"What's wrong? Is it that hard to choose?" Song Yunshen asked, puzzled, seeing her standing blankly in front of the refrigerator, hesitating to make a decision. "Is it because there's nothing you like to drink? How about we order milk tea?"
"No, no!" Xia Yunuo quickly shook her head, glanced at the jasmine tea, then at the yogurt, and finally chose a bottle of Mizone. "This will be fine for me."
"Have another ice cream." Song Yunshen opened the freezer door again. "Help yourself."
"Oh, okay." Xia Yunuo wasn't on her period, so she could still eat it, but she hesitated for a moment before reaching for what looked like the cheapest little pudding.
I felt too embarrassed to take the expensive one.
Song Yunshen didn't mind. After closing the refrigerator door, he continued to show her around other places.
"This is the living room, and the study is just inside this door," Song Yunshen explained. "I usually play games here."
As Xia Yunuo looked at the computer in the study, the image of Xia Kening sitting in front of the computer came to mind.
Was Ningning sitting here playing games this morning?
With that thought in mind, she deliberately walked to the white ergonomic chair, pretended to try it out, and plopped down on it.
He walked around for a while before standing up again, and then commented in a pretentious manner, "This chair is quite comfortable."
"That's from Luding," An Yunshen said with a smile. "My father personally selected it; it's more suitable for those with fine hair and necks."
After saying that, Song Yunshen called to Celia again, asking her to open the curtains in the study.
As the curtains opened automatically, Xia Yunuo stared in surprise at the slowly opening curtains, and then saw the glass sliding door revealed behind them.
"The study is connected to the living room balcony." Song Yunshen opened the sliding door and walked onto the balcony. "The washing machine and dryer are here; you can walk directly back to the living room from here."
Xia Yunuo followed behind, curiously looking around. "Your curtains can open automatically?"
"Most of the furniture in the house is now connected to the smart home system. Things like curtains, windows, lights, and air conditioning can all be controlled by voice," Song Yunshen said with a smile.
"Is this dryer any good?" Xia Yunuo asked, blinking.
"It's really useful. With this thing, my family basically doesn't need to hang clothes to dry," Song Yunshen said. "The overhead clothes rack is hardly ever used."
Xia Yunuo was somewhat tempted; it would be so much more convenient if she could get one for her home too. "That way..."
How much does it cost?
"Four or five thousand? I don't remember exactly." Song Yunshen shook his head. "I have a cousin who owns a furniture store. We bought a lot of our furniture from him back then, at cost price. Otherwise, it would have been more expensive."
Xia Yunuo clicked her tongue in surprise upon hearing this and immediately gave up the idea of buying one.
Let's just stick to hanging up the clothes; it's tiring, but so be it.
After walking back from the balcony to the living room, Song Yunshen led her to the hallway. "This is the bathroom, and my bedroom is right across from it."
As he spoke, Song Yunshen pushed open the door and showed her the interior layout.
Originally, Song Yunshen had no intention of letting Xia Yunuo into his bedroom; he simply wanted her to take a peek from outside.
As soon as he opened the door, Xia Yunuo pretended to be nonchalant, walked past Song Yunshen, and entered his room.
Song Yunshen: "----?"
I don't think I let you in, did I?!
Xia Yunuo blushed slightly, knowing that what she was doing was somewhat impolite.
But since Song Yunshen has already opened the door, there's no harm in coming in and taking a look, right?
Anyway, neither my sister nor Ningning ever came in!
Xia Yunuo thought to herself, not knowing where she got the courage from, and when she came to her senses, she realized that she was already standing in front of the desk.
Song Yunshen didn't mind too much, but he felt a little embarrassed when he glanced at the slightly messy blankets.
"Luckily, I haven't done anything bad lately," Song Yunshen glanced at the clean trash can and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow, your room is so big!" Xia Yunuo didn't know what to talk about, so she could only awkwardly start a conversation.
"Hmm, it's alright, the master bedroom is even bigger," Song Yunshen said. "But that's my dad's room, so I won't take you to see it."
[Should I say it's my parents' room? Otherwise, if she asks, I'll have to bring up my mother's passing again.]
[Never mind, let's leave it at that. It's not like it's anything taboo.]
Xia Yunuo, who was about to follow Song Yunshen out of the bedroom, paused for a moment when Song Yunshen's thoughts echoed in her mind.
She looked up in surprise at Song Yunshen's back, then lowered her head again, gently clutching the hem of her dress. She hadn't expected that Song Yunshen's mother had already passed away.
I absolutely must not bring up this topic with him.
Xia Yunuo pursed her lips, her eyes filled with heartache as she looked at Song Yunshen. She inexplicably wanted to say a few words of comfort, but didn't know where to begin.
Song Yunshen clearly didn't realize this, and after taking her to look at the storage room, they returned to the living room.
By this time, both of them had finished their ice cream when Song Yunshen's phone vibrated.
Looking at Xia Yunuo sitting on the sofa, Song Yunshen took out his phone, his eyes flickering slightly.
[ Xia Jinshu ]: I'm at the entrance of your apartment complex. You said yesterday you wanted to go grocery shopping together, are we going now?
[ Song Yunshen ]: Then wait for me a moment, I'll be right there.
[ Xia Jinshu ]: Okay.
"That's about enough of the tour." Song Yunshen put away his phone and said to Xia Yunuo, "I have something to do later, so I'll see you downstairs first. Next time you have time, I'll invite you to my house for a proper visit."
"Okay, then I won't bother you any longer." Xia Yunuo quickly stood up, holding the half-finished Mizone in her hand, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked towards the door.
Song Yunshen also followed her out of the house, changed his shoes, and escorted Xia Yunuo downstairs.
"I'm going for a bike ride, you go ahead," Song Yunshen said to her.
"Bye-bye." Xia Yunuo nodded, waved to Song Yunshen, and walked into the sunlight.
Watching Xia Yunuo's figure disappear into the distance, Song Yunshen took out a bunch of keys, went up the stairs to the G floor, and took out an electric scooter from his small storage room.
At the entrance of the residential compound.
Xia Jinshu looked at the time on her phone and saw that it was already past three o'clock. She glanced at the internal road of the West District and happened to see Xia Yunuo walking out from inside.
Startled, she quickly hid in the nearby convenience store. Only after Xia Yunuo had walked away did she return to the entrance of the residential area and breathe a sigh of relief.
But then she realized something was wrong.
Xiao Nuo should be the one afraid of being seen by me, so why should I hide?
After all, Xiao Nuo herself said she was going to the library, but she walked out of the West District gate instead, which doesn't make sense no matter how you explain it.
As for why I'm here...
Just passing by.
Since she had already dodged him, Xia Jinshu didn't think too much about it and continued to wait quietly.
A short while later, she heard a horn beeping behind her.
Turning his head, he saw Song Yunshen riding an electric bike.
"Get in the car." Song Yunshen handed her a helmet, tilted his head, and gestured for her to sit down.
Xia Jinshu was taken aback, somewhat surprised. "Are we going to the supermarket in this?"
"Otherwise what? You want to walk there?" Song Yunshen rolled her eyes at her. "I don't want to walk all the way under the scorching sun."
The farmers' market isn't far away either.
"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up," Song Yunshen said. "Put your helmet on."
"Oh." Xia Jinshu took the helmet, put it on her head, and walked to the back seat of the electric scooter.
Song Yunshen turned to look at her, sizing her up and down, his eyes showing slight disappointment.
Unlike Xia Kening's youthful and energetic style, Xia Jinshu's style remains mature and composed even in casual clothes.
She wore a pure white long-sleeved top and black wide-leg trousers.
It's a real shame I didn't get to see Xia Jinshu's long legs.
Xia Jinshu hesitated for a moment before sitting down.
But she was too embarrassed to keep Song Yunshen waiting, so she bit her lip and chose to sit down sideways.
"Are you sure you can sit still like that?" Song Yunshen turned his head and asked. "Hold onto my back, so you don't fall."
"Hmm----" Xia Jinshu regretted agreeing to go grocery shopping with Song Yunshen. If she had known it would turn out like this, she would have preferred to go alone.
But since things had come to this, she had no choice but to stretch out her two little paws and gently pinch Song Yunshen's clothes.
The electric car started moving slowly.
Song Yunshen wasn't that bored, and didn't deliberately speed up or anything. He just drove An'an all the way to the entrance of the vegetable market.
Xia Jinshu hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. She had thought Song Yunshen would deliberately do something to sabotage things, which had made her anxious and fearful the whole way.
She had been thinking about whether she should tell her younger sister Song Yunshen's true colors if Song Yunshen was deliberately trying to scare her and make her hug him.
But now it seems I was probably overthinking it.
" Teacher Xia, what are you daydreaming about?" Song Yunshen had just gotten out of the car and taken off his helmet when he saw Xia Jinshu still sitting there motionless. He couldn't help but smile and reached out to help her take off her helmet.
"I'll do it myself—"
"Don't move," Song Yunshen said, having already taken off his helmet and hung it on the handlebars of the electric scooter. "Alright, let's go."
"Oh." Xia Jinshu smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, quickly got off the electric scooter, and looked at Song Yunshen as he walked ahead. A strange emotion welled up from the depths of her heart.
Song Yunshen walked to the entrance of the market, turned to Xia Jinshu and said, "I haven't been here in a long time, why don't you lead the way?"
"Okay, sure." Xia Jinshu snapped out of her reverie and quickly stepped forward, then asked, "Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Braised pork ribs?
"Can."
"How about stir-fried edamame with pork?"
"No problem."
"And whatever vegetables you like, please," Song Yunshen said. "Whatever you prefer."
"----What?" Xia Jinshu recalled the contents of Song Yunshen's diary yesterday and knew that he intended for her to have dinner with him.
But Xia Jinshu couldn't reveal the fact that she already knew, so she pretended to be a little naive and said, "I don't eat it."
"Since you've already cooked for me, why don't we just eat at my place?" Song Yunshen said. "Otherwise, one person..."
"It must be difficult to make large portions of food."
"But----"
"Consider it your payment for your services," Song Yunshen said. "After all, you're here to tutor me, and I'd feel bad if you cooked for me for free, so don't be shy."
"Hmm----Alright then." Xia Jinshu had actually prepared to agree yesterday, but she still put on a little act before "reluctantly" nodding in agreement.
At least it saved me the cost of one person's meal.
From now on, Xiao Nuo and Ningning can cook their own dinners at home during summer vacation.
I'm just wondering if I can cook more dishes. If there are any leftover meat dishes, I can take them home for my two younger sisters to try.
However, after thinking about it, Xia Jinshu decided against it.
Song Yunshen had no idea what Xia Jinshu Shu was thinking. At times like this, he really appreciated the ability to hear other people's thoughts.
At least when communicating with the other party, the one who has the heart to say is able to take a certain initiative.
However, since he couldn't hear Xia Jinshu's thoughts, Song Yunshen casually followed behind Xia Jinshu, watching her haggle with the uncles and aunties at the stall.
Song Yunshen had initially thought they would have a heated debate, but Xia Jinshu Shu quickly cut the price, leaving Song Yunshen dumbfounded.
"Why did they lower their prices so decisively?" Song Yunshen bewildered.
"I know them all very well," Xia Jinshu smiled slightly. "I know their prices perfectly well, so they can't fool me. Rather than wasting time, it's better to be straightforward."
Song Yunshen realized that this was a seasoned customer who had been through countless battles.
After browsing around, Xia Jinshu quickly bought all the ingredients. Song Yunshen didn't need to say a word; he only needed to take out his phone at the crucial moment to complete the payment.
The older men and women who knew Xia Jinshu well looked at the two of them with meaningful expressions when they saw that Song Yunshen paid the bill.
When the two arrived at a certain stall, Song Yunshen stopped abruptly.
"Um—are we going over there?" Song Yunshen grabbed Xia Jinshu's arm. "Or should we go somewhere else?"
"Huh?" Xia Jinshu turned her head in confusion, then looked down at the arm he was holding, pursed her lips, and silently pulled her arm back. "What's wrong?"
Let's find out the reason first. Calm down, calm down. He probably didn't intentionally make physical contact with me.
If it was really intentional, I'll tell Xiao Nuo!
As Xia Jinshu thought this to herself, she watched as Song Yunshen opened his mouth to explain.
But just then, at their original target stall, an old man's eyes flashed like lightning as he fixed his gaze on the two of them. His loud voice instantly echoed throughout the dozen or so surrounding stalls, " Xiao Shu! Here to buy vegetables again? Come on, come on, I'll give you a discount—hmm? Shenshen?!"
Song Yunshen Shen stared, speechless for a moment, then helplessly raised his hand and waved at the old man over there, letting out a soft sigh, "Grandpa, why are you selling vegetables again?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Jinshu, who had been looking confused, instantly changed her expression and became shocked.
"Grandpa?!"