Dou Ya's meddling annoyed Chen Dongyang, but she was right about one thing.
It was time to quit smoking.
Whether the cigarettes he smoked were expensive or cheap, they were bought with money, and they harmed his body.
Instead of spending money on cigarettes, he'd rather save it to buy two bottles of milk for Dou Bao.
There was hardly any luggage to pack, and the time was wasted on the road.
He grabbed two sets of nearly identical clothes, bought dinner, and returned to Tiantian's place close to seven o'clock.
Fortunately, she seemed to be in good spirits.
During dinner, Chen Dongyang asked her how her day was and what she had done. Tiantian said she had done nothing, having played all day.
He raised an eyebrow: "Your company's system is quite humane. You don't even need to meet a work quota when working from home."
Tiantian agreed, "And the salary isn't low either. Why don't you consider joining our company?"
Chen Dongyang casually asked, "Which company do you work for?"
"Southern Properties, under Zhan Group. Have you heard of it?"
Of course, he had heard of it. It was such a renowned large company.
But he didn't say anything else, just nodded.
Tiantian could tell he wasn't interested in changing jobs, so she didn't press the matter.
After dinner, he, as usual, sorted the trash, took it downstairs to dispose of it, and then returned to ask Tiantian if she wanted to do anything.
"No, I haven't finished watching the variety show I was following today, and I want to continue."
"Then you watch. I'll borrow your computer."
Chen Dongyang went back to work. However, he usually smoked a cigarette after dinner. His pockets were empty now, and after sitting for a few minutes, he couldn't get into his work, feeling an uncomfortable craving.
After a pause, he called out, "Miss Jiang."
Tiantian looked over. He said, "Do you have any chewing gum?"
Tiantian found it strange, why would he suddenly want to chew gum?
But she did have some.
Girls liked to keep sweet, non-fattening snacks in their bags. She had all sorts of flavors.
Chen Dongyang didn't rummage through her bag. He took it and handed it to her. Tiantian pulled out several packs.
He picked one at random, "Thanks, to pass the time."
"Do you have a habit of chewing gum?"
"No. I'm planning to quit smoking, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I forgot to buy some."
"Oh. Then take all of these. Chewing too much gum can enlarge your jaw muscles and make your face wider. I rarely chew it."
Chen Dongyang didn't stand on ceremony and put them in his pocket.
After finishing an episode of the variety show, it was past nine o'clock, and time for bed.
Tiantian watched Chen Dongyang turn off the computer and suddenly felt that her day had been very empty, making her want to criticize herself.
Chen Dongyang came over from the bar, drank half a glass of water, and subconsciously glanced at her face.
Her expression was blank, as if she wasn't very happy.
"What's wrong?"
Tiantian replied listlessly, "Nothing much. I'm suddenly not in a good mood."
He couldn't help but smile, "Girls' moods are truly mysterious."
In other words, she was fine one moment and suddenly not the next, which he didn't understand.
Tiantian didn't expect him to understand. She leaned back on the sofa and asked blankly.
"Was the air outside good today? Was it cold? Or hot?"
Chen Dongyang finally realized she had been cooped up at home all day and was longing to go outside.
"I don't know. I was just focused on getting here, no time to appreciate it. Do you want to go out for a bit?"
"But it's getting late, and you should be sleeping."
"It's not that urgent. If you want to go out, let's go."
Saying that, Chen Dongyang pushed the wheelchair over, picked her up, and pushed her out the door.
As soon as they exited the lobby, a cool night breeze blew in, lifting Tiantian's hair and gently brushing against Chen Dongyang's hand.
Her mood immediately improved a lot.
"Can you take me to the supermarket? I want to eat some snacks."
Of course, it was no problem. However, Chen Dongyang hadn't brought the car keys when he came down.
But Tiantian had prepared in advance and gave him her keys.
Chen Dongyang helped her into the passenger seat, folded the wheelchair, and put it in the trunk. The two of them went to a nearby supermarket.
Tiantian had no plan. After entering, she asked Chen Dongyang to push her around the snack aisle aimlessly, wanting to buy puffed snacks.
But Chen Dongyang reminded her that these things were not conducive to wound recovery, so she put them all back.
The two went to buy fruit. Tiantian was generous, choosing imported fruits.
It was difficult to push the shopping cart while pushing the wheelchair, so she held them all in her arms.
The red and green fruits contrasted with her fair face, making her look incredibly cute. No one who passed by didn't want to glance at her.
As they wandered, they reached the vegetable section. Tiantian asked Chen Dongyang if he knew how to cook.
"Yes. Do you want to eat at home from now on?"
"It's too much trouble, so let's forget about it."
Chen Dongyang looked at the dazzling array of vegetables.
"It is a bit troublesome, but eating takeout all the time isn't good for your health, and you need nutrition. We should buy some."
He asked Tiantian what vegetables she wanted to choose. Tiantian, ignorant of grains and not skilled in manual labor, picked whatever looked pretty.
Finally, he also selected two ribs, a fish, and a chicken.
Tiantian was so full she could barely hold anything else. Chen Dongyang, worried about crushing her, brought over another shopping cart.
One hand pushing the wheelchair, the other pushing the shopping cart.
With this posture, he looked incredibly manly.
While waiting in line to check out, two aunts behind them mistook Tiantian for a disabled person and whispered.
"This man is too kind. His wife is like this, and he's still devoted. Good men like this are rare these days."
"Although this woman's legs are inconvenient, she is quite beautiful. It's a shame, they would be such a well-matched couple."
Those people didn't even try to be discreet. While whispering, the two of them could hear perfectly clearly.
Afraid that Tiantian might feel uncomfortable, Chen Dongyang thought about it and turned back to explain to them.
"She's not disabled, just injured her foot. She'll be fine in a few days."
The two aunts' faces flushed awkwardly: "Oh, we didn't mean anything else, young man, don't be angry."
"I'm not angry, I'm just explaining to you."
"That's the best. Your girlfriend is so beautiful, and so well-matched with you. Treat her well, and you'll definitely get better and better together."
There were still several people ahead of them. As they waited, Chen Dongyang saw the small condoms on the counter and suddenly remembered the pair of underwear Dou Ya had thrown away.
Since they were at the supermarket, he might as well buy another pair.
He lowered his head and said to Tiantian, "Wait for me for a moment, I'm going to buy something. I'll be right back."
He bought two pairs. Feeling a bit embarrassed to let Tiantian see them, he held them in his hand.
Tiantian felt him return and subconsciously glanced at him.
What was he sneakily hiding from her?
Finally, it was their turn. They handed their items to the cashier one by one. Tiantian slid her wheelchair forward a couple of steps, waiting to be scanned and paid for.
Chen Dongyang had also prepared his phone in advance.
The cashier said the total was 1686. Both of them handed over their phones simultaneously.
The cashier didn't know whose phone to scan and looked at them both: "Who's paying?"
Tiantian pushed her phone forward, "Me."
Chen Dongyang, however, pushed her hand back directly: "Scan this."