"Of course it's — be—cause?"
Ye Qingfeng's face held a mischievous grin as he drew out the last syllable, instantly capturing Corin's full attention.
"Because?"
Corin's grip on her skirt tightened suddenly, and her gaze, which had wandered away, snapped back to him, fixated on his face.
Ye Qingfeng raised an eyebrow slightly, teasing, "Because Corin-chan is just too cute! I couldn't help but stare a little longer."
"Eh? Huh?!" Corin's eyes flew wide open in surprise, her mouth forming a small 'o' of confusion. The next second, shyness took over completely. Her face, which had instantly flushed crimson, dropped down as she stammered softly, "C-cute... or anything... I'm... n-not!..."
[Ding! Corin affection +10%]
[Current affection: 15%]
"No way! Corin really is super cute!"
Although Corin's voice was tiny, at such a close distance, Ye Qingfeng could hear her clearly. He retorted with complete seriousness.
"Uuuu..."
Corin, who was already looking down, buried her head even deeper, presenting only the top of her head to Ye Qingfeng. He could vaguely see the tips of her ears, now completely red, practically steaming as if white smoke were rising from them.
At this moment, the image of a "steam vent" girl became vividly real right before Ye Qingfeng's eyes.
Seeing this scene, the corner of Ye Qingfeng's mouth twitched. He wondered if this might be a bit too much stimulation for little Corin — why else would she be steaming!
Ever since Corin had bumped into him and he ended up lying alone on the ground, Ye Qingfeng had instantly attracted the attention of passersby. At first, everyone just watched from a distance, but as time passed, their eagerness for some gossip took over.
Soon, a small crowd had loosely gathered around them. Those alone just watched, while people with friends started whispering among themselves.
Noticing their surroundings, Ye Qingfeng's scalp tingled a little. It seemed that no matter where you were, people never tired of gossiping. He was just thinking about whether to pull Corin away from here first when...
Corin moved first. Grabbing her shopping basket, she scurried over to Ye Qingfeng and shoved a small card into his hand. Looking up, she revealed a pitiful little face — flushed cheeks and red-rimmed eyes that stirred one's sympathy.
"If there are any problems with your body later, my contact info is on there!"
Forcing herself to overcome her shyness, she said it all in one breath, then without a moment's hesitation, turned and ran off, leaving Ye Qingfeng with a cute view of her retreating back.
"What's wrong with that guy? So irresponsible!"
"Mommy, that big brother made the girl cry. He must be a bad guy!"
"Ah, young people these days! Tsk!"
"Buddy, chase after her! I believe in you!"
As soon as Corin broke free from the circle of onlookers, voices erupted around Ye Qingfeng. Among them were children, the elderly, and even a peer his age advising him to go after her.
Just your average gossip lovers doing what they do best...
Ye Qingfeng's expression darkened slightly. Ignoring the surrounding pedestrians, he lowered his head and jogged away from the spot, making sure, of course, to grab a bottle of soy sauce along the way.
As for the card Corin had just given him, he casually stuffed it into his pocket. After jogging for a while, he soon spotted Anby not too far ahead. She was looking around warily, and after confirming there was no immediate danger, she would glance down at the shopping cart, repeating the cycle...
Although he had spotted Anby first, it was actually she who spoke first as he got closer. Simultaneously reaching out to grab the hem of his shirt, her expression was as stoic as ever, but her tone was remarkably serious as she said:
"Qingfeng, you're finally back. I thought you might have been abducted by aliens, taken away to be subjected to cruel, inhuman experiments, and then..."
Hearing the first sentence, Ye Qingfeng's heart felt warm. But upon hearing what followed, he couldn't resist giving Anby a light chop on the head. Better to act on impulse than just think about it. He decisively brought his palm down on her head. "Maybe watch a little less of those kinds of movies from now on."
"They're not just 'those kinds of movies'!"
Anby remained silent, merely focusing intently on her retort.
"Alright, alright~"
Ye Qingfeng pushed the shopping cart towards the checkout, responding helplessly before saying, "Let's go, pay up and head home!"
"Mm."
Anby responded with a soft nasal sound.
They paid without a hitch and walked out of the supermarket carrying two bags of groceries. After his body had been enhanced, his strength had increased significantly. Before, forget carrying these two heavy bags back — he'd get exhausted just walking a bit further.
Beside him, even before leaving the supermarket, Anby had already torn open the bag of gummy candies. She took out a tiny, miniature hamburger-shaped one, held it up to her eyes, looked at it with clear curiosity, and then promptly popped it into her mouth.
Sweet! And soft!
And so, Ye Qingfeng walked ahead carrying the groceries, while Anby walked behind, eating, as they slowly made their way towards the Cunning Hares' base.
After about ten minutes or so, Anby frowned slightly, walked over to Ye Qingfeng, and held out the remaining half-bag of gummies, packaging and all.
Seeing this, Ye Qingfeng's eyes widened. This was the first time Anby had ever proactively offered him food. So touching!
"You don't want any more?"
Still, just to be safe, Ye Qingfeng asked again. Mainly, he was afraid of misreading the situation, because it was really hard to guess Anby's thoughts sometimes.
"Mm, they're all for Qingfeng!"
Anby stretched the bag a little further towards Ye Qingfeng, adding a hint of seriousness to her calm tone.
Wah! This is what I get for always being so good to you!
Just as Ye Qingfeng was about to reach out, he felt the weight in his hands and remembered he was still carrying things. "Anby, can you hold these for me? I'll eat them when we get back."
Anby didn't say a word; she simply snatched one of the shopping bags from Ye Qingfeng's hand, stuffed the gummies into his now-free hand, and then reached for the other bag.
Seeing this, Ye Qingfeng asked with concern, "Heavy? Want to give one bag back to me?"
"Not heavy, it's fine."
Anby shook her head slightly and quickened her pace, walking ahead.
"Then wait for me to finish these, okay? I'll be quick!"
Ye Qingfeng slowed down, quietly following behind Anby, and somewhat expectantly took out a gummy candy and put it in his mouth.
Very soft... very sweet! This was also his first time trying this type of candy. Unexpectedly, it tasted pretty good — a novel texture. But that was about it...
For him, the age of having a sweet tooth had long passed. Or rather, as he had grown up, he wasn't as interested in sweets as he had been when he was little. If he could give these gummies to his childhood self...
He would probably be happy for a long time, right?
Actually, there wasn't much left; Ye Qingfeng finished the bag quickly. He just felt it was a bit too sweet...
He stuffed the empty wrapper into his pocket and then remembered Anby, who was still walking ahead. But what he saw when he looked up shocked him...
Passersby were casting less-than-friendly glances his way. The reason? A young girl in a white dress was carrying two full shopping bags, one in each hand, while a young man followed behind her eating candy.
Ye Qingfeng quickly caught up to Anby, reached for her hands, and quite insistently took the shopping bags from her.
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