I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

She stared at a row of brightly colored packages on the shelf, her expression gradually becoming subtle.

Before she could turn around, Gu Yan had already leaned in from behind, his chest almost pressed against her back, and one hand naturally rested on the shelf beside her, half-encircling her in his arms.

His voice was low, with a lazy laugh, his breath brushing against her ear:

"Baby, what are you looking at?"

Shu Zi's ears turned red, and she subconsciously tried to move forward, but his arm, which was resting on the shelf, blocked her way.

She forced herself not to turn around and said, "...It's nothing, I just went the wrong way."

"Did you go to the wrong place?"

Gu Yan chuckled softly, then reached out his other hand from her side and slowly took a box from the shelf, tapping the packaging lightly with his fingertips.

"Baby," he turned his head, lowering his voice, "the strawberry flavor is here."

Shu Zi's gaze involuntarily fell on the box in his hand. When she saw the words on it, her face flushed instantly, the heat spreading all the way to the base of her neck.

She gritted her teeth and reached out to push his arm away:

"...Gu Yan, you did this on purpose!"

No wonder he came to the supermarket! When he said at noon that he wanted to "buy strawberry flavor," he never meant fruit!

Gu Yan chuckled softly, without denying it.

He leaned down slightly, his gaze slowly shifting from her face to the shelf, his fingertips gliding over the packaging as if he were carefully selecting something.

Then he reached for a box next to him, twirled it between his fingers, turned to look at her, and spoke with a hint of nonchalant mischief:

"Strawberry, or mint? Or... should I try both?"

Shu Zi felt like she was on fire. She snatched the box from his hand, shoved it back onto the shelf, and turned to glare at him:

"You're not even trying! Be serious!"

Gu Yan calmly straightened up, reached out and took the box that she had put back down, and placed it steadily into the shopping cart.

"Then I'll have the strawberry one."

He glanced down at the box of strawberries in the shopping cart, then looked up at her, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"Matching set."

Shu Zi opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he slowly added:

"Baby, would you like another box? One box probably isn't enough."

Shu Zi felt that if she stayed any longer, she would evaporate on the spot.

She quickly reached in, grabbed a box haphazardly, tossed it into the shopping cart, covered it with potato chips, and walked away without looking back.

"Let's go!"

His pace was so fast it was as if a ghost was chasing him.

Gu Yan chuckled softly, pushing the shopping cart and following her at a leisurely pace. His gaze fell on her reddened earlobes and taut back, and he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.

Shu Zi walked all the way to the fresh produce section before stopping, pretending to be seriously selecting vegetables, but her mind was still blank.

She picked up a head of broccoli and examined it over and over again, not even knowing what she was looking at.

Gu Yan walked to her side, glanced at the broccoli in her hand that was almost deformed from being squeezed, and smiled:

"Baby, what did that broccoli do to you?"

Shu Zi looked down and, good heavens, the broccoli in her hand had been squeezed so badly it was almost unrecognizable.

She quickly put it back in its place, then picked up another one next to it, pretending nothing had happened.

"I'll just see if it's new or not."

Gu Yan didn't expose her, but took the broccoli from her hand and put it in the shopping cart.

"This one is quite fresh, I'll take it."

Shu Zi hummed in agreement, her gaze wandering around, refusing to look at him.

Seeing her obvious attempt to cover up her misunderstanding, Gu Yan smiled slightly, stopped teasing her, and pushed the cart towards the meat section.

"Would you like some beef rolls?"

Shu Zi followed, her voice finally returning to normal a bit: "Eat."

"Shall we buy some more shrimp paste?"

"it is good."

"Where's the squid?"

"want."

The two of them strolled through the fresh produce section one after the other, and their shopping carts gradually filled up.

Shuzi's emotions gradually calmed down, and she began to return to her normal shopping routine. Occasionally, she would point to things on the shelf and say, "This is delicious," or "Do you want to try that?"

When it was time to pay, Shu Zi deliberately stood outside the cashier, far away from the box of potato chips, pretending that she hadn't seen anything.

Gu Yan calmly took out all the items and scanned them one by one. When it came to that box, the cashier scanned it without changing her expression, put it in the bag, and showed no extra emotion throughout the process.

Shu Zi silently breathed a sigh of relief.

After paying, Gu Yan picked up the shopping bags and turned to look at her: "Let's go home."

Shu Zi followed him out of the supermarket.

As soon as she stepped out the door, Gu Yan's free hand naturally reached out and took her hand.

Shu Zi paused for a moment, then looked down at it.

He carried a shopping bag in one hand and held her hand with the other, walking at a leisurely pace.

The sunlight cast their shadows on the ground, overlapping lightly and swaying gently with their steps.

She curved her lips into a smile, then gently grasped his fingers in return.

The two walked hand in hand towards the parking lot.

Gu Yan walked to the car, opened the passenger door, released her hand, put the shopping bag in the back seat, and then went around to the driver's seat and got in.

Shu Zi got into the car, fastened her seatbelt, turned her head to look at him, her eyes full of laughter.

Gu Yan turned his head, his gaze falling on her face, and a smile also appeared on his lips: "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing."

Shu Zi shifted her gaze back to the front, her tone light and cheerful, "The weather is nice today."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yan turned his head and glanced out the car window.

The afternoon sun shone through the shadows of the trees, casting a golden glow on the ground.

He looked away, started the car, and spoke with a faint, almost imperceptible smile:

"Yes, it's pretty good."

After the car returned to the Yunqi Park Hyatt and came to a stop in the underground parking garage, Gu Yan turned off the engine, and the two of them got out of the car one after the other.

He picked up the shopping bag from the back seat, and Shu Zi followed him upstairs.

After changing his shoes in the entryway, Gu Yan put the shopping bags on the kitchen island and began taking things out one by one.

Vegetables, beef, shrimp paste, hot pot base... he sorted them out, putting what should go in the refrigerator and what should be placed on the counter.

Finally, he took the two boxes out from the bottom of the bag, casually stuffed them into his pocket, and turned to walk upstairs.

Shu Zi was leaning against the island counter drinking water when she saw him walking upstairs. She asked, "Where are you going?"

Gu Yan turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow: "Put your things away."

Shu Zi was stunned for a moment, then met his slightly raised eyebrows. Her gaze shifted downwards, landing on the corner of his pocket that was vaguely visible. She instantly realized what he was about to put there.

Her ears burned, she turned her face away, tightened her grip on the water glass, and muttered a curse under her breath:

"...You dog of a man."