Chapter 403, Back Home
When Zhuo finished the interview-like meeting and was about to go home, he sent a message saying that he had been to the place where he was working, had passed the interview, and was on his way back.

Zhuo planned to explain the details after returning, and then opened the door to the entrance.

"I'm back……"

"..."

Zhuo thought Ling would greet him at the entrance, but no one was there, so his greetings of going home became quieter and quieter. As a result, after waiting for two seconds, Ling didn't show up, which made him distracted for a moment.

Although Ling would always quietly follow Zhuo when he was at home, Zhuo never took it for granted. So it was normal for Ling to be away from home when she had something to do, and Zhuo didn't want to complain. It was just that Zhuo thought Ling would be like what he remembered, or more accurately, what Zhuo imagined, sitting at home doing nothing, but he didn't expect that she was not at home.

After a while, Zhuo appeared in the kitchen.

Because there were no signs of cooking preparation in the kitchen, Zhuo thought that Ling must have gone somewhere far away and did not have time to prepare.

“…I can at least cook—”

Zhuo talked to himself in a somewhat awkward tone.

Although his cooking skills were not that great, Zhuo could cook now. Of course, he could never compare to Ling's outstanding cooking skills, but compared to when he first moved here, there was still a world of difference.

Zhuo has improved to the point where he can get a passing score from Ling as long as he strictly follows the process Ling tells him to do.

Zhuo also didn't want others to think that he didn't put any effort into things he wasn't good at, so he had been silently memorizing these contents.

About twenty minutes later, Zhuo was about to eat the meatball spaghetti he had made himself. When he took a short break in the kitchen, he heard the sound of a lock being unlocked at the door. As expected, it should be Ling who came back.

Zhuo thought that it was quite fresh for him to be the one to go and greet Ling when he came back. As he walked towards the entrance, he saw Ling standing there holding a bunch of paper bags and looking at him.

The number of paper bags was so abnormal that it was hard to believe that it was a day's shopping amount. How could someone buy so much? Zhuo, who had no material desires, had no idea what was going on.

"...I didn't think you would come back so soon."

"……Oh."

Perhaps it was Zhuo's slightly lost and unfamiliar expression that made Ling notice something. She tilted her head and looked up at Zhuo's eyes, while Zhuo avoided her sight awkwardly.

"I contacted you, didn't you notice? Because I thought you would have to work after school and wouldn't have time to go to the supermarket together, so I went to buy all the food for this month."

Although Zhuo sent a message to Ling, he put his phone away later and naturally did not notice the reply from Ling.

After hearing what Ling said, Zhuo took out his cell phone and the notification bar showed that he had received a message from Ling.

"Sorry, I didn't notice. By the way, Zero, don't you like going to convenience stores?"

Zhuoyou knew that Ling was a quick-and-easy person, but he didn't expect that she didn't like going to convenience stores. He could understand buying everything at once for convenience, but he didn't know how to face the fact that he used to accompany her shopping every time after school.

"It's not about like or dislike. If you don't go, I don't think it's necessary to go every day, that's all."

After all, Ling goes to the convenience store every day just to be with Zhuo.

Zhuo also understood that Ling had not brought up this topic out of consideration, so he shrugged. "Is this okay? It's rare to have some personal time to do nothing."

"I came here for you in the first place, and the other things were just by chance. Besides, I used to live nearby before I came here, and I didn't think it was that interesting."

"That's true."

Before Ling officially moved into the apartment, her residence was in a commercial hotel not far away. It was neither close nor far, but the route to school was roughly the same as Zhuo's, so she was very familiar with the area and it was normal that she did not find it new.

"Besides, if I'm not here when you come back, you'll be lonely, right?"

“I’m not that fragile.”

Zhuo awkwardly avoided Ling's gaze and responded, "...By the way, are these all ingredients?"

"No, some of them are clothes that I choose and force you to wear."

"When I heard you say 'force me to wear it', I knew you bought clothes that I don't usually wear."

Speaking of "forcing oneself to wear clothes", Zhuo immediately thought of the complicated memories when Sa Chiko dressed him up in various styles to make him more emotional. If the clothes were bought by his mother, Zhuo would feel a little complicated, but if it was not selected by him, it shouldn't be so bad.

Zhuo planned to listen to what Ling had to say later, but he still felt that there were too many paper bags.

Zhuo was relieved that Ling was still looking into his eyes, and took the paper bag from her. Even though he knew that the things in it were nothing to Ling with her ability, it was not good to let her continue to carry it.

While watching Ling take off his shoes, Zhuo glanced at the clock hanging on the wall - it was already 40:, minutes away from the time Ling usually prepared meals on time. It seemed that even when he went out to buy large quantities of goods, he still strictly remembered the cooking time.

Although as far as today's results are concerned, Zhuo has already prepared a dinner that is barely edible, but Ling originally planned to cook after returning home. He didn't plan to be lazy or adjust the time. So if Zhuo didn't come back early, but came back after work, he would probably see the food that was heated up several times by Ling when he entered the door.

Ling, who was changing into slippers, used Zhuo's body as support, which made Zhuo feel a little embarrassed while waiting for her to put on her slippers. At this time, Ling suddenly looked up as if he remembered something.

"By the way, how was your visit to the place where you work?"

"Well, the store manager seemed to like me, so I was hired."

Zhuo didn't expect to be hired so easily, so he was confused, but Ling replied nonchalantly: "I knew you would be hired."

Zhuo felt that Ling trusted him too much, or rather, he overestimated him a little. Honestly, if he had to give an explanation, Zhuo could only relate it to the fact that he was a "connected person".

"By the way, what kind of person is the store manager?"

"Well, this one can be said to be a big sister with a lot of personality..."

"big sister."

"Uesugi Yue said she was his friend, but how could this old man have a friend? She must be one of his girlfriends... But she is much older than Uesugi Yue, so she feels like an older sister."

Zhuo didn't ask about the specific age. Even he knew that asking a woman's age was taboo. He just guessed that she was between twenty-five and thirty years old.

(End of this chapter)