“Ahem, sit down and have a glass of water first,” Ning Xin suggested. She had never encountered such a situation before, and her brain felt like it was on the verge of exploding. She needed to cool down with some cold water.
Though there was a hint of mischief in Nie Ran’s smile as he turned away, when he sat down, his expression became cold and impassive once more.
Ning Xin poured two glasses of water, handing one to him. She gulped down the other, finally feeling a bit more sober.
“I couldn’t have done something like that,” she asserted.
“Are you suggesting that I would tarnish my own innocence to accuse you?” Nie Ran countered mercilessly.
The mention of innocence made her face flush even more, and she almost choked on her water.
“I… that’s not what I meant.”
He looked at her squarely. “Then what did you mean?”
“I know myself well enough, I couldn’t have done something like that.”
She had never even considered such a thing; from birth until now, all she wanted was money. If she had gotten drunk and attempted to rob a bank or commit a mugging, it would have been more believable than forcing him into anything.
Nie Ran pointed to the red marks on his body, the result of his vigorous scrubbing from the night before.
“Then what do you call these?” he asked.
“Well, um… uh…”
“Never mind.”
He interrupted her with disappointment, “I thought you were cunning, but I didn’t expect you to be so irresponsible. Let’s just pretend nothing happened.”
He finished speaking and went into the bathroom. Ning Xin sat on the sofa, unable to regain her composure for a long time.
She quietly pulled back the covers to check, finding her own chest also red.
It seemed that Nie Ran was probably telling the truth.
Her heart sank halfway.
She never imagined that her first time would end up like this, not even knowing what it felt like.
After a while, Nie Ran finished washing up and came out neatly dressed.
Ning Xin dared not look at him, avoiding his gaze, and hurriedly went into the bathroom.
She hastily freshened up and when she came out, she found him getting ready to leave and asked, “Where are you going?”
“Buying breakfast.”
“Oh, um, you can rest, I’ll go.”
After all, it was her fault for getting drunk and making a mistake. It was fortunate enough that he didn’t ask her for compensation. She didn’t dare to let him exert himself.
Nie Ran nodded, retreated to the sofa, and Ning Xin put on her coat and shoes, then fled out the door.
He liked Chongqing noodles, so she specially bought an extra portion and picked out some things he should like, returning home with bags in hand.
Nie Ran buried his head in the noodles. Halfway through, he asked, “What are we doing today?”
Ning Xin was startled, trying hard to clear her mind and organize her thoughts.
“Let’s go deposit the money first. It’s too conspicuous to carry it around. If you don’t plan on spending your money for the time being, you can also deposit it into my account.”
In this world, she was already considered dead, but her ID and bank cards were not cancelled, so she could still use them normally.
“And then?”
“Then we’ll go to the supermarket to buy things we need to take back. Oh, by the way, the money from the landlord’s refund has arrived. We need to move out today, so let’s tidy up and stay in a hotel tonight.”
Nie Ran didn’t have much of an opinion and continued eating noodles.
Ning Xin was full after nibbling on a bun. She went back to her room and took out a suitcase to pack her things.
Her personal belongings were pitifully few, with only two or three sets of clothes for each season and a total of four pairs of shoes.
Since she didn’t need to take things like bedding, one suitcase was enough.
She wrapped the tens of thousands of yuan in a black bag and handed it to Nie Ran.
As they prepared to leave, she looked back at the empty living room and suddenly realized.
With the house being vacated, she would no longer have a home in this world.
In the future, even if she came back, she would only be like Nie Ran, a transient guest staying for a few days.
Time would erase the traces of her existence, and she would be like those nameless wanderers who disappeared into the streets, not remembered by anyone.
A strong sense of reluctance surged in her heart. Ning Xin leaned against the door frame, lacking the courage to close the door.
“Let’s go,” Nie Ran stood behind, waiting for her.
She took a deep breath, dragged the suitcase, and left, closing the door behind her.
There was a bank branch outside the community, but she was afraid of being recognized, so she specifically took a taxi to the other side of the city, to an unfamiliar branch she had never been to before, and deposited the money there.
She found a spare bank card that wasn’t used much, deposited Nie Ran’s money into it, then gave him the card and told him the password, so that he could use and manage it on his own in the future.
As she walked out of the bank, she looked up and saw a large hotel.
Ning Xin was about to go over when she suddenly thought of a problem.
She had to buy a lot of things, many of which were renovation materials, and the small hotel rooms might not be able to accommodate them.
When she returned, she would need to bring these things with her. It would be best to choose a spacious and uninhabited place to avoid drawing attention.
Where was the most deserted place?
Ning Xin racked her brain, finally remembering passing by a factory area when she used to purchase goods. There were many abandoned factory buildings inside, where nobody passed by for years. It seemed like a suitable choice.
She hailed a taxi and had the driver take them to the hotel closest to the factory area.
It was a newly built four-star hotel, with a decent environment.
Since Nie Ran didn’t have an ID, Ning Xin asked him to wait outside with the luggage while she went to the front desk to check in.
However, the receptionist told her that one ID could only be used to book one room.
What should she do now?
Book a standard room and share a bed with Nie Ran?
It wouldn’t have mattered before, but after what happened yesterday, it would be too awkward.
She thought about finding a less strict motel, but after searching around, she couldn’t find one.
Time was ticking away, and it was almost noon. They needed to settle in early and go shopping in the afternoon.
Reluctantly, Ning Xin returned to the hotel and booked a standard room, taking her luggage upstairs by herself.
Half an hour later, Nie Ran knocked on the door.
She opened it quietly and said, “Let’s make do with this today. We’ll see if we can find another place tomorrow.”
Nie Ran didn’t mind and walked in to look around.
The two beds looked very soft, less than half a meter apart, with clean sheets and blankets. The bathroom was spacious and bright, with a large French window.
After placing the luggage, Ning Xin looked at his back, unsure how to speak. She cleared her throat and waited for him to turn around before saying, “Are you hungry? Let’s go out for a meal, and then head straight to the supermarket.”
The city had a large warehouse-style supermarket, which was perfect for purchasing daily necessities. As for other materials, they could visit a professional wholesale market after finishing shopping at the supermarket.
The two of them went downstairs and ate two bowls of noodles at a nearby snack shop for lunch, then took a taxi to the supermarket.
The supermarket was also located in the outskirts, housed in a large independent building.
Nie Ran already had some understanding of this world, but at the moment they entered, a hint of surprise still flashed in his eyes.
Ning Xin brought out a shopping cart and smiled, “It’s big, isn’t it? I was amazed the first time I came here. I really don’t know how much money the owner of this place makes in a day. I wish I could earn one-tenth of what he does.”
Nie Ran looked at the shopping cart and reached out his hand.
“I’ll do it.”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll push.”
“I’ll push.”
They began to argue, and in the process, accidentally grabbed each other’s hands.
Ning Xin recoiled as if shocked, no longer daring to argue, half of her face buried in her collar.
“Be careful, don’t break anything, if you break it, you’ll have to pay for it,” Nie Ran shrugged and pushed the cart slowly forward.
The massive shelves and bustling customers made him feel a strange calmness.
Ning Xin took out the list she had prepared and began to read from it.
“First, we need 300 bags of rice, 200 barrels of oil, 400 packets of salt…”
The staff member who was sorting goods nearby overheard and asked, “Are you purchasing for a school cafeteria? You should go directly to the manager, it’ll be cheaper.”
The temptation of “cheaper” was too strong for Ning Xin. She immediately asked for the location of the manager’s office and went with Nie Ran.
The manager asked about the quantities they needed, and indeed offered them a discount.
They got almost an 12% discount off the original price, which saved them thousands of yuan.
Ning Xin held the list he gave her and filled in the requirements one by one.
In addition to staple foods like rice and flour, vegetables were also important.
They ordered about a thousand catties of salted fish, cured meat, and various dried goods.
Vegetables didn’t keep well, so she only wrote down a hundred catties of potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with some onions, pumpkins, and radishes.
The daily necessities in the asylum’s small warehouse had been almost used up.
So they added ten winter blankets, ten summer blankets, ten sets of bedding, and ten pillows.
They also ordered ten pairs of slippers for both men and women, fifty sets of underwear, fifty sets of loungewear, and a hundred towels.
Shampoo, body wash, detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, facial cleanser… and so on.
As they wrote down more items, one sheet of paper wasn’t enough, so they asked the manager for a few more.
The manager was very curious, “What organization are you from? Who are these wholesale goods for?”
Ning Xin laughed it off and wrote down the purchasing list.
After glancing at the list, the manager made a few phone calls and said to her, “Some of the items need to be transferred from other warehouses. They’ll probably be ready by tomorrow afternoon. Shall we deliver them all together then? What do you think?”
Ning Xin replied, “That’s fine.”
“Great. Could you please write down the delivery address and pay the deposit?”
She swiped her card, and just the deposit alone cost nearly a hundred thousand yuan, with the remaining balance being twice the amount of the deposit, totalling nearly three hundred thousand yuan.
Ning Xin endured the pain of spending so much money and wrote down the address.
The manager looked at it, puzzled. “Are you sure about this address? It seems to be an abandoned factory…”
She hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, just deliver it there, I’ll pick up the goods there.”
She spoke so confidently that the manager had no choice but to believe her and began preparing the goods.
Ning Xin and Nie Ran walked out of the office, realizing that it had only taken them a little over an hour. Ning Xin asked, “Do you want to browse around some more? See if there’s anything else you want to buy?”
Nie Ran nodded, and the two of them started wandering through the aisles.
“What’s this?” he pointed to a large rectangular box.
“A refrigerator, used to store food, but it needs to be plugged in to work. Tomorrow we’ll go look at generators, if we can buy one to bring back, we’ll get appliances.”
“What about this?”
“Washing machine.”
“And this?”
“Television.”
He seemed uninterested, then suddenly picked up a small box.
“What’s this?” he asked.
Ning Xin saw the words on it, her cheeks turning red, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Chewing gum.”
“What’s it for?”
“It’s sweet and can freshen your breath.”
Nie Ran immediately opened the packaging and handed her a piece. “Here, you ordered garlic noodles for lunch and the smell is making me dizzy.”
“…”
As someone passed by, looking at them with astonishment, Ning Xin quickly snatched the box from his hand and threw it into the shopping basket.
“We haven’t paid for it yet, let’s deal with it outside,” she said.
Nie Ran, half sceptical, grabbed a dozen more boxes and threw them all into the basket.
They bought some snacks, and as they passed by the cosmetics section, Ning Xin grabbed some makeup products and hurriedly checked out.
Outside the supermarket, there was a pharmacy where they bought a bunch of emergency medicines. By this time, it was getting late, and they wouldn’t make it to the market. Since the goods were arriving tomorrow and they didn’t need to go to the factory, they returned to the hotel.
Ning Xin sat on the bed, opened the packaging of the makeup products, and tried the colours on her hand.
Nie Ran flipped over the small square piece, tore it open, and frowned at the greasy substance inside.
“Are you sure this is candy?” he asked.
Ning Xin glanced at it, feeling uncomfortable, and immediately looked away.
“Of course it is, why would I lie to you?” she replied hastily.
Nie Ran walked over to her. “Then eat it and show me.”
“…I don’t feel like eating it right now.”
“When will you eat it?”
“Can I go brush my teeth first? The smell is bothering me.”
She got up and walked towards the bathroom, fleeing from him.
She deliberately spent more than half an hour in the bathroom, trying to figure out how to explain, before finally coming out.
To her surprise, Nie Ran had already fallen asleep on the bed, and he had thrown that thing into the trash.
She softly called his name twice, seeing no response, she relaxed and quickly threw the remaining small boxes under the bed.
With so many things they bought, she estimated he wouldn’t notice. They could consider it a perk for future couples who stayed in this room.
After finishing this task, she truly felt at ease, but also felt a wave of exhaustion. She laid down on the other bed and fell asleep.
In a half-awake state, she faintly felt someone sitting at the head of the bed. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw Nie Ran.
He hung his head low, holding the medicine he had opened last time, silent and thoughtful.
Ning Xin propped herself up on the mattress.
“Why not start taking it today instead of waiting until we get back? The sooner, the better.”
He seemed startled and quickly turned away.
“Sister, you’re awake,” he said.
Great, it’s another switch.
She mumbled, “What are you looking at with the medicine? You don’t even understand the characters of this world.”
“I…”
Ning Xin grabbed a box and pointed to the instructions on it.
“You take this three times a day, four pills each time. Go get a glass of water.”
Nie Ran was usually obedient, but at this moment, he sat still.
She sensed something was wrong and asked, “What’s the matter?”
He rubbed his stomach and smiled falsely, “I don’t seem to be hungry yet. Let’s eat next time.”
This guy was really funny. Medicine isn’t food, you don’t have to be hungry to take it, right?
Ning Xin looked at his evasive eyes and felt he was up to something.
As the night deepened, they didn’t go downstairs but ordered takeout to the room and ate while watching TV.
They were harmonious during dinner, but when it came time to take a shower, Ning Xin couldn’t help but remember what happened last night.
Little Nie was not aware like Old Nie; he had no idea.
But it was the same body, wasn’t it? The red marks on the chest hadn’t even faded yet.
Nie Ran was oblivious to this. After fussing around in the bathroom, he came out holding his clothes and asked her.
“Sister, can you help me wash?”
Ning Xin saw his bare upper body and felt like she had been electrocuted. She quickly hid under the covers and muttered.
“No, wash yourself!”
“Sister…”
Nie Ran ran to the edge of the bed and squatted down, wanting to hold her hand.
Ning Xin reacted strongly, startling him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
She forced a gentle smile.
“Sister is fine, just a little tired. Be good and go shower yourself.”
“Okay…”
Nie Ran pouted and walked into the bathroom, clumsily turning on the shower.
After a while, there was a loud thud from inside, probably indicating a fall.
Ning Xin looked worriedly and saw a shadow behind the frosted glass, someone supporting themselves against the wall after falling, then continuing to shower.
She sighed, closed her eyes, and had no idea in her mind at all.
What were they to each other in the future? Friends with benefits?
She definitely didn’t want to be friends with benefits with him, goodness…
The calm night passed, and the next day the two got up early and went out to the wholesale market.
Daily necessities and food were almost bought, now what they lacked most were renovation materials.
The insane asylum was so dilapidated, and she didn’t know how long she would have to stay there. If she didn’t want the ceiling to collapse on her in the middle of the night, it would be best to renovate it.
What materials were needed for renovating old buildings?
They had no idea about this, so they could only pay and find a renovation company, reporting the various data and damage levels of the small building, letting them draw up a reference materials list.
Cement, lime, red bricks, tiles…
A pile of unfamiliar materials they had never encountered made Ning Xin dizzy and swollen-headed.
The market was huge, and she was unwilling to be ripped off, insisting on comparing prices from three different sellers.
Therefore, it took them a whole morning to purchase the required materials, also noting down the address of the factory for the owner to deliver in the afternoon.
She found the place selling generators, but learned that these things burned oil fiercely. If she wanted to bring one back for long-term stable use, she would need to buy several tons of diesel at least. The cost was too high and troublesome, so she decisively gave up.
Was everything almost bought? What else was missing?
Even if there were more things missing, she didn’t want to buy them anymore. The savings of many years were thrown out like flowing water in these past two days, and in the blink of an eye, more than half was gone.
Looking at the remaining balance, she felt heartbroken.
To make up for it, they only bought a few buns for lunch.
They couldn’t bear to take a taxi either, so they walked to the bus stop while eating.
Passing by a large courtyard, Ning Xin glanced at it, stopped in her tracks, and involuntarily walked to the fence, leaning in to look inside.
“Sister?”
Seeing that she didn’t follow, Nie Ran turned back and called out to her.
She remained motionless, only staring at the figures in the courtyard, as if she hadn’t heard his words at all.
Nie Ran swallowed the remaining bun in one breath and ran over to ask, “What are you looking at?”
There were several buildings in the courtyard, all looking a bit old.
Several older kids were in the open space between the buildings, with a group of younger kids, hanging out thick winter clothes, all taken out and hung on long bamboo poles, basking in the sunshine.
“Whose place is this? So many kids,” Nie Ran mumbled to himself, but Ning Xin felt a pang in her heart.
If this place could be considered home too, then it was her former home.
The director and staff were like parents, and all the children were like siblings, eating and sleeping together. When they were economically strained, they would eat potatoes together for a month, but it was warm nonetheless.
Unfortunately, this home had a deadline; everyone had to go their separate ways when they turned sixteen.
The orphans who grew up with her back then didn’t know where they went.
If they were healthy, they probably, like her, were busy striving for survival and chasing dreams.
For those with disabilities, they would likely be transferred to adult welfare institutions, living with some elderly people who were bedridden.
“Sister?”
Nie Ran couldn’t wait for her answer and called out again.
She withdrew her gaze and pulled his sleeve.
“Let’s go.”
She had intended to go in and see the director, but if she happened to see the obituary in the newspaper, rushing there might frighten her greatly.
It’s better to quietly disappear like this.
In the afternoon, Ning Xin arrived at the abandoned factory early and waited.
After three o’clock, the ordered goods were delivered one by one. She checked them against the purchase order one by one, fearing she might miss anything, too busy even to drink water.
Nie Ran stood by, helping to carry and stack the goods according to Ning Xin’s instructions.
As night fell and the last box was unloaded, the truck left the factory.
Nie Ran looked up at the “small mountain” of goods in front of him, his mouth agape in astonishment.
“We bought so many things, can we take them back?”
Ning Xin put away the purchase order. “Even if we can’t take them back, we have to.”
She was tired of living a life where she didn’t have what she needed.
The gate of the abandoned factory was broken, and they feared someone might come to steal at night.
So, instead of returning to the hotel, they dismantled two cardboard boxes and made makeshift beds, intending to spend the night there.
After dawn, it was the last day they would be in this world.
Ning Xin asked Nie Ran to stay here and guard the goods while she went back to the hotel to check out and pick up their luggage.
On her way back, she passed by a Chongqing noodle shop and bought ten servings of semi-finished noodles, instructing the owner to pack them carefully before returning to the factory with the bags in hand.
Nie Ran had been waiting anxiously, and she checked the goods again, confirming that nothing was missing before turning to Nie Ran.
“Are you ready? We’re going back.”
The house was vacated, and the goods were cleared out.
From now on, her only connection to this world would be the balance in her bank account and the identity card that hadn’t been cancelled yet.
Nie Ran nodded, nervously asking, “Sister, we won’t get separated, will we?”
Ning Xin smiled, took his hand, stood in front of the pile of goods, and closed her eyes.
Just like when they arrived, in the blink of an eye, everything spun around, and when they opened their eyes again, they were back in the insane asylum.
She touched her own body and looked at Nie Ran, confirming that both of them had returned safely.
“I’m so thirsty, pour me a glass of water.”
Ning Xin sat down on a stool, directing Nie Ran to fetch water.
Having spent a few days in the bustling city, returning to this rundown little house felt a bit strange.
Nie Ran obediently agreed and went to the well to fetch water. When he looked up, he exclaimed, “Uh-oh!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Our things, where are they?”
Ning Xin looked around but didn’t see them!
There were only the two of them in the living room, and the rest were the things that belonged to the asylum. Where were their goods? Where was the pile of goods like a small mountain?
They didn’t bring them back? She had spent hundreds of thousands on them!
She panicked and jumped up from the stool, running up and down the stairs. As she passed by the corridor window, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Numerous large boxes were neatly stacked outside the small building, with a few zombies unable to avoid them, struggling underneath.
That’s great…
Ning Xin relaxed, her whole body going soft, almost sitting on the ground.
Nie Ran ran to the second floor and also saw the goods, happily saying, “Let’s move it inside.”
Could the small building accommodate so much stuff?
Ning Xin looked at the towering cardboard boxes within reach and felt uncertain, leaning against the wall as she stood up unsteadily.
“Huh, sister, are you feeling unwell? Let me do it then.”
Without hesitation, he ran downstairs and tried to carry a box inside.
As a zombie approached him, Ning Xin panicked and dragged out the sword and threw it down from the room, shouting, “Be careful!”
Nie Ran put down the cardboard box and picked up the sword, the sharp blade cutting through the zombie’s neck.
“You come in first; it’s too dangerous like this.”
Surrounded by zombies, it was impossible to work in peace.
Nie Ran returned to the living room, and Ning Xin went downstairs. After discussing with him, they first went to the mountain to pick some Yan Ji grass and brought it back, planting it next to the goods to create a safe zone, and then they started moving.
They couldn’t move everything; the small building needed renovation, and if it was filled with stuff, they would have to clear it out later, which would be too much trouble.
They first moved in the things they currently needed, such as food, condiments, spare clothes, and the ten servings of Chongqing noodles that could be eaten by simply boiling water.
Ning Xin remembered an important thing but couldn’t find it in any of the boxes.
As Nie Ran passed by carrying a non-stick pan, she grabbed him.
“Did you see the medicine?”
“Medicine?”
Nie Ran blinked his innocent eyes and moved a box, opening it. “Isn’t it here?”
She glanced inside and saw the emergency medicine they had bought from the pharmacy, not the kind she was looking for.
“No, it’s the medicine prescribed by the doctor for you. I remember putting it in.”
“Maybe it’s buried under all this stuff.”
“Really? Don’t worry about the pan, help me find it. It’s no good to specially bring the medicine back and not take it.”
Ning Xin searched hard, and Nie Ran joined in.
A few hours later, she sighed in frustration, holding her forehead.
“Oh no, did we lose it…?”
She had taken him to see a doctor on the first day she arrived, and now it seemed like all that effort was for nothing?
What about his illness?
Ning Xin looked at Nie Ran, who quickly lowered his head, avoiding her gaze, pretending to rummage through the boxes.
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