After dinner, Shen Xi Fan was surfing the internet at home when her mother called out:
“Fanfan, are you eating breakfast at home tomorrow morning?”
“Mm,” she responded, “I want seaweed egg soup and pan-fried dumplings!”
Shen’s mother, carrying a bag of garbage, approached her. “We’re out of seaweed and aged vinegar. Go to the supermarket and buy some, and take out the trash while you’re at it.”
Shen Xi Fan glanced at the cotton slippers on her feet. “I don’t want to go to the supermarket. Changing shoes just to go out is so troublesome.”
Her mother’s expression changed instantly, playing the victim like a seasoned actress. She sighed pitifully, “Getting old is hard. Even asking my daughter to run a simple errand is too much. Maybe I should just move into a retirement home…”
Shen Xi Fan immediately jumped up. “Fine, I’ll go! I’ll go!” She dug out her tiger-head cotton shoes from her university days from the shoe cabinet on the balcony, grabbed the garbage bag, and muttered to herself indignantly, Mom is really getting skilled at emotional warfare. She knows I can’t handle guilt trips.
The winter evening was freezing. The cold numbed her thoughts, and for a moment, she felt like she was back in her university days, wandering around the dormitory area in her tiger-head shoes.
Just as she stepped into the supermarket, she almost bumped into a man exiting. Their eyes met, and Shen Xi Fan froze for a moment. Glancing around, she muttered to herself, “I’m not in the wrong place, am I? This is the supermarket. But I’m not sick, so why am I seeing him?”
To her surprise, He Su Ye overheard her and chuckled.
She snapped back to reality. He Su Ye’s laughter was charming, making her heart race. Her words stumbled out awkwardly: “Ah, sorry, Dr. He. You come to the supermarket too? What a coincidence!”
He Su Ye found her reaction odd but didn’t overthink it. “I came to pick up a few things. Do you live around here?”
She nodded, then asked, “Does that mean you live here too? But I haven’t seen you around in all these years.”
He explained, “I only moved here a few months ago. I don’t go out much, but this neighborhood is great—convenient for transportation and shopping.”
At a loss for words, Shen Xi Fan could only nod repeatedly, murmuring “Mm” and “Yes.” He Su Ye found her reactions amusing. She was so short that standing in front of him, she barely reached his shoulder. Looking down at her, he joked, “Is the Chinese medicine I prescribed hard to swallow?”
Her face heated up uncontrollably. He Su Ye, why are you standing so close? she thought, half-annoyed, half-pleased. Despite enjoying the proximity, she wasn’t at her best today. Feigning contemplation, she replied, “Bitter! Of course it’s bitter—terribly hard to drink!”
He rummaged through his shopping bag and handed her a large jelly cup, saying patiently, “Medicine is important. If it tastes too bitter, have this afterward. Be good!”
Shen Xi Fan stood there dumbfounded. Just as her heart was about to burst with joy, he added, “We use these to coax the kids at the hospital into taking their medicine…”
She looked up, confused. “Dr. He, am I a child?”
He smiled. “You’re not a child—you just act like one. Alright, I’ll be off. Remember to pick up your medicine tomorrow!” With a lingering glance at her tiger-head cotton shoes, he turned and left.
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