Next morning, Saturday…
Yesterday passed, and now the day of shopping has arrived.
Ryan and Sylvia stand ready with a long list of expenses and anticipations. They both have freshened up for today's shopping spree.
Sylvia glances over at her skirt once, brushes over the wrinkle, checks her hair once to ensure that everything is in place, and then starts moving toward the door. She is the one who holds the list for shopping and the money. As she scans the list, her voice addresses him without even looking back. "Grocery from that fat uncle's store, then second part of the grocery from that seductive middle-aged lady's store…," Her hand closes on the doorknob as she turns her head back slightly to check whether he is following. Seeing that he is coming, she adds before finally opening the door. "And your two sets of underwear from that open market. No need to waste too much money on them by buying them from some expensive store."
Ryan follows her with a helpless look on his face. Every word she speaks seems to make him slump his shoulders by an inch every time.
Buying grocery from two different stores? Why? There might be some advantage but what about our legs? I might need a long nap after coming back from the shopping today… maybe for two centuries or something?
Then, the mention of his underwear catches him off-guard completely. He immediately catches up to walk beside her and hisses while looking at her sideways. "Hey! Say that quietly. Someone might end up hearing that!"
Soon, they leave the house behind and start walking along the sidewalk. The street is filled with people at this time of the day, from young couples to old grandparents with their grandchildren.
She walks steadily, as usual. Her hair, tied in a ponytail, sways behind her. She replies while checking the time on her phone. "So what? It's just underwear. Do you want to keep your underwear in a museum or something?"
"H…hey!" He tries to respond, but just ends up rambling in the end. After a moment, he just shuts his mouth and keeps walking. If he talks more about his underwear, she will mention it even more, right here in public. Better keep it silent for now.
Several minutes later, they turn at the corner and come out on the main road. The line of different kinds of stores and places appears in their vision suddenly.
Moments later, they finally walk inside the store of that 'fat uncle' Sylvia mentioned earlier. The man really looks past his middle age, and he is indeed fat, albeit quite much. The man seems to recognise Sylvia immediately with just one glance from behind his counter. He doesn't welcome her with sweet words; instead, he becomes almost defensive in his posture.
Ryan notices the silent confrontation happening in front of him, the way Sylvia seems to walk faster suddenly, and the way the store owner stiffens with every step she takes inside his shop.
When they finally reach the counter, the man leans forward, his face stern as he taps on the counter once. "...Welcome to our store. Again. Prices are fixed, no change, no bargain, okay? Am I clear?"
Ryan rests his hand on the counter too as if to speak up, but Sylvia raises her hand once and takes the chance first, "Yes, you are clear. No change, no bargain… I understand."
Ryan and the store owner both look at her with surprised expressions at that. Ryan seems to be confused at her words; he doesn't understand why she is leaving the change to bargain. Meanwhile, the store owner just stares at her with a highly suspicious gaze.
"Really? You understand? Are you sure? Could you have misunderstood your understanding?"
She nods, turning toward the shelves already, "Yes. Now, I won't waste my time, let me shop now."
While she has disappeared from sight, Ryan still stays there at the same place. He seems to be processing something, his finger stroking his chin slowly. "Hm…"
After a moment, the store owner's voice breaks his contemplation, "Did you think about something? What does your intellect say about her words? Do you believe her?"
Ryan shakes his head almost instantly, he pushes off the counter and starts walking toward the direction Sylvia went in. "Not really. I don't believe her. But I trust her. And… My trust says she has something in mind."
"...?" The store owner is left staring at his back with an even more confused expression. "Are they both crazy or something?"
Seconds pass… Then minutes…
The shopkeeper has already attended to several customers in the meantime. His gaze drifts toward the shelves they are roaming around right now.
Several minutes more pass, and they both finally return to the counter again. Ryan has two fully filled shopping bags, and Sylvia has her phone held in her hand; the calculator app glints viciously on it…
A few minutes later, the owner looks almost angry. He points at the cheese packet frantically, "This has not expired at all! This is a 'use before date'! Not an 'Expiry date'. You aren't getting any discount on this."
She lets out a dismissive huff and points to the cheese packet too, and then shows him an image on her phone. "Previously, I bought the same, but my boy here got a stomach ache so hard that he had to spend five hours straight in the toilet. I am not getting scammed today!"
Ryan holds her shoulders and sweats nervously while whispering in her ear, his eyes darting between her and the man, "Calm down, Sylvia… It's not that deep. You don't have to tell him all of that."
Sylvia merely lets out another huff and retorts even more.
After five minutes, the owner looks as if he has aged several years in the span of the last ten minutes. His fingers shake as he types on the keyboard, his eyes move between the packages and her, intensely. "100… that's it. I am not giving more discount than this. You even got a discount of ten because the packaging of this apple juice is not good… that is not even my fault, but anyways. Just finish with it."
She checks over the packages once again, her eyebrows narrow, but after a moment, she lets out a sigh, "Ha… Okay, I guess. There are some issues with your rates definitely, but I will deal with that next time." She glances toward Ryan and nods. "Ryan, quickly fill all of these in the bag. We are moving to the next store now."
"Uh... Yes. I am doing it." He starts throwing the packets quickly inside the bag, his eyes looking at the owner sympathetically. But he shakes his head and pulls the bag off the counter before turning toward the entrance. "I am ready!"
Poor man… It cannot be helped though. It's a good thing that I am on the winning side. I must not get on her bad side ever… Hoh, is this fear I am feeling right now?
After they both leave the store, the owner is half-draped over the counter, looking at their retreating backs, and murmurs very quietly as if hoping she won't hear his words. "Come back again…"
—
Shopping at the next store goes much more peacefully. The 'middle-aged lady' gives the goods at better prices without even any need for a bargain. Ryan seems to have got some gist of it though. He thinks that Sylvia might be gossiping with that lady in her free time, but he just doesn't have enough evidence to prove that.
The next destination that they have reached just now is much more embarrassing for him. He doesn't stand near her, keeping some distance from her, pretending to be a stranger to her. Sylvia's hands move through the sets of male underwear without a single ounce of shame. She checks the elastic, reads the label, throws the underwear aside and starts looking for a better one.
An old man suddenly steps behind Ryan, and whispers in his ear, "Hah… My wife also used to buy my underwear, the golden days…"
"What the…!?" Ryan flinches and quickly puts some distance between himself and the old man, though the old man's words seem to echo in his mind. After thinking of something, he glances at Sylvia once, and then whispers back to the old man. "Wives do this usually? Like, is it common between couples?"
The old man thinks and shakes his head slowly. "Well... it's not that uncommon, but the way that girl is going through them… I have never seen such a young girl doing this. Why do you ask? Do you know her?"
"Uncommon… Hm? Oh! Haha… Not really, who is she?" Ryan steps away from the old man, and waits for her to finish up. Though, he seems to look at her a bit differently now.
Hm… So couples do this then. Heh.