"Okay, do whatever you want. I'm going grocery shopping now." Ellie was ready to get out.
"Wait, Ellie. I will go with you," said Ashley.
It had only been a few minutes since Francis had come in and parked himself on the couch. He jumped
up hastily and said, "Ashley, I will go with you two."
When they were downstairs, Francis tried to please both girls. "Where are you going? I will drive you
there," he offered.
Ashley looked at him as if he was an idiot. "No, thanks. The supermarket is just a short walk from
here."
Francis felt hurt. He had never done grocery shopping and so it was natural for him not to know where
to go.
There was a large supermarket just outside the housing estate, and the fruits and vegetables there
were very fresh. Ashley and Ellie used to shop there often.
The three of them arrived at the supermarket. The good-looking trio attracted much attention,
especially Francis, whose features were even more delicate than a girl's.
Although he was wearing a flashy pink suit, he was able to carry it off with elan. Surprisingly, such
clothes didn't look weird on him. Instead, he looked stylish and people couldn't take their eyes off him.
Ashley realized that thanks to Francis, they were the most eye-catching group in the supermarket.
Even an elderly lady, who looked about sixty or seventy years old, was staring at Francis greedily, not
to mention the young ladies.
And Francis was playing the crowd—he was smiling charmingly at everyone.
Ashley was so mad at his behavior. Just a moment ago he said he wanted to woo Ellie, but as soon as
they left the house, he started preening like a peacock for all the girls in the store.
She pushed the shopping cart towards Francis and said, "You push the cart." She was as rude as she
could be.
"No problem, Ashley." Francis followed her instructions obediently.
"Look, that girl is so mean. She ordered him to push the cart. He has such nice, delicate hands and fair
skin. Obviously he isn't used to such heavy jobs."
"I really want to go to help him."
"Do you think he has a girlfriend? Can I go and ask for his WeChat account? Do you think he'll tell
me?"
"Maybe... Go and try your luck!"
"Oh, forget it. You see that girl beside him. She looks angry now."
"Never mind. What if she is not his girlfriend? I think you'd better try."
The girls intentionally spoke loudly, so Ashley and Ellie could hear everything. And, of course, so did
Francis.
Ellie acted cool like nothing had happened, but Ashley was different. She had taken great efforts to find
a boyfriend for Ellie and he turned out to be a womanizer.
The girl who was most charming walked over to Francis. "Hello. Can I add you as a friend on
WeChat?" she asked somewhat shyly.
Francis ogled at the girl and said, "Sorry. I have a girlfriend. She will be jealous if I agree." Saying this,
he dragged Ellie, who was still looking indifferent, to his side.
Ellie was dumbstruck. Then she tried to wriggle out of his arms and raised her hand to slap him. But
Francis caught it. "Okay, don't be mad at me. Didn't you see I've ignored them?"
Then he whispered in her ear, "If you struggle harder, I will kiss you in front of everyone. Do you believe
me?" Francis' voice was so low that only the two of them could hear, but it had an amazing effect. Ellie
was too frightened to move. He was so mean!
"Well, okay." Seeing Francis and Ellie whispering to each other, the girl got frustrated and left.
"How did it go? Have you befriended with him?" asked the girls friend when she got back.
"Forget it. He said he already had a girlfriend. And they look deeply in love with each other," replied the
girl sourly.
"Hey, don't be so upset. There are plenty of fish in the sea. You don't have to be his girlfriend," her
friend tried to comfort her.
After the girl left, Ellie acted fast.
She quickly pushed Francis away and stared at him resentfully.
Her fragrance was still lingering in Francis's nose after she moved away. He missed the feeling of
holding her in his arms.
Despite Ellie's angry stares, he was itching to pull her back to his arms.
She was so cute.
However, he knew that he couldn't force her or it would have an adverse effect. Haste makes waste.
"Francis, behave yourself. Ellie isn't your girlfriend yet," Ashley reprimanded him because he bullied
her best friend.
"Ashley, you have to help me," Francis said cheekily.
Ashley wanted to laugh at him. He deserved it. He was used to flirting with every woman he met.
How could she help him? He should just be grateful that she didn't speak ill of him in front of Ellie.
It was the same experience for Francis when he went shopping with Greyson last time. He knew
nothing about grocery shopping. He just walked around and found everything interesting.
When he saw Ashley and Ellie putting food into the cart, he, too, picked up some stuff randomly and
threw it into the cart, but Ashley stopped him.
"We already have enough of this. We can't eat so much and it will go bad." She picked out the food he
had tossed into the cart and returned it to the shelf.
Francis leaned on the cart and supported himself on his elbows as he pushed the cart. "Ashley, why do
you have to go through so much trouble to cook? Let's go to a restaurant. My treat."
"Great. Then we have to go to the most expensive place in J city. And we will order the most expensive
food in the restaurant. What do you think? Do you still want to give us a treat?" Ashley watched
Francis' reaction in amusement.
Francis replied without hesitation, "Sure. But you have to be considerate to me too. Don't order too
much. I have to save some money so that I can support Ellie later."
Francis made sure that Ellie heard what he said, but she showed no interest and continued with what
she was doing.
Ashley glanced at Francis disapprovingly and said, "Do you still want to chase Ellie? You have to get
me to back you if you do. Why are you asking me not to order too much? Do I eat a lot?"
Francis waved his hands in panic. "No, no, Ashley. I was just joking."
Though Ellie was the topic of discussion, she herself paid no attention to Francis at all.
When they reached the cash counter, Francis offered to pay. The cashier girl saw him and blushed
immediately. She started fumbling and her hands couldn't find the right place to put the bill. "Thank you.
The total is USD135.60, please," the girl stammered in a low voice.
Francis took out a black bank card from his wallet and gave it to the cashier. "I will pay by card."
The cashier girl swiped it on the POS machine the way she would for any other bank card. However, it
turned out that it didn't work.
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