Plague (6): He wants a reputation

When Tan Xiao put the big watermelon into the refrigerator to chill, it was only eight in the morning. Usually, at this time, Wen Yi was working at the hospital, and Tan Xiao was also doing a part-time job, with several hours still until lunch.

Tan Xiao remembered that there were still many things that needed to be bought, and called out to Wen Yi, “Shall we go to the nearby supermarket?”

Wen Yi nodded and then asked, “Did you buy the shower gel you use at the nearby supermarket?”

Thinking about his little secret, Dr. Wen couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. He tried to cover for himself: “I just think that scent is quite nice, and the shower gel in the bathroom is almost used up anyway, so I wanted to switch to a new brand.”

Wen Yi thought, when he got back, he would pour out all the old shower gel at home and pretend it was used up.

Tan Xiao sometimes was overly oblivious and didn’t even notice Wen Yi’s shyness: “I didn’t look closely, just grabbed it randomly. I’ll check which brand it is later. I ordered it online, but it should definitely be available offline too.”

Although online shopping is convenient, there is a certain joy in shopping at a mall in person, and the variety online is much less than in-store. The key was that today he had taken the rare effort to dress up, and Wen Yi would be very busy once his injury was healed. It was a rare opportunity for the two of them to have free time together, so they shouldn’t waste this great chance to go shopping together.

Huaxi Hospital was located in a bustling area, and there was a pedestrian street just 800 meters from here.

Because the sun was particularly strong, Tan Xiao took an umbrella with him when he went out.

He wasn’t that afraid of getting sunburned, but sharing an umbrella with someone allowed them to get closer to each other in a legitimate and natural way.

Actually, Tan Xiao had never been in a romantic relationship, but when you like someone, it seems like you naturally start to play little tricks to close the distance between you.

When entering the mall, Tan Xiao noticed that many people were pushing high stacks of shopping carts, as if they were intentionally stockpiling some daily necessities.

In just a short while after entering, he saw that the shopping carts were piled high with instant noodles, self-heating hot pots, milk, biscuits, vitamins, chocolate…

They were all high-calorie but very convenient foods.

Of course, those stockpiling supplies were players who knew that this game world was called “Plague Infection.”

When the plague spread on a large scale, the entire city would fall into chaos in the early stages. Supplies that were usually easy to obtain would become scarce, and going out to shop would definitely expose them to a large number of infected patients.

Even if the other person was in the incubation period, there was still a possibility of being infected. No one currently knew the mode of plague transmission, but it could be called a plague because it was highly contagious and had a high mortality rate.

From the news about the flu outbreak, it might be respiratory transmission. For safety, it was best to stock up on supplies and stay at home without going out.

Some players were lucky to be assigned the status of living alone, while others had to take care of their whole family, needing food for a month. Most families’ refrigerators couldn’t even hold enough food for a month.

The key was that such actions might seem strange, after all, some people were students with very little disposable income and no say in their families.

Fortunately, they only needed to stay for thirty days. If worse comes to worst, stocking up on instant noodles and mineral water for a month would get them through.

People had a herd mentality; seeing others stockpiling food and drinks, Tan Xiao felt he should buy more food to take back.

Tan Xiao didn’t cook very often; he usually only made one meal a day, and not even every day.

Since moving into the dormitory, he had only cooked porridge twice and made a meal on the day Wen Yi got injured.

Since Wen Yi got injured, he definitely needed to eat light, bland meals. Thinking about the next period of time, they might have many opportunities to share meals together.

Wen Yi’s house had nothing, and even in his own home, everything was in small packages of one or two pounds. After thinking for a moment, he tossed two 5kg bags of rice into the shopping cart—one bag of long-grain rice, which was good for steaming and making fried rice, and one bag of pearl rice, specifically for making congee.

Tan Xiao also bought a lot of rice, flour, grains, oil, seasonings, drinks, and milk, and even some dried goods like dried black fungus, dried kelp, and dried mushrooms, of course, not too much of each.

“Dr. Wen, do you have any favorite vegetables or fruits?”

The only fruits left at home were the watermelon and peaches bought today, but there were no vegetables at all.

Wen Yi shook his head, “I’m fine with anything, I’m not picky.”

He didn’t pay much attention to his appetite; when he was busy, a bit of chocolate bar could get him through the day.

“Even if you’re not picky, you still have your preferences. There are always some things you like more and some things you dislike,” Tan Xiao said, picking up two round, lumpy tangerines. “For example, I eat almost any fruit, but I like citrus fruits the most. However, there’s a big difference between oranges and tangerines. This type of easy-to-peel, seedless, and tender-tasting tangerine is my favorite variety.”

He clattered a few boxes into the shopping cart, recommending them while saying, “I want to know what Dr. Wen likes and dislikes, I want to understand you better.”

Tan Xiao was an impatient person, and this was evident from his straightforward approach on the first day.

Rather than silently observing and guessing the other person’s preferences, he preferred to ask directly.

Of course, if he weren’t worried that Wen Yi might think he was chatty, he might have revealed all his information on the first day.

Wen Yi said, “I also like eating tangerines, and I like apples too.”

There were more than ten kinds of apples in the supermarket. Tan Xiao glanced around and asked, “Do you prefer crisper ones or softer ones?”

“Crisper ones.”

“I also like the crunchy ones. When I was a kid, those pink apples were said to be for old people with no teeth.” Tan Xiao then naturally picked up two boxes of premium apples and put them in the shopping cart. “People who eat apples are all smart. When I was in school, my mom made me take an apple every morning, saying that an apple a day keeps diseases away, and of course, the most important thing is that it makes you smarter.”

Wen Yi pursed his lips: “Apples are rich in zinc, magnesium, and various other elements. Theoretically, they do help improve memory.”

After saying this, he fell silent, as there were so many things in the mall. He always felt that there was something missing at home and wanted to buy a bit of everything.

After passing through the fruit section and then the dry goods section, Wen Yi finally couldn’t help but break the silence: “Am I really boring?”

Dr. Wen felt a bit down; he was older and had a dull personality.

Previously, he didn’t think much of it, but after developing a slight, indescribable feeling for Tan Xiao, he couldn’t help but feel inferior.

In terms of looks, Tan Xiao was much more handsome than him. Along the way, many pairs of eyes were fixed on Tan Xiao.

During the one-kilometer walk from home to the supermarket, seven or eight groups of people approached to ask for Tan Xiao’s contact information, and there were both men and women. This made Wen Yi realize that Tan Xiao was indeed very popular.

When the two of them chatted, it was always Tan Xiao who talked more, and it was also him who was trying hard to initiate the conversation.

So when Tan Xiao fell silent, Wen Yi couldn’t help but feel anxious, fearing that he might say something wrong, which would lead to an awkward silence.

Young people are always a bit impulsive, and Tan Xiao gave him the impression of being particularly impatient.

He felt a bit sad and thought: Did Tan Xiao find him too boring and decide to give up?

If he had known that this situation would happen, he should have agreed when Tan Xiao first asked him. But now, if he said yes, wouldn’t it be strange? Was it already too late?

After that day, Tan Xiao didn’t ask about his thoughts anymore. Although he was his pursuer and future boyfriend, he didn’t ask any more questions.

What kind of relationship did they have now? It always felt like Tan Xiao could leave at any moment, could give up at any moment.

Just thinking about Tan Xiao being nice to other girls or boys made Wen Yi’s blood pressure drop uncontrollably.

Tan Xiao looked left and right, touched his arm, and felt inexplicably cold. The air conditioning in this mall was too strong.

He had just been reading the text and didn’t hear Wen Yi muster the courage to ask quietly, “Dr. Wen, look at that banner over there. If you spend more than 500 in the supermarket, you can get free delivery within 5 kilometers. Did we buy more than 500 worth of stuff?”

Wen Yi, who was in a gloomy mood, looked up and said, “457.4.”

Tan Xiao looked bewildered, “Huh?”

Wen Yi repeated, “The total of the items in the shopping cart is 457.4.”

Tan Xiao immediately showed admiration for high-IQ individuals: “Doctor Wen is really impressive!”

“It’s not that impressive.”

It was just a matter of paying a little attention to the price tags and having slightly better mental arithmetic skills.

Tan Xiao shook his head: “Dr. Wen, you’re being too modest. You’re definitely better than me. I just remember to take things out from inside, and I still have to use a calculator for so many calculations.”

He had just finished his college entrance exams a month ago, but it seemed like his mental calculation ability had already declined.

Tan Xiao sighed softly: “But you can’t blame me for this. Ever since I got hit on the head, my memory doesn’t seem to be as good anymore.”

Wen Yi looked a bit worried: “The brain is a very delicate organ. Let’s go get another CT scan together this afternoon.”

Tan Xiao waved his hand: “We already had one before, it’s fine.”

“How could it be nothing?” Wen Yi said in a low voice, “Did you forget that you asked me if you could be my boyfriend? Do the words you said still count?”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten! I’m not a goldfish with a seven-second memory,” Tan Xiao immediately retorted, “It’s only been seven days.”

He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “Besides, didn’t you refuse back then?”

Some people ignite like dry kindling, while others might prefer a slow and steady burn. Dr. Wen seemed to be the slow but serious type, so Tan Xiao didn’t plan to rush things.

He just saved someone, and asking such a question at this moment would make it seem like he was trying to get back the favor.

As for pursuing, he was still prepared for a long-term campaign. The current progress wasn’t bad, and the status could be naturally established in due time, no rush.

Wen Yi pressed his lips tightly together, his already pale lips turning white: “That question, can you ask it again now?”

With a hint of uncertainty, he repeated the question: “Dr. Wen, I want to be your boyfriend. What do you think?”

That was how he asked it back then, word for word.

The exact same question, but this time, Wen Yi gave a completely different answer: “Okay.”

He emphasized it strongly: “I think it’s great.”