Cen Jin was completely stunned, a familiar yet slightly unfamiliar freshness lingered at the tip of her nose, her mind went blank instantly, and her skin like creamy jade clung tightly to the fabric of his chest, her pretty face was so close to his chest, as if the world had suddenly quieted down, with only the sound of his steady heartbeat rhythmically echoing in her ears, beat after beat.
"I’m sorry." The man who almost bumped into Cen Jin quickly retracted his gaze when he saw the situation and nodded slightly to Jiang Baizhou.
Jiang Baizhou pressed his lips together, showing no obvious emotion on his face, but lowered his eyes to look at Cen Jin, who was still dazed in his embrace. An unusual light flickered in his eyes, and his lips, usually pressed in a straight, cold line, curved slightly, even the glance at the man who almost ran into Cen Jin wasn’t as cold and sharp, but rather a gentle nod acknowledging it was alright.
After the man left, Jiang Baizhou ignored the envious and varied gazes around them. His long and distinctly jointed hand still firmly held Cen Jin’s arm and waist, his normally cold and handsome features showing a rare hint of leisure, with no intention of urging Cen Jin to get up from his arms.
It was unclear how much time passed before two women walked by suddenly, gushing with excitement at Jiang Baizhou, snapping Cen Jin’s wandering thoughts back to reality. She stood there stunned for a moment, then looked up, meeting Jiang Baizhou’s deep, ocean-like eyes. Her face somehow flushed red, she quickly pulled away from his embrace, awkwardly touching her neck, but dared not look directly at him, her voice was as small as a mosquito’s, "Thank you."
"Let’s go in!" Jiang Baizhou concealed the amusement in his eyes, lightly raised his eyebrows, yet his tone remained unchanged, still calm as ever.
Cen Jin, feeling embarrassed, held her forehead, experiencing an overwhelming sense of shame. Her heart, fast pacing, refused to settle, the familiar scent lingered in her mind, refusing to dissipate.
"Aren’t we going in?" Jiang Baizhou pulled a shopping cart from the side and noticed Cen Jin hadn’t followed, so he stopped and turned back, calmly questioning her.
"Ah, yes, let’s go in!" Hearing his voice, Cen Jin quickly lifted her head to look over.
Jiang Baizhou glanced at her slightly flushed face, his hand lightly brushing against the shopping cart’s handle, an unfathomable gleam passing through his eyes, "Come here."
"Oh, okay." Cen Jin tried to keep herself calm and jogged over to him.
When she reached him, Jiang Baizhou glanced at her again, "What do you need to buy?"
"Jam, and fruits and garbage bags."
"We’ll get yours first." Jiang Baizhou withdrew his gaze and pushed the shopping cart toward the fruit section.
Cen Jin moved her lips, but no sound came out. She initially wanted to suggest that they could split up the shopping to save time, so they could meet outside the supermarket when done. But looking at his indifferent profile, Cen Jin swallowed her words back. Perhaps it was due to her selfishness, still lost in that rare embrace, she suddenly wanted to stay with him, not wanting to separate.
At the fruit section, several salespeople were extolling the virtues of the discounted fruits. As they approached, one lady poked a piece of Hami melon with a toothpick and offered it to them, "Handsome, beautiful lady, would you like to try some? It’s particularly sweet, and today there’s a special discount."