Chapter 79

Xue Ling casually tied her hair up, revealing a hickey on her neck. “Let’s not continue. I just remembered, we still have a lot to do.”

Wen Jiuze almost laughed at her frustration. “Didn’t you start this?”

Now she didn’t want to?

Xue Ling made a stopping motion. “I started it, so I’ll pause for now.”

Wen Jiuze walked over, slipped his arm under hers, and pulled her toward the room.

Xue Ling struggled a bit. “Wait, I want to take a shower, but look, I only have these clothes on, and I don’t have anything to change into.”

Wen Jiuze: “Wear mine.”

Xue Ling: “Your clothes? They look a bit old because it was left there for a long time. I threw them out, and now you only have a few jackets and pants left.”

Wen Jiuze: “……”

By the time they reached the room, he noticed the bed was empty, just a mattress left.

Xue Ling: “I threw away the old sheets and blankets from your bed earlier. There’s nothing new to replace them with.”

“I saw a bottle of 2-in-1 shampoo and shower gel in your bathroom. It’s from four years ago, and it’s expired. There’s nothing else.”

“I also threw away your towel.”

The place was clean, but it truly was a bare home.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the largest shopping mall nearby.

As expected, like when they lived together before, although they had a shopping list, they ended up buying more things not on it.

For daily necessities, a man who used a 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between all the various types of skin care products.

Xue Ling stood by the skincare counter for a while before turning to Wen Jiuze and asking, “Do skincare products work for us?”

The rough man, who had never used skincare products, told her, “If you get injured, you can inject the special repair solution, and it will heal quickly.”

Xue Ling: “Does the repair solution work for other skin problems?”

Or did she even have skin problems now?

Wen Jiuze tapped the counter, passing the question on to the store staff: “Do these skincare products work for the thawed people?”

The young sales assistant seemed to notice their red eyes for the first time, giving an awkward, tense smile. “Sorry, these might be more suitable for ordinary skin. We don’t have skincare products specifically for thawed people…”

Although news about thawed individuals often appears, making it seem like there are many of them, they are actually extremely rare compared to the vast population.

In daily life, apart from those in related professions, ordinary people rarely have the chance to interact with them.

At least, the sales assistant who had been working there for three years had never seen a thawed individual come to buy skincare products.

“However, this series of care products sells very well, and these are also highly recommended. Their fragrance is very refreshing.”

“Do you have any recommendations for men’s skincare products?”

“…”

After leaving this section, Xue Ling pushed the empty shopping cart and sighed, “I feel like we spend less money now compared to before. A lot of skincare products seem unnecessary.”

As they passed through the food section, Xue Ling’s gaze lingered on the colorful array of food. She couldn’t help but stop, her longing almost visible in her eyes.

Wen Jiuze, following behind with two baskets full of daily necessities, noticed her fiery gaze toward the snacks, much hotter than the way she looked at him.

“If you want it, take it.”

“No, we don’t even need to eat anymore. Didn’t you say taking nutritional supplements regularly is enough? Normal food won’t digest properly for us. We’d just throw it up.”

Despite her words, she couldn’t move from the food section.

“Honestly, I’m already satisfied. Unlike before, when I felt hungry all the time, now it’s just my little greediness.”

Her reasoning was logical as she tried to convince herself, but her unconscious glance toward Wen Jiuze spoke volumes—it was the same look she had when someone confessed to her outside the dorm, and she wanted to be saved.

Wen Jiuze picked up snacks from the shelves and tossed them into her cart.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough. Don’t waste too much food. Just a little is fine… Oh, I want that candy too.”

Pushing a half-filled cart of snacks, Xue Ling felt like her steps had gotten lighter.

When they reached the beverage section, she stopped again and turned back with puppy eyes. “Wen Jiuze, can we drink beverages?”

Wen Jiuze didn’t reply. He simply grabbed some drinks and tossed them into the cart.

After storing the two carts and several baskets of items, they moved on to buy clothes.

This time, when Wen Jiuze began throwing clothes into the shopping basket, Xue Ling stopped him.

She took out a purple gradient dress he had picked and hung it back. “That’s too ugly. I’m not wearing it.”

Memories of Wen Jiuze’s terrible sense of style and mismatched outfits resurfaced.

“You’re allowed to pick clothes for me, but I can’t pick for you?” Wen Jiuze said, holding up a pink bodycon skirt and a pastel yellow blouse with a dissatisfied expression.

Xue Ling didn’t dare look directly at the eye-searing outfit in his hands. “Think carefully. You’re only allowed to pick one outfit for me.”

Wen Jiuze hung the clothes back and returned with a high-saturation, visually offensive dress.

Xue Ling: I said you could pick, but I never said I’d wear it.

“Wen Jiuze, thank you for not preparing clothes for me in advance. I really mean it.”

“I thought about it but worried that by the time you woke up, the trendy clothes would be out of season.”

Xue Ling: With your taste, even zombies would feel outdated, and you’re worried about being out of season?

Wake up. The clothes you choose would still be too ahead of their time even after a hundred years.

After buying clothes for both of them, Wen Jiuze checked the time. “That’s about it. We should head back.”

Xue Ling pointed toward another mall across the way. “That one looks like it sells furniture. Since we’re already here, let’s get some furniture for the house. It’s so empty.”

“Let’s come back tomorrow.” Wen Jiuze tried to pull her away.

Xue Ling insisted, “We need a new bed that’s more comfortable to lie on, and a bigger sofa. The one we have now is too small. We can’t even roll over on it. Don’t you think so?”

That old sofa was indeed too narrow. Every time he moved, Xue Ling worried he’d fall off.

With just a few words, Xue Ling successfully dragged Wen Jiuze into the furniture shop.

Once inside, Wen Jiuze completely lost control of the situation.

“Aren’t several lights in the house broken? You haven’t fixed them. Let’s buy this new set. It looks nice.”

“I thought we were buying a new bed?”

“We’ll get to that later. Let’s check out this balcony chair first. It’s so comfy.”

“…”

“Wow, this floor lamp is gorgeous.”

“…”

After hours of browsing, they finally finished and arranged for delivery. Walking out of the furniture mall, Wen Jiuze crossed his arms. “Can we go home now?”

Xue Ling looked at him and said, “Since we’re already out, where do we pick up the ‘Heart of History’ medal? Can we go get it now?”

Wen Jiuze smirked faintly. “‘Conveniently’ pick it up?”

“Hurry up. Take me there, or I’ll find the route myself and go alone!” Xue Ling waved her newly purchased communicator at him.

Awards like medals were issued at the Area A Administration Bureau. There was a dedicated department responsible for distributing medals, awards, benefits, and privileges.

The Administration Bureau was enormous, handling countless tasks. As Xue Ling followed Wen Jiuze into the lobby, she noticed many uniformed staff members glancing their way.

They seemed to recognize Wen Jiuze but were too cautious to openly stare, stealing glances instead.

Xue Ling recalled how people had reacted to Wen Jiuze after her awakening. Quietly, she asked him, “Why do so many people recognize you? Were we famous in history?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Wen Jiuze said, ignoring the curious stares. “The only historical record about us is a simple task log left at the Beizheng Base. We aren’t famous. They know me because I’ve been causing trouble since I woke up.”

Xue Ling: “…”

Lower your voice. Is that really something to be proud of?

How can you say “causing trouble” so casually and confidently?

“Wen Jiuze, don’t tell me you’ve been arrested for causing trouble before?” Xue Ling tugged on his sleeve and whispered.

“I helped the Security Bureau catch troublemaking criminals.” Wen Jiuze hooked an arm around her neck and led her skillfully into an office.

He entered the office and went straight to the cabinet, taking out a tea cake, grabbing a cup, and brewing tea with a familiarity that exceeded being in his own home.

With fluid movements, he finished preparing the tea and placed the cup in front of Xue Ling. Then, he sat on the guest sofa in the office, introducing to the elderly man behind the desk, “This is Xue Ling. She’s here to collect her medal.”

Xue Ling thought, If it weren’t for the person sitting behind the desk, I would have genuinely mistaken this for your office, Wen Jiuze.

The owner of the office looked heartbroken. “That’s my tea, not mushrooms! How could you brew it like that?”

Wen Jiuze replied, “You don’t understand. This is the traditional way of brewing tea. That’s how our ancestors did it.”

The elderly man seemed slightly swayed by his words.

Xue Ling retorted, “Wen Jiuze, stop spreading nonsense! That’s not how we brew tea!”

It was clear that Wen Jiuze was truly familiar with this place.

“Haha, of course. Mr. Wen has won the most medals in the past decade. We’re all very familiar with him. And you must be the Xue Ling he’s been searching for?” The elderly man smiled warmly, stepping forward to shake Xue Ling’s hand.

Feeling embarrassed to be addressed so formally by an elder, Xue Ling quickly stood up. “There’s no need for such formalities. It’s not troublesome at all.”

“It’s not troublesome at all. Being able to witness history come alive before my eyes is my honor. I’m delighted to present you with this honorary medal.”

“If you’d like, we could arrange a small ceremony…”

“There’s no need for that. This medal is just a keepsake for me. Something simple will do,” Xue Ling quickly declined.

The elderly man chuckled. “You and Mr. Wen are truly a pair. He refuses ceremonies every time, takes the medal, and leaves, saving us quite a bit on event costs.”

So, when Wen Jiuze ruined his tea, he tolerated it.

“Normally, the Heart of History medals require time to craft. When information about a thawed individual is uploaded to the database, we receive notification, verify the identity, and then start production.”

“But yours was made long ago and has been stored in the warehouse. We can give it to you immediately.”

Xue Ling glanced at Wen Jiuze, who was lounging on the sofa. She guessed this was likely something he had requested back then.

“All Heart of History medals are crafted from meteorites left behind after the Great Cataclysm. Yours and Mr. Wen’s medals come from the same meteorite.”

“You are the 45th recipient of the Heart of History medal. Thank you for your contributions in the past, and we hope you find happiness and joy in the present and future.”

The elderly man spoke sincerely and solemnly.

Xue Ling felt her eyes warm up as she smiled. “Thank you. I will.”

“Don’t get too emotional. He says that to everyone,” Wen Jiuze interjected. “When I came to get the City Defender medal last time, he said the same thing, even got the words wrong halfway through and had to check his notebook.”

The other two in the room: “…”

“How can you still not retire with such a poor memory at your age?” Wen Jiuze asked.

Xue Ling quickly covered his mouth and dragged him out. “Thank you for everything. We’ll be leaving now.”

Outside the management bureau, Wen Jiuze asked, “So, where to next? Are we visiting Wen Yi’s grave, or do you want to read her journal?”

Xue Ling looked at him, her red eyes carrying a smile. “Since we’re already here, let’s go get a certificate.”