Chapter 051: Have you been well during the days away from me?

Just as Shi Runrun stood frozen in astonishment, the man before her lifted the shirt he held and asked gently, “This shirt—I need it in XL. Do you have it?”

Shi Runrun was speechless.

Of all the things she imagined he might say upon appearing before her, she never expected it would be this…

She steadied her trembling body, fighting not to faint, biting down on her lip to use the pain as an anchor, refusing to let herself cry. She struggled to suppress her pounding heart, not wanting to lose her composure.

Taking a deep breath, she summoned all her strength and replied in a low voice, “Yes, sir. Please wait a moment.”

With that, she turned and hurried into the storeroom.

The door closed with a thud.

Leaning against the door in the cramped storeroom, Shi Runrun gasped for air.

He had found her… He had come for her…

What should she do?!

Was he going to take her back?

She could sense it—just now, he seemed very angry. The coldness etched in his expression was unmistakable.

He must be angry that she left alone. But… but… In those circumstances, after losing her child and her love, what choice did she have but to leave?

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes as she pressed against the door, her body trembling violently.

She had thought she would be fine, but the moment he appeared, she realized how reckless and desperate her flight over the past week had been…

And deep down, a thought surfaced: for him to come all this way to find her, did it mean he still cared for her, even a little?

Shi Runrun covered her eyes in pain, wiping away her tears, uncertain what to do next.

But the next moment, a knocking sounded from outside the storeroom.

“Shi Runrun? Have you found the shirt yet? The customer’s been waiting a long time,” her colleague called.

Shi Runrun snapped back to herself, forcing her thoughts aside. She answered softly, then began searching for the shirt he had requested.

XL. His usual size. After living together so long, Shi Runrun had it committed to memory.

Once she found it, Shi Runrun calmed herself, wiped away her tears, and made herself look normal before leaving the storeroom with the shirt.

She returned to him, handing over the shirt without a word.

He took it, but made no move to try it on. Instead, he pointed at a nearby clothing rack. “I’ll take all the shirts, slacks, and suits in that row. You know my size. Go and get them for me.”

Shi Runrun couldn’t believe her ears. She glanced back at the row of clothes—dozens, perhaps a hundred pieces. All of them?

Was he joking?

She looked back at him, at his handsome, impassive face, his indifference almost blinding.

“Sir, that’s an awful lot of clothes. Will you really be able to wear them all?” she asked softly, knowing full well he was making things difficult for her.

Their store’s clothing wasn’t exactly low-end, but it wasn’t high-end either—hardly worthy of him. For him to buy everything so extravagantly was clearly meant to humiliate her…

After she spoke, he merely curled his lips, saying nothing.

It was her fellow cashier who hurried over, tugging at Shi Runrun’s sleeve and whispering, “Shi Runrun, what are you doing?! If the customer wants it, just get it for him! Why do you care if he wears it all or not? I’m telling you, he’s a big spender—he just bought out everyone’s orders in the shop!”

What…

Shi Runrun stared at her colleague in disbelief, then back at the man.

She couldn’t believe he would do such a thing, but after a few moments’ shock, she accepted it. He was, after all, the kind of man who would.

Xiao Xuezheng, ruthless to his core, never stopping until he got what he wanted. He had money to burn.

He had come today just to disgrace her…

As she pondered this, he spoke again. “What’s wrong? Do you think I can’t afford it, or do you just not want to sell it to me? Is this how your store treats its best customers?!”

His cold question left Shi Runrun with nowhere to retreat.

She gritted her teeth, holding back the sting in her heart and her tears, and replied in a voice barely above a whisper, “Please wait a moment.” Then she turned and walked toward the storeroom.

Behind her, watching her frail, delicate figure, Xiao Xuezheng frowned slightly. Was he going too far?

Had he truly angered her?

As she made her way back to the storeroom, Shi Runrun’s sense of grievance grew, and with it, her anger.

She didn’t know what he was trying to prove… Was it just because he had money?

He was the one who cheated, the one who made her lose her baby…

It was all his fault. What did she have to fear?

It was he who betrayed her when she needed him most—it was him…

As the thoughts circled in her mind, tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t bring herself to go back and fetch the clothes. Covering her mouth, she fled the store in tears.

Sobbing, she ran out of the mall from the first floor.

She didn’t know how long she ran—only that she left the bright shops behind and found herself on a dark, empty road.

There were no streetlights on this road, only darkness. Her body ached, and she coughed violently.

But the next moment, her hurried steps collided with a warm, solid body.

She stopped abruptly. The next instant, a large hand drew her into a strong embrace.

That broad, familiar chest—its warmth, its touch—froze her in place.

Above her head, a deep sigh sounded. “Is your body healed? Running like this, aren’t you afraid your wounds will split open and you’ll be left with lasting illness?”

His voice—filled with care and worry—along with the weight of his breath, crashed hard into Shi Runrun’s heart.

She trembled all over, wide-eyed and weeping, her heart wrenching painfully.

After the humiliation in the store, the first words he spoke upon catching her were not blame or reproach, but concern.

For a moment, Shi Runrun could not understand him at all…

As she stood there, stunned and breathless, his arm tightened around her, pulling her close against the wall at the roadside, his voice impossibly gentle as he asked, “These days—since you left me—have you been well?”