Chapter 24: Budding friendship 1

Qiao An could not wait until Lei Xiao's wedding because she could not wait to remove 'jogging' from her daily life schedule.

Exercising for Qiao An is torture. As she was not the type to exercise, she felt as if she was suffering through her run in the park. And the existence of Shen Jun Shan who insisted on jogging beside her was not helping at all.

By now, Qiao An was used to having Shen Jun Shan distracted her every evening for the past few days. Most of the time, Shen Jun Shan will be quiet and only smiled at her, so it was hard for Qiao An to be angry with such obedience friend.

It was a tacit understanding between the two of them to walk back together to their apartment complex when they were done with their run. Qiao An does not mind walking with Shen Jun Shan, but she felt that it would be better for her to walk alone as Shen Jun Shan attracted a lot of eyes on them. Even if he was unbothered about it, Qiao An was not immune to it.

"An An, why are you suddenly going out for jogging?" Shen Jun Shan, who was silent most of the time, asked her.

"My best friend is getting married. I want to look hot during her wedding since I am one of the bridesmaids."

Shen Jun Shan did not expect Qiao An to use the word 'hot' or answered his question truthfully. Most will say they need to lose weight, but the girl in front of him was too straightforward to say that she needs to look hot.

"Why? Are there going to be a lot of handsome guys around? Your friend who is getting married should be Lei Xiao, right? Is she going to marry her Taekwando boyfriend?" There was a hint of teasing in Shen Jun Shan's voice.

"Fiancé. He is now her fiancé. She told us that the best men are all hot guys. As the bridesmaid, I cannot lose my face". Qiao An patted her cheek.

"Don't worry. Nobody will complain about you. But I'm afraid, though. If you become more beautiful than this, aren't you going to overshadow your best friend?" Shen Jun Shan stood in front of Qiao An, blocking her way, so Qiao An had no choice but to stop walking.

Facing Shen Jun Shan, Qiao An looked at him straight in the eyes. Ah, handsome man gets more attractive when they exercise.

"That's just your biased opinion."

Both of them engaged in a staring contest; nobody wanted to recede.

This would be the first time Qiao An looked at Shen Jun Shan right in the eyes and for more than a few seconds. Usually, Qiao An will avert her eyes but not this time. Shen Jun Shan was elated for that.

"Of course. People tend to be biassed towards someone they favour. Can you blame me, though?" Shen Jun Shan stepped back without averting his eyes. "If you ever join a beauty pageant full of beautiful women, you will always be the prettiest - for me".

Qiao An usual reaction would be running away from Shen Jun Shan, but if she ran now, she would lose. Running away will give her away – that she is shy around Shen Jun Shan and she did not want that smug smile of Shen Jun Shan to stick into her mind for the rest of the day.

All she could do now was to deny. She will deny it and get over everything – or she could play along.

"Thank you, my hardcore fan. Now let's move. I am hungry" Qiao An evaded Shen Jun Shan and continued walking without waiting for him.

If Qiao An were to turn around, she would see how Shen Jun Shan clutched his heart. Having a staring contest with Qiao An made his heart beat faster. It was a good move on his side to move back one step. If not, maybe he will do something that makes Qiao An scared of her – something like pulling Qiao An to his chest and embraced her because of how adorable she looked while looking at him.

After Shen Jun Shan was sure that he was calm enough, he ran after Qiao An. "An An, I am hungry too. Where are you going to eat?"

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Chloe was doing her makeup when the telephone rang.

"Good afternoon Ms Cleo, this is from the reception. I want to inform you that your driver is here."

True to Jin's word, someone else took Chloe to the airport. She was mad about it, but she felt more disappointed in herself for having outburst towards Jin. She could not sleep the whole night thinking about what she should do after this to rectify the problem.

Chloe was so close to the life of rich and fame; she will not give up easily.

As she was waiting in the boarding area, she sent a few chat messages to Jin, apologising for her sudden expression of feeling. The whole time she did not admit that she did anything wrong. Chloe put all the blame on the cat, saying that she got moody because of the cat.

Jin read the messages and took a deep sigh. Cleo kept on giving him excuses. How is he going to be with someone who called his sister an 'outsider?'

Jin ignored the messages and about to call his sister, but then he remembered that his sister had a plan that evening. During this time, he needs a company. He felt as if his heart was broken a little bit.

Thinking that he needed to drink, Jin decided to drop by the supermarket to buy himself a beer. He was planning on ordering takeout and drinking beer in his house. He was walking along the dairy aisle when he saw a familiar face.

"Hi good afternoon, Amy" Jin looked around. "Are you alone?"

Jin felt lonely, and then Amy came into his sight. Since their fate seemed to intercept with each other, Jin could feel the budding of comradeship with Amy.

Amy Shen turned to face Jin and smiled as if she was glad to meet Jin in the supermarket. She looked at the basket in his hand, which has an only six-pack of beer. There seemed to be a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "Yes, I am buying ingredients for cooking. Are you buying a drink?".

"Yup. I felt a bit upset, so beer it is."

There was a trace of sympathy in Amy's eyes, but she did not comment anything about the beer. Jin tagged along with Amy without realising it himself. Amy did not mind him, but she kept on looking at the beer in his basket. Both Amy and Jin were walking and conversing when Amy's phone rang.

"Hello brother… Ah, I see. Okay never mind. It's okay. You two can eat dinner together. I am going to settle dinner myself. I am thinking about going to Lucky Star after this. Really. It's okay. Alright, have fun and… good luck!"

Amy hung up her phone quickly and turned to look at Jin. "Brother Jin, are you busy? Have you eat dinner?"

Jin shook his head.

"Then, do you want to go to eat dinner with me? My brother has a last-minute plan, so I am left to eat dinner alone. Since you don't have anything to do, let's go eat together".

Jin gave a single nod to indicate his agreement. Then, Amy took the remaining items on her shopping list and headed towards the payment counter. She was clearly in an excellent mood.

Jin looked at the excited face of Amy and then looked at the six-pack of beer inside his shopping basket. For some reason, he felt as if he did not need the beer anymore.