Leaning back on the bed, enjoying a dumpling followed by a sip of soy milk, He Fang let out a blissful sigh. Watching Qin Guanglin dispose of the empty cup and bag into the trash, she nodded towards the door, "Alright, you can leave now."
Okay, kicking me out just after eating?
Qin Guanglin discontentedly responded, "Why should I leave?"
"I’m changing my clothes. Do you want to watch?"
"Uh... if it’s possible..."
"Get out."
Hmph, that’s so unfair.
Fuming, Qin Guanglin exited the bedroom and closed the door, deciding he wouldn’t let her watch the next time he changed his clothes.
After a silent wait, He Fang, now dressed in a white batwing shirt, emerged from the room. Standing next to him, she compared their outfits, "See, we’re wearing couple’s attire."
"It’s just a coincidence." Qin Guanglin glanced at her shirt, which was several sizes smaller than his, "When did you buy that?"
"Shut up, don’t talk to me for an hour."
Feeling upset, He Fang headed to the bathroom to wash up. Just yesterday, she thought this fool had had a revelation, but it was nothing more than a fleeting moment.
That darn straight man always ruins the mood.
"An hour is too long, isn’t it?"
Qin Guanglin called out but received no response. He sat down in the bedroom for a while, then got up and neatly folded the blanket, squeezing the Doraemon plushie beside the pillow a couple of times.
It seemed she really liked it. Sixty yuan well spent.
Money doesn’t vanish; it just transforms to stay close by someone’s side.
"Come with me to the mall."
After freshening up, He Fang appeared full of energy, changed her shoes, grabbed her keys, and led Qin Guanglin out the door.
Having just moved in, there were always things to buy. They had planned to go shopping yesterday, but a nap disrupted these plans, and only today did she remember.
Once downstairs, Qin Guanglin opened an umbrella over her head, diligently performing his role as her helper, "Which way?"
"Let’s go to the bigger one over there."
"What do we need to buy? I’ll check if we have them at home first; if so, we can just use those."
"Pots and pans," she answered, walking with Qin Guanglin towards the left, "And we can buy some groceries to cook lunch."
"Didn’t we agree yesterday? To eat at my place?"
"Eating together occasionally is fine, but we can’t just mooch off you every day. We aren’t anything official; it wouldn’t be appropriate," He Fang shook her head. "I need to cook for myself, and you can also come over during the weekend."
She smiled, "You’ve been doing great these past few days, Classmate Qin. What do you feel like eating later? I’ll make a grand meal to reward you."
Not cooking always feels like something’s missing; it’s just a house without the homely smell of meals.
"What’s wrong with that?" In Qin Guanglin’s eyes, a grand meal was far less important than her visiting his house, "You’ve stayed at my place, and I even have your keys. What do you mean it isn’t anything official? We... "
"It was just a temporary stay. Did we do anything?" He Fang sang out, cutting him off.
"We slept together."
"...Stop talking nonsense. What would the neighbors think if they saw a single lady coming and going from your house all the time?"
"Let them look and be envious," Qin Guanglin muttered under his breath, dropping the subject.
Upon reflecting, he realized it was true; they were dating, and even though they were very close, outsiders would see a young woman frequently visiting his house—it couldn’t be helped that idle people would gossip.
Avoiding such situations was best; Teacher He’s happiness was most important.
The two leisurely entered the mall, pulling a shopping cart around to look at not only pots and pans but also other daily necessities they needed to buy.
For example, a broom and a mop, Qin Guanglin only had one set at home, so he quickly grabbed it from the shelf and carried it with him.
"Do we look like a young couple?" Qin Guanglin looked at He Fang picking vegetables in the vegetable section and suddenly had the illusion of being the head of the household.
"Why ’young’ couple? Why add the word ’young’?" He Fang asked as she stuffed carrots into the bag.
It seemed that his weight gain was her fault; he ate vegetarian all the time when he was alone, so it was strange that he gained weight.
Well, she needed to keep him in this habit. No braised pork for lunch, switch to chicken wings.
"As long as we seem like a couple, that’s right."
Qin Guanglin watched her load the vegetables into the cart, pushed the cart forward a few steps, and suddenly turned his head and smiled at her, "Say ’husband’, let me hear it."
He Fang rolled her eyes and refused, "Wait till you marry me."
"Just say it, let me feel what being a spouse is like ahead of time."
"Keep dreaming, let’s go."
"Calling you that won’t hurt," Qin Guanglin pouted, pushed the cart to catch up with her, thought for a moment, leaned sideways, and tentatively called out, "Wife?"
He Fang’s heartbeat suddenly quivered, a tingling sensation spreading out from her heart, she involuntarily stopped in her tracks and gave him a glance with pursed lips.
After a moment, she murmured a soft reply and quickly walked on.
Why was her heart fluttering?
It shouldn’t be...
Had it been too long since she heard that...?
He Fang secretly took a deep breath, trying to look natural.
"What was that reaction?" Qin Guanglin clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, "Slow down, I’m pushing the cart."
Other couples freely call each other ’husband’, ’wife’, ’baby’, ’sweetheart’; why was it different for them?
Following He Fang around the large part of the store, they finished buying various household items. They added two sets of bowls and dishes, one blue and one pink, which she said were for couples.
"Do we need to be so formal?" Qin Guanglin held the plates and looked at them happily, though he pretended not to care.
"I want to have the most perfect romance with you," He Fang said fiercely with a spatula in her hand.
"Alright, perfect, perfect."
He felt it was quite perfect already, of course, a bit more perfection wouldn’t hurt, "Let’s go to the snack section next, buy some snacks."
"Wait a minute. First, let’s look for bath gel and laundry detergent, get the essentials first."
He Fang threw the spatula into the cart and continued to stroll with Qin Guanglin around the store.
Shopping with him was easy, she stood with her hands behind her back, looking at the bath gel shelf, "Which kind do you like?"
"Isn’t it for you?"
"Don’t you like the smell?" He Fang raised an eyebrow at him, "Rubbing against me like a puppy every day, choose one you like."
"Uhh..." Qin Guanglin felt his face heating up, "Any is fine, I like them all."
He thought that her naturally sweet, creamy scent, especially noticeable after she had sweat, was particularly pleasant, unrelated to the bath gel.
But he couldn’t explain this to He Fang; it felt weird, akin to being a pervert.
"Let’s go with this gardenia scent then." He Fang pointed at the shelf, making her choice.
"Mhm, sounds good." Qin Guanglin watched her put the bath gel in the cart and suggested, "See if there’s the same scent in laundry detergent; it’s better to coordinate."
Mixing the scents of laundry detergent and bath gel wasn’t as good as using just one, leaving only the gardenia’s fragrance and her scent.
Hey, this seems increasingly perverse.
Should this be called... scent obsession?