It took Lu Shijing quite a while to finally free himself from his enthusiastic junior classmates. After checking the time on his phone and seeing that it was still early, he decided to stop by the supermarket.

She rarely came back to town, and he wanted to buy some of the snacks she used to love. Besides, they hardly ever return to the apartment these days. He had been incredibly busy lately, spending most of his time living on campus.

Truthfully, Lu Shijing had never cared much for snacks.

Back then, whenever they went grocery shopping together, she would trail after him like a lively little shadow, buzzing around his side without pause.

“I want these potato chips, cucumber lime flavor.”

“I want this beef jerky, the spicy one.”

“I want this yogurt, I love the yellow peach flavor.”

“Oh, and this too…”

By the end of every trip, the shopping cart would always be overflowing with things she had picked out.

Now, even something as simple as going out together has become a luxury.

While waiting in line to pay, a familiar voice suddenly came from the supermarket television.

Without thinking, his gaze shifted toward the screen.

A girl clung tightly to a boy’s hand, tears glistening in her eyes as she choked out her words.

“It’s been so many years. Do you really not feel anything for me?”

“I truly love you.”

The boy impatiently shook her hand away.

“The person I love is someone else.”

He turned and walked off, leaving her sitting there alone as tears silently streamed down her face.

Lu Shijing abruptly closed his eyes, trying to suppress the irritation surging inside him.

He knew perfectly well that she was an actress now.

But the truth was, he had only watched her debut work.

In that film, she kissed the male lead first.

He still remembered the suffocating feeling that had overwhelmed him at the time. He had sat there frozen for ages, forcing himself to accept that it was only acting.

After that, he rarely watched any of her projects.

He simply could not stand seeing her act out romantic scenes with anyone else, even if he knew it was fake.

After paying, Lu Shijing picked up his bags and headed home.

Just then, his WeChat buzzed.

A message from Gu Nansheng popped up.

“Where are you?”

“At the supermarket, heading back soon.”

He shifted both heavy grocery bags into one hand and typed his reply with the other.

After parting ways with Lin Manqing, Gu Nansheng had returned to the apartment alone.

When she realized Lu Shijing still was not home, she pulled out her phone and sent him a message.

“I want to go grocery shopping with you too~”

Ever since becoming famous, many ordinary things could no longer be done openly.

Privacy had become a luxury, and freedom had become something she constantly had to sacrifice.

She knew her little wish was practically impossible, so she quickly sent another message instead.

“I want ice cream.”

Lu Shijing instinctively typed “Okay.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he deleted it and changed his response.

“No, you can’t eat that.”

“Why?!” She immediately replied with a crying emoji.

“That time of the month is coming.”

He remembered it clearly.

Once, during her period, she had stubbornly insisted on drinking cold beverages. The stomach pain afterward had been so severe she could barely stand it.

In the end, he had carried her all the way to the clinic on his back for an IV drip.

Since then, he had paid close attention to her cycle every month.

“Fine then.”

Her face looked displeased, but inside, her heart had already burst into bloom.

Being cared for so attentively really did feel wonderful.

“Anything else you want to eat?”

“Spicy crawfish!”

“Okay.”

That one, he could satisfy.

“Hurry home, I’m waiting for you!”

She added a heart-fingers emoji at the end.

Lu Shijing made a detour to the crawfish stall they used to visit often and ordered takeout.

The owners, a warm-hearted Northern couple, remembered him well. After all, he had been a regular customer for years.

As he was leaving, the owner casually called out:

“Hey handsome, where’s your beautiful girlfriend? Haven’t seen her in ages.”

“She’s been busy lately.”

“When she’s free, bring her over again!”

“I will.”

By the time Lu Shijing got home, Gu Nansheng had already fallen asleep on the sofa.

She had truly exhausted herself these past few months.

After nonstop work, she had rushed to catch the earliest flight back simply because she wanted to see him sooner.

On top of that, the two of them had stayed up late the night before, tossing and turning until the early hours. Then this morning, Lin Manqing had mercilessly dragged her out of bed.

She had been trying to wait for him.

But eventually, sleep had won.

Lu Shijing carefully set the bags down.

He intended to carry her to the bedroom so she could sleep more comfortably.

But the moment he slipped an arm beneath her neck, her eyes fluttered open.

Gu Nansheng wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

“When did you get back? Why didn’t you wake me?”

Lu Shijing knew how tired she was.

He had already felt it last night, when he held her in his arms and realized how frighteningly light she had become.

His chest tightened with concern.

He sat down on the sofa instead, letting her rest her head naturally against his lap.

She took hold of his hand and absentmindedly played with his long fingers.

“I wanted you to sleep a little longer.”

“But I want to spend more time with you.”

She pressed his palm gently against her cheek and rubbed against it softly.

She was wearing a black spaghetti-strap nightgown with a deep neckline, something he had never seen before.

Lying sideways across his lap, she unintentionally revealed far too much with even the slightest movement.

The scene from the supermarket television suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

That strange irritation inside him became harder and harder to suppress.

The girl in front of him was real.

Only she was real.

He lowered his head and kissed her.

At once, she was wrapped in his cool, familiar scent.

Their fingers intertwined tightly.

In the quiet room, they could hear each other’s rapid heartbeats.

Unable to resist, Gu Nansheng reached up and tugged at his collar, eagerly kissing him back.

By the time he finally let her go, she was nearly breathless.

Her eyes shimmered like water, her lips flushed red from the kiss, and the exposed skin along her neck and shoulders carried a faint rosy tint.

“Sister should keep her promise,” he murmured, his voice low and slightly hoarse near her ear.

“Hm?” Her thoughts were still muddled from the kiss.

“You said you’d spend proper time with me, and make it up to me.”

Gu Nansheng sat upright and climbed directly onto his lap, facing him.

Holding his face in both hands, she looked straight into his eyes with complete seriousness.

“Of course I will.”

The moment Lu Shijing noticed the way she was sitting, his throat tightened.

After a long pause, he let out a helpless sigh.

“Sister, are you sure you’re not trying to seduce me right now?”

“Am I?”

She blinked innocently.

Well…

After lunch with Lin Manqing earlier, the two of them had secretly visited a few private boutiques.

She had bought several outfits for Lu Shijing.

And while shopping, she had also picked out a few more daring nightgowns, planning to wear them just for him.

When Lin Manqing saw them, she had mercilessly commented:

“What’s the difference between wearing this and wearing nothing at all?”

But how could that possibly be the same?

A little visual excitement was perfectly normal in a relationship.

Besides, calling it seduction was unfair.

This was simply a completely reasonable display of affection.

After all, absence only made the heart grow fonder.

“Is the nightgown new?” he asked.

“Does it look good?”

Honestly, whether she wore it or not barely made a difference.

Everything he should see, and everything he should not see, was already impossible to ignore.

“It looks good,” he admitted honestly.

Then he added firmly:

“But you’re only allowed to wear it for me.”

She obediently nodded.

Of course.

She had only bought it for him in the first place.

“I bought clothes for you too. Come try them on.”

Gu Nansheng dragged out the shopping bags and insisted he try everything one by one while she judged the results.

“Not bad, not bad at all. Wow, my taste really is amazing.”

Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

After all, handsome people looked good in absolutely anything.

“Don’t buy expensive things for me next time.”

Lu Shijing had noticed the price tags.

None of them looked cheap.

“Oh? Then should I buy them for other men?”

“What do you think?”

“So I should buy them for other men.”

“Want to say that again, Sister?”

He lowered his gaze toward her with a faint smile that carried unmistakable danger.

“Buy them for other… mmph…”

Before she could finish, Lu Shijing sealed her lips shut, refusing to let her continue her nonsense.

“Mmh… I was wrong… mmh…”

“Sister, make it up to me.”

The two of them collapsed onto the bed together.

“W-Wait… the crawfish…”

“Be good,” he murmured, “I’ll buy fresh ones for you tomorrow.”