A Happy Couple

"Young miss… thank you so much for your kindness."

"Oh!"

Shu Xian waved her hand, giving her a smile as she grabbed Pan An by the arm after getting his card from her.

"You're welcome! Just talk about me in front of him next time and it will calm him down, yeah? Bye! This man needs to feed his girl."

With that, Shu Xian grabbed Pan An by the arm, already away from the grocery. As she left their groceries in the care of the bagger, Shu Xian sighed then released the professor, now turning her body to look at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, furrowing her brows. "You almost lost your cool there," she added, Pan An, still blinking his eyes at Shu Xian.

"Pan An?" Shu Xian now arched a brow at him. "What's wrong?"

However, Pan An didn't say a word. He then slowly reached out to his cheek that Shu Xian kissed, a smug smile on his face as he commented about that instead.

"I didn't know you could be this cheeky, Shu Xian," he blurted out, making Shu Xian blush in an instant as she immediately hit him on his chest, making Pan An laugh.

"Don't comment about that! Don't you know you were scaring your employee? Look at how she was shaking. She obviously didn't want to lose her job!"

Hearing this, Pan An then slowly ceased his laughter. He then rolled his eyes at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he didn't like Shu Xian scolding her.

"But I made it specifically clear not to talk about my former… you know what I mean."

"I know, I could deduce this much," Shu Xian commented, a sad expression on her face. "But your employee was excited to see you since you rarely come here. With a new face, they might've not expected this and were happy for you. Look at how she commented on your smile!"

Pan An arched a brow at her.

"My smile?"

"Yes!" Shu Xian nodded, "Your smile! She said you never smiled like that, only when you were with me!"

With that said, now it was Pan An's turn to feel uneasy. With him like this, it made Shu Xian think that this is a comeback for him teasing her with the kiss a while ago.

"Aha! Gotcha this time, Pan An?"

"Oh, stop," he mumbled, Shu Xian, letting out a small laugh before she returned to the topic at hand.

"Anyway, she didn't mean to incite your anger," Shu Xian started again, "Look at how she was feeling guilty a moment ago. I could see that look on her face—the fear of losing one's job because I felt that, too, before."

Hearing this, Pan An's lips turned into a tight line. With Shu Xian now smiling at him, she comforted him, too, telling him what she thinks is best.

"I'm not invalidating your feelings. I know there is a deeper reason why you acted angry. But the employee is shook, too. You don't have to tell her why, you can apologize to her in a simple way."

"Nnngh…"

With Pan An groaning a little, Shu Xian cocked her head to the side, already learning something about the professor.

"Don't tell me you're slightly prideful?"

"…Yes… saying sorry is sometimes difficult for me especially if it did make me angry."

When Pan An gave her this answer, Shu Xian couldn't help but laugh out loud, understanding him already and now wouldn't want to force him.

"Alright, alright," Shu Xian said, "You don't have to apologize to her—as long as you know you were guilty about it and that you won't do it again, it's good."

As Shu Xian was about to walk away, Pan An caught her by the wrist, slightly surprising the lady as she blinked her eyes a few times at him.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

"Fine… since everyone was looking, then… I can't help but want to do something about it," he mumbled, already walking to the cashier with Shu Xian beside him.

When Pan An cleared his throat the moment they were near the cashier, the woman was surprised and gave another bow, greeting him.

"Mr. Pan An! I'm sorry about my insensitivity a while ago. I—"

"No," Pan An interrupted, giving her a small smile. "I was too angry to think straight. I'm sorry. You were only happy for me and the new miss. I apologize if you were scared for a moment."

With that, even the other employees were surprised, the cashier, not knowing what to say as she blinked her eyes a few times.

"Oh! It's alright, Mr. Pan An! I will not be insensitive again about specific rules. I promise!"

"En. Keep up the good work."

With that, Pan An turned his body and walked away, his hold on Shu Xian's hand tightening as this gesture made Shu Xian laugh, making her understand that Pan An is indeed feeling awkward that he did something out of his comfort zone.

"Good job, Pan An!" Shu Xian complimented, grinning ear to ear. "You did it for your employee!"

Pan An looked at Shu Xian, giving her a small smile as well.

"It was difficult… but with you pointing it out, I just couldn't help it."

With that, Pan An walked up the stairs, making Shu Xian cock her head to the side as she wondered why they were walking up the stairs, not using either the elevators or escalators.

"Why do you want to walk?" she asked, "Are we avoiding someone?"

"No," Pan An answered with a chuckle. "I just preferred to walk since we are making a good image to my mother, no? This makes it seem more romantic between us. It means taking our time, it means more time for us to talk and be a bit… intimate."

Shu Xian couldn't help but laugh and to playfully roll her eyes at the professor. With both of them walking up the stairs as they did engage in an interesting conversation, everyone's eyes were on them, the people who knew them, seeing them as a happy couple.