◎Reluctant to Part.◎
Chen Yi had assumed there wouldn’t be many people at the supermarket at this hour, but to her surprise, when she and Xu Yan arrived, quite a few figures were still lingering around the entrance.
Some were solo shoppers dressed in pajamas and slippers, clearly roused from bed in the dead of night for a snack run. Others came as families of three, with kids tugging at their parents’ hands and clamoring to ride in the shopping carts.
Chen Yi used to love sitting in those carts herself.
She let go of Xu Yan’s hand and told her to wait while she went to grab one. After spending a dollar to unlock a small cart and wheeling it back, she found Xu Yan still standing in the same spot, watching a family of three head off into the distance. They were a bit noisy, but chatting and laughing all the way—it created a certain warmth.
Chen Yi lowered her gaze and quickly pushed the cart over to Xu Yan.
“Ding ding ding.” She made an adorable sound. “Please take a seat, Miss Xu Yan.”
Xu Yan snapped back to attention and looked at her. “Hm?”
Chen Yi patted the plastic seat of the cart. “Come on.”
Xu Yan gave her a playful glare. “Don’t mess around.”
Chen Yi pouted. “Fine.”
“Then I’ll buy you a big one later.”
Xu Yan: “A wheelchair?”
Chen Yi: “Pfft, no way!”
Xu Yan walked alongside her as they entered the supermarket.
“You thought I was envying that kid just now?” Xu Yan finally pieced it together.
Chen Yi blinked. “Weren’t you?”
Xu Yan shook her head.
“Then what?”
“Too noisy,” Xu Yan said coolly. “Obnoxiously loud.”
“I was wondering if I should go over and shut him up.” She paused. “But that might give him childhood trauma.”
Chen Yi burst out laughing. Thinking back to her own childhood antics, she sighed. “If you saw me as a kid, you’d probably think I was noisy too.”
“No,” Xu Yan replied without a second’s hesitation. “I’d only think you were cute.”
Chen Yi gripped the cart’s handlebar with both hands. Hearing that, she buried her face in her arms.
Xu Yan leaned down, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
Chen Yi peeked up from between her arms. “I think you’d be better suited for studying abroad in France than me.”
“Hm?” Xu Yan didn’t get it. “Why?”
Chen Yi just smiled, offering no explanation.
Xu Yan was way better at sweet talk than she was.
“What do you want to eat?” Chen Yi asked.
Xu Yan: “Anything. I’m not picky.”
And she truly wasn’t, aside from anything too spicy. She welcomed every other kind of food with open arms. After picking out the meats, they wandered over to the produce section. The moment Xu Yan spotted bitter melon, her expression soured.
“Don’t like this one?” Chen Yi noticed.
Xu Yan: “Mm-hm.”
“Radish isn’t great either,” Xu Yan added. “Tastes weird.”
Chen Yi grinned at her. “You know your tastes are just like a kid’s, right?”
Xu Yan refused to admit it. “Can’t adults hate veggies too?”
“Besides, I eat other vegetables just fine.” She pointed out, “I ate the broccoli you made.”
“Okay, okay.” Chen Yi went along with her. “I’ll make you veggies from now on, then.”
Xu Yan thought for a moment and added, “For balanced nutrition, let’s get some meat too.”
Chen Yi cracked up at that.
Once they’d finished shopping for produce, Xu Yan figured they were done and ready to head out. But Chen Yi tugged her toward the aisle they’d passed earlier. Xu Yan was puzzled until Chen Yi stopped in front of a row of lunch boxes, carefully selecting one. Then it hit her—Chen Yi had been serious about those earlier comments.
“If I get off work early, I can make lunch for the next day to bring to the office. That way, you’ll have something tasty for midday,” Chen Yi explained as she compared options on the shelves—material, insulation, compartmentalization, the works. “And if you’re free in the evenings, we can eat together.”
“Honey, what do you think of this one?” Chen Yi picked out a blue insulated lunch box, holding it up to show Xu Yan. But in that instant, Xu Yan leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Chen Yi turned instantly into Chen Tomato. Add a little flour, and she’d be Chen Tomato Pasta.
“They’re all fine,” Xu Yan said calmly, as if no one else were around, taking the box and placing it in the cart. “I like whatever you pick.”
“But don’t do it every day.” Xu Yan took control of the cart. “Cooking must be tiring, right?”
“Not at all.” Chen Yi walked beside her. “As long as you enjoy it, I’ll feel happy.”
Xu Yan smiled.
A quick glance around showed discount tags plastered everywhere on the shelves. The aisles brimmed with colorful goods, and with National Day festivities in full swing, red decorations adorned every corner.
Xu Yan had never been one for supermarket runs before. If she needed something, she’d rather have it delivered—quick and convenient. But after this trip with Chen Yi, she realized these narrow paths between everyday items had borne witness to countless lives. Now, they were witnessing hers veer onto a new track.
One she’d never imagined, never dared to hope for—a path to happiness.
~~~
The two loaded their bags into the car and decided to drop everything off at Chen Yi’s place first. She’d sort it out, then take it to the campsite tomorrow. So Xu Yan parked in the underground garage beneath Chen Yi’s building.
At this hour, the garage was deserted. Lights flickered on as the car passed, then dimmed, settling into stillness.
It was time for Chen Yi to get out, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to move.
“Sis, I have something to confess,” she said suddenly.
Xu Yan: “What?”
Chen Yi spilled about her gaming alt account, then revealed she had another identity altogether.
Xu Yan, one hand on the wheel, turned to her. “Vegetable Sister?”
Chen Yi’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
“Xu Yixiao tell you?”
Xu Yan shook her head. “Nope.”
“Then—”
“Remember that banquet earlier?” Xu Yan explained. “I heard from someone that the Chen Nanyun family’s heiress was doing gaming streams.”
“But they didn’t even know who I was!”
“Wasn’t hard to guess.” Simple logic for Xu Yan. “Start with Xu Yixiao—she only follows one gaming streamer, and that’s you.”
A few videos and voice clips later…
Xu Yan had her answer.
Chen Yi had to admit, this woman was basically Sherlock Holmes. And thinking back, Xu Yan had tracked down her Instagram from just an address, unraveling everything bit by bit. No wonder her streamer alias had fallen.
“And!” Chen Yi went on. “One more thing.”
Xu Yan: “What?”
“WeChat—” Chen Yi eyed her. “So you have two WeChats?”
Xu Yan teased, “Settling scores after the fact?”
Chen Yi waved her hands. “No way!”
“I just thought… now that we’re dating, you can’t keep me on the alt account forever, right?”
Xu Yan pulled out her phone and sent Chen Yi a friend request right there. She watched as Chen Yi approved it, then frowned in thought.
She didn’t know what to nickname it.
After a moment, inspiration struck Chen Yi.
She labeled Xu Yan’s two accounts: Big Wife and Little Wife.
Xu Yan burst out laughing.
“Why’s this one Big Wife?” she pretended to complain. “You like Fade more?”
Chen Yi was done. “Xu Yan!”
Xu Yan laughed heartily. “Okay, okay, my bad.”
She raised her hands in surrender.
Chen Yi pursed her lips and looked out the window.
With that, she’d exhausted every excuse to keep talking. Chen Yi fiddled with her seatbelt and murmured, “Guess I’ll head in, then?”
Xu Yan hummed softly.
“I’m going?”
Xu Yan said okay.
No choice—Chen Yi unbuckled, said goodbye, and opened the door. Xu Yan didn’t start the engine right away. She sat in the driver’s seat, watching Chen Yi, waiting to see her off to the elevator.
Suddenly, Chen Yi—who should’ve been walking away—doubled back. She set down her eco-bag full of groceries and knocked on Xu Yan’s driver-side window.
The window slid down.
Xu Yan: “Forget something?”
Chen Yi shook her head, leaning slightly forward with her hands on the window frame.
“I didn’t forget anything.” She was a bit shy now, but she spoke honestly. “I’m just… reluctant to leave.”
“We’ll see each other tomorrow after one good night’s sleep,” Xu Yan said.
“That’s just it—I’m reluctant.” Chen Yi asked, “Don’t you feel it too?”
Xu Yan didn’t answer. She just gazed into Chen Yi’s eyes. Moments later, she leaned up, cupped the back of Chen Yi’s head, drew her close, kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear, “What do you think?”
“If you don’t go now, I’ll take you home with me.”
Smoke practically poured from Chen Yi’s ears.
Reason held firm. “No, no.” She said, “We just started dating, and Xu Yixiao’s at home.”
Xu Yan chuckled. “If she weren’t, you’d come home with me?”
Chen Yi: “Ahh—no, that’s not what I meant!”
“Alright.” Xu Yan pinched her earlobe. “Head home. You got off work and took care of me all evening—you must be beat. Get some rest. I’ll pick you up here in the morning.”
“See you tomorrow, baby.” Xu Yan’s voice was tender.
Chen Yi felt herself melting.
She ducked her head and agreed, said see you tomorrow, then floated toward the elevator.
Watching her like that, Xu Yan had an unexpected hunch.
She suspected Chen Yi had a special fondness for her voice.
And it probably wasn’t just her imagination.
The next morning, Chen Yi sprang out of bed the moment her alarm went off. Even she—this woman who’d always been the laziest about getting dressed up—was now rummaging frantically through her closet for the perfect outfit. After tossing clothes around left and right, Chen Yi finally surrendered. No matter what she tried on, she still looked like a wholesome college girl. Put a positive spin on it, and she had that fresh student vibe; put it bluntly, and she was just plain ordinary.
Xu Yan called to check if she was up yet, and Chen Yi confessed her wardrobe woes honestly.
“Have you forgotten what your girlfriend does for a living?” Xu Yan chuckled softly. “Hang tight. I’ll come over and style you.”
“Sure.” Chen Yi agreed, then hesitated. “It won’t be too much trouble, will it?”
“No,” Xu Yan said. “I like it.”
The ideal scenario? Chen Yi decked out head to toe in clothes she’d bought, styled exactly to her specifications. From the skin inward and outward, every last detail hers alone—not so much as a single strand of hair touched by anyone else.
That was Xu Yan’s secret little thrill.
