Shen Du didn’t let him down, smiling, “Looks like we had the same idea.”
“But you can just handle the dishes. I’ll take care of the shopping. Since you don’t cook much, you probably don’t know how to pick out the best ingredients.”
Song Nanxing said, “Then what about the grocery money…”
“Just give me five hundred a month for living expenses, that’ll cover it,” Shen Du interrupted.
“Is five hundred enough?”
“It’s plenty. I like to get up early to go to the market—the ingredients are fresher and cheaper.”
Hearing this, Song Nanxing didn’t argue further. He added Shen Du on WeChat and transferred this month’s living expenses, then happily returned to his apartment.
Watching his silhouette disappear behind the door, Shen Du finally went back inside.
He stood in the empty living room for a few minutes, thinking to himself, “I’ll have to go get some fresh ingredients.”
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Since Song Nanxing had bought crayfish, Shen Du made braised prawns for dinner, along with two light, refreshing side dishes.
Song Nanxing ate to his heart’s content. After clearing the table, he flopped onto the sofa with the Plush Bunny in his arms, as lazy as a well-fed cat.
Shen Du sat across from him on the carpet, frowning in thought as he planned the next day’s menu, asking for Song Nanxing’s opinion: “How about red-braised meatballs, sweet and sour pork, and stir-fried lettuce tomorrow?”
Song Nanxing, the perfect meal buddy, replied, “Whatever you make, I’ll eat.”
Shen Du jotted down the menu, glanced at the time—it was getting late—and said, “I’ll head back. Tomorrow morning I’ll go buy groceries and come over to your place to cook lunch.”
— They had already agreed earlier that since Shen Du’s kitchen appliances were too old, they’d cook at Song Nanxing’s place from now on.
Song Nanxing saw him out, watching him enter the apartment next door before reluctantly closing the door.
He dashed barefoot to the sofa, hugged the Plush Bunny, rolled around twice, his eyes and brows full of smiles, murmuring, “Being neighbors with Shen Du is just too great!”
The Plush Bunny’s three-petaled mouth twitched, its red eyes looking toward Puppet and Little Octopus on the other end of the sofa.
Puppet and Little Octopus turned their heads in unison, silently staring back.
The Plush Bunny’s long ears drooped as it quietly buried its face in Song Nanxing’s arms.
*****
Song Nanxing had eaten too much braised prawns and couldn’t fall asleep that night
As he tossed and turned in bed, his phone on the nightstand buzzed urgently like a death knell.
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He got up and glanced at it, only to see a message from the work group.
Why were there messages so late at night?
Opening it, he found Director Fang had forwarded some news and a new notice: [@everyone, received the latest notice from the Mental Health Center: a batch of newly arrived aquatic products has been contaminated. Please do not eat any seafood for the time being and be vigilant against contamination. If you have eaten seafood in the past week and are experiencing fever, thirst, hallucinations, or abnormal skin secretions, go to the health center for treatment immediately.]
Director Fang sent this notice three times in total.
Song Nanxing remembered the braised prawns he’d eaten that afternoon, hissed, and clicked into the news link.
The news was issued by the Mental Health Center, written in very official language, basically saying that several patients with similar contamination symptoms had been admitted in the past week. After investigation, it was found that all of them had eaten seafood—fish, shrimp, frog, and so on. The Mental Health Center suspected the contamination source was a certain batch of seafood and was currently investigating.
Seafood from out of town was supposed to be inspected at the Exchange Center, so how did it get contaminated?
As Song Nanxing pondered, Director Fang sent another message: [@everyone, emergency overtime tomorrow. All staff must be on time. If you have special circumstances, message me for leave.]
Song Nanxing thought, as expected. He closed the group chat and searched for more news.
On the Tong City social platform, rumors about the contamination were much scarier than the official reports.
He typed in keywords and immediately a few bloody, terrifying images popped up—several Fish-Headed Monsters kneeling on the ground, in the center a person whose belly had been cut open and organs eaten out.
Song Nanxing tried to zoom in for a closer look, but the image showed as censored.
He frowned, put away his phone, threw on his robe, and went to knock on Shen Du’s door.
Shen Du opened the door.
Song Nanxing glanced curiously at the pitch-black apartment behind him, suddenly realizing that Shen Du’s place was always so dark.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Du asked.
The doubt lasted only a moment before Song Nanxing got back to the point. “I just got a notice from the center—apparently some seafood has been contaminated. I’m worried about the prawns we ate this afternoon. Are you feeling unwell?”
Shen Du shook his head. “No.” He looked at Song Nanxing with concern. “What about you?”
“I’m fine too,” Song Nanxing said. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but if you feel unwell, let me know right away. We’ll go to the hospital and it’ll be fine.”
Shen Du nodded. “You too.”
Seeing that Shen Du really seemed fine, Song Nanxing finally relaxed and went back to his apartment. He still couldn’t sleep, so he turned on the TV.
The late-night news was broadcasting a live interview about the seafood contamination incident. The reporter squeezed past the police tape and was interviewing residents inside an apartment complex. The interviewee looked nervous, face pale and eyes a bit red.
The reporter held the microphone to his mouth: “We heard your community was the first to have someone contaminated. Can you tell us what the first symptoms were?”
The man panted, wiped sweat from his face, and said in a trembling voice, “It’s… it’s like your mind gets fuzzy, and then you sweat a lot, feel really thirsty, want to drink water…”
He kept licking his dry lips as he spoke.
The reporter looked at the camera and continued, “Is it really as the rumors say, caused by eating contaminated seafood?”
The man stammered, “Y-yeah. That’s what everyone says… Seems like a lot of people here ate it, and a batch of people with symptoms have been sent to the health center. There are so many, we have to stay home for now and wait for the second batch to be called in.”
As he spoke, he kept wiping sweat from his face, a forked tongue flicking over his cracked lips, his red eyes staring at the reporter. “C-can I have a bottle of water? I’m really thirsty…”
The cameraman was the first to notice something was wrong, slowly backing away, the footage shaking.
The reporter, still facing away from the man, continued analyzing the situation and reminding viewers to be careful with their food.
Not getting a response, the man stepped forward, almost pressing against the reporter’s back. His face, sweating profusely, looked swollen and pale, his eyes filled with longing as he murmured, “I’m so thirsty…”
The diligent reporter finally sensed something was off, turned around, and, seeing the man’s face, screamed and fled in panic.
The camera shook violently, terrified screams echoing.
The live broadcast was cut off there.
In the last frame, the man’s swollen, deformed face lunged at the camera, forked tongue flicking, webbed fingers reaching out.
The host forced a smile, trying to calm viewers. Song Nanxing frowned, changed the channel, and when he turned, he found Puppet and Little Octopus had sidled up next to him, watching TV with the same serious expression.
When Song Nanxing changed the channel, both turned their heads to look at him.
Song Nanxing turned off the TV. “It’s late, time for bed.”
He set down the remote, got up to go to his bedroom, then turned back to remind his two new houseguests, “No fighting.”
*****
Song Nanxing was destined for a restless night.
He’d just fallen asleep when a sudden, urgent ringtone jolted him awake. Groggy, he fumbled for his phone and saw it was a call from Shen Du.
Song Nanxing answered, Shen Du’s labored breathing coming through the speaker: “I… I think I have a fever…”
“Hold on, I’m coming over.” Song Nanxing’s heart sank. He scrambled out of bed, quickly changed into outdoor clothes and protective gear, grabbed his ID and phone, and rushed out.
As soon as he opened the door, Shen Du’s tall figure collapsed toward him.
Song Nanxing caught him just in time, noticing the heat radiating from his body. “Shen Du? Can you still walk? Besides the fever, do you feel anything else?”
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Shen Du weakly leaned against his neck, meeting the gaze of Puppet and Little Octopus on the sofa.
He said, “No, just a bit thirsty.”
Shen Du weakly leaned against his neck, meeting the gaze of Puppet and Little Octopus on the sofa.
He said:
“No, just a bit thirsty.”
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Shen Du was about to eat a feast IG