Maybe Qin Sheng was just speaking casually, but the “childish” things she scoffed at were exactly the tactics Shen Xiyan had used in his past life.
Completely unaware, Qin Sheng grinned at him and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Shen Xiyan’s face showed a flicker of impatience. “Chat all you want, but leave me out of it, okay? I already let you come with us—don’t push your luck.”
Qin Sheng stared at him for a while, then broke into a pitiful smile. “Are you really that against me? I mean, I am a pretty girl, after all!”
“…Yeah. Too bad you also have a mouth.”
Qin Sheng pouted, even more annoyed. “If I didn’t have one, how would you kiss me?”
The atmosphere froze.
Lin Ci and Shen Wen exchanged knowing looks. That topic… was off-limits.
Qin Sheng quickly apologized—but her tone was far from sincere. “Sorry, sorry! Forget I said anything. Let’s just stick to a pure romance for now.”
Then she added silently to herself: Only when others are watching.
If I manage to stay over tonight, maybe we’ll seal the deal right away. What’s the point of dragging it out?
With her current experience, one time would be enough to make Shen Xiyan completely hooked.
Ever heard of the ‘Edo 48 Techniques’?
No? You’ll find out tonight.
Shen Xiyan had no idea what schemes were running through her mind. He stopped at a street corner and tossed his backpack to Wenwen.
“I’m going to buy groceries. You guys head back.”
“I’ll go with you!”
“Don’t need you,” Shen Xiyan said without turning around.
Qin Sheng didn’t care and jogged to catch up.
He stopped again, turned, and snapped, “I said I don’t need you!”
“Then hit me!” Qin Sheng raised her pale face. “These legs are mine—I’ll go wherever I want. Unless you’re my boyfriend, you don’t get to tell me what to do. But if you were, I’d do whatever you say!”
“You think I won’t hit you?”
“Go ahead! If you hit me, I’ll never bother you again—ever!” She stretched out a finger—slender, beautiful, the nail smooth and glossy, the fingertip full and soft.
Shen Xiyan raised his right hand high…
But Qin Sheng didn’t even blink. She bit her lip so hard it bled, her eyes locked on him, stubborn and tear-filled.
A voice inside Shen Xiyan screamed: Hit her! Just do it—it’ll end everything!
But in the end, he couldn’t.
Because Qin Sheng added one more line mid-standoff: “We’ve only known each other for two days. Aside from that checkup card I gave your aunt, you don’t owe me anything. So go ahead, hit me.”
Frustrated, Shen Xiyan turned and stormed off. Qin Sheng jogged after him again.
“Qin Sheng, you really are shameless!”
“I know!”
Qin Sheng didn’t even try to deny it—she wore it like a badge of honor.
“But if you don’t like me, I’ve got no choice but to cling to you.”
“I know you don’t date because it gives you anxiety, right? That’s fine… You’ve seen my family situation. Being with me saves you decades of struggle.”
“You won’t need to be a magician or scrub pots with steel wool…”
She never really understood why rich women enjoyed working so hard.
Wouldn’t it be better to just be someone’s pampered housewife?
No shame, no worries, just pure comfort~
“If you’re worried I’ll randomly break up with you one day, I’ll even write up a contract—if I do, you’re free to kill me. I won’t complain!”
“Will you stop being insane?!”
“Then tell me—what do I have to do to make you believe me?”
“It’s not about believing. I just won’t live off a woman.”
“But… you could, you know.”
This was something Qin Sheng could never wrap her head around.
A person’s life is only about 30,000 days—why waste them working when you could be traveling the world with money in hand?
She hadn’t figured that out in ten years, and she wasn’t about to now.
***
Later, Shen Xiyan took Qin Sheng to the nearby wet market.
As they passed the poultry section, Qin Sheng pinched her nose and frowned. “Can’t we just go to the supermarket?”
“Too expensive.”
“Oh… but at this hour, aren’t the leftovers here all kind of bad?”
“That’s why they’re cheap. And not all of it is bad.”
For people who don’t know how to haggle, fixed prices feel safer. But for someone like Shen Xiyan, bargaining was the whole point of a market.
They stopped at a butcher’s stall first. Shen Xiyan pointed to a piece of meat. “Aunt Wang, how much is this one?”
“Twelve a pound.”
The butcher lady knew Shen Xiyan. He used to come shop alone back in elementary school—hard not to remember a kid like that.
“There’s barely any left. Make it ten?”
“You brat! Ten is my wholesale price.”
“Oh come on… the market’s closing soon. Cut me a deal~~”
Actually, twelve was already cheap.
The most expensive time was during the pandemic. His aunt had no job, food prices were sky-high, and they lived off community rations.
The plump butcher glared at him. “You always pull this nonsense!”
“Help us out. If you give us a good price, we’ll clear your stock. It’s summer—you’ll get home early, get good rest, stay healthy…”
Qin Sheng glanced around, then clung to Shen Xiyan’s arm and pleaded sweetly, “Auntie, we’re students… We really don’t have much money. Please?”
“Oh ho, is this your little girlfriend?”
The butcher had noticed Qin Sheng right away—but didn’t expect her to actually be with Shen Xiyan.
“Yup! I wanted to go to the supermarket, but he said the market’s better since he knows people…”
Before Shen Xiyan could speak, Qin Sheng started buttering up the lady with flattery.
And with that face alone, she won the auntie over.
“Alright, alright! I was heading home anyway. Nine a pound—take all of it. I’ll even throw in some soup bones. Nobody’s buying them, and they’ll spoil by tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Auntie!”
Qin Sheng beamed.
When Shen Xiyan walked away with a heavy bag of “loot,” it all felt unreal. “I thought you’d just throw money at her.”
“I’m blending in with the locals, okay? I’m not one of those fake, high-maintenance girls who think bargaining is beneath them. Besides…”
“Besides what?”
Qin Sheng giggled. “I called myself your girlfriend just now—and you didn’t correct me!”
Shen Xiyan gave her a glare and sped up, navigating the market with practiced ease. Qin Sheng followed like a stubborn piece of gum.
He had to admit—Qin Sheng’s charm worked wonders. Once the vendors saw her beside him and heard “girlfriend,” they became strangely generous.
Such shameless double standards!
By the time they left the market, both his hands were overflowing with bags.
Qin Sheng looked amazed. “All this for under a hundred?!”
“What did you expect?”
Normally, his daily food allowance only bought enough for one meal—and only at closing time. Today, their haul was more than double.
“This much food would cost way over a hundred cooked!”
“Labor and ingredients aren’t free, you know.”
“So if I go grocery shopping with you every day, does that count as being good with money? Am I wife material?”
“Can the money you save even feed you?”
“Rude! I don’t eat that much. Just looking at you fills me up… You’re delicious on the eyes!”
Shen Xiyan: “???”
“Hehe~ I love you!”
The sudden confession caught him off guard. He pretended not to hear it.
“But those aunties and uncles at the market said you’ve been buying groceries alone since elementary school. That must’ve been tough?”
Shen Xiyan could hear the concern in her voice, so he didn’t respond.
“That guy who scammed you totally deserved it. Knowing your situation and still swapping your money for fake bills—he deserved to be chased off by the crowd! What a scumbag!”
Qin Sheng fumed as she gently wiped the sweat from his face.
With both his hands full, Shen Xiyan had no way to stop her.
“Hot?”
Scorching.