The walk to the supermarket was short, but to Hui Lang—still swaying in Tian's arms like a ragdoll—it felt like a humiliating march of doom. Every passerby gave them a double-take. A stunning young man in slightly too-big clothes carrying a fluffy piglet who looked like it had just been scrubbed raw with industrial soap.
"I swear," Hui Lang groaned internally, "if one more person pats me and says 'cute', I will bite someone. Preferably him."
Tian, oblivious to the pig's emotional damage, bounced along cheerfully. "Bacon~ We're going shopping~ Maybe we'll get you a snack~" he sang under his breath.
"I don't want a snack," Hui Lang grunted in his head. "I want my body, my dignity, and a restraining order against this lunatic angel who just casually washed my privates with laundry detergent."
They turned a corner and approached a modest-looking grocery store squeezed between a laundromat and a hair salon named Curl Up and Dye. A dusty sign above the door read Chao's Family Mart, the letters slightly faded and one 'a' missing.
As the door chimed open, the scent of soy sauce, dried squid, and something vaguely pickled hit Hui Lang's nose like a brick.
"Ugh… what is this smell? Rotten nostalgia?"
Behind the counter sat an extremely old man—so old that he looked like he had been left on the shelf with the soy sauce bottles for a century. His eyes were half-lidded, and he stared off in the complete opposite direction of the entrance.
"Welcome," the old man said automatically, still staring at the drinks fridge. "Did you bring the beans?"
Tian blinked. "Uh… no beans, but I'm Tian! I'm the new cashier? Lu Chen sent me?"
The old man squinted, then slowly—painfully slowly—turned his face one inch toward Tian but still somehow missed him entirely and stared at a rack of instant noodles instead. "Oh. The noodle boy's cousin. Good. You smell like soap."
Tian chuckled awkwardly, setting Hui Lang down on the counter. "And this is Bacon! He's my… pet."
"Pet? a large rat?" The old man finally shifted his gaze half a degree toward the piglet.
Hui Lang snorted loudly, offended to his core.
"Rat?! I was the CEO of a tech conglomerate, you moldy old man!"
But of course, all that came out was an angry little oink followed by him puffing his cheeks in rage.
Tian giggled, gently patting Hui Lang's head. "He's a pig. And he gets grumpy when he's hungry."
Hui Lang jerked his snout away. "I get grumpy when you keep saying my name like I'm a breakfast side dish!" he thought huffing and puffing.
The old man nodded thoughtfully, still looking at a completely wrong shelf. "Good pig. Looks like he's been dry cleaned."
"I WAS," Hui Lang mentally screamed. "With laundry detergent! Do you people not know the difference between 'grooming' and 'abuse'?!"
Tian leaned over the counter, eyes sparkling. "So, Grandpa Chao, what do I need to do today?"
"stack the produce section boy,"
Tian blinked twice, and nodded solemnly. "Understood."
Hui Lang settled onto the counter beside a stack of canned bamboo shoots, his little eyes narrowed.
"This is my life now. I've been demoted from CEO to sidekick pig. I sit next to expired root vegetables and listen to a senile man run his grocery empire with one blind eye."
Tian started unpacking his small cloth bag, pulling out the thermos of porridge Lu Chen packed for him. He placed it on the counter, then pulled out a small folded towel and placed it under Hui Lang like a throne.
"There you go, Bacon. Comfy?"
The pig snorted. "You put me on a towel like I'm a fruit display. I demand a satin cushion and my dignity back."
Tian uncapped the thermos and began blowing on a spoonful of porridge. "Wanna taste? It's warm…"
Hui Lang eyed the porridge cautiously.
"Do I risk the food poisoning or starve out of spite?"
His stomach growled.
"…Fine. But I'm not eating it because he offered. I'm eating it because I need calories to survive this hell." he thought eyes narrowed.
Tian, ever doting, held the spoon up. Hui Lang delicately slurped it. His eyes went wide.
"…Wait. This actually tastes good."
"More?" Tian cooed, already spooning out another bite.
Hui Lang gulped it down. "It's hot. It's fluffy. It's seasoned. Oh god, I'm falling into porridge Stockholm Syndrome."
The old man, who still hadn't moved a centimeter, muttered, "Pig's got good manners. Better than that last intern. She chewed with her mouth open."
Tian burst out laughing. "See? You're already winning Grandpa Chao's heart."
"I don't want his heart," Hui Lang groaned in his head. "I want my suit, my job, and a glass of 2014 Bordeaux."
The bell over the door chimed again as a customer entered. Tian perked up and greeted them with a smile.
Hui Lang watched him work—awkward but eager, fumbling slightly with the register but grinning brightly through it all.
And for a second… just a second…
He forgot he was a pig.
Just a man, watching a strange, soft, sunshine-eyed idiot trying to be good in a small, dusty corner of the world.
And it didn't feel all that bad.
He shook himself. "No. No. No feelings. Feelings are dangerous. Feelings get pigs turned into bacon."
He glanced at the sign behind the counter:
"Today's Special: Pork Buns, 3 for 10"
His ears twitched.
"I need a therapist. Urgently." he thought to himself.