Chapter 3: Shopping Spree

The takeout she ordered last night had all arrived by morning, piling up in the living room. With no time to tidy up, Lin Buwan simply stowed everything away into her storage space. Time was running short—she needed to make a trip to the wholesale market.

As she was changing clothes, her phone vibrated yet again. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was her cheap little brother—Chen Yuebin.

There was no way she was picking up; it would just be a waste of time. Lin Buwan hung up without hesitation.

She had barely hung up and not even put the phone back in her pocket when it started vibrating once more. She was about to block the number when she saw that the caller ID read "Front Desk."

Lin Buwan had almost forgotten—she still had a job.

She had majored in medicine in college and later obtained a pharmacist’s license. After graduation, she’d drifted for a while before settling into a business position at a pharmaceutical company. This call was from the company’s front desk.

She answered, told them she wasn’t feeling well and needed to take some time off, then hung up.

No sooner had she ended the call than Chen Yuebin rang again, relentless as ever. This time, Lin Buwan blocked him outright and quickly dialed another number.

It rang just once before being picked up. “Why didn’t you come in today? I was just about to call you. What’s going on?” The voice was hushed, clearly someone speaking in secret.

“I wanted to slack off for a few days. By the way, I just got an urgent order,” Lin Buwan said, checking the time. “I’ll send you the list. Let’s meet at Chunxi Park at ten. Bring everything on the list.”

“Why aren’t you coming yourself? Still pretending to be sick? Is this because of Ji Dong? Lin Buwan! I’m telling you—”

Lin Buwan quickly cut her off. “No, don’t jump to conclusions. We’ll talk when we meet. Hanging up now.”

Had she not ended the call, Hua Xiao could have gone on for an hour. Hua Xiao was her childhood friend; they’d taken their certifications together and ended up working at the same company. Their relationship was close. But after the super typhoon, they’d lost contact, and in the apocalypse, there had been no news at all.

Chunxi Park was close to the wholesale market—just a street apart.

Lin Buwan’s car was parked at the entrance of Chunxi Park. The company had assigned her this vehicle to facilitate deliveries for the business staff. She hadn’t officially resigned partly because she’d lose the car, and she really needed it now.

After waiting about five minutes, someone knocked on her window.

“Hurry up and open the door! This is heavy. You get to drive while I have to lug everything over—do you even have a conscience, Lin Buwan?” Hua Xiao complained as she opened the door, tossed the medication onto the back seat, and climbed in herself.

“I’ve put these on my own list. You’ll get the commission at the end of the month,” Hua Xiao said, leaning forward. “Why aren’t you coming to work?”

“I don’t have time to explain now. Please get out—I need to make a delivery,” Lin Buwan replied. She could see Hua Xiao had a lot to say, but now was not the time, and she wasn’t sure where to begin.

Hua Xiao huffed, muttered, “Heartless!” and obediently got out. “I’ll call you after work. I’m off.”

Once Hua Xiao had left, Lin Buwan transferred the two large bags of medicine from the back seat into her storage space. These were mostly prescription drugs that were hard to buy at regular pharmacies. It was more convenient to take them from the company, and as for over-the-counter meds, she had already stocked up through delivery apps.

With that settled, she headed straight for the wholesale market.

Rice and flour were essentials—she needed to stock up as much as possible. She found a wholesaler with decent prices and quality and placed a large order. She also ordered a variety of seasonings and canned goods from the same store.

The wholesaler offered delivery, but sending so much rice and flour to her apartment wasn’t realistic, especially with so many eyes around. After considering, Lin Buwan arranged for it all to be delivered to her grandmother’s house.

Since her grandmother had passed away, the old house had been vacant, and its location on the outskirts of the city, with its own yard and gate, made it particularly convenient. She made arrangements with the store for the delivery time and hurried off to the large mall.

After the super typhoon, a sharp drop in temperature would follow, so she needed plenty of warm clothing and bedding.

Baicheng was an inland city near the sea, prone to severe flooding. Lin Buwan also had to prepare watercraft, like inflatable kayaks. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to get around and there would be no chance for a “zero-cost shopping spree.”

Zero-cost shopping was all about timing—first come, first served. If you didn’t act fast, by the time others caught on, there’d be nothing left.

It was August, so the stores were all selling summer clothes. Lin Buwan found a shop and inquired; they had off-season items like down jackets and thermal underwear in the warehouse and were willing to offer a good price for a bulk purchase.

She wrote down the sizes she needed, picking up an extra set for Hua Xiao.

Off-season apparel rarely sold well in Baicheng—even in winter you’d only need a down jacket for about a week, so sales were always sluggish. Because of that, the service was excellent—they even delivered the items straight to her car.

With the warm gear settled, Lin Buwan moved on to a specialty outdoor store.

She bought three inflatable kayaks—they were consumables, easily torn by debris in the floodwaters. Having a couple of spares was wise; if her funds weren’t tight, she’d have bought ten. She also picked up windbreakers, hiking backpacks, tents, and plenty of alcohol fuel blocks, buying out the entire stock of the latter.

The more she bought, the more she realized she still lacked.

She kept at it until three in the afternoon, when it was nearly time for her scheduled delivery at the old house. She drove quickly to the outskirts. She’d only been to the house once in her previous life; it had been destroyed by the super typhoon. Now, as she returned, an odd tension rose in her chest.

By coincidence, she and the delivery truck arrived at the same time.

The yard was spacious enough for the truck to pull right in. Some curious old neighbors came over to watch, but Lin Buwan simply shut the gate. She instructed the deliverymen to unload everything in the living room for easier transfer into her space.

The workers were efficient—everything was unloaded within half an hour.

Unexpectedly, the nosy elders lingered outside, craning their necks for a better look.

Lin Buwan paid them no mind. As a child, they’d often taunted her with questions like, “Do you like your new mom and dad?” or “Your mom doesn’t want you, does she? Neither does your dad.” Those words had cast a shadow over her young heart.

She slammed the door shut. Since they didn’t interact, there was no need to worry about appearances.

She transferred all the supplies from the living room into her space and took pictures of the house inside and out. She also gathered her grandmother’s few keepsakes—two days later, the house would be gone.

Though she’d never liked the place much, all her memories with her grandmother were rooted there. Soon it would be lost forever.

Silently, Lin Buwan said her farewell, closed the old house’s door, and walked away without looking back.

Face forward. Don’t look back.