Mu Nanqiu needed to buy quite a few daily necessities, and many of the items were rather large. If they bought those first, grocery shopping would become inconvenient. Su Yao thought it would be more efficient to split up and handle things separately, but Mu Nanqiu didn’t agree.
She squinted at Su Yao and complained.
“We came out together. Why should we split up? It’s not just about completing a task.”
“Now that you mention it…”
Su Yao thought it over and realized that was true. Since they were out together, it wasn’t just for shopping. Plus, if they shopped together, she could ask Mu Nanqiu what dishes she liked to eat. Last time, when she went to Mu Nanqiu’s house, Madam Mu cooked several dishes herself. Now that Mu Nanqiu was coming to her place, she couldn’t lose her host’s dignity.
She would make more dishes!
That was what she thought, but Su Yao didn’t actually know how to cook many things. Normally, since she lived alone, she couldn’t eat that much—usually one small stir-fry would last her a couple of days, and she rarely made soups. If something could be eaten raw, she wouldn’t bother to cook it.
When they arrived at the lively market, Su Yao felt a bit nervous.
It was evening, still not quite dinnertime, yet the market was bustling. Women with baskets and bags stopped at different stalls, haggling could be heard everywhere.
There were also people who didn’t know how to shop. They’d stop at the meat stall, point at a piece of meat and mimic a chopping gesture, showing the butcher how to cut it. The butcher would laugh cheerfully, weigh a large piece, and before the person could protest, name the price and ask if they were paying by scan code or cash.
Young people couldn’t handle that sort of combo attack. They’d pay, then leave with enough meat for a family of three for two days.
From behind, you could tell he regretted it a little.
Mu Nanqiu looked at Su Yao, who was picking out potatoes, and poked her arm. When Su Yao looked over, Mu Nanqiu leaned in mysteriously.
“Yaoyao, do you know how to bargain?”
Of course not!
Su Yao had fallen for that kind of trick before, just like the young man earlier. So when she passed by that stall, she didn’t even glance at it. People like her always went to their usual spots—it would be so easy to set a trap for her.
When she saw Su Yao shake her head slightly, Mu Nanqiu found it completely normal. She tossed a slightly green potato into Su Yao’s plastic bag, then turned her attention to three women at a nearby fruit stall, who were chatting away with the shop owner.
As a young lady who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, Mu Nanqiu had never been to a market before and found all this rather novel.
While Mu Nanqiu observed carefully, Su Yao quietly took out the potato Mu Nanqiu had put in earlier, gently returned it to the shelf, and picked a better-looking one for the bag.
After paying, Su Yao tied up the bag of potatoes and put it in her backpack, along with a large napa cabbage and some mushrooms. Then they made their way to a butcher, where she picked a freshly slaughtered chicken.
Once she’d gathered the rest of the ingredients, Su Yao’s grocery run was done.
“Let’s go back to the car first, then find a nearby supermarket and buy everything else we need at once.”
Mu Nanqiu mapped out the route. At the supermarket, they bought all the necessary daily items. Su Yao’s home didn’t have a mat, and while there were blankets, none fit a large bed, so Mu Nanqiu bought almost all the bedding she could—except the bed frame and mattress.
They bought quite a lot, nearly filling the back seat. When they got home, it took them a long time to haul everything upstairs. Su Yao was exhausted—after the last trip, she collapsed onto the sofa, unmoving no matter how Mu Nanqiu fussed over her, pretending to be “temporarily dead.”
“Yaoyao, your stamina hasn’t improved at all. You can’t even handle such a short walk.”
“That’s not it. It’s because… it’s that time of the month.”
Su Yao blushed and quickly retorted.
Mu Nanqiu reached out and pinched Su Yao’s cheek, laughing as she spoke.
“How about you work out with me every day, Yaoyao?”
“Huh? Sure… I guess…”
She wasn’t sure what Mu Nanqiu meant, but she agreed anyway. There was no way Mu Nanqiu would harm her.
“I saw you have yoga pants in your room. You’ll need them. If you’re free tomorrow, we can start.”
“?”
Starting tomorrow?
So sudden! Su Yao was caught off guard. And why did she specifically mention yoga pants? Weren’t they neatly stored in the closet?
When did she see them?
Of course, it was during her last visit. Back then, Su Yao had been a bit out of it and hadn’t put them away, so Mu Nanqiu had spotted them.
Mu Nanqiu didn’t give Su Yao any chance to refuse and went off to make her bed.
She took charge of the entire room setup. For the sense of ceremony, Mu Nanqiu even drafted a Rental Contract, stating that Su Yao would lease a specific room in her house to Mu Nanqiu as a Private Space, and that Mu Nanqiu would also have access to the living room, kitchen, and Independent Bathroom, as well as the duty to maintain them.
Su Yao had to get up and start making dinner. First, she prepared the chicken, chopping it up and putting it into the electric pressure cooker to cook thoroughly. At the same time, she washed the other ingredients. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Once the other dishes were ready, Su Yao made a few that could be eaten cold. When the chicken was done, she took it out right away, then rinsed some rice and started cooking it.
Because there were many dishes to make, it naturally took a long time. After nearly an hour of effort, Su Yao finally completed a sumptuous five-dish dinner.
Mu Nanqiu had come out early and watched Su Yao bustling about the whole time, thoroughly enjoying the sight.
Once everything was ready, Mu Nanqiu smiled and praised Su Yao.
“Yaoyao, you look great in an apron.”
“Huh, really? Haha.”
Su Yao felt like she’d been praised to the heavens and floated with happiness. She called Mu Nanqiu over to sit, ran to fetch two bowls, filled them for Mu Nanqiu, and accepted the chopsticks Mu Nanqiu handed her.
“I remembered all the dishes your mother made last time, so I made almost the same ones today.”
Mu Nanqiu took a look, and it was true.
Are dishes made by one’s mother always the tastiest? In truth, your taste is shaped by your mother. After eating out for a while, when Mu Nanqiu went back to her mother’s cooking, it no longer had the same childhood flavor.
She picked up a piece of stir-fried meat and tasted it—it was a bit spicy.
Mu Nanqiu wasn’t great with spicy food, but she smiled instead, eating the dishes and shoveling rice into her mouth, occasionally glancing at Su Yao, who was eating earnestly.
At the end of love, what remains is mutual understanding.