The twenty-third awkwardness that shouldn't exist

  My days of cohabiting with Qin Ke started slowly and imperceptibly, actually there's nothing mysterious about it. Perhaps everyone will be full of expectation and imagination before starting such a life, even fantasizing, but once it starts, it's just a slow process of getting used to each other's habits.

  Qin Keyi is actually a very easy-going girl, without the petty and hypocritical reserve that many girls have. I haven't spent many days with her, but I already feel like the school bell rings slowly. Every day from the moment I leave the house, I'm always looking forward to the end of class, and as soon as it's over, I rush home in a hurry. What's all this for? I often ask myself when I'm going upstairs, then give myself an excuse that has nothing to do with Qin Keyi, take out my key, and open the door.

  Drinking and partying with friends can be pushed away, if not, try to come back as early as possible. Every time I pass by the supermarket or vegetable market after school, I will buy vegetables and go home to cook for Qin Ke Yi, although according to our unequal treaty, I am supposed to cook four dinners a week for her, but in fact, as long as I am at home, I almost always cook dinner for her. Sometimes when I'm in class, I'll send Qin Ke Yi a text message asking what she wants to eat, and sometimes Qin Ke Yi will also send me a text message telling me what she wants to eat, but to maintain her figure, Qin Ke Yi never eats much each time.

  Our lives rarely intersect, each busy with our own things, even in school we hardly ever meet, only at night when we return home can we see each other. But we make time every day to communicate, the content of our conversations is unlimited, it's as if we're talking just for the sake of talking, the two of us always silently appearing in the living room, even when we've talked about everything and have nothing left to say, we'll try to bring up another topic to continue our conversation. Although I've lived with Tong Chen for over a year, the time we spend together is actually not that much, due to her work she spends at least four days a week on planes and in other cities, apart from text messages and phone calls, every time we meet again embracing each other while chatting has become our main way of communicating.

  The awkwardness and estrangement between Qin Ke Yi and I also decreased with the increase in time spent together. Except when sleeping, Qin Ke Yi's door was always open, and sometimes she would suddenly burst into my room and pull me out of a deep sleep. When I was busy working on our studio's projects in front of the computer in my room, Qin Ke Yi would try her best to keep quiet. Even when watching TV in the living room, she would turn the volume down to its lowest level. Sometimes, she would quietly walk into my room and hand me a washed apple or a peeled banana before touching my head and leaving. In our hearts, we both tacitly acknowledged the existence of this lifestyle that was similar to being a couple...

  This morning, Qin Kaiyi seemed to have gotten up unusually early. She started clattering around in the kitchen before dawn, making me completely lose my desire to skip class and sleep in. So I struggled out of bed, walked out of the room, and saw that Qin Kaiyi was hanging a clean sheet on the clothesline on the balcony. In the middle of the light-colored sheet, there was a patch of yellowish stain.

  "Hah! You're still wetting the bed at your age!" I said with a smirk. Qin Ke's face turned red as she glared at me, then silently walked into her room. This made me feel quite puzzled - we often joked around more crudely than this and she never cared, so why was she reacting like this today? I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost time for class, so I hastily got myself ready and rushed to school.

  Just before class was about to end, I sent a text message to Qin Ke asking her what she wanted to eat, but Qin Ke didn't respond. From the delivery report of the text message, it can be known that she should have received the text message. Just as I was puzzled by Qin Ke's strange behavior today, an idea suddenly flashed in my mind - could Qin Ke's physiological period have arrived? I started to recall Tong Chen's state when her physiological period came, and it seemed a bit similar. So after class, when buying vegetables at the supermarket, I specifically bought a piece of pork liver because I read in a book that pork liver not only tastes good but also nourishes blood. I once had an impulse to buy a chicken back and stew chicken soup for her, but considering that was food for women who were sitting on their month, it didn't seem quite suitable for Qin Ke's current state, so I gave up the idea.

  When I got home and opened the door, Qin Ke Yi was half-reclined on the sofa watching TV with a towel covering her lower body, both hands clutching her stomach, looking somewhat pained. She didn't even acknowledge my entrance. This situation perfectly proved my guess and also proved another fact: Qin Ke Yi belonged to the 80% of women who experience dysmenorrhea. I carried the groceries into the kitchen, then poured a cup of hot water for Qin Ke Yi and placed it on the coffee table beside her. Qin Ke Yi still ignored me, continuing to watch TV. At this moment, I realized that with her current state, it was best not to provoke her because I had read in a magazine that women's tempers tend to be bad during their physiological period, especially those who experience dysmenorrhea. So I quietly walked into the kitchen and carefully started cooking, trying not to give us any reason to quarrel. Actually, I wasn't afraid of arguing with her; it just seemed somewhat inhumane to argue with her when she was in this state.

  "Alright! Can you help me out?" Qin Ke suddenly appeared at the kitchen door, one hand against the wall and the other still clutching his stomach.

  "Go on."

  "Can you... help me go buy sanitary pads?" My expression at this moment can no longer be described as surprised, and the kitchen knife in my hand is starting to shake.

  "Are you crazy? I'm a grown man buying sanitary napkins for you!!"

  "What's wrong with you? You've never bought anything for your girlfriend before? It's not like I'm asking you to use it!"

  "My girlfriend doesn't have such perverted thoughts like you!"

  "Don't pull it!" Qin Ke glared at me fiercely, covering her stomach with both hands, and slowly walked towards the sofa step by step. Seeing this scene, my sympathetic heart began to act up again.

  "Alright! I'll go then!" I said with great reluctance.

  "I knew you'd be the best, buy a few more packs and bring them back! And bring me some dried plums too!" Qin Ke suddenly straightened his back and his expression relaxed a lot, making me suspect that I had fallen into his trap again.

  I chose to go to a supermarket that is farther away from my home and also more secluded. The place where I live is close to the school, so you would often run into students from our school at the big supermarkets nearby. A public figure who was very popular in school was found standing in the corner of a certain supermarket, staring blankly at shelves full of sanitary napkins, and even picking out one type... just thinking about it gives me the chills.

  After walking for nearly ten minutes, I appeared at a supermarket like a thief. I moved the display of sanitary napkins with agility, only to find seven or eight girls also selecting sanitary napkins in front of me. One of them was even accompanied by her boyfriend, who was patiently listening to her explanations of the characteristics and feelings of different brands of sanitary napkins while she was choosing. I could completely understand the feeling of the boy whose face turned red when our eyes met, and I felt his helplessness and pain from his eyes.

  I took advantage of the fact that all the girls weren't paying attention to me, and quickly pulled out a few packs from the shelf and put them in my pocket. Then, pretending to be calm, I strolled out of the area. I also picked up two packs of dried plums from another shelf. When no one was at the checkout counter, I rushed over and paid quickly, then hastily left this place of trouble...

  After returning home, I handed over the sanitary napkins and dried plums to Qin Ke Yi, then continued on to the kitchen to cook. Unexpectedly, just as I entered the kitchen, a loud roar came from the living room - "Kang Jian! You idiot! What is this that you've bought?"

  "Isn't this a sanitary napkin?" I asked with a puzzled face as I walked out of the kitchen.

  "It's your head! This is a cushion!" Qin Ke said with a cry and a laugh.

  "Sanitary pad! What's it for? I've never used one before, how would I know?! I saw it placed together with sanitary napkins and they look so similar!"

  "The protector is... Ah, never mind, you won't know even if I tell you." Qin Ke Yi was getting a bit impatient. After looking at me for a few seconds, Qin Ke Yi changed to a gentle tone and asked me to help her change into another one, with a hint of pleading, making it impossible for me to refuse.

  So I walked towards that supermarket again, feeling like I had just escaped from a tiger's den only to enter a wolf's lair.

  I reappeared in the supermarket like a thief, using almost the same technical movements as before to complete this purchase. As I picked up sanitary napkins, I deliberately looked at whether there were big words "sanitary napkin" and "wing protection" on them, and only when I was sure that they were correct did I go to the checkout counter to pay.

  Just as I was about to pay, an elderly woman behind me said loudly and enthusiastically, "Young man, this brand is not very good. The newspaper exposed it a few days ago. The 'xxx' brand over there is very good, and it comes with double-layered protection."

  Perhaps it's because older people don't hear very well, so they speak in a very loud voice, loud enough that even in a not-so-large supermarket, her voice could be heard clearly. As a result, I quickly became the center of attention in this supermarket. I had to leave the supermarket again with my tail between my legs under everyone's watchful eyes, and before leaving, I didn't forget to thank the auntie.