Though it felt awkward and carrying things was not his forte, Zhan Bei Jue still took the bags.
Holding a little in each hand, Jiang Nan Fang skillfully and naturally reached out and linked her arm through his.
"What are you playing dumb for? Didn't you just look for me? At Peninsula International, have you forgotten so quickly?"
Could this woman truly have gone mad?
When he had gone to find her at the hotel earlier, she had looked as if she were on the verge of death, and then she wanted to fight him on the street.
Now, she was suspecting others of harming her personal safety and playing coy with him, winking and making faces...
He really couldn't figure out what this woman of his was up to.
Jiang Nan Fang affectionately linked her arm through his and walked forward, chatting animatedly with him about the shops on either side of the street.
"The clothes here are really quite nice. This is my first time in this mall."
"This one is beautiful. Ah, the one on that model is also beautiful, and that one too."
"I want to go into this store, the clothes inside look so good too!"
As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance of the clothing store where Mrs. Zhan was.
Jiang Nan Fang pulled Zhan Bei Jue's arm and urged him inside.
"I like that red one. Didn't you say I don't look good in black? Then I'll wear red for you to see!"
"Come on, let's go take a look!"
Mrs. Zhan was sitting on a sofa in the middle of the clothing store, asking a sales associate to adjust the hem of her pants.
Hearing a familiar voice, she subconsciously turned her head to look over.
To her surprise, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
What... what was going on?!
Wasn't this Jiang Nan Fang?
This damned woman, hadn't she left already? And wasn't she no longer involved with Zhan Bei Jue? How had she gotten back together with him?
On that day, Mrs. Zhan had been pulled away from the hospital by Zhan Bei Jue in her fury. After returning, she had expected a major argument between mother and son.
Instead, Zhan Bei Jue had calmly told her that he would no longer associate with Jiang Nan Fang.
To make her give up and have no reason to pester him further, he planned to send the child abroad to create the illusion that they had been in an accident and were dead.
Soon after, he published the news of a car accident on television.
Mrs. Zhan was overjoyed, feeling that she had won this battle for her son.
After all, she was the one who gave birth to the child, and in critical moments, he still sided with his mother.
Who would have thought that after only two months of peace, this damned woman would be back with Zhan Bei Jue again?
Thinking she was seeing things, she blinked her eyes hard and then opened them again.
That was right!
She remembered this malicious face and that irritating smile too well; she was absolutely sure it was Jiang Nan Fang!
What in the world was going on?
Could it be that Zhan Bei Jue had been lying to her for the past two months?
Seeing them with their arms linked and Jiang Nan Fang with a look of pure bliss, Mrs. Zhan was furious.
Without time to have the sales associate retract her hand, she stepped on her fingers and stood up abruptly.
"Zhan Bei Jue!"
Zhan Bei Jue, with Jiang Nan Fang's arm linked through his, was about to scold her for being endlessly clingy and for what new tricks she was up to, when he heard his mother's familiar voice.
Then, with a glance, he instantly understood why Jiang Nan Fang's mood had suddenly turned so cheerful.
This damned woman must have known his mother was in this store all along!
"Didn't you say you two were no longer involved, and that this damned woman had left Nan Cheng?"
Mrs. Zhan walked over, her voice sharp and piercing, "Explain yourself, what is going on here?"
In the elegant shop, the transactions were conducted with refined quietude.
Suddenly, with her loud shout, all eyes turned their way.
Jiang Nan Fang appeared to have just noticed, blinking her innocent large eyes.
"Auntie, what a coincidence? I didn't expect you to be shopping here at this hour."
"I thought the positioning of this brand's clothing was for us young people, I didn't expect you to like it too."
"Have you chosen? Which style do you like? As it happens, Ah Jue is taking me in to buy clothes, so you can have him swipe his card too~"
Zhan Bei Jue was certain that Jiang Nan Fang, this damned woman, had set all this up beforehand to deliberately lead him here to meet his mother.
She truly was narrow-minded and held grudges; he had wasted his feelings on her in vain!
"Shameless! You b\*\*ch, who gave you the right to call me Auntie?"
Mrs. Zhan, beside herself with rage, lunged forward, grabbing both of their hands to pull them apart.
"Let go of my son! How many times have I told you that the Zhan family looks down on you and would never let you in? You're still shamelessly clinging to my son, are you that cheap?"
"Let go! Even if you slept with my son ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times for free, you'd still never get into the Zhan family's door! Stop dreaming!"
Jiang Nan Fang put on an innocent and pitiful expression.
She clasped her hands together, interlocking her fingers with Zhan Bei Jue's, and tightly covered them with her other hand.
No matter how hard the old woman tried to pry them apart, she couldn't.
"Auntie, I haven't provoked you, and yet you're being so fierce in public with so many people watching?"
"I know my family is poor and not worthy of your Zhan family's status, so I never dreamed he would marry me."
"I truly love Ah Jue, and I only hope to spend as many days with him as I still have value. I don't aspire to great wealth or status, you can't speak about me like that~"
What was she talking about?
What did she mean by "spending as many days with him as I still have value"?
What did she mean by "Zhan someone never intended to marry her"?
What did she mean by "not aspiring to status or position"?
Was this damned woman publicly ruining his reputation?
Zhan Bei Jue tried to pull his hand away.
"Jiang Nan Fang, what nonsense are you spewing?"
Jiang Nan Fang looked up at him, still firmly holding his hand to prevent him from moving, her expression pitiful.
"What's wrong, Ah Jue? Are you scared seeing Auntie? Do you want to dump me here like this?"
"Boohoo... Haven't I done enough, been obedient enough, been sensible enough, made things easy enough for you? And you're just going to discard me?"
"We only just made love. In the fitting room of that store up ahead. You didn't want to use protection, and you told me so gently that you'd accompany me to buy medicine later."
"Boohoo... Ah Jue, it's only been a few minutes, I've given you everything, you can't treat me like this~"
The other people in the store, upon hearing such scandalous gossip, were stunned and didn't know where to look.
Both Zhan Bei Jue and his mother were almost angered to death by Jiang Nan Fang's "accusations."
Hearing such disgusting things, Mrs. Zhan's hands trembled, and she pointed at Zhan Bei Jue's nose, unable to speak clearly.
"You... Zhan Bei Jue, you useless thing, you! You're deliberately trying to kill me!"
For the first time in his life, Zhan Bei Jue experienced the feeling of being falsely accused, and in front of so many people.
If he were any other man, he would have kicked her away long ago.
Swallowing his anger twice, he suppressed his fury.
"Are you done talking? When you're done, I'll take you to buy medicine."