Do you want to go off on your own that badly?

"You're off work already?" Yun Xiaoran looked at the slightly awkward Shen Jin.

She had gone for a casual look, dressed less formally than usual.

Shen Jin blinked as she looked at Yun Xiaoran, not expecting him to arrive so quickly. The man before her had handsome features and wore his clothes with such effortless style that he looked like a walking fashion model.

People around them kept stealing glances at him, making her a little happy-and bringing out her possessive side.

"I didn't think you'd actually take my advice." Shen Jin dumped her purse and all the odds and ends she had just bought into Yun Xiaoran's arms, then complained in a deliberately aggrieved tone:

"You're just in time. Carry my bags for me." After saying that, Shen Jin seemed to feel it wasn't quite appropriate, so she made sure to add, "You're my husband. Of course it's your responsibility to carry my bags."

"Sure." Yun Xiaoran didn't refuse. He merely chuckled softly and said, "They aren't heavy anyway." Once he had the bags, he headed in the opposite direction from Shen Jin.

"What are you doing?" Shen Jin folded her arms. She had been watching him with interest, but now she looked puzzled.

"Going to buy meat and vegetables, of course. What's wrong?" Yun Xiaoran asked, equally puzzled as he held the bags.

Shen Jin was displeased to hear that. She was his wife, after all, yet he hadn't even invited her along.

She could only walk over to his side and look at him, irritation brewing inside her as she asked, "Then why are you going alone?"

"Isn't it nice for us to each do our own shopping?"

"Nice? Am I such an embarrassment as your wife? Are you that eager to get away from me?" Shen Jin leaned closer and stared at Yun Xiaoran, questioning him in bewilderment. "What, am I not pretty?"

Seriously? Even the Top Diva of Chinese Entertainment and National Goddess worried about her looks? If word got out, how were other celebrities supposed to cope?

Looking at Shen Jin's face so close to his, Yun Xiaoran couldn't help drawing a deep breath. Up close, her beauty truly was beyond reproach.

Beneath her slender, willow-leaf brows, long lashes framed a pair of alluring eyes that stared straight at him. Below her delicate nose, her closed lips grew more captivating the longer he looked. Especially when Shen Jin noticed him studying them, her pearly teeth peeked out as she lightly bit her thin lips, making her look even more beautiful and tempting.

For a moment, Yun Xiaoran actually stared, spellbound.

Watching Yun Xiaoran lose himself in her beauty, Shen Jin curled her lips into a soft smile and said:

"Shopping at the supermarket is only fun when we do it together. Come on, let's go."

"All right... then." Yun Xiaoran had meant to refuse, but remembering her temper, he nodded in agreement instead.

The fresh produce section

Yun Xiaoran was meticulous about choosing meat, making sure to avoid any bad purchases while also picking out vegetables in the produce section.

Shen Jin wasn't particularly interested in choosing vegetables or meat. She was far more curious about Yun Xiaoran. After all, this was her first glimpse into his everyday life, so naturally, everything about him fascinated her.

Even as Yun Xiaoran carefully selected vegetables, he could feel Shen Jin's eyes constantly on him, observing him from one side and then the other.

When he raised his head, Yun Xiaoran caught Shen Jin watching him. She was a little flustered at being caught at first, but she still looked at him and said:

"What is it? Want to get a better look at your wife?"

"No, it's just that today, you're so..." Yun Xiaoran couldn't put his finger on what was different about Shen Jin, but he felt that she seemed particularly eager to cling to him today. That word might have sounded a little too intimate, but he really couldn't think of another way to describe it.

Normally, she might already have driven off, leaving him at the supermarket.

"Obviously, it's because I got off work early today and have time to fulfill my duties as your wife." Shen Jin explained calmly, brushing the matter aside with a single sentence.

If I didn't give that reason, was I supposed to admit that I'd rushed to leave work early because of my guilty conscience, driven home, and then gone berserk when I couldn't find Yun Xiaoran anywhere?

Please, even a diva needed to save a little face.

"Oh, that explains it. I thought..." Yun Xiaoran smiled in relief, but his unfinished sentence piqued Shen Jin's interest. She leaned closer and looked at him, her voice brimming with curiosity as she asked:

"Thought what?"

"I thought you'd changed. Then we'd be able to get along better for these remaining twenty days." Yun Xiaoran said it casually, then lowered his head and continued weighing the vegetables.

Hearing his words, Shen Jin wanted to say something but hesitated. She opened her mouth, only to purse her lips in the end without saying anything.

She also traced a circle with Yun Xiaoran at its center, orbiting him like a satellite as he shopped while picking up a few other things.

Eventually, carrying bags of every size, Yun Xiaoran glanced at all the purchases in his hands, then looked over at Shen Jin, who was browsing the chocolates.

Shen Jin was looking at the dazzling assortment of chocolates in all kinds of boxes-some heart-shaped, some square, and others round.

So these were the chocolate gift boxes the girls at the company showed off to one another every Valentine's Day.

"Do you want some?" Yun Xiaoran asked softly and tentatively. Shen Jin didn't realize he was speaking to her and merely nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. My friends at the company get them every Valentine's Day and on May twentieth."

Coming back to her senses, she realized Yun Xiaoran had already walked up to her, laden with bags.

The chocolates weren't expensive. Seeing the two of them lingering in front of the chocolate display like a couple, a saleswoman walked over and said to Shen Jin with a smile:

"This chocolate is our bestseller right now, and lots of boyfriends have bought it for their girlfriends. Would you like to buy some for your girlfriend, handsome?"

Wow, this saleswoman really knew her stuff. She'd bypassed Shen Jin's decision entirely and put Yun Xiaoran straight on the spot.

Shen Jin had intended to pull Yun Xiaoran away, but the saleswoman had spoken far too quickly. She had only voiced her envy without thinking. Of course, the chocolates weren't expensive, and she could easily buy them herself. What mattered was who gave them to her.

If Yun Xiaoran refused outright, she would buy a box herself and share it with him.

He would probably buy them, right?

He probably would.

For some reason, Shen Jin felt a little nervous. She wasn't sure whether Yun Xiaoran would buy them for her. After all, they were only husband and wife in the eyes of the law.

There was no foundation of love between them. If he didn't buy them, Shen Jin could understand.

"What flavor do you like? What shape do you want? I'll pay for them in a bit."