After I Lost My Memory, My Wife Started To Chase Me - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Which One?
After being discharged from the hospital, both of them were feeling unsettled, sitting in a heavy silence. As they passed a shopping mall, Weishu tilted her head and suggested, “Let’s buy some things.” Beige remembered they hadn’t been shopping in a long time and slowly pulled the car over.
With everything they needed at home, Beige, who didn’t care for snacks, simply pushed the shopping cart and followed Weishu, curious about what she would buy. Once her mood adjusted, Weishu darted into the mall like a little bird, her eyes zeroing in on the snack aisle. Without even looking, she tossed a heap of dried plums, chocolates, rice crackers, beef jerky, potato chips, and hazelnuts into the cart.
Beige caught a snack that nearly fell out, but she didn’t stop her. She only intervened when Weishu tried to grab a half-person-tall bucket of popcorn. Beige said calmly, “Honey, do you even eat these snacks?”
Weishu blinked. “I feel like I should like them.”
Beige held up a seahorse-shaped chocolate. “You stopped eating this kind when you were ten because you were losing your baby teeth. You’d throw the chocolate in the freezer, then try to bite it and chip a tooth.”
It was the first time Weishu had heard her talk about the past so openly. She was surprised and a little embarrassed. Weishu smiled shyly and looked at Beige like a good child. “What else?” She had seen Beishu’s eyes linger on several other snacks.
Beige moved the potato chips, pistachios, and snowflake crisps to a separate pile.
Weishu swallowed, relieved to see the large pile of snacks remaining in the cart. “Are these the ones I don’t eat?”
Beige smiled. “No, these are the ones you will eat.”
Weishu was speechless.
“I think people should try things they didn’t like before,” Weishu said. “Maybe with time, their tastes will change?”
The comment was casual, but Beige found herself paying close attention. She narrowed her eyes and replied with a faint smile, “I hope so.”
…
Weishu was carrying a pile of snacks when they passed the lingerie section. She tugged on Beiges’s sleeve. “I want to buy some underwear,” she said. “Any suggestions or guidance?”
Beige thought back, but her memories were of Weishu’s childhood—simple white cotton panties on her tender legs, which looked like a baby’s diaper.
“Diapers? What are you thinking about?” Weishu asked, her voice a mix of annoyance and amusement.
Beige snapped back to reality, realizing she’d spoken her thoughts aloud. She quickly pursed her lips to hide her smile. “Nothing. I don’t know what kind of underwear you wear now. You should pick yourself.”
Weishu’s eyes flashed with suspicion. “You’ve never seen any, not even once?”
Beige was momentarily stunned. That wasn’t quite true.
That summer, years ago, she had gone to Europe to find Weishu. She had seen her then, just for one night. It was as if Weishu had finally recognized and accepted her. They had slept side by side, their feet touching. But the next day, the dream was over, everything was shattered, and they were back to where they started. The emotional whiplash made Beishu feel like it was all a fleeting illusion.
“Which one should I choose, the lace or the tie-side?” Weishu held one in each hand, looking conflicted.
Beige walked over and took the tie-side one from her left hand. “This one.”
Weishu seemed to prefer that one too. Her eyes crinkled with a smile. “Okay!”
She took the underwear to be packaged, her face bright with happiness. “We have the same taste!”
Beige’s eyes flickered, holding back a certain emotion. She simply gave a soft “Mm-hmm” and said nothing more. She didn’t remember much of what happened that night, just a blurred memory, as if seen through frosted glass. But the feeling of holding the ties in her hand and slowly untying them, like carefully unwrapping a gift, was etched deeply in her heart. So when she saw Weishu hesitate, she instinctively made the decision for her.
The two of them quickly filled their shopping cart. As Weishu looked and chose things, she would occasionally ask for Beishu’s opinion.
“You don’t like very small cups, so you probably don’t like small water bottles.”
“Then I’m going to buy a mini water bottle.”
“You said you hate the smell of this body wash.”
“Then I’m going to buy this one.”
“You rarely drank sugary drinks before.”
“I’ll drink them now.”
Beige realized Weishu seemed to be at war with her former self.
“Do I like StellaLou?” Weishu asked, standing in the stuffed animal section.
Beige caught on to her game and answered with a lie. “No, you don’t.”
Weishu happily cheered, “Yay!” and picked up a StellaLou keychain. Of course, this would be followed by a future day when Weishu opened the innermost closet in her room, and “the old Weishu’s” collection of StellaLou stuffed animals would come tumbling down and bury her. But that’s a story for another time.
Weishu walked into the deli section and wrinkled her nose. “I used to hate pork, didn’t I?” She felt an aversion rising within her, and her rebellious streak stirred.
Beige sighed and shook her head. “No, you weren’t that against it.”
Weishu let out a breath of relief. “Then I won’t buy it.”
…
At the checkout counter, Weishu walked ahead and grabbed a few small boxes. Beishu didn’t get a good look, assuming they were chewing gum. It wasn’t until the cashier scanned them that she made out the words on the boxes: “Ultra-thin,” “Extra-pleasure,” and “Vibrant-ribbed.”
Beige was speechless.
Beige paid, then put a hand on Weishu’s shoulder and whispered through gritted teeth, “Why did you buy condoms?”
Weishu blinked in confusion. “To use them, of course.”
She said it so matter-of-factly that for a moment, under the gaze of her wide, innocent eyes, Beishu wondered if she was the one overreacting.
Beige lied with a straight face. “You… you liked them before, too.”
Weishu’s rebellious streak suddenly disappeared. She nodded with a look of dawning realization. “Wow, I’m just as cool as I thought.”
Beige was speechless.
Weishu took the boxes of condoms out of the bag and looked at them again and again, as if no one else was there. “I didn’t see any finger cots, so I had to get these. Hey, which brand do you like?”
She said it with such ease, as if she used them all the time. Before Beishu’s reason could catch up, a wave of jealousy instantly washed over her. “You’ve used them before?” she asked, her voice low and dangerous.
Weishu’s beautiful eyes curved into a smile, and the tip of her delicate nose turned pink from her laughter. “Honey, have you forgotten? Because I don’t remember.”
Hearing the playful tone in her voice, Beishu finally regained her composure and knew she was just teasing. She took a step back to put some distance between them.
Weishu leaned in on her back. “Which one did she like?”
A vein pulsed on Beishu’s forehead. She tossed out a terse “I don’t know,” grabbed the bags, and walked away.
Watching Beishu’s flustered retreat, Weishu stood up straight, the mischievous smile gone from her face. Her expression was complex. She had no idea what Shen Lan had said, but Beishu had been visibly worried ever since they came out. Shen Lan was clearly displeased with Weishu, and she was probably taking it out on Beishu too. Weishu’s trip to the supermarket had succeeded in “annoying” Beishu into a better mood.
Her eyes fell to the condoms in her hand. Weishu jumped, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she fumbled to stuff them into her bag, her earlier “worldly experience” gone completely.
Beige had already driven the car out of the parking garage. She rolled down the window, her head turned away from Weishu. “Are you coming or not?”
Weishu laughed playfully as she chased after her. “Wait for me!”