CHAPTER 116: CHAPTER 116: EXTRA-LARGE ORANGE FLAVOR

Justin Holden looked at the leafy greens she handed in front of him, his gaze sweeping over her inquisitive face, and nodded lightly.

"Okay."

Jean Ellison smiled and placed the vegetables into the shopping cart, then picked up the tomatoes beside them.

"How about this? It can be used for the tomato hot pot base."

"Mm."

Justin Holden’s response remained brief, but his gaze continuously followed her actions, watching her skillfully select and compare, occasionally brightening when she found especially fresh vegetables.

This scene, filled with the breath of life and even with the air of a wife preparing dinner for her husband, made him feel an extremely unfamiliar sense of discord.

Why did she suddenly become so proactive?

One could even say attentive.

The second trial had ended, and the Jennings family’s entanglement had come to a halt, so for her, he should have no more value to exploit.

After buying the vegetables, Jean pushed the cart towards the fruit section.

She picked up a beautifully packaged box of strawberries and handed it to Justin Holden, her eyes curved in a smile.

"Look at these strawberries, they seem so sweet. Jesse would definitely like them, shall we buy a box?"

Justin Holden’s gaze moved from the strawberries to her smiling eyes, the smile seemingly flawless, even intentionally ingratiating.

He nodded silently.

Jean, as if encouraged, then pushed the cart to the fresh and frozen section.

The freezer displayed various beef rolls, lamb rolls, and seafood balls.

She pointed at a particular marbled beef: "This one looks good, shall we try it?"

Justin Holden glanced at the price on the label; it was the most expensive one, suggesting it should be of good quality.

He said indifferently, "You decide."

"Then we’ll take this one."

Jean swiftly took two boxes and placed them into the cart.

She then looked at the shrimp paste and fish balls beside her, enthusiastically selecting, occasionally picking up two items to compare, asking him which he thought was better.

Most of the time, Justin Holden gave short responses or simply indicated with his eyes.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

This overly natural and intimate interaction made him feel increasingly puzzled and uneasy.

This wasn’t like her.

Finally, Jean pushed the cart to the snacks section.

She looked at the dazzling array of snacks on the shelves, then suddenly turned her head, revealing a mischievous smile to Justin Holden, like sharing a little secret.

"Actually, I also quite like chips. Especially cucumber flavor."

Justin Holden watched her expression, different from her usual coolness, with a touch of girlishness, his gaze subtly shifting.

He said nothing.

Jean didn’t seem to expect a response from him, so she grabbed two bags of cucumber-flavored chips and put them into the cart, then also took a few packs of cookies and small cakes that Jesse loved.

The shopping cart gradually filled up. Justin Holden looked at the various ingredients and snacks piled in the cart, then at the seemingly pleasantly-mooded woman beside him who kept initiating conversation, and his doubts grew.

At checkout, Jean naturally took out her wallet, but Justin Holden handed over his credit card before she could.

Jean paused, looking up at him.

Justin Holden avoided her gaze, his tone plain: "I’ll do it."

Jean pressed her lips together, not insisting, and said softly: "Thank you."

There was a queue at the register, neither long nor short.

Justin Holden pushed the cart, while Jean stood by his side, her eyes seemingly casually sweeping over the little commodities on the adjacent rack.

Gum, batteries, and various types of condoms.

Her heart rate sped up slightly, and a light sweat formed on her palms.

Leah Sutton’s request lingered in her mind like a curse.

She needed to create an opportunity, one that would allow Leah to succeed.

And the first step was to break the cold barrier between her and Justin Holden, at least to manufacture a possibility of ambiguity.

She took a deep breath, as if suddenly remembering something, and turned her head to ask the man beside her in the most natural tone possible.

"Lawyer Holden, what fruit do you like to eat, besides strawberries?"

Justin Holden was watching the moving queue ahead, and upon hearing her question, he glanced at her, seemingly a bit surprised she would ask this, but still answered plainly: "Oranges."

"Oranges..." Jean repeated, her gaze seemingly unintentionally returning to the adjacent rack, quickly scanning over the colorful condom packages.

Her fingertips trembled slightly, but she quickly locked onto a box with orange flavor, the package even featuring pictures of oranges.

Just as the cashier finished scanning the last item and announced the total price, Justin Holden was about to hand over his credit card.

Jean Ellison, as if suddenly remembering something, naturally took a box of orange-flavored condoms from the shelf, flicked her wrist, and accurately tossed it into the shopping basket that had already been scanned and was waiting to be bagged.

"Wait, add this too."

Her voice was not loud but clearly reached both Justin Holden and the cashier’s ears.

The air froze instantly.

Justin Holden’s action of handing over the card abruptly halted, his pupils slightly contracted as he looked at Jean Ellison in disbelief, unable to hide the astonishment in his eyes.

He even wondered if he had heard wrong or seen wrong.

The cashier, a young girl, was obviously taken aback as well, a flash of embarrassment quickly crossing her face, but her professionalism allowed her to swiftly return to normal, silently picking up the item and skillfully scanning it: "Alright, one box of orange-flavored, ultra-thin, large size."

Justin Holden’s gaze was fixed on Jean Ellison’s face, trying to discern some prank or other intention from her seemingly calm and unperturbed expression.

But she merely tilted her head slightly, meeting his stunned gaze, even raising an eyebrow slightly.

"What’s the matter? Not allowed?"

Her voice was not loud, but it tickled Justin Holden’s eardrums like a feather, carrying a playfulness entirely different from what he knew.

Justin Holden’s jawline instantly tightened, his eyes swirling with complex emotions.

He stared at her for a full two or three seconds, then suddenly, a very faint yet highly aggressive smile tugged at his lips.

He abruptly reached out, not for the already scanned box, but directly took another box of the same brand and series from the shelf.

With swift and decisive movements, he also tossed the orange-flavored condoms labeled "extra-large" into the shopping basket, speaking in a low and clear voice to the cashier: "Add another box. Extra-large."

His gaze returned to Jean Ellison’s face, and his deep-set eyes were as sharp as a knife at that moment, carrying an undisguised scrutiny and counterattack, his voice low and filled with a dangerous undertone.

"Am I not capable... you don’t know?"

Jean Ellison’s face flushed a deep red, even the roots of her ears tinged with pink.

She had not expected Justin Holden’s reaction to be like this.

She had originally just wanted to create an ambiguous starting point, paving the way for the subsequent plan, but was caught off guard by his direct and highly oppressive counterattack.

Instinctively, she wanted to avoid his scorching gaze, her heart pounding like a drum.

The cashier’s face turned even redder, her head lowered as she quickly scanned the second box, her words rushing out: "Okay, two boxes of orange-flavored, extra-large, the total is..."

Justin Holden handed over the credit card without expression, paying the bill, his eyes never leaving Jean Ellison’s flushed cheeks throughout the process.

The cashier skillfully scanned and bagged the items.

Justin Holden lifted the two heavy shopping bags, Jean Ellison attempted to take a smaller one to help, but he sidestepped her: "No need."

They walked side by side again towards the parking lot.

Silence descended once more, but this time it was filled with a more complex and indescribable atmosphere than before.

Finally unable to bear it, Justin Holden stopped walking when they reached the car.

He turned around, looking sharply at Jean Ellison, his voice low, with a slight hint of inquiry: "What’s with you today?"

Jean Ellison’s hand, which was reaching for the car door, paused mid-air.

She looked up, a flash of panic crossing her face, but she quickly concealed it, trying to maintain a calm smile: "What do you mean? Just buying things normally."

Justin Holden’s gaze remained firmly locked on her, not missing even the slightest change in her expression.

"The second trial is over. The Jennings family won’t appeal again."

He stated the fact, his tone calm but with pressure, "You don’t need to please me anymore."

Jean Ellison’s heart contracted sharply, her smile almost faltering.

Instinctively avoiding his overly sharp gaze, she lowered her eyes, staring at the tip of her shoe, her voice somewhat weak: "I, I’m not trying to please you. Just, just thought I troubled you a lot before, wanted to thank you."

This reason was flimsy, unconvincing even to herself.

Justin Holden watched the slight blush on her earlobes and her obviously guilty evasive posture, the doubt in his eyes deepening.

He didn’t press any further, merely giving her a deep look before opening the car door and placing the shopping bags in the back seat.

"Get in."

His voice returned to its usual coldness, as if that blunt questioning moments ago had never occurred.

Jean Ellison secretly breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a sudden, inexplicable unease.

She opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, her fingers trembling slightly as she fastened the seatbelt.

Justin Holden started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

Sunlight streamed in brightly through the windows, yet the atmosphere inside the car plummeted to freezing point.

Watching the street scenes swiftly passing by outside the window, Jean Ellison’s mind was a chaotic mess.

She knew he was suspicious.

The next steps of her plan were likely to be more difficult than she had imagined.