Chapter 102 Intimate and Close - Only the closest people can use the nickname "Nui"...

The next day, Zhu Liushuang got up early as usual to go to the farmers' market near her home to buy groceries. With the weather turning colder, desserts weren't as popular as before, so she reduced the amount she bought.

After leaving her usual fruit shop, Zhu Liushuang turned a corner and went to the other side of the market. There, elderly people were selling fruits and vegetables at stalls, and the prices were much more affordable than in the shops.

"Grandma, are the strawberries sweet this year?" she asked, squatting down in front of a stall with a smile on her face.

The elderly woman, with her silver hair and wrinkles around her eyes, picked up a bright red strawberry from her bamboo basket: "It's very sweet! Freshly picked. Little one, have one."

Zhu Liushuang took it, put it to her lips and took a big bite, her mouth as sweet as honey: "So sweet! Of all the strawberries I've eaten, Grandma's are still the best... I came here specifically to buy them from you today, I didn't even look at the big strawberries at the fruit shop in front of me."

Hearing her words, the old lady smiled so hard her wrinkles bunched up, and pointed to the price on the cardboard sign, saying repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay... If you buy a lot, Grandma can give you an even better discount."

Recently, a "strawberry cake in an enamel basin" has become popular online. Several regular customers in her WeChat group have been asking her if she can replicate it. She never uses inferior ingredients for her desserts, and considering that the high price of strawberries at the beginning of their season would greatly increase costs, she hesitated to respond.

The two baskets of strawberries the old lady was selling were large and sweet, and the price was even cheaper than at the fruit wholesale store—a rare find indeed. They would be perfect for making a strawberry cake. Zhu Liushuang grinned and said, "I'll take both baskets. Grandma, can you give me 15 yuan per jin?"

"There's no profit at 18 yuan per jin!" The old lady held up two fingers tremblingly. "The lowest is 16 yuan, no less."

"15! I'll buy them all so you can close up shop early. It's so cold outside, I don't want to stand here in the cold wind." Zhu Liushuang deliberately pretended to leave while haggling with the other party.

"Oh dear, little girl, your mouth... Alright, alright." The old lady was exasperated and handed the bamboo basket to Zhu Liu's hands. "Remember to come and patronize Grandma's business often!"

Having achieved his goal, Zhu Liushuang quickly paid the money, slung two heavy baskets over his shoulder, and headed towards the parking shed.

Two baskets of strawberries, one to make a strawberry cake, and the other—perfect for bringing back to Chunhua Lane.

She remembered that He Ming loved to eat.

He didn't get to eat any of the strawberries he bought at the supermarket last time.

————

He Ming was quite thorough in his understanding of etiquette.

Zhu Liushuang clearly sent him a message telling him not to bring anything, but he still brought two gift boxes to her door.

"Senior, why are you here with something again?" Zhu Liushuang asked shyly as her gaze fell on his busy hands the moment she opened the door.

"It was given to me by the company; it's nothing valuable."

Wild mushrooms, pine nuts? Zhu Liushuang couldn't help but think to herself: Are their company's benefits really that good? Giving employees gifts every other day...

"Liu Shuang, where are the shoe covers?"

While she stood by the door in a daze, the man in the fleece-lined leather jacket had already entered the house.

Zhu Liushuang realized she had lost her composure, covered her face in embarrassment, coughed twice, and then said as she reached the door, "No need for shoe covers, there are slippers!" With that, she took out a pair of fluffy men's slippers from deep inside the shoe cabinet and bent down to place them in front of He Ming.

She had bought the shoes online a few days earlier, and the size was based on his usual shoe size. If He Ming had been more observant, he would have noticed something—the men's slippers next to his feet and the beige slippers on Zhu Liu's feet were a matching pair.

She stood beside him, her eyes glancing at his feet every now and then, her toes, encased in slippers, unconsciously curling up.

Many times, Zhu Liushuang felt like a contradiction. Just like now, she both hoped that He Ming could see through her subtle thoughts at a glance, and was afraid that if he found out, she wouldn't be able to respond casually.

But if he doesn't notice, she'll definitely feel a little disappointed.

"These shoes..."

A man's voice interrupted her thoughts. Zhu Liushuang suddenly looked up and asked nervously, "Don't they fit?"

He Ming shook his head, his fingertips tracing the cartoon pattern on the shoe: "First time wearing such... um, cute slippers..." There was no disgust on his face, he was probably just a little unaccustomed to them, and afraid of expressing himself wrongly and causing her to misunderstand, so he tried hard to organize his words.

"Is that so..." Zhu Liushuang blushed slightly, her shoes touching the ground as she involuntarily admitted, "It just so happens to be during the Double Twelve pre-sale period, so buying two pairs together is more cost-effective. I just chose according to my own preference..."

The man's gaze fell on her slippers, and he gave a thoughtful "hmm" without offering any further comment.

"Senior... go wash your hands in the bathroom first, it's almost time to eat." Zhu Liushuang quickly changed the subject. She turned her head towards the kitchen, preparing to help her mother bring out the dishes. Before she could take even half a step, someone behind her tugged at her clothes.

She turned around blankly and looked at He Ming with confusion.

The man released her hand, gesturing for her to come closer, clearly having something to say.

"Senior, what's the matter?" Zhu Liushuang asked in a low voice.

He Ming glanced at the kitchen door, making sure the person inside wouldn't come out immediately, and then said softly, "Liu Shuang, you can call me that here."

"What's your name?"

The man couldn't help but chuckle, a glimmer of light appearing on his previously expressionless face.

“You calling me ‘senior’ makes us seem… distant. What will Auntie think if she hears that?” He mimicked her, speaking in a low voice.

Because they were afraid Gu Chunling would hear, the two of them kept their heads very close. When He Ming spoke, his warm breath brushed against Zhu Liushuang's ear, disturbing her heartbeat, which she had finally managed to calm down.

It was so cold inside that you could see the white breath coming out of their mouths.

Zhu Liushuang's earlobes were burning hot, so hot that she felt like her skin was on fire.

"Then... what's it called?" She pretended to brush a stray hair from her temple, secretly hiding her blushing ears under her dark hair.

The man's gaze remained fixed on the kitchen door, seemingly oblivious to her subtle movements. He pondered for a few seconds, then said softly, "Call me by my name! If you don't mind... you can call me that like you did in front of Grandpa and Dad."

Was it called that before?

Her heart pounded uncontrollably, and a dazzling buzzing sound emanated from her temples.

Should we call him Ah Ming?

A nickname that only the closest people can use.

The sentence he used to ask her was "If you don't mind...", which implies that he doesn't mind.

Zhu Liushuang quietly stuffed her clenched fist into her shirt pocket, parted her thin lips slightly, and slowly uttered those two extremely ambiguous words.

“Ah Ming—”

Her sweet voice, like a wind chime swaying in the summer night breeze, suddenly and unexpectedly struck He Ming's eardrums.

The man's breath hitched, his gaze subtly shifting from the doorframe to the swirling shadow at the back of the woman's head. He suddenly realized that allowing her to address him that way was not a wise decision.

"Is it okay to call me that?" The word "A-Ming" lingered on her tongue, making it sound even more tender when she finally uttered it. He remained silent for a moment, so she asked somewhat awkwardly.

What's done is done; there's no going back on what's said. He Ming suppressed the unease in his heart and nodded calmly, "Yes, this is fine."

An extremely subtle emotion lingered between the two. Zhu Liushuang's intuition told her that He Ming was acting strangely. His tone of voice was no longer calm and composed; instead, it was somewhat stiff.

However, she quickly found a reasonable explanation for his unusual behavior—he must be shy.

Being called by your nickname by someone of the opposite sex is indeed an intimate and potentially inappropriate thing that can make you feel embarrassed.

The kitchen door finally opened, and Gu Chunling came out carrying a bowl of soup. Seeing her daughter and son-in-law still standing in the entryway, she smiled and said, "I heard the knocking ten minutes ago. Why are you two still standing in the entryway? Hurry up and wash your hands and eat."

The two people standing one after the other breathed a sigh of relief. One went to the bathroom, and the other went to the kitchen.

"Splash!" Two sounds of water rang out simultaneously.

After putting down the soup bowl, Gu Chunling walked into the kitchen with a smile, stood behind her daughter and teased, "You were just whispering something with Xiao He, and you got so nervous as soon as you saw your mother come out."

"Really? No..." Zhu Liushuang dodged the question by omitting the water tap, "We were just chatting for a bit."

Gu Chunling handed the towel to her daughter, genuinely happy, and said, "Our little Shuang's face is all red..."

Zhu Liushuang absentmindedly wiped her hands, unable to refute. Then she heard her mother's voice again: "Don't be shy, Mom won't ask anymore. As long as you two have a good relationship... I'm happy for you."

Under her mother's ambiguous gaze, Zhu Liushuang hurried out of the kitchen carrying a plate of stir-fried eel.

Little did anyone know, He Ming, having just washed his hands, was walking towards the kitchen.

The two nearly collided head-on.

Fortunately, He Ming didn't lower his head while walking, thus averting an accident that hadn't yet occurred.

"You scared me to death! I'm so sorry... Ming." Zhu Liushuang clutched the plate tightly, still shaken. If she had dropped the plate of eels, her mother would have been furious.

"Give me the plate." Their eyes met, then simultaneously looked away. He Ming took the porcelain plate from her hand and said awkwardly.

Zhu Liushuang did not refuse, said "thank you", and then turned around and left the "accident scene".

Because of a few ambiguous little incidents that occurred before dinner, the meal was unusually quiet. Apart from Gu Chunling occasionally asking He Ming a few questions about everyday matters, no one else took the initiative to speak.

Zhu Liushuang, who was supposed to act as a "lubricant" to lighten the atmosphere at the dinner table, only focused on eating and didn't even bother to call He Ming, who was standing by the window lost in thought, for help until she finished cleaning up the table and was about to go out to set up her stall.

"Are these the ones we're selling tonight?" the man asked, glancing at the plates of tiramisu on the table.

"Yes, and there's also enamel strawberry cake; a customer has already placed an order," Zhu Liushuang said, taking out several trays of cakes she had made that afternoon from the refrigerator.

He Ming nodded and stacked the three plates of tiramisu together: "I'll move them to the car first. You can sit inside for a while; it's quite cold outside."

At 5:30 in the evening, the sky outside was a tranquil blue-black. Hearing He Ming's words, Zhu Liushuang felt a warm glow in her heart. She was no longer shy and said with a smile, "Enamel basin cakes are hard to carry. You'll have to make several trips by yourself! Let's carry it together, and we can get it done in three trips."

As she spoke, she picked up two enamel basins and carefully walked in front of He Ming.

In the evening, there are many people coming and going in the stairwell. When the two of them went downstairs together, they inevitably attracted the curious stares of their neighbors.

"Xiao Shuang, out setting up your stall again?" Grandpa Qiu on the second floor asked, peeking out.

"Yes, have you had dinner yet?" Zhu Liushuang asked politely, keeping her footing.

"I've eaten... Is this your boyfriend? I heard your mom mention him the other day, but I didn't believe it. I've finally met him in person today. He's quite handsome... No wonder Xiao Feng..." Suddenly, Grandpa Qiu stopped talking and said awkwardly, "I won't take up any more of your time. Let's talk later!"

He Ming always lagged behind her by a step, so Zhu Liushuang couldn't see his expression. She could roughly guess what Grandpa Qiu hadn't finished saying. No wonder Xiao Feng couldn't catch up with you… something like that sigh!

The person behind her didn't ask any questions, so she just assumed those words were a passing breeze that would blow away.

The two went up and down three times, answering several questions from elders, and finally managed to bring everything they needed.

Looking at the dark night sky, Zhu Liushuang couldn't help but sigh, "Wow, it's so fast! It usually takes me almost half an hour to pack something."

He Ming's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, only to be quickly smoothed out by the night breeze.

"Still Wanghu Road Food Street?"

"Yes, setting up a stall there is free, so you don't have to worry about being chased by the city management officers," Zhu Liushuang explained in a good mood.

"Give me the car keys." As she spoke, the man's well-defined hand suddenly opened.

"Huh?" Zhu Liushuang was stunned.

He Ming said calmly, "I'll drive, you sit next to me."

Zhu Liushuang's mouth gaped open even wider, and she stammered, "Senior... have you ever driven an electric tricycle?"

The man replied calmly, "No, you can teach me and I'll learn."

"This... I can't possibly accept this..." she hesitated. She had assumed He Ming would drive his own car with her to the night market, never expecting he would drive hers.

"Are you worried about my driving skills?" The man's hesitant voice hovered above her, carrying a strange sense of pressure.

Zhu Liushuang quickly waved her hand: "No, no, not at all. I just... I just felt the car was drafty, and you weren't dressed warmly enough, so I was afraid you'd catch a cold."

Her worries were not unfounded. Although the stall cart had a windshield at the front and a rain shelter on top, the sides were open. When the cart was moving, the wind rushed in from both sides. In summer, this might have been a way to cool off, but now it was winter, and it was hardly a pleasant experience, even somewhat unbearable.

Under the dim streetlights, the man glanced at her with a complicated expression, then, without giving her another chance to refuse, went straight to the driver's seat.

Zhu Liushuang savored his gaze, the emotions surging in his eyes seemed to say: If you, a girl, can do this, then I am a young and strong man.

Hmm... she shouldn't have doubted a young man's strength and resistance!

Having no other choice, Zhu Liushuang handed over the keys and sat down next to He Ming. The front seats weren't spacious, especially since He Ming was tall and big, taking up most of the space, so the two of them had to sit close together after she sat down.

-----------------------

Author's Note: [Cat Head][Cat Head] Progress +1 +1