Cheng Zhirang felt like today, the moments he felt helpless and speechless were much more frequent than before.

And it seemed to be on the rise.

Mu Qiu had her eyes on that dress and was reluctant to let go, all her thoughts focused on it.

"This dress might look good on, don’t you think?"

"Did Sister Chen send you the magazine photos?" he asked.

Mu Qiu blinked: "No, what magazine photos?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"The ones I took for the magazine without clothes."

"?" She immediately turned to frown at him, "There were also ones without clothes?"

Cheng Zhirang smiled as he met her gaze.

Mu Qiu paused: "Okay, I saw them."

She showed him her phone’s lock screen wallpaper, just for a glance, and then retracted it immediately.

"They looked really good. Were they shot based on what I said on the show before?"

He nodded and said warmly, "The photographer really liked your idea."

"I’m honored... What’s going on outside?"

Cheng Zhirang looked outside along with her.

The store manager was about to come in to inform them: "Some customers recognized you two, and now quite a few fans have come over."

Mu Qiu took down the dress, handed it to the store manager, and pulled Cheng Zhirang towards the cashier: "Let’s check out."

It was too late.

There were already many fans running over, and even inside, they could hear the clear screams and many people asking if it was really Cheng Zhirang.

Mu Qiu bit her lip and shook Cheng Zhirang’s hand: "Sorry."

"It’s not you who should feel sorry."

He lowered his eyes, handed her the shopping bag from the store manager, stored his phone after paying, and held her hand as they walked out.

"It’s only right for me to go shopping with you. Even if we didn’t come out today, there’d still be chances tomorrow, the day after, and in the future. Just because I’m an actor, does it mean I can never do such things with you?"

Fans had already squeezed in, holding up their phones and excitedly greeting him.

"Brother Cheng!"

"Is Brother Cheng shopping with Mu Qiu?"

"Brother Cheng, Brother Cheng!"

"Brother Cheng, look over here! We really miss you!"

"Brother Cheng, you look good in black too!"

They were somewhat restrained, just standing at the entrance with their phones, not speaking too loudly.

But the onlookers who came to join in the fun weren’t fans, they just heard there was a popular star here and immediately rushed over with phones raised, squeezing into the store and shoving their phones right up close.

Cheng Zhirang greeted them and led Mu Qiu out, keeping her close all the way and constantly saying to those around:

"Excuse me, could you please make way? We’re heading back, sorry, please make way a bit."

It was so hard to get out of the store, and once outside, without spatial restrictions, even more people swarmed over, filling the entire floor.

There were still people loudly asking, "Is it really Cheng Zhirang?" and then rushing over.

Some people’s phones even bumped into Mu Qiu.

Cheng Zhirang frowned, released her hand, and instead wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace.

Then he took off his hat and placed it on her head, pressing her head down on his chest with his palm.

In this way, he walked her out, isolating all the noise and shoving outside.

The crowd of fans erupted into a chorus of screams.

"Brother Cheng!"

"Brother Cheng, this just makes you more recognizable!"

"Brother Cheng, you’re so cool!"

"Step back a bit, he’s leaving!"

"Everybody, don’t push!"

"Mu Qiu, say something to us!"

All kinds of screams and shouts mingled, making it hard to hear the security guards’ voices coming over.

Mu Qiu buried her head in Cheng Zhirang’s chest, gripping his clothes tightly.

"Please don’t get too close for pictures," he said in a deep voice, "you might bump into people."

In a crowd of mostly women and few men, he stood out especially tall, making it impossible to pretend to be an unnoticed bystander.

Walking became increasingly difficult, and they couldn’t even reach the elevator. The security guards beside them raised their batons and shouted: "Everyone, spread out a bit! Spread out, don’t push!"

"My phone! Don’t step on it!"

"Why are you all pushing? It’s just a star! Don’t you let people shop?!"

"Everyone, don’t push! You’re running into Brother Cheng!"

"Brother Cheng doesn’t have his hat on anymore, give it a rest! Stop shoving phones up to him!"

"Can you stop shoving phones at him?! Are you a Cheng Zhi?!"

"Cheng Zhi, can you stand up and block?!"

"Someone’s falling on Mu Qiu! Stop them! Block them!"

The circle of fans closest to Cheng Zhirang and Mu Qiu linked hands to block those pushing towards them.

Cheng Zhirang stopped.

"Quiet down! Quiet down!"

He raised his voice and made a shushing gesture.

The inner circle of Cheng Zhi immediately passed his message outward, their voices were much sharper than his, and the command to quiet spread immediately to the outer edges.

The noisy, chaotic crowd gradually quieted down, but the sound of phones snapping photos continued non-stop.

Mu Qiu was pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and then heard him speaking to Cheng Zhi.

"Everyone, please stop pushing, you can take pictures but please don’t get too close, and let’s not make too much noise, okay? This is a mall and it might disturb others."

"Okay!"

"Brother Cheng! We’ll listen to you!"

"Brother Cheng just said to be quiet, what’s wrong with you?!"

"Brother Cheng, you guys should leave first!"

"Make way for the security guards! Let them exit together!"

"No more pushing!"

With their cooperation, Cheng Zhirang slowly approached the elevator, turning to thank them.

Just as they were about to step into the elevator, suddenly a female voice shouted from the back.

"Mu Qiu! Don’t keep your head down! It’s not your fault! Don’t feel apologetic!"

"Yeah! It’s usually such a big scene when Brother Cheng goes out! It’s not your fault!"

"Bring Brother Cheng out more often! He’s always reluctant to go out!"

"Mu Qiu, you guys stay happy!"

"Brother Cheng, you guys must have quite the nightlife! Don’t forget to buy Mu Qiu some snacks to cheer her up before going back!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

Mu Qiu paused her steps.

She peeked out from Cheng Zhirang’s shoulder, smiling with her eyes at the fans filling the entire floor behind them.

"Thank you."

Then followed Cheng Zhirang into the elevator, taking it directly to the underground parking lot, where they safely left the mall with the protection of the security guards.

After driving out of the mall’s surroundings, Mu Qiu lowered her head to sort the two dresses, turning them over and over, mumbling out a sentence.

"I’m sorry..."

"Sorry, it’s me..."

Both stopped in surprise.

Cheng Zhirang reacted first, releasing one hand from the steering wheel to grasp hers.

"I couldn’t properly accompany you shopping, you weren’t wrong from start to finish."

"I just suddenly wanted to go shopping. I might have short-circuited at the time, my rationality wasn’t online..."

"I don’t need your rationality," he said as he stopped at the red light, leaning his head, "I want you to blend me into your habits without thinking."