After she left, Mo Liuxi spent a moment focusing on the aftertaste of the congee, finding it was not that bad.
He learned to cook back when he was a little boy. Mo Jin could hardly cook any tasteful congee for him.
One time when he was in primary school, he had a fever. Back then, Mo Jin made him some congee. It tasted so awful that he never forgot it all his life.
Before today, no other woman had ever made congee for him.
The taste of the congee made him feel at home.
He was pretty annoyed by An Ning, as she insisted on following him to his apartment. But now, he was thinking that maybe he should try to know more about her.
The next day, he woke up, feeling much better.
He went out of his room, into the kitchen. The kitchen was perfectly tidy. Even the kitchen waste had been taken away.
He was a little satisfied. He didn’t like it when women made a mess in the kitchen without cleaning it afterward. Mo Jin always did that.
He refreshed himself, finding that half of the congee from yesterday was still left in the pot. He went downstairs, jogged, and bought two steamed stuffed buns near the entrance of the neighborhood. On his way back, he saw a woman in a white pajama suit. Her face was covered in a face mask. She was taking a plastic bag from a deliveryman.
At the sight of her backside, Mo Liuxi recognized her as Yan Su. She was sneakily looking around.
Yan Su’s eyes popped with surprise when she saw him.
Then, she quickly turned and walked away, as if she was a mouse, and he was a cat.
Mo Liuxi felt a little speechless. Her behavior made him want to bully her.
He caught up with her, clasped her hat from behind and said, “Aren’t you tired? Why do you run away every time you see me?”
“Aren’t you proud? Can’t you pretend not to see me?” Yan Su pushed his hand away. She was, of course, nervous. She was there to pick up emergency contraception pills.
Mo Liuxi glanced at the plastic bag in her hand and saw the name of a nearby pharmacy on it. “Are you having a cold too?” he asked.
“No.” Yan Su automatically held the plastic bag tighter, in case he saw what was inside.
However, Mo Liuxi’s eyes were keen enough to see Durex’s logo, which was by the edge of the bag. “Did you buy some condoms?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Yan Su’s cheeks reddened. “I didn’t.”
“I saw them,” Mo Liuxi said. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Somehow, he felt a little uncomfortable.
Yan Su paused briefly, then sneakily opened the plastic bag and looked inside. Two condoms were lying beside the pillbox. Those were probably a free gift.
What was wrong with that pharmacy?
“These are free gifts.”
“What kind of medicine did you buy? Why did they give you condoms as free gifts?” Mo Liuxi suspected she bought a large box of condoms.
Yan Su didn’t know how to explain. She felt that she could never explain it.
“It’s none of your business,” she said.
Her words made Mo Liuxi believe his guess. “You didn’t get back together with your ex-boyfriend, did you?”
“No,” Yan Su responded. “I collect these things. It’s my hobby.”
This time, Mo Liuxi didn’t know what to say.
“Have you ever seen me bringing a guy back home? Besides, I’m so busy.” Yan Su said. “Ask your sister if you don’t believe me. She knows about my hobby.”
Luosang always felt that she weirdly was into condoms.
Mo Liuxi stayed silent.
He didn’t believe that a girl could have such a strange hobby.
As he didn’t say anything, Yan Su turned and left.
They entered the building one after another and ran into each other again before the elevator.
No one else was there, and no one spoke. Yan Su felt a little awkward. After standing there for a while, she asked him, “Is your fever down yet?”