At 3:17 pm, the supermarket's automatic door made a mechanical sound as it opened for the 43rd time.
Feng Yulan was standing on tiptoe to organize the chewing gum shelf next to the cash register, and the plastic packaging made a tiny crunching sound under her fingertips.
There were few customers at this time of year, and the sunlight slanted through the glass door, casting a diamond-shaped spot of light on the floor tiles.
She had just straightened the last pack of mint gum when the beeping sounded. She looked up, the glaring sunlight causing her to squint unconsciously.
At the junction of light and shadow, Zhang Xuanhua's figure seemed to be coated with a layer of gold.
He wasn't wearing his school uniform today. Instead, he wore a light grey hooded sweatshirt that hung loosely on his body, the sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing his tanned forearms.
The sunlight streamed in from behind him, outlining his outline with exceptional clarity—the slightly long hair swept over the hood of his sweatshirt, swaying gently with his steps, casting fine shadows on his neck.
Feng Yulan's fingers stopped at the edge of the shelf, and the plastic packaging made a slight rustling sound in her palm.
She noticed that the collar of his sweatshirt was a little crooked, revealing a part of his collarbone, with a small silver pendant hanging on it, occasionally flashing tiny lights in the sunlight.
"Is this flavor sold out?"
Zhang Xuanhua's voice brought her back to her senses. He had already stood before her, his slender finger pointing at the pack of blueberry-flavored chewing gum in her hand.
Only then did Feng Yulan realize that her hand was still suspended in mid-air, and her fingertips were slightly numb from maintaining the same posture for a long time.
"Ah... there's more." She turned hastily, her lower back accidentally bumping against the corner of the cash register. The pain made her gasp, but she quickly forced herself to remain calm. "It's in the third row. I'll get it for you..."
"No need." Zhang Xuanhua had already bent down and picked up a package himself. His movements were very light, and his fingertips barely made a sound as they brushed across the shelf. "I found it."
Feng Yulan watched him stand up straight, the sunlight falling on the side of his face.
She noticed that his eyelashes were a light brown in the light, like two small fans, casting a faint shadow on his lower eyelid. His nose was high, forming a graceful silhouette in the backlight.
"This isn't bad either," he muttered suddenly to himself, picking up a nearby lemon-flavored pack and weighing it in his hand. Sunlight filtered through the packaging, casting a small yellow spot on his palm.
Feng Yulan watched his back as he walked towards the cashier counter and noticed that the hem of his sweatshirt was a little wrinkled, probably caused by the wind while he was riding a bike.
His steps were light, and his sneakers made almost no sound on the tiles. Only the sunlight followed his footsteps, leaving a trail of bright light behind him.
The barcode scanner beeped, and Feng Yulan instinctively glanced up at the display. 9.5 yuan.
Her fingers paused on the keyboard for half a second - the number reminded her of the last multiple-choice question on last week's math test, which also scored 9.5.
"Is that all?" She heard her voice was a little dry, like a clockwork toy that hadn't been oiled for too long.
Zhang Xuanhua was pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket when he heard this and raised his eyebrows: "Yeah."
His phone case was matte black, a little worn around the edges, and stuck to the bottom right corner was a small sticky note with a few numbers written on it, what looked like a date.
As the red light of the scanner danced on his phone screen, Feng Yulan noticed that his nails were neatly trimmed and there was a fresh abrasion on his knuckles with a thin layer of scab.
He wore a faded red string on his wrist, which was faintly visible on the cuff of his gray sweatshirt.
"Can I scan the code to pay?" He asked, his Adam's apple rolling slightly as he spoke. Feng Yulan's eyes unconsciously followed the arc, and she saw the silver pendant on his collarbone flash again.
"Sure." She hastily turned the scanner toward him, the warmth of her palm still lingering on the plastic casing. The machine beeped, louder than usual, echoing faintly in the empty supermarket.
When the payment success notification sounded, the printer at the cash register suddenly jammed. Feng Yulan bit her lower lip and pulled at the stuck paper tape, hearing Zhang Xuanhua chuckle.
The tip of her ear immediately started burning, and her finger accidentally rubbed the carbon ribbon, leaving a black mark.
"Are you busy lately?" he asked suddenly.
Feng Yulan's fingers froze in mid-air. This question came too abruptly, like a stone dropped into a calm lake.
She looked up at him and found that he was staring at her toner-stained fingertips, his brows slightly furrowed.
"It's okay, just... a normal schedule." She finally tore out the crumpled receipt, the sound of paper tearing particularly harsh in the silence.
When she handed over the receipt, she noticed that Zhang Xuanhua's eyelashes trembled, like a butterfly shaking its wings in the sun.
"You look a little tired." He took the receipt, his eyes lingering on her face for three seconds longer than necessary. "Dark circles."
His voice was very soft, and he almost held the last syllable in his mouth, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
Feng Yulan subconsciously touched the corner of her eye. She had already repeated this action seven times today—three times when she looked in the mirror this morning, twice during lunch break, and once again in the bathroom just now.
Now her fingertips could clearly feel that the skin beneath her eyes was drier than elsewhere, and fine lines were spreading under her fingertips.
"Maybe... I haven't been sleeping well lately." She regretted it the moment she said it. It was too personal to say to a customer she had only met a few times.
But Zhang Xuanhua didn't seem to find it awkward. He just nodded, took out the pack of blueberry-flavored chewing gum from the shopping bag, and pushed it in front of her.
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