Chapter 14 Chapter 14: Shopping
Not far from the barbecue restaurant stood a small department store. Though not large, it carried a surprisingly wide range of items—perhaps a bit too wide.
Staring at the shelves packed with pads from countless brands, Shu Yuxin fell into deep contemplation.
She was, in fact, a rather obvious case of someone with decision paralysis. Even choosing between a sausage or spicy snacks as a side for her Laotan Sour Cabbage instant noodles could paralyze her for half an hour.
She remembered a popular internet quote that rang especially true now: “There’s no such thing as decision paralysis—just poverty.”
Yuxin wholeheartedly agreed. If she’d had more money, she could’ve bought one pack of every brand and tested them all herself.
“Hey, Zixuan,” she finally called out after a long internal struggle, “which brand do you think works best?”
The corner of Jiang Zixuan’s mouth twitched. “How would I know? I’ve never used any.”
“But you’ve had girlfriends before—didn’t you ever buy them pads for her?”
“Nope.”
“Well… didn’t she ever talk to you about pads or anything period-related?”
Seeing the hopeful glint in Yuxin’s eyes, Zixuan paused, then lowered his voice: “If you had a girlfriend, would you talk to her about wet dreams?”
Yuxin: “….”
This guy was completely useless.
She could’ve called Peng Xiaoxiao for help—but she instinctively decided against it. She wasn’t sure whether Xiaoxiao might suspect something…
It would be like if one of your twenty-something male friends suddenly slapped your shoulder out of the blue one day, eyes wide with shock, and blurted out, “Dude! I had a wet dream last night!” Even if he never said it was his first, his tone alone would betray him. You’d probably start wondering why he was only experiencing this now—and maybe even suspect he’d transitioned from female to male. Of course, that possibility was pretty slim; most people with normal brain wiring would just assume the guy had been… uh… relieving himself since childhood.
Ahem. Anyway, that was the gist of it. With girls, it was even more sensitive—menstruation couldn’t be “avoided” the way guys could, and there was no “manual method” to skip it. The only “solution” was… well, pregnancy—but even that was pure chance.
After careful deliberation, Yuxin finally decided to just buy the same brand Xiaoxiao had given her that morning. She stepped forward and reached up toward the top shelf—but couldn’t quite reach it. She stood on her tiptoes—still no luck.
Zixuan snorted, barely holding back a laugh.
“Laugh my ass off!” Yuxin hissed in embarrassment, then jabbed a finger upward. “Grab two packs for me!”
“Alright, alright.” Still suppressing a grin, Zixuan walked over, effortlessly plucked down two packs, and dropped them into the shopping basket he was holding.
Though inconsequential to anyone else, this tiny incident dealt a serious blow to our heroine’s dignity. Her mood instantly soured, and she lost all interest in browsing further. After a few silent seconds staring at the pads in the basket, she turned with a grumble and stomped toward the checkout counter. “The store’s tiny, but they make the shelves stupidly tall—what’s wrong with them!”
Zixuan trailed behind her, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
The store had only two checkout counters, and at this hour, both cashiers were idly scrolling through their phones. Yuxin tapped lightly on the counter in front of the prettier cashier, who promptly tucked away her phone and began scanning their items. Between daily necessities and the two packs of pads, the total came to ¥173.50.
“That’ll be ¥173.50,” the cashier said politely after bagging everything. “Cash or Alipay?”
“Alipay,” Yuxin replied, wincing internally as she pulled out her phone and opened the payment code.
The cashier scanned it—but the machine emitted an error beep.
She blinked in surprise, pressed Enter twice on the keyboard, then offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry… it looks like your Alipay balance is insufficient.”
“Insufficient?” Yuxin was stunned.
She hadn’t been closely tracking her account balance—she only knew her funds were running low, not how low exactly.
Unfortunately, her wallet didn’t hold much cash, either.
An awkward silence fell over the counter.
“Ahem… I’ll cover it,” Zixuan stepped in, pulling out his phone and opening his payment app.
The cashier said nothing, scanned his code, and this time, the payment went through smoothly.
“Thank you for shopping with us! Have a nice day!”
Outside the store, Yuxin stared at her phone screen, her expression complicated.
Her expenses since the start of the semester had been shockingly high. Barely over a month in, and she’d already spent more than ¥2,000. For wealthier families, that might be pocket change—but for the Shu household, which was now financially strained, it was a significant burden.
Back in high school, her monthly allowance had been just ¥1,000—and even that had felt more than enough. Now, she truly understood the phrase “money burns a hole in your pocket.” She’d last asked her dad for money only ten days ago, and already, she felt hesitant to ask again.
“If you’re short on cash,” Zixuan said gently beside her, trying to sound casual, “I can lend you some. You know I get a generous allowance—I never spend it all anyway.”
“Thanks,” Yuxin sighed softly. “Could you… lend me a few hundred? I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”
Zixuan smiled, pulled up his transfer screen, and typed in “5000.” But just before hitting confirm, he hesitated—then deleted a zero and pressed send. “Don’t rush to repay me. I’m not worried you’ll run off, am I?”
After confirming the transfer, Yuxin put away her phone and turned to him. “Let me carry the bag.”
Zixuan instinctively sidestepped her outstretched hand and took off walking. “I’m perfectly capable of carrying it—what are you rushing for?”
“Hey!” Yuxin laughed. “They’re my things—you’re the one butting in!”
“You planning to carry that straight back to your dorm?” Zixuan smoothly changed the subject.
Yuxin nodded. “Yeah, I’m kinda tired. Gonna go nap.”
“You just woke up a while ago and you’re already napping again?” Zixuan shot her a sideways glance. “Why don’t you come hang out at my place instead?”
“Your place? Your dorm?”
“No—here.” He tilted his chin toward the sky. “There are tons of rentals in the Walmart apartments. I got a two-bedroom unit a few days ago and moved out of campus housing.”
Yuxin looked up at the tall apartment buildings flanking the shopping street, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Sure!”
Memories of high school flooded back.
Back then, she and Jiang Zixuan had shared an apartment just like this.
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