Release that Man
chapter-177

After entering the supermarket, An Zixuan went to grab a basket. The temperature was low, and even though the supermarket came with interior heating, to not create unnecessary trouble, Ye Shuang still hid herself with the sunglasses, cap, and scarf. Thankfully, there were quite a number of people who had the same fashion sense, so Ye Shuang did not stand out too much.

“There is quite a number of people here.” Ye Shuang stood in the produce aisle to select the onions and potatoes. Even though he was wearing a thick jacket, the large body and long legs made him look muscular instead of bloated. Hislong fingers danced amid the group of potatoes. The man was completely different from the middle-aged woman next to him. It was something mundane, but he looked like he was inside a high-end store picking out expensive stuff.

An Zixuan felt uncomfortable holding the basket, but the fact that he was able to help Ye Shuang eclipsed the discomfort. He coughed and said, “It is such at San Lin City. Most large supermarkets will close one week before lunar New Year. Only smaller markets don’t have this limitation, but smaller markets won’t have that many things on sale. This particular supermarket has an annual year-end sale and is the only exception. They will delay their closing time, and their stuff is also fresh.”

Ye Shuang was shocked. “Mr. An even knows about this?”

“I once stayed outside and happened to hear about it.” An Zixuan seemed to be very nervous. He kept changing the hand that held the basket while he spoke.

“That’s impressive.” Ye Shuang smiled to try to make him relax. “See, I would never know things like this. But then again, we’re in different parts of town. This place is far from where I live. Those who don’t live nearby won’t know these things.”

Realizing how uncomfortable An Zixuan was, Ye Shuang tried to make conversation while she did her shopping.

Ye Shuang’s impression of An Zixuan was not that bad. When she was working for An Zining, she had to be cautious of the man due to various reasons. However, now that she looked at the situation with a detached eye, other than his concern for the inheritance, An Zixuan had not really done anything to harm others. He had driven a wedge between An Zining and Chen He. While that might have been seen as immoral, he did not say anything that was not true. Chen He was even keeping a mistress.

He helped try to send An Zining overseas, which indeed interrupted Ye Shuang’s case and might have looked bad from other people’s perspective, but technically speaking, he merely did what he was told. An Zining herself wanted to leave the country. Ye Shuang looked at it from all the perspective, and honestly, she did not think the man had done anything wrong.

The main thing that people held against An Zixuan was his sexuality. Ye Shuang herself was in an atypical state, so how could she mock other people’s relationships‽

After selecting the produce, they went to the meat aisle to select some relatively fresh beef and pork. By then, An Zixuan had relaxed slightly. If Ye Shuang was willing, she was actually a very good conversationalist because no matter the topic, she would be able to pick it up. Most importantly, Ye Shuang knew how to read faces. Whether a person liked or disliked a topic, no matter how deep they tried to hide it, Ye Shuang would be able to tell from their micro-expressions.

Therefore, it was understandable that An Zixuan was fully converted into Ye Shuang’s religion as he followed her about the store. Even the increasingly heavy basket was not on his mind. He held more than ten kilograms, but the man did not ask to get a cart or something. However, Ye Shuang noticed it, so when she grabbed a box of milk, she reached out with a smile. “Let me.”

After she had been an alien for so long, she had forgotten how it was for Earthlings. The weight of the basket might not mean anything to her, but it was still quite heavy for other people.

“It’s alright, I can…” An Zixuan quickly moved the basket away from Ye Shuang’s hand, and in his panic, he accidentally brushed against the man’s hand. A warm touch crawled up from his finger. An Zixuan was startled, and then he quickly raised his head, afraid that he might see disgust on the man’s face. While An Zixuan was startled, Ye Shuang grabbed the basket. When she lifted her head and saw the fear on An Zixuan’s face, she was shocked. “What’s wrong?”

Did I do something wrong‽ Did I accidentally crack his fingers while I went to grab the basket‽

Thinking about this, Ye Shuang was nervous as well. “Are you not feeling well‽”

Seeing the genuine concern on Ye Shuang’s face, An Zixuan sighed in relief. “…It’s nothing.”

This man sure is different from other people.

After paying for her purchase, Ye Shuang walked out from the supermarket holding the bags of food and snacks. An Zixuan followed behind him holding the two lightest bags. As they walked into the parking lot, the driver immediately rushed out of the car to help his young master. After putting everything in place, when the driver was about to jump into the driver seat, An Zixuan suddenly said, “You go and take a taxi home, I’ll drive!”

Huh‽ The driver turned to look at An Zixuan with confusion.

“Don’t you see, there’s no space to sit in the back?” An Zixuan tossed the driver an impatient gaze. The chilliness in his eyes silenced the driver. Other than Ye Shuang, An Zixuan never had any patience for other people.

Since An Zixuan was driving, Ye Shuang could only take the passenger seat. As she put on the seatbelt, she thanked him rather helplessly. “Thank you for driving me home, Mr. An.”

Actually, she really did not want to use young masters like An Zixuan as her driver. Yao Zhixing and Fang Mo were different. However, she was not that close to An Zixuan, so using him as a driver was rather rude.

After giving the address of her own apartment, before An Zixuan started the engine, a ringtone that Ye Shuang was unfamiliar with rang. Ye Shuang glanced at An Zixuan and turned back without saying anything. An Zixuan took out his phone to look at the screen, and his gaze darkened.

The man scoffed and ended the call. Then he tossed the phone aside. He started the car, and just as they left the parking lot, the phone rang again.

The legends that rich people have many phones are real.

This was a satellite phone, meaning the person calling was quite important. An Zixuan had no choice but to answer. Therefore, he pulled out the Bluetooth device and stuck it into his ear. After answering, he said, “Yes.”

But nothing more came from his lips.

It was unclear who was on the other side of the phone, but based on the conversation Ye Shuang believed it was about work.

Anthony is still handling the business at the An family’s company, so who would be calling An Zixuan for work‽

Ye Shuang paid close attention. If An Zixuan wanted to intervene in the family business, then she had to pay attention. After the person on the end rambled for a while, An Zixuan said coldly, “For these sorts of issues, go and talk to that Anthony yourself. I cannot make a decision.”

“But, Mr. An is the real inheritor to the business. This type of things of course…” The man seemed to insinuate something.

“I’m too lazy to mind it.” An Zixuan cut the person off rudely. “Even if you give me the proposal, I’ll still hand it to the company, and it will be Anthony who reviews it. In that case, why shouldn’t you go to the man directly?”

The person choked on his words, and he could not help but shoot back. “Don’t tell me Mr. An now doesn’t even have the power to approve a minor commission?”

An Zixuan chuckled, but the chuckle was obviously darker than before; it made people fearful from the sound of it. “Without review by the company, how am I supposed to know whether your proposal has its value or not‽”

He had been tricked by Xu Jian before, yes, but that was because he had too much trust in the guy. He certainly was not dumb. The An family was not a piece of fat meat that everyone could eat.

“Looks like you still need to rethink your proposal. We’ll talk next time.” An Zixuan ended the call after that without the need to even say goodbye.

After hearing the call had ended, Ye Shuang felt better. At least An Zixuan did not seem like he was going to create any trouble for Anthony. She wanted to pretend to not hear anything, but An Zixuan suddenly asked, “Ye Shuang, what do you think about me?”

“What do you mean?” Ye Shuang was quite startled. What are you asking about exactly? Personality? Looks? Morality?

“You’ve heard about me, right?” An Zixuan’s voice was calm, but his hands that gripped the steering wheel were white, belying his real feeling. “I’m gay.”

Ye Shuang was silent. While An Zixuan waited nervously, Ye Shuang finally replied with befuddlement.

“And?”

While Ye Shuang had been silent, An Zixuan’s nervousness could not be described in words, like a man waiting for the final verdict. An Zixuan regretted the decision slightly. Wasn’t it nice just maintaining the peace that they had before? Why did he have to say something to rock the relationship?

However, when Ye Shuang tossed the question back with some degree of bewilderment, An Zixuan felt a weight of helplessness like punching on a pillow.

And?

The man was purely confused like he did not think being a homosexual was disgusting and just assumed it was a preamble to some other point that he wanted to bring up.

An Zixuan pressed on his lips and did not know how to continue. “I mean, don’t you think homosexuals are disgusting?”