Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 61

It’s already four o’clock in the afternoon by the time the disinfection finishes. Ye Zhou and Zou Ming push the beds together and eat the food brought by volunteers. By the time they wrap everything up, it’s already past six, nearing seven. After a busy day, Ye Zhou is truly tired.

Ye Zhou originally plans to go to bed right away—after all, the disinfection is done, and he has taken a shower. His body is clean and refreshed, the perfect state for sleep. However, Zou Ming seems to have no intention of sleeping at all.

Sitting on the bed, Ye Zhou looks at Zou Ming, who is still doing push-ups, and asks in confusion, “You’re doing push-ups now? You’re getting all sweaty—how are you going to sleep like that later?”

He sounds just a bit annoyed.

Zou Ming, breathing heavily, replies, “I’ll ask one of the volunteers to bring me a basin of water later.”

Ye Zhou nods, then lies back, sprawling out with his head facing the ceiling. He stares at it while Zou Ming’s intentionally hushed breathing echoes in his ears.

It sounds… vaguely sensual.

“By the way, are you familiar with Sarah?” Ye Zhou asks casually, mostly just making conversation.

Zou Ming replies, “She’s alright.”

Ye Zhou chuckles. “I always felt like you two already knew each other.”

Zou Ming doesn’t deny it. “We met before, but we didn’t get along very well.”

Ye Zhou raises a brow. “Didn’t get along? I never noticed.”

Maybe it’s because Zou Ming rarely spends time alone with Sarah? Or perhaps they don’t talk much in front of Ye Zhou?

“Things in the past…” Zou Ming slows down. “I was immature back then, and so was she.”

At that time, Sarah wasn’t anything like the little princess she seems to be now. Her blonde hair was a messy, tangled, brittle mess, and she was as thin as a skeleton. She had a pair of overly large, haunting eyes, like a stray dog desperately clinging to a life-saving straw.

To her, anyone who approached her seemed like they wanted to snatch that straw from her. She clung to Ye Zhou and refused to leave his side. Zou Ming remembered how she treated everyone other than Ye Zhou as an enemy. Even though she was too weak to even walk, she still lashed out at anyone who came close to him.

“I was immature back then,” Zou Ming continues, “I was still a child. I don’t know how many times I fought with Sarah.”

Every time, they both come out bruised and battered, and Ye Zhou had to comfort one, then the other.

The grievances and hatred that had seemed unbearable back then now feel like distant memories.

Ye Zhou suddenly has a thought. “Wait… were you two childhood sweethearts?”

Zou Ming pauses, stops doing push-ups altogether. His expression turns sour. “I’m twenty-two. Sarah’s over four hundred years old. How the hell would we be childhood sweethearts? You’re joking.”

“…Sorry, I forgot your ages.” Ye Zhou smiles awkwardly. “I think it’s a bit of a waste to hire a doctor now,” Ye Zhou change the subject. “Zhou Yuanhe doesn’t have much to do.” While he isn’t some stingy boss, it still feels like a waste when a hired employee has nothing to do.

Zou Ming replies, “Have Yang Guoqin find a place and set up a clinic for him. You provide the medicine and equipment. He only gets a basic salary until he earns back the cost of the supplies. After that, then you can talk about profit-sharing.”

Ye Zhou feels that Zou Ming has great business sense. Look, even the money for equipment is to be borne by the employees. When it comes to making the most out of people, Zou Ming is far better at it.

So Ye Zhou immediately agrees with Zou Ming’s plan. “Okay, let’s do it. You can keep doing push-ups. I’ll find a magazine or novel to read.”

To keep the soldiers from getting too bored, there’s a bookshelf in the room, though most of the books are already worn from constant flipping.

But at least they’re virus-free—if anyone in that room had turned into a zombie, all the items inside would’ve been burned, and the room sealed off for twenty days of meticulous disinfection.

Fortunately, there hasn’t been a major zombie wave in a while, so no one at the base has been infected recently.

Ye Zhou’s eyelids begin to droop as he reads. He casually places the book on the cabinet beside him and falls asleep without even bothering to cover himself with the quilt.

After Ye Zhou falls asleep, Zou Ming stops exercising. He quietly walks to the door, knocks gently, and asks the volunteers outside to bring him a basin of water.

The volunteers don’t mind the trouble. After all, Zou Ming and his friends are working for the safety of the base. Even though they aren’t soldiers, they’re still deserving of respect.

After receiving Zou Ming’s request, they quickly go to get the water.

Once Zou Ming finishes washing up, he doesn’t go to bed. Instead, he sits on a chair beside the bed and uses his eyes to trace Ye Zhou’s features.

Ye Zhou looks very good. Zou Ming has seen pictures of his parents, and Ye Zhou has inherited the best parts of them.

His eyes tilt slightly upward at the corners, but he has double eyelids. When looking at someone head-on, his gaze seems soft and affectionate, but if you change the angle—if he looks up at you or glances sideways—there’s a sharp, breath-catching arrogance to it.

Zou Ming doesn’t know if Ye Zhou is aware of how his facial features affect others, but Ye Zhou usually avoids looking at people from any angle other than directly in front of them.

Ye Zhou is a very gentle person. He rarely gets angry, and after spending time with him, people always feel like he doesn’t have a temper.

Even though he never deliberately yields to others, people just naturally assume he’s easygoing.

Everyone instinctively relies on Ye Zhou for support, whether it’s Sarah in the past or Zou Ming now, they both instinctively lean on Ye Zhou, hoping to draw nourishment from him.

Ye Zhou simply accepts them, calmly and naturally. After all, back then, he sees them as nothing but pitiful and endearing children.

Zou Ming’s eyes move to Ye Zhou’s lips.

Ye Zhou’s upper lip is slightly upturned, but not thick. His lips are a soft red, neither too bright nor dull. When Ye Zhou occasionally opens his mouth but doesn’t speak, it feels like he’s waiting for someone to kiss him.

Zou Ming quickly looks away, slightly flustered.

He can’t keep looking.

Zou Ming stands up—he can’t sleep in the same bed as Ye Zhou. It feels like if he does, he’ll start crossing lines.

He sits on the chair with his arms crossed, no longer looking at Ye Zhou but at the paintings on the wall. It’s a printed oil painting, and he focuses intently on the brushstrokes, slowly counting them.

He sits like that all night.

The next morning, Ye Zhou is awakened by a sharp whistle and footsteps outside the door. He opens his eyes in confusion, reaches up to rub the back of his head, then turns around to see Zou Ming, who is dressed neatly and looks ready to go out at any moment.

Ye Zhou glances at the bed beside him and then at Zou Ming, who is “full of energy.”

His sleepy mind clears up. “Zou Ming? You didn’t sleep in the bed last night?”

Zou Ming says, “I wasn’t too sleepy. I just sat for a while.”

Ye Zhou frowns and says, “That’s not good. We’re exhausted every day—you really need proper rest.” Then he adds, half-nagging, “Don’t rely too much on your youth. You’ll regret it when you’re older.”

Realizing how old-fashioned he sounds, Ye Zhou softens his tone. “You’ve got to take care of your body.”

Zou Ming nods. “I know. Breakfast is ready. We’ll leave after you eat.”

Breakfast is a bowl of porridge, an egg, and two vegetable buns.

It looks simple, but it’s actually an excellent meal. Back in the day, soldiers wouldn’t even get this much. Even at the base’s peak, the best they had was a corn cake and porridge. Later, there isn’t even porridge—just corn cakes and plain water.

Ye Zhou quickly eats breakfast, gets dressed, and heads out with Zou Ming.

There are many soldiers in the corridor, but they’re not the same group as yesterday.

Ye Zhou doesn’t try to get close to them—people who go to the battlefield don’t need to interact with everyone. After going out together for a morning, they naturally become familiar with each other.

“The vegetable buns this morning are really delicious,” one of the soldiers says as they line up to chat.

“If it weren’t for how busy things have been, I’d want to hit the supermarket. Wonder when we’re getting paid.”

“I heard we won’t be paid in corn cakes anymore.”

The soldiers groan. “But if we don’t get corn cakes, how are we supposed to trade at the supermarket?”

“I wanted to get my girlfriend some new clothes. She hasn’t had anything new in years. Last time I saw her sewing patches.”

“Then you should go and change clothes for her. It’s hard to find a girlfriend now.”

“Didn’t you have a girlfriend before?”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I want to get married, but she doesn’t want to. She said she doesn’t want to have children either.”

“If you don’t want to get married, then don’t get married. Are you so traditional?”

“It’s not like I wanted to break up! I just asked if she wanted to get married, and she bolted. Then she had someone tell me she didn’t want to hold me back. Said we should part ways peacefully.”

The soldiers fall silent for a few seconds, then comfort him: “Next time, take it easy. Women are easily scared by marriage now.”

“Why don’t you find a boyfriend?”

“Don’t give me bad advice. I don’t like men.”

Ye Zhou listens to their conversation with interest and finds it quite entertaining.

Maybe it’s because everyone lives under constant threat, but many of society’s old conventions have faded. Everyone focuses on living for themselves now, but few want to get married. Whether men or women, most avoid the idea of settling down.

Ye Zhou thinks about it. In chaotic times, people’s desire for family and stability seems to shrink—and even more so, the desire to have children.