Chapter 144: The Secret in the Shopping Cart (First Update!)

A sudden wave of awkwardness rippled through the frozen air.

Yang Hao had never expected that at such a delicate moment, a missing person announcement would suddenly echo from the broadcast system.

It seemed he had made a complete blunder.

Right then, the surrounding people once again cast their gazes upon Lin Zijin.

Because Lin Zijin's current appearance matched the description in the broadcast announcement to the absolute letter.

However, noticing that a young man was standing right beside her, the others quickly withdrew their curious stares.

Yet, Yang Hao knew his ordeal was far from over, for at this very moment, Lin Zijin had fixed her entire attention entirely upon him.

"A missing person announcement?"

Seeing Yang Hao's gaze darting away evasively, Lin Zijin knew instantly that only someone like him could pull off such a stunt.

A missing person announcement—he really had a way with imagination!

She had only stepped away for a brief moment, never expecting Yang Hao to stir up something like this.

Left both crying and laughing, Lin Zijin felt utterly helpless.

"Haha, did you hear that too?"

Facing Lin Zijin's interrogation, Yang Hao gave a sheepish smile, let out a sigh, and looked at her. "Sigh, girls these days are really giving people no peace of mind. Getting lost in your twenties? Unbelievable..."

Acting as if nothing was amiss, Yang Hao had barely finished his sarcastic remark when he involuntarily met Lin Zijin's eyes.

His words came to an abrupt halt right there.

Even though he was the mastermind behind that missing person announcement, Lin Zijin had probably already guessed most of it.

Could he admit to it?

Of course not!

So Yang Hao chose to play dumb.

Even if beaten to death, he would never admit that he was the one who orchestrated this.

Casually shifting his gaze away, Yang Hao gave a dry cough and pressed on with a thick skin. "Besides, what's up with that guy? Losing his girlfriend just by browsing a supermarket—a guy like that is simply too unreliable."

"A girlfriend isn't a kitten or a puppy; how can you just lose her like that? The crucial point is, this fellow even put out a missing person announcement. Isn't that utterly humiliating?" The more Yang Hao spoke, the more agitated and righteous he became, as if the person he was describing had absolutely nothing to do with him whatsoever.

Seeing this, Lin Zijin was momentarily stunned.

Yang Hao spoke with such conviction that she even began to hesitate.

Could it really be a coincidence?

Perhaps the person mentioned in the broadcast wasn't her after all.

Coincidences were hardly lacking in this world.

Just as Lin Zijin was pondering this, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Hey, young man, the missing person broadcast has already been made for you. Did you find your girlfriend yet?" A middle-aged woman's voice rang out beside his ear.

Simultaneously, Yang Hao saw that the sales assistant who had gone and returned, and felt a sudden chill run through his heart—things were looking terribly wrong.

Oh no!

Why is she back?

Seeing the woman appear, Yang Hao felt a profound sense of despair.

A million imaginary creatures were probably stampeding across his mind right now.

The corner of Yang Hao's mouth twitched.

Could this auntie pick a worse time to show up?

As the sales assistant walked over, her eyes lit up the moment she caught sight of the turned-around Lin Zijin, and she couldn't help but look her up and down.

"Oh, so this is your girlfriend! She is gorgeous!"

A moment later, the sales assistant withdrew her assessing gaze, turned to Yang Hao, and couldn't help praising him.

To this, Yang Hao could only offer a forced smile.

"Young man, it's not that I want to lecture you, but with such a fine girlfriend, you really should be more accommodating. As a man, you need to be more tolerant toward girls, give way to them in everything, and not nitpick over every little detail. Otherwise, you'll easily scare a good girl away." Looking at Yang Hao, the woman launched right into lecture mode once more.

Faced with the sales assistant's earnest guidance, Yang Hao could only manage awkward grins, completely unable to respond.

After lecturing Yang Hao for a while, the woman suddenly turned to Lin Zijin, adopting a gentle and tactful tone. "Though your boyfriend didn't handle things well, he was genuinely worried after you left. He even came to us to issue a broadcasted search. If we hadn't found you, who knows, he might have even gone to report it to the police station."

Hearing the sales assistant's words, Yang Hao felt a vein throbbing on his forehead.

Report it to the police station?

Auntie, your imagination is truly boundless!

Yang Hao opened his mouth, but wisely chose to remain silent.

Noticing Yang Hao's reaction, Lin Zijin couldn't help suppressing a chuckle.

However, seeing Lin Zijin smile, the auntie suddenly turned serious. "My dear girl, it's not that I'm scolding you, but even if you had a spat with your boyfriend, you shouldn't just run off in a fit of pique out of stubbornness. Do you have any idea how worried he was? Although I don't know you two well, I can tell this young man cares deeply about you. You should try to understand him more, too. Do you know just now..."

Lin Zijin, who had just broken into a smile, stiffened when the sudden auntie shifted the target of her life lessons directly onto her.

Utterly caught off guard!

Though they had never met before, the woman seemed oddly familiar with Yang Hao, leaving Lin Zijin with no choice but to bite the bullet and listen to the lengthy sermon.

Observing Lin Zijin's awkward expression, Yang Hao found it somewhat amusing, but who would have thought he would be greeted by a sharp eye-roll from Lin Zijin, instantly plunging him into gloom.

Right there in the supermarket, Yang Hao and Lin Zijin stood like obedient little children, listening to this abruptly appearing auntie rattle on and on until their brains felt utterly scrambled.

And this scene naturally became a unique spectacle in a corner of the supermarket.

Fortunately, just as Yang Hao's head was about to burst from the overload, a crackle came from the auntie's walkie-talkie.

"Alright, I've said quite a bit, and I appreciate you both listening. I hope this helps you out. Wishing you two happiness!" Dropping these meaningful parting words, the sales assistant finally left.

As she walked away, Yang Hao let out a silent sigh of relief.

Lin Zijin did the same.

"Ha, that auntie has quite a bit of drama in her, but she's rather cute!"

The atmosphere felt somewhat peculiar, and to break the awkward silence, Yang Hao casually tossed out a remark.

He originally intended to say a few more words to smooth over the awkwardness on the scene, but the moment he raised his head, he caught Lin Zijin staring straight at him without blinking.

No expression whatsoever, just staring.

Though Lin Zijin looked breathtakingly beautiful like this, being stared at in such a manner made Yang Hao's scalp tingle slightly.

Was this the moment of judgment finally arriving?

"That auntie was pretty cute, wasn't she?"

Faced with this situation, Yang Hao had no choice but to change the subject once more.

This time, Lin Zijin finally broke her silence.

However, the words that slipped from Lin Zijin's lips left Yang Hao completely dazed.

"Cute, you say?"

Sensing the slight sourness in Lin Zijin's tone, Yang Hao was left dumbfounded.

Was she actually jealous?

Surely not?

Regardless of whether she was jealous or not, Yang Hao knew he couldn't just stand there without a reaction.

"Definitely not as cute as you!"

The moment those words tumbled out, Yang Hao felt a tiny bit more at ease.

Seeing that Lin Zijin didn't seem to react much, Yang Hao reached out and pushed the shopping cart beside her closer.

He figured he needed to do something to cover up his embarrassment and divert Lin Zijin's attention.

Yet, just as he picked up two bags of snacks from the shelf and prepared to toss them into the cart, he seemed to notice something.

"Huh, what is this?"

The shopping cart was already more than half full, and nestled inside, Yang Hao's eyes caught sight of something rather miraculous.

A stroke of a distinct, enchanting sky blue instantly captured his full attention.