Shen Jinghe's pale face still lacked any color, a lock of black hair scattered across his forehead, adding a touch of brokenness to his whole appearance.
Wenyan had only glanced at him once before she looked away, but this brief encounter was deeply etched into her heart.
One word handsome, two words good-looking, three words quite pitiful, four words he tugged at her heartstrings.
Sigh... Wenyan silently sighed, casting a glance at the navigation screen and the little red dot that was getting closer, and eventually she was the one who spoke first.
"Do you have any food at home?"
After she spoke, she internally berated herself, [Okay, Shen Jinghe, I admit it, I'm a pig.]
Hearing this inner voice, Shen Jinghe's eyes widened slightly, puzzled by Wenyan's seemingly nonsensical remark.
But he quickly understood.
It was because Wenyan had said before that if she started the conversation with him again, she would be a pig, hence her current remark.
She really was...
Shen Jinghe couldn't help but slightly curl his lips into a smile, shaking his head as he answered, "No."
"Nothing? Alright, I guessed as much. Is there a supermarket near your place?"
"Yes."
"Good, then keep an eye out and let me know when we're close to the supermarket, I'll go down and buy some ingredients."
"Mm, turn right up ahead, there's parking there. And you—"
He stopped mid-sentence and suddenly closed his mouth.
He didn't understand what was happening to him.
Were he and this woman on good terms? Why was he answering all her questions?
Her offer to go buy ingredients was obviously for his sake.
Heh, their relationship wasn't that close, was it?
This was really bizarre.
He leaned back in his seat and turned away, not uttering another sound, but he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping Wenyan.
Wenyan was busy looking for the supermarket outside the window, not giving a second thought to Shen Jinghe's sudden silence.
Soon, she found a spot and parked the car.
"You wait here for me, I'll be back quickly. It's too late to cook anything else now, do you eat noodles?"
Shen Jinghe pulled his baseball cap down over his face and mumbled, "No."
"Then what do you want to eat, rice?"
"Not that either."
Wenyan frowned, genuinely puzzled, "…You don't eat rice, you don't eat noodles, what do you eat then? Do you subsist on the essence of the sun and moon through meditation?"
"…" Shen Jinghe resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "I just don't feel like eating this particular meal, that's all."
Wenyan was even more speechless, "But it just so happens that you're having a sugar low now. If you're going to be like this, then I should just drive you to the hospital instead."
"There's no need, you don't have to do that. Give me the car keys, I'll drive myself back."
Shen Jinghe said this and opened the car door to the back seat.
Wenyan gave him a look and slammed the car door shut with a 'bang'.
[Does he really think he's being cool? Does a person who isn't even responsible for his own life expect others to be responsible for it?]
Shen Jinghe: "…" Is she angry now?
Good intentions met with ingratitude, Wenyan was indeed not pleased.
"Do you think I'm so eager to fuss over you? If you lose consciousness, and mom finds out I was right there and did nothing, how cold would mom's heart be? Just stay put and don't go anywhere. Whatever I cook for you later, you better eat it without being picky."
Wenyan vented like she was scolding a misbehaving child, took her phone, and went into the supermarket without looking back.
Shen Jinghe watched her leave, and although he was scolded, he didn't feel angry at all, strangely enough.
Feeling sheepish, he surreptitiously took out his phone and started checking the living room through the surveillance monitor.
The monitor was installed for their pet cat, but now he wasn't using it to watch the cat but to check on the cleanliness of the house.
The cleaning lady only came every two days, and fortunately, the living room wasn't too messy. Otherwise, with Wenyan's snarky skills, he would definitely get cursed out in her mind.
Then, Jinghe glanced at the cat as well.
So, when Wenyan arrived with her shopping bags, she saw Jinghe making 'chirp chirp chirp' noises at his phone screen.
To say she wasn't curious would be a lie.
After starting the car, Wenyan couldn't help but ask, "Were you just... talking to your girlfriend?"
Jinghe didn't care about his image and rolled his eyes at Wenyan.
"You chirp chirp chirp at your girlfriend?"
"So, you've gotten a dog?"
"......" Jinghe couldn't be bothered to entertain her further, "Turn left into the compound and go straight to the underground parking."
Wenyan gave an affirming "Oh."
Though she stopped talking, inside she speculated, "I thought he was getting cozy with a girlfriendლ(°◕‵ƹ′◕ლ)"
Jinghe was really something else.
Not to mention he didn't have a girlfriend at the moment, even if he did, he certainly wouldn't act like a love-struck fool, hugging his phone and playing kissy-face.
They drove home in silence, and Jinghe quickly brought Wenyan back to their place.
As soon as they opened the door, the cat came to greet them.
Jinghe had a long-haired Maine Coon with exceptional looks, and Wenyan's eyes lit up the moment she saw it.
"Wow, the tufts of hair on its ears are so cute, can I touch it?"
As she spoke, Wenyan set down the shopping bags.
Jinghe hurriedly tried to stop her, "No, don't touch it, it's got a bad temper and might—"
Before he could finish saying "be skittish," his bad-tempered Maine Coon actively went forward to nuzzle against Wenyan's legs.
Wenyan was pleasantly surprised: "It likes me, it must be because I am very kind-hearted, small animals can't resist people who emanate an aura of kindness."
Meanwhile, the cat had already jumped into Wenyan's arms,
Watching his cat's ingratiating behavior, Jinghe's facial expression was indescribable.
It wasn't so much a case of the cat acting like a completely different animal, but rather that it had betrayed him.
Seeing that the cat showed no signs of rejecting Wenyan, Jinghe headed straight for the couch.
While petting the cat, Wenyan asked, "What's its name?"
"Shen Pili."
"Shen... Pili?"
Okay, that name did fit the cat's domineering appearance, and the tufts of exploded fur were quite apt too – it really seemed like it'd been through an electric fray.
"Then it must be a boy, right?"
"No, she's a little sister."
Wenyan: ... The cat: "Let me thank you for warming all four seasons."
As much as she wanted to continue petting the cat, Wenyan didn't forget there was a patient with low blood sugar around.
She turned and picked up the groceries by the door, pointing to a door and asked, "The kitchen is over there, right? You're not picky, are you?"
Thanks to that kidnapping incident, Jinghe now felt nauseous at the sight of certain dishes.
"I don't eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes; anything else is fine."
"Oh." Wenyan silently tucked away the tomatoes in her hand, thinking it was lucky she didn't buy extra. She'll just have to eat these two as fruit later; absolutely no wasting allowed.