Chapter 17 - 17 - Chocolate (1/2)
Situated in a large expanse of asphalt, the supermarket occupied almost the entire left half of the lot. A smaller version of the zebra crossing lined the path towards the supermarket entrance. It seemed that the zebra crossing was placed there to slow down cars entering and leaving the supermarket's parking lot, which occupied the other half of the lot.
They arrived at the entrance and immediately the glass doors opened automatically and a gust of cold air from inside welcomed them. Li XinWen flinched in surprise when the door slid open. This did not escape madam Li which prompted her to inquire ”Ah'Wen what's wrong?”
”En… nothing mom,” he responded after recovering from his momentary surprise.
They stepped into the supermarket and Li XinWen could not hide his amazement at what he saw. It was brightly lit, and rows and rows of shelves lined the floor, stacked with various produce. A row of checkout counters lined the front, as if to make sure that customers paid before leaving the premises. Big was actually an understatement, it was huge when Li XinWen compared this to the little market they had in Long Xing.
They made their way towards the left side of the supermarket where pushcarts were stacked together. Li XinWen excitedly took one and pushed it in front of him. He smiled broadly and looked towards madam Li as if beckoning her to walk a little faster so they can finally start shopping.
Madam Li smiled and actually walked a little faster after seeing her son's excited expression. It reminded her of her younger days when they had just started their little family. When she reached Li XinWen, a little out of breath she said to Li XinWen affectionately: ”You're acting like a child Ah'Wen,” she giggled, ”It's not like this is the first time you entered a supermarket,” she said with a hint of teasing in her voice. ”Although you have not been here for a while since you became a celebrity. Are you feeling uncomfortable?” she continued.
”En. It has been a long time,” Li XinWen responded, quickly trying to recover his composure and act normal. ”Shall we start shopping mom?” he said with a smile. ”While I was cooking breakfast, I noticed that we didn't have a lot of meat, so we should get some later. And bread too!” Li XinWen informed madam Li as he took off his Ray-Bans and lowered his hat to cover half of his face.
”Meat? Do we not have some pork belly left?”
Hearing this, Li XinWen made a disgusted expression. ”Mom... XinWen doesn't like pork...” he told the old woman. ”After the accident, my taste seem to have changed.”
”Really?”
”Really! Back at the hospital...” as he began telling madam Li how little he ate at the hospital because he didn't like some of the food.
”Alright, we'll buy some meat later. But Ah'Wen... Aren't you on a strict diet of no solid food for a month?” Li mother asked.
At this, Li XinWen began sweating as he tried to think of an excuse. He had actually forgotten how the doctor advised him to avoid solid food for a month in order to get his stomach used to taking in food once more. However, that was only because this body was injured and was fed intravenously during the coma. Now that he had reached the fourth stage of Houtian, and through his cultivation, all of the injuries have healed and he can definitely eat solid food without any problems. 'No wonder yesterday's lunch and dinner didn't have any solid food... This mother knows I'm not allowed to have them for a month...'