Chapter 033: As Romantic as He Is

The jewelry shop was bustling with people, yet his gaze rested solely on the petite girl with the ponytail. He watched as she picked up a hairclip, delightedly adorning it in her hair, then admiring herself in the mirror.

Narrowing his dark eyes, he observed the sweet smile on her face. He had assumed she would buy the hairclip, but to his surprise, after glancing at the price tag, she shook her head at her friend and, with a disappointed look, returned the clip to its place.

Seeing her like this made his heart ache.

He stepped out of the car, standing by its side, his eyes never leaving her figure inside the shop, though his brows drew together slightly. With one hand, he quietly lit a cigarette; the other slipped elegantly into the pocket of his suit.

Watching her browse the shop, he couldn’t help but let his lips curve into a smile.

Her life was simple and ordinary, yet it stirred gentle ripples in his heart with such ease.

After putting down the hairclip, Cen Huan asked Shi Runrun, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to buy it? Didn’t you really like it?”

Shi Runrun looked at the delicate clip, troubled. “Huanhuan, it’s too expensive. I only have enough left for next month’s living expenses.”

Cen Huan was shocked. “No way! Isn’t your godly husband Xiao so rich? Doesn’t he give you money?”

Shi Runrun shook her head. “That’s his money, isn’t it? Even if he gave it to me, I can’t just spend it; otherwise, it’ll look like I married him for his money.”

Even if she had to suffer a little, unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t touch the money from her grandparents or from him!

And so, the two young women walked out of the jewelry shop hand in hand.

No sooner had they left than Xiao Xuezheng followed their departing figures into the store.

His tall, slender figure, the tailored suit and tie over a crisp white shirt, and that handsome, deep-set face instantly drew the eyes of every employee and customer.

Accustomed to such attention wherever he went, Xiao Xuezheng glanced around the shop and asked a clerk, “A moment ago, two girls with ponytails were looking at some things. I’ll take everything they liked. Please wrap them up for me.”

The clerk blushed, curiosity getting the better of her. “Excuse me, sir, may I ask what your relationship is with them?”

“One of them is my wife,” he replied with a smile.

Instantly, a wave of excitement swept through the store.

“Wow, he’s so handsome! His wife couldn’t bear to buy something, so he secretly came to get it for her. How romantic!”

“Oh, if only I had a man like that!”

The female clerk, cheeks flushed, hurried to fetch the hairclip and a pair of shoes Shi Runrun had admired, handing them over to him.

He took them, glanced at the prices—sixty-eight for the hairclip, one hundred twenty-eight for the shoes—trifling amounts to him.

Yet she couldn’t bear to spend it…

An infinite tenderness welled up within Xiao Xuezheng. He wondered to himself, when would that little fool start treating herself better?

It was time, he thought, to show her that she was no longer that pitiable girl of the past. Now, she was the woman of Xiao Xuezheng, Lady of the Xiao family, and the wife of Guangzheng Group’s president!

“Wrap them up for me,” he said, drawing out a card to pay.

…

Shi Runrun waited at the school gate for a long time, but the driver who usually picked her up never showed. Just as she was growing puzzled, Cen Huan poked her on the shoulder, gasping in excitement, “Runrun! Look over there! Guess who’s here?!”

“Who?” Shi Runrun turned, following Cen Huan’s gaze. At the school gate, beside a white Cayenne surrounded by curious classmates, that tall, handsome man was approaching her step by step, carrying a shopping bag.

Shi Runrun was at a loss for words.

It felt just like a celebrity walking the red carpet…

Hadn’t she told him to keep a low profile? Yet here he was, making such a grand appearance at the school gate—how was she supposed to keep a low profile now?

Under the watchful gaze of everyone, Xiao Xuezheng walked up to her and came to a halt.

Her breath caught as she looked at him.

Then he lifted his hand, holding out the shopping bag to her.

Shi Runrun glanced at it, asked what it was, and took it. When she opened it, she was stunned!

“These… aren’t these…”

Her eyes widened, her mouth forming an “O” as she gazed at the hairclip and shoes she had longed for, now magically appearing before her. A strange, fluttering feeling surged in her chest.

Beside her, Cen Huan teased, “Oh my, having a husband really is wonderful! The things you can’t bear to buy, your husband secretly gets for you and surprises you with them!”

She grinned at Xiao Xuezheng, “Godly Xiao, I have to admit, you’ve changed my opinion—who knew you could be so romantic!”

Xiao Xuezheng’s lips curved, his deep black eyes never leaving Shi Runrun.

He rather liked her startled, delighted expression.

Her thoughts were always so simple, her blank, naive look, wide eyes and pink lips parted—it made him want to kiss her right then and there.

If it weren’t for being at the school gate, with so many people around, and her being so shy, he might have already given in to the urge.

He swallowed discreetly, suppressing his desire. The next moment, he took her hand and quietly said, “Let’s go.”

Shi Runrun’s heart pounded as he led her away from the school under the gaze of their classmates.

He walked her to the white Cayenne, opened the passenger door for her, and she obediently got in. He leaned in and buckled her seatbelt for her, then circled around to the driver’s side and got in, starting the engine.

The car carried them away from the school.

It was only three in the afternoon.

Sitting inside, Shi Runrun kept stealing glances at him as he drove, then looked down at the exquisite hairclip and pretty shoes in her lap, unable to stop smiling.

He glanced at her from time to time, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “So surprised? Just two little things, so cheap, and you’re this happy?”

She pouted. “What do you know? Girls love little things like these! Heehee!”

The shadows of last night’s worries were swept away.

Unable to resist, she pinned the hairclip in her hair, checked it in the car mirror, adjusted it, then turned and asked, “Hey, Xiao Xuezheng, does it look good?”

He glanced over at her; inside, he thought she looked beautiful, but aloud he said, “It’s just all right, I suppose. Really, feels like I wasted those sixty-eight; such a lovely hairclip, but on you it’s just… like that?”

Shi Runrun was speechless.

What did he mean, just like that!

It was clearly beautiful!

Hmph!

She immediately turned away, showing she didn’t want to talk to him—she would bask in her beauty alone.

Knowing his sharp tongue and penchant for teasing her, Shi Runrun thought, for the sake of the gifts, she’d be the bigger person and forgive him.