Chapter 34: Community Group Buying

Chu Ning believed he possessed a significant virtue: when confronted with things he could not comprehend, he refrained from overthinking, trusting that, in time, the truth would reveal itself naturally. Or perhaps, he would simply forget about it altogether, muddled and indistinct; after all, who in this world can untangle every mystery? There will always be riddles left unsolved.

“Stop overthinking. Taking your medication on time is more important than anything else!” Chu Ning offered this boisterous reassurance to a deeply pensive Tanya. In his eyes, encountering another self was a minor hiccup—he had weathered far greater storms.

Tanya, exasperated, felt an urge to punch him. He was the one who needed medication, always muttering incomprehensible nonsense.

“What do we do next?” Tanya gestured downward. Chu Ning’s jest had distracted her enough that, for now, she gave up pondering why another version of herself existed—a headache-inducing question.

Perhaps Chu Ning had hallucinated or mistaken someone else for her. Maybe an impostor had assumed her identity. Or, more terrifyingly, perhaps she had truly returned from the dead!

The likelihood of such a chilling possibility was not insignificant. Tanya felt she must be cursed. If her suspicions were true—her soul transformed into a ghost, her corpse into some sort of zombie—it was an agonizing dilemma.

According to horror novels, zombies were creatures outside the natural order, soulless and driven by pure instinct to hunt and feed.

How, then, was she to deal with her own corpse? The sheer absurdity of such an ethical dilemma confronting a dead person felt like an encounter with the supernatural.

And this was not as far-fetched as it seemed. Tanya would not so easily forget the cryptic warning from the driver of the 24 bus: “Be careful of your body.”

“So exhausting! Even after death, there’s so much trouble. How maddening!” Tanya raked her fingers through her hair in frustration, disheveling it until she resembled a wild-haired specter—a true challenge, this business of being a ghost.

What vexed Tanya most was that, as a ghost, she had harmed no one, yet now bore the heavy duty of exorcising evil—the first target being her own corpse.

If things were as she suspected, she dared not let her body run amok. Who knew what chaos might ensue? At this stage, she was not ready to wholly abandon her flesh and blood.

Chu Ning stared blankly at the spot below, conjuring a host of ideas only to dismiss them all. He realized that overthinking brought no good, at least not for him.

He resolved to act with simplicity and directness, lest he, too, fall prey to indecision. Tanya’s paralyzed hesitation was a cautionary example—the path to madness.

“I’ve got it! Here’s my phone—keep it safe. If anything happens to me, you must call the police. And look for someone trustworthy nearby to help. That’s the plan for now!”

With the air of a soldier charging toward certain death, Chu Ning’s eyes glinted with steely resolve. He clapped Tanya on the shoulder, urging her to stay hidden and follow his instructions—his fate was now in her hands.

Tanya, uncertain of his intentions, nonetheless sensed a heroic solemnity hanging in the air. She nodded obediently, giving him an unmistakable look: Go on, then.

As for herself, she resolved not to interfere with Chu Ning’s plans. Her only contribution, she believed, was not to be a hindrance—a crucial one, in her view.

According to the old clichés of horror films, the female lead’s role was purely negative, existing only to frustrate the protagonist, never to help.

Tanya thought her perspective rather extreme; after all, the heroine did serve an important purpose—being beautiful. And that, at least, she could accomplish.

“Go on. I’ll handle anything that comes after…” Tanya gripped the phone tightly, gazing at Chu Ning with heartfelt sincerity.

“Uh, just wait here,” Chu Ning replied, agreeing she would be of little help in this affair. Women, he thought, only slowed his sword arm.

After Chu Ning turned away, Tanya, thrilled, crouched in a corner and switched on the phone. It had been so long since she’d touched such a wondrous device.

Since her death, this marvel of modern technology had vanished from her life. Not a single loved one had burned a phone for her. And sending goods required passage through the underworld’s bureaucracy—she had no desire to make the trip; descending was easy, but returning was a real ordeal.

Some claimed life without a phone was social suicide. But what of it? Tanya found living without one no great hardship—she was still here, perfectly fine.

Chu Ning, catching sight of Tanya squatting in the corner, playing on the phone, was seized by the thought she was hopelessly naïve. He relaxed his features into a professional smile and walked to the door of apartment 618, knocking softly.

“Anyone there? Community group delivery!” When no response came, he called out several more times, knocking with increasing confidence.

Suddenly, the peephole darkened. Chu Ning knew the bait had been taken. He raised the bag of vegetables in his hand, his demeanor harmless, signaling he was nothing more than a deliveryman.

Click.

The door opened a crack, not fully. A young man in a black hoodie poked his head out, eyeing Chu Ning warily.

He clearly doubted Chu Ning’s story: first, the outfit was all wrong for a delivery—far too casual. Second, community group deliveries didn’t include home service; who did he think he was fooling? Did he really think others didn’t use the internet? Third, who orders food this late at night?

“Is this 618?” Chu Ning asked with a humble smile. After all, the customer is always right.

To Chu Ning’s embarrassment, the hooded youth actually looked up at the door number to check, then nodded at him with a vacant innocence.

Not very professional, Chu Ning thought. With intelligence like that, crime was out of reach; even crime required a certain cleverness. The situation left Chu Ning at a loss—should he pretend not to notice the flaws, or act as if his eyesight was poor and ignore the obvious blunder? It was an affront to his intelligence.

“Here you go—this is your community group order. Quite a hassle, really. Next time, if it’s inconvenient to pick up, just call. This has been sitting with me for days—you never came for it.”

“I had to come all the way from the neighboring complex after closing my shop. Do you know how annoying that is? If I wasn’t worried about my shop’s ratings, I’d never deliver for free.”

The man inside, hearing Chu Ning’s grumbling, swiftly took the plastic bag from his hand, offering a forced smile and an unmistakable message: hurry up and leave, stop bothering me.