The 99th Divorce

Ye Youyou’s feet remained motionless. She stood rooted to the spot looking at Li Jinnan. Only after a long moment did she look down and apologize. “GM Li, thank you for your help today, but I’m not in the mood.”

So, please just leave and stop bothering me. Obviously, the latter part could not be voiced aloud.

Li Jinnan had no intention of leaving at all. He stood there looking a little troubled and replied, “What a coincidence. I’m not in a good mood either. Sigh, I’m probably vexed because I’m hungry. How about this? Take me to the nearest supermarket, and I’ll ring something back.”

“There’s a supermarket near the entrance of the estate, but at this hour, the fresh produce has all probably been sold,” she said. “Even if they aren’t, whatever’s left over won’t be fresh.”

In other words, she didn’t want to go. Ye Youyou’s message was obscured in her words, but she knew that Li Jinnan understood.

Li Jinnan still acted as if he hadn’t understood the undertones of her statement. He nodded his head seriously and said, “It’s fine. Let’s go. If we wait any longer, we won’t even be able to get our hands on the unfresh ones.”

“GM Li, I’m not in the mood to cook,” Ye Youyou said.

“That’s OK,” Li Jinnan immediately replied. “I’ll do the cooking. But, I’m bad with directions. Even if you tell me where the supermarket is, I might not be able to find it. Furthermore, I’m unfamiliar with this place. What if I get lost?”

Ye Youyou was speechless. How could such a grown man ever get lost?

She didn’t know what to say. Considering he had already said so much, if she continued to object, it wasn’t going to come off graciously. After a moment’s hesitation, she put on her shoes.

She made the entire trip with Li Jinnan in silence. When they reached the supermarket, most of the shelves were empty as she had predicted.

Li Jinnan went in and looked around to the left and to the right. Ye Youyou stood to the side.

“What should we buy? I’ve never bought groceries before. Will this vegetable do?” Li Jinnan picked up a head of shriveled cauliflower. “I think I’ve seen my mom cook this vegetable before. It’s quite tasty.” With that comment, he threw the cauliflower into the grocery basket.

Ye Youyou looked at it with a frown and asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted to cook noodles?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“With this vegetable?” Ye Youyou found it laughable. She put the cauliflower back and went forward to pick a head of lettuce. “This is the kind of vegetable that will go well with noodles.”

“Is that so?” Li Jinnan’s expression was one of sudden realization. “Do we need to buy eggs to?”

“Yeah,” Ye Youyou said. “Do you eat spring onions?”

“Yes.” His answer came easily.

“What about coriander?” she asked.

“I’m not picky with my food,” Li Jinnan said.

Ye Youyou glanced at him before turning back to the fresh produce section. She looked at the red chili peppers and asked, “Do you eat spicy food?”

Since he was from Kingstown, it was unlikely that his tolerance for spicy food was high.

Li Jinnan’s reply this time was as direct. He looked at her and asked in return, “Do you like spicy food?”

“Yeah,” Ye Youyou said.

“Then, I’ll eat it,” Li Jinnan said.

Ye Youyou grabbed a bag of chili peppers and put it in the basket. She took a packet of noodles and detoured over to the lifestyle section.

Li Jinnan watched as Ye Youyou took a toothpaste, a toothbrush, and various bathroom products for a single person. He felt a tinge of annoyance.

Why is she only buying a single person’s share? Is it for herself or for me?

The gears in Li Jinnan’s head were moving continuously. He was distracted the rest of the way.

After he settled the bill, the two returned to her home and automatically took the grocery bags into the kitchen. Ye Youyou put away her purchases before heading into the kitchen only to realize that the vegetables had all been washed and left in a mess.

This isn’t washing vegetables at all! It was torturing the vegetables!

“GM Li, do you know how to cook?” she asked.

Li Jinnan glanced at her and answered truthfully, “I don’t.”