98: Chapter 98 As for him... at least he's not unpleasant.

As the time approached 7 PM, the sky was growing dim.

When the two of them walked out of the last equipment store, their hands were already laden with bags of all sizes.

"How many more are there?"

Lu Li let out a breath and genuinely felt tired.

Shen Qingxue also lowered her head to take inventory of the things in her hands, raised her head, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"It should be about done. The remaining few items are a bit heavy, and the store owner said they'll arrange for someone to deliver them directly to the house later."

Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief, then temporarily placed his things on the edge of the flower bed and shook his sore, strained fingers.

Shen Qingxue walked over, put down the things in her hands as well, took out her phone from her bag, and glanced at the time.

"Let's go buy some groceries. I noticed there aren't many vegetables left in your fridge. We can't eat egg noodles every day."

Lu Li leaned against the lamppost beside the flower bed. Hearing this, he instinctively wanted to say that they might as well just order takeout—it was simple and saved trouble.

But right as the words reached his lips, he suddenly remembered something, swallowed them back, and obediently nodded.

"Alright, whatever you say we should buy, we'll buy."

He swore that it was definitely not because he was cowardly, but rather that after getting along these past few days, he had already figured out Shen Qingxue's temperament.

This woman looked cold, aloof, and didn't like to talk, but once she made a decision, not even nine bulls could pull her back.

Rather than wasting saliva on pointless resistance, it was better to obediently listen and gain some peace of mind.

What's more, he knew very well that if a woman went crazy buying things while shopping, the man had better not say a single word of opposition afterward, otherwise...

Right, that was just how it was; it was definitely not because he was cowardly.

"What are you thinking about?"

Shen Qingxue's voice interrupted his train of thought.

By the time Lu Li came back to his senses, he found that she had already put her face mask back on and was standing by the roadside hailing a taxi.

He hurriedly picked up the things, quickly followed, stuffed them into the trunk, then opened the passenger door and got in.

The taxi drove intermittently through the city's evening rush hour, taking nearly forty minutes to reach the destination.

Lu Li paid the fare, got out of the car carrying the things, looked up at the bustling street in front of him, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

The vegetable market.

Even though it was evening, it was still bustling with noise and excitement.

Lu Li stood at the entrance, looking at the surging crowd before him, and instinctively frowned.

He turned his head to glance at Shen Qingxue beside him. Although she was fully armed and well-concealed, dressing like that in the summer always felt a bit strange.

"Are you sure you want to go in? With so many people, what if you get recognized…" Lu Li lowered his voice.

Shen Qingxue turned her head and glanced at him.

"Rest assured, it won't happen. Besides, so what if I am recognized? I'm not some celebrity anymore."

Lu Li opened his mouth, wanting to say that even if you aren't one anymore, other people don't think that way.

But seeing Shen Qingxue's back as she had already stepped inside, he swallowed his words and resignedly followed.

The vegetable market was much larger and much livelier than he had imagined.

Lu Li followed behind Shen Qingxue, watching her walk unhurriedly past rows of stalls, her gaze sweeping back and forth over various vegetables and meats.

Lu Li leaned against a nearby pillar to wait, looking listlessly at the coming and going crowd.

To be honest, this scene looked surreal no matter how he looked at it.

Shen Qingxue, who was once crowned by the entire internet as the nation's goddess, was currently squatting in front of an old man's potato stall, bargaining.

"Young man, is that your girlfriend?"

The auntie selling scallions next to them leaned over and asked him in a low voice, her eyes full of gossipy light.

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly shook his head and said, "No, no, just… a friend."

The auntie looked him up and down, her gaze written full with the four characters: "I totally believe you."

Lu Li awkwardly rubbed his nose, just as he wanted to say something more to clear up the relationship, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Shen Qingxue standing up, carrying two bags of potatoes as she walked toward him.

He quickly shut his mouth and put on an expression as if nothing had happened.

"Are these enough?"

Lu Li pointed at the two bags of potatoes.

Shen Qingxue lowered her head to look, seemingly estimating in her heart, and then shook her head.

"Not enough. We need to buy some other things. There's nothing in your fridge; if we don't buy more, we'll have to keep running back these next few days."

Lu Li nodded, honestly reached out to take the bags from her hands, and continued to follow behind her.

Over the next hour or so, Lu Li completely witnessed another side of Shen Qingxue.

Because Shen Qingxue was actually still bargaining, and she was exceptionally good at it, completely not fitting her persona.

"Aunty, how much are these ribs per catty?"

"Forty-eight."

"Too expensive. The place across the street is only forty-five. If you can drop it to forty-three, I'll buy it here, and by the way, I'll buy your other vegetables here too."

The older sister selling ribs was stunned for a moment, and instinctively looked up at Shen Qingxue.

Although her full face couldn't be seen, those eyes exposed outside the mask were extremely pretty, easily winning favor.

"Fine, fine. Forty-three is forty-three, let's just consider it making a friend."

The older sister waved her hand, and while cutting the meat into pieces and weighing it, she couldn't help joking with Shen Qingxue.

"Young lady, with your bargaining skills, whoever marries you in the future will truly be blessed. You really know how to manage a household."

Shen Qingxue's hand receiving the ribs paused slightly.

Marriage?

This was a very distant matter for her.

At least until now, she utterly detested those men who had ulterior motives toward her, because in their eyes there was only desire for her and covetousness for money.

However... for some reason, she subconsciously thought of Lu Li.

He was standing not far away, listlessly carrying a large bag of things and looking around, completely unaware of the commotion over here.

As for his words...

Well, at least they weren't annoying.

"Thank you, Aunty."

Shen Qingxue pulled back her thoughts, paid the money, and handed the ribs to Lu Li.

Lu Li took them, lowered his head to glance at the ribs in the bag, and then looked up at Shen Qingxue.

"How much did you buy them for?"

"Forty-three."

Lu Li's mouth twitched.

He had glanced at it when he walked by earlier; other places were selling them for forty-eight, yet this young lady had stubbornly bargained it down to forty-three.

Awesome, truly awesome.

"Fine, you're awesome."

Lu Li gave a thumbs-up, feeling heartfelt admiration.

Shen Qingxue ignored him and turned to continue walking toward the next stall. Lu Li could only carry the large and small bags and follow behind.

By the time the two of them came out of the vegetable market, the sky had completely darkened.

Both of Lu Li's hands were full of bags, his fingers turned red from the strain.

But he didn't say anything, merely adjusting the posture of holding the bags to make the weight distribution a bit more even.

Shen Qingxue walked two steps ahead, also carrying two bags in her hands, but she was obviously much more relaxed than him.

She turned her head to glance at Lu Li's reddened hands, her pace paused slightly, and then she slowed down, walking next to him.

"Are you still holding up? I'll help you share some."