647 The black sheep of the family
"Welcome Sir. Welcome Mam," the attendant welcomed Jin and Shui with a bright smile as they entered the luxurious jewelry store.
"What are you looking for? We have a fresh stock to show you for diamond earrings. There is a new collection of pearl necklaces too. Would you like to take a look at it?"
Shui said, "It's our friend's birthday today, so we are looking for some elegant jewelry for her birthday celebration."
"Sure, Mam! Please come this way. For events like these, we have just the right jewelry sets for you."
Shui followed behind the attendant when he quietly said, "You go ahead and choose. I will wait here. I am pretty much useless in this section."
Her brow twitched.
I know he has some issues with me and God knows what those are, but does he always have to be so wary of me? It's just jewelry shopping for Ai!
She wasn't shy to show her displeased smile. "Am I some kind of a virus that you have to always steer clear from me?"
"What? No."
"Or do you think that I am going to jump on you and eat you up?"
"Of course not."
"Then shut up and come with me. It's Ai's birthday and it will be more meaningful if we both take part in her celebration. What are you always so afraid of, Jin?"
They exchanged hard stares like that for a whole three seconds. In the end, Shui lowered her gaze and said in a soft voice, "I know that you don't like me, but you don't have to be always so distant from me and keep hammering the fact to me. I got it already, so can you please loosen up when we are together? You…don't have to be on guard like that all the time."
"No, I didn't mean it like that-" he raised his hand towards her, but she quickly walked away. It was as if he was trying to get hold of her, but his fingers caught nothing as they hung emptily mid-air.
He slowly withdrew his hand with an inexplicable emotion swirling in his eyes.
The one I am afraid of the most is myself, Shui.
From outside, the gang of four were peeping at them and witnessing the entire scene that transpired.
Nuo angrily stomped her foot on the floor. "What is Jin doing! How dare he make Shui sad?"
Xing Bi complained. "I thought this was a great chance for them to get closer but Jin is being so stubborn in keeping his distance! I think what he needs is a good ear squeeze from this elder sister!"
Leina joined them in their rant. "And we created such a golden chance! The Liu family men have always shamelessly pursued their love interests. That's how their reputation has always been."
"Why is Jin being the black sheep then?" Ai was heavily dissatisfied as well. "It's high time for some spark to crackle between them."
She beamed.
13:50
Jin scoffed and mumbled under his breath. "Don't become Bro Jun part two."
Back at the store, Shui and the attendant got busy with the selection but everything looked so pretty and elegant that she had a hard time choosing.
"Hmmmm. Both of these sets are so beautiful. Ai will look so awesome no matter what she wears!" She beamed.
Jin scoffed and mumbled under his breath. "Don't become Bro Jun part two."
Shui threw a deadly glare at him. "What did you say?"
Jin wasn't afraid of anybody so he openly sneered. "I said don't be Bro Jun Part 2. If he had been here, he would have said the same thing."
"And what is wrong with that? Ai would look the prettiest in either of these sets."
The gang of four shamelessly listened to their conversation while hiding themselves an aisle away. Ai blushed with Shui's compliment.
Jin snorted. "The second set is beautiful, but it will be heavy on Zhou Ai. That naturally lovable and warm person will be buried under its gravity. Heh, she is so short after all. That petite woman won't be able to handle its weight."
Ai - "..."
Excuse me, since when was I short? I am five feet and four Inches!
Leina sympathetically patted her shoulders. "We will teach that brat a lesson later."
"You still call her Zhou Ai. Why don't you address her as sister-in-law?"
His expression darkened. "I will never accept her as my sister-in-law. She isn't good enough for him."
Ai - "..."
Shui was dumbfounded. "Then who is good enough for Jun, please tell me."
"Nobody."
"..."
Shui blinked at him and squinted her eyes dangerously. "Soooo you mean to say that you didn't think I was good enough for Jun when he and I were dating?"
The sharp and lethal edge to her voice made him pause and furrow his brows. "When did I say that?"
Nuo smacked on her own forehead.
Little brother, why are you being so stupid today? Do you have a death wish!? She cried.
Shui smiled. "When you said 'Nobody.'"
"That didn't include you, duh."
"..."
"How come 'Nobody' doesn't include me? And don't duh me!"
Jin made a sour face. "What has happened to your intelligence? Obviously by nobody, I mean nobody after Bro dated you because he was still sane back then. But then Zhou Ai put some black magic on him and he lost his ability to choose a decent woman because clearly, Zhou Ai is a weird creature from head to toe!"
"..."
Ai was left speechless beyond words.
I am not even a human for Jin. Does he think I am a witch to hypnotize Jun?
"You…" Shui was just at a loss for words just like Ai. She wasn't sure if she should feel happy that the 'Nobody' didn't include her or feel sad that the 'Nobody' did include Ai.
Jin pointed at a jewelry set behind the glass shelf and said, "Pack that one."
It was a scintillating and light-weight set that would shine Ai's beauty brighter when she would wear it and which would accentuate her facial features perfectly too.
Shui was amazed by his choice and also slightly irked that it was actually better than hers though just by a small margin. "You just said you were useless in the jewelry department."
He shrugged. "I just mixed and matched combinations of Zhou Ai with all the jewelry sets here in my head. That is the set which I found to look at least a little decent on her."
Her jaw dropped. "Huh? Since when?"
"Since we stepped into the store."
Shui and the gang of the four - "..."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om