CH 5

Bai Zhen Zhen helped her father to the bed. Turning her head, she realized that the man was still standing at the entrance.

“Is there anything else?” Bai Zhen Zhen curiously asked.

She immediately regretted her words.

The other party was a fool, he probably couldn’t even understand what she said.

Yang Su Ping quietly muttered by the side: “I’m afraid he’s trying to get some benefits from us…”

Huo Xiang walked into the room and sat on the bed closest to the wall, pointing to the chart in front of the bed.

“I stay in this room.”

Bai Zhen Zhen was stunned.

What a coincidence?!

She curiously went up and studied the information on the chart.

“Huo Xiang, male, 25 years old.”

Huh, just because he was a random passerby, they picked his name so casually?

Huo Xiang? His family doesn’t sell herbal water*, do they?!

“Kid, I’m really grateful to you today!” Father Bai was clearly extremely moved, “Looks like we have fate together, to actually stay in the same room! Ah, what are you ill with?”

Huo Xiang’s lips pressed into a smile: “Nothing big, just a headache.”

Bai Zhen Zhen sighed in her heart.

Indeed, his brain had a problem.

Father Bai’s feelings towards Huo Xiang was very warm, and started introducing his own situation.

“My surname is Bai; you can just call me Uncle Bai. This lady is my wife, surnamed Yang. These two are my family’s daughters. The elder is called ‘Zhen Zhen’, and the younger is ‘Meng Ru’.”

Huo Xiang nodded his head in understanding: “Uncle Bai, Aunty Yang, my name is Huo Xiang, the ‘Huo’ in ‘Huo Yuan Jia’**, and ‘Xiang’ in ‘fragrance (Xiang Qi)’.”

The moment Yang Su Ping heard his name, she burst out in laughter: “There’s actually someone who would name a boy ‘Xiang’ from ‘fragrance’?! This is too…”

In the middle of her words, she realized that Father Bai and Bai Zhen Zhen were both glaring at her with cold expressions, and she immediately swallowed her remaining words.

Huo Xiang wasn’t troubled by what she said, smiling: “Aunty, in fact, there are many handsome brothers with ‘Xiang’ in their name, for example… Chu Liu Xiang.”

Bai Zhen Zhen gave Huo Xiang a second look.

She never expected that even someone in a book would read novels. This Passerby A actually knows Gu Long’s 《Legend of Chu Liu Xiang》***.

“Nice to meet you, Zhen Zhen.” Huo Xiang suddenly turned over and lightly greeted her formally.

This made Zhen Zhen feel a little flattered.

“Nice to meet you.” She gave him a small smile.

“I never imagined we would meet again so quickly.” Huo Xiang continued, “Just now in the corridor… Do you still remember?”

“Oh, that person was you. No wonder I found you so familiar.”

As she lied, Bai Zhen Zhen’s gaze guiltily moved aside.

She remembered the expression on Huo Xiang’s face the two times he saw her, on top of his current passionate attitude towards her, feeling that it was strange in her heart.

It couldn’t be…

—— Bai Zhen Zhen: “System, you’re certain that the man in front of me isn’t one of the lead characters in the book?”

—— System: “Host, I currently do not detect any other lead characters.”

—— Bai Zhen Zhen: “Then other than those lead characters, the other random passerbys and so on… Will they also fall in love with me?”

—— System: “Host, your character setting is a ‘world-shaking beauty’. If you accidentally intrude into a passerby’s life, they also have a high possibility of being attracted by you.”

—— Bai Zhen Zhen: “O…K…”

Bai Zhen Zhen was finally enlightened on what the phrase “Difficult to abandon a natural beauty” really meant.

“Lil’ Huo, where are you from? You’re staying in the hospital alone. Doesn’t your family visit you?” Father Bai asked.

Huo Xiang replied: “I’m an orphan.”

“An orphan still has a name?!” Yang Su Ping immediately followed up Huo Xiang’s words with her own question.

Not to mention Huo Xiang, even Bai Zhen Zhen felt her ears bleeding when she heard Yang Su Ping’s words.

She originally didn’t even intend to stay too long. Hearing Yang Su Ping’s words, she felt uncomfortable deep in her heart. Getting up, she said: “Dad, I’ll go out to buy dinner and pick up some daily essentials for you on the way.”

Father Bai hurriedly replied: “It’s expensive to buy from shops. Why don’t you go home and cook some dinner before bringing it over to eat? There’s still ingredients at home. Right, the daily essentials doesn’t have to be new either, we have it at home…”

“Dad, all these are just chump change. You’re already undergoing treatment for your disease, what does this small amount count for?” Bai Zhen Zhen patted Father Bai’s shoulder in comfort, “Relax. I’ve found a good job and received an advance of half a year’s salary. It’s enough to cover your treatment and food.”

“Really?” Father Bai was still in disbelief.

“Yes!” Bai Zhen Zhen nodded her head seriously.

“Then alright…” Father Bai held onto Bai Zhen Zhen’s hands, tears pooling up in his eyes, “Our Zhen Zhen has really grown up, Dad is so happy…”

Bai Zhen Zhen couldn’t stand this kind of emotional scene, and blurted out: “Dad, then I’ll go first.”

As she stood up, Huo Xiang stood up with her.

“Zhen Zhen, I’m also going to buy items. Let’s go together. I’m more familiar with the hospital surroundings than you.”

Father Bai was elated: “Good, good. Let Lil’ Huo accompany you! He can also guide you.”

Bai Zhen Zhen gave her father a deep look.

Letting a fool guide her, only her father could say such things.

** **

Bai Zhen Zhen and Huo Xiang walked out of the hospital doors together.

Huo Xiang pointed towards the east, saying: “There is a large supermarket about 200m ahead. Why don’t we buy the other items before buying dinner?”

“Alright.” Bai Zhen Zhen agreed.

Naturally, the two of them had to fill the silence as they walked together, else the atmosphere would be very awkward.

Huo Xiang chose a topic first: “Zhen Zhen, I heard you say you found a very good job just now. What do you do?”

Bai Zhen Zhen raised her head and gave him an inquisitive glance.

This man’s question was really hitting the nail on the head. The moment he asked, he asked about her lies.

“Oh, the job requires confidentiality, so I can’t reveal the details to outsiders.” Bai Zhen Zhen evaded the question.

“Is that so, I still wanted to ask you to introduce me to the job.” Huo Xiang replied, “If not, I wouldn’t have enough for my medical fees next week…”

Bai Zhen Zhen smiled shallowly.

Really couldn’t tell that this fool wasn’t that foolish. This was him trying to gain her sympathy, for her to help him pay his medical fees?!

She wouldn’t take the bait!

The supermarket in this world was more or less similar to the one in the real world. Other than the daily essentials, Bai Zhen Zhen also bought some snacks that she usually would not buy.

Huo Xiang stared at the mountain of snacks in Bai Zhen Zhen’s cart in a daze.

“Zhen Zhen, this…”

Bai Zhen Zhen didn’t even take a second glance at him, her eyes still roaming the snack shelves.

“You wouldn’t know about this…” Her face didn’t change as she continued to choose snacks, “Don’t just look at my dad’s age, he actually loves eating snacks…”

While settling the bill, it turned out that the daily essentials Bai Zhen Zhen bought only amounted to around a hundred dollars, but the snacks actually amounted to more than five hundred dollars.

However, when Bai Zhen Zhen handed over the cash, she didn’t seem to feel the pinch in her heart.

At this point, she finally felt the happiness brought about by this one-in-a-billion chance experience. Just like playing a game, who would want to have feelings for an NPC! It was all about enjoying the scenery and process of playing the game, alright!

In contrast, Huo Xiang only bought a carton of instant noodles.

And it was even on discount.

Bai Zhen Zhen watched him pull out some small change from his pocket. Counting quite a few of notes, he finally gathered exact change and handed it to the cashier.

“Do you usually eat these?” Bai Zhen Zhen blurted out.

Huo Xiang pursed his lips: “I’ve been here for close to half a month. I’ve already spent most of my money, so for the next week I can only afford instant noodles.”

“Aish, it really isn’t easy.” Bai Zhen Zhen sighed emotionally.

“It’s alright, it’ll get better soon.” Huo Xiang replied.

Bai Zhen Zhen curiously looked at him: “Huh?”

Huo Xiang froze for a second, but quickly smiled widely again: “What I’m saying is that my illness is almost cured. Once I’m discharged from the hospital next week, I can continue to work and earn money.”

“Oh.” Bai Zhen Zhen didn’t doubt him.

Actually, he looked quite good when he smiled.

“Why don’t I help you a little first.” Bai Zhen Zhen said, “But this isn’t for free. I’ll just lend you a little first. When you start working and earning money, you can return it to me.”

She didn’t want to poke her nose into other people’s businesses, but thinking of how Huo Xiang had helped her father in the hospital today, and how he was indeed broke now, she simply treated it as thanks for his help.

Anyway, Huo Xiang was only a random passerby. According to the novel’s usual way of doing things, even if he liked her, he would at most be cannon fodder. He couldn’t even be counted as a back-up boyfriend, what should she be worried about?

“Really?” Huo Xiang was elated, “You’re really willing to lend me money?”

Bai Zhen Zhen dug out some money from her pocket: “I also don’t have too much money, as I need to save for my dad’s surgery, so I can only lend you a thousand dollars. However, you don’t have to be in a hurry to return this money to me. You can return it to me when it’s convenient for you.”

Huo Xiang accepted the money, and looked at Bai Zhen Zhen gratefully: “Thank you.”

“No need for thanks, just remember to return it.”

Bai Zhen Zhen actually didn’t have the intention to collect the money back. She planned to happily go on a trip before long, so as not to have any relationships with anyone. If this man really wanted to return the money, he could just give it directly to her dad when the time comes.

“That, since we’ve bought the items already, could you help me bring it back first? I still want to walk around outside.” Bai Zhen Zhen said.

“I’ll accompany you.” Huo Xiang said, “We can leave the items at the customer service desk first. Relax, when we go back later, I will carry them.”

“Ah, actually I wanted to (go alone)…”

“I know a delicious home-cooked eatery nearby, shall I lead the way?”

Hearing “home-cooked eatery” these three words, Bai Zhen Zhen gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

That’s right, she also wasn’t familiar with the area. Following a free “guide”, she wouldn’t walk down the wrong alley.

“Then, alright!” Bai Zhen Zhen nodded in agreement.

“But…” Huo Xiang suddenly hesistated.

“What’s wrong?”

Huo Xiang looked embarrassed: “I… I don’t have money…”

Bai Zhen Zhen snorted in laughter: “And I thought what the issue was, so you were worried about this! Relax. After eating, I will order some back for them. There will definitely be more than enough dishes. With just your extra pair of chopsticks, it wouldn’t cost much!”

Hearing Bai Zhen Zhen say so, Huo Xiang’s smile bloomed like a flower, agreeing: “Ok, ok!”

He immediately took the many bags in Bai Zhen Zhen’s hands and sprinted to the customer service desk.

Bai Zhen Zhen followed behind him, sighing silently:

—— Fools were really easily satisfied.

——————–

Author’s Note:

Bai Zhen Zhen: Happy, finally managed to accomplish my “snacks paradise”!

Huo Xiang: She’s happy with such a mere “snacks paradise”? Soon, I will let you accomplish a “supermarket paradise”!!

——————–

*His name is 霍香, and there’s a product in China called 藿香正气水, that according to Wikipedia is “a liquid herbal formula used in traditional Chinese medicine” to lower body-heat aka cooling water.

**Huo Yuan Jia is a famous martial artist in China. Do check out the movie, “Fearless”, made in honor of Huo Yuan Jia’s life.

*** Essentially Chinese version of Robin Hood