruits and wasn’t very hungry, so she took half of the noodles from her bowl and put them in Shang Chenzhou’s bowl.
“I can’t eat this much. You haven’t even touched it don’t mind me.”
Shang Chenzhou said nothing and focused on eating.
Fang Xihe glanced at him.
This man was quiet. They had spent the entire day together and probably hadn’t spoken ten sentences in total.
It was fine after all, they weren’t familiar. Talking too much would just be awkward.
At night, Fang Xihe finished her shower and lay in bed, listening to the water from the bathroom, her body tense with anxiety.
Tonight, she probably couldn’t avoid it.
Since they were already married, she would have to go through it sooner or later.
Well, consider it an experience in life.
Her partner was someone like Shang Chenzhou, a handsome guy she wasn’t losing out.
Lost in her thoughts, the bathroom door opened.
Shang Chenzhou came out in loungewear, a white T-shirt on top, gray pants below, plastic slippers on his feet, hair still dripping wet.
He walked past the foot of the bed to the balcony.
Sliding the door open and shut,
Shang Chenzhou had good habits every night after showering, he would wash and hang his socks and underwear to dry.
A while later, he came back, bringing a gust of cool air that lifted Fang Xihe’s long hair.
But the door soon closed.
The air conditioner was on; the room was warm.
She lay in bed, hiding under the blanket and scrolling on her phone, though her ears stayed alert to Shang Chenzhou’s movements.
Soon, the bed beside her sank.
The room fell into darkness.
Fang Xihe turned off her phone and waited quietly for something to happen.
But after a long while, there was no movement beside her.
Nothing’s happening?
After some time, even breathing beside her became steady.
She finally realized nothing was going to happen tonight.
She felt puzzled.
By logic, Shang Chenzhou was only 23, at the peak of his vitality how could he have no desire?
Could it be like Sun Shasha said, that there was something wrong down there?
Impossible, impossible. Shang Chenzhou was a novel male lead—how could a novel male lead be incapable?
Maybe Shang Chenzhou just had no desire for her.
Thinking back, she was the one who had been proactive on their first night sharing a bed.
He hadn’t prepared any protection, meaning he hadn’t intended to sleep with her.
Ah, all this worrying was pointless.
A male lead’s purity was meant for the female lead; otherwise, he wouldn’t be worthy of her.
Fang Xihe suddenly felt enlightened.
All those messy thoughts vanished, and she felt much lighter.
She closed her eyes happily and soon drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Shang Chenzhou opened his eyes, lowering his gaze at the woman tangled around him like an octopus, then rubbed his forehead.
He hadn’t slept well again last night.
He moved Fang Xihe’s hands and the leg draped somewhere off him, then quickly went to the bathroom.
Fang Xihe turned over and continued sleeping, unaware that she had once again clung to him like a koala.
When Fang Xihe got up, Shang Chenzhou was in the kitchen making breakfast the smell of fried eggs wafted through the air.
Fang Xihe stretched, got out of bed, and went to wash up.
At breakfast, she noticed Shang Chenzhou had a purplish-blue tint under his eyes.
Curious, she asked, “You went to bed early last night didn’t sleep well?”
Shang Chenzhou paused for a moment while drinking his porridge.
But only for two seconds, then he continued eating.
Fang Xihe had no idea she was the cause, and kept analyzing out loud.
“Maybe you were dreaming? If I keep dreaming while asleep, I feel dizzy and tired the next day.”
Shang Chenzhou responded with an “Mm.”
Fang Xihe understood.
“When the weather warms up, go for a run. You’ll sleep better and more soundly.”
Shang Chenzhou suddenly looked up at her. “You’re talking a lot today.”
Fang Xihe: “…”
Had she really?
“Do you find me annoying?”
Shang Chenzhou: “No.”
Fang Xihe stirred her porridge.
Good if he wasn’t intending to sleep with her, she could easily interact with him, and naturally, she spoke more.