Take Whatever You Like

"Let's go then. Oh, right, did you give Little Yu the keys and everything?"

"Do you even need to ask? I already handed them to her earlier, and her fingerprints are registered too."

"Oh? You two work fast. Little Yu, from now on, this is your home. Since Sister Mengrou doesn’t live here anyway, you can stay as long as you need—until you can afford your own place."

Hearing this, Xia Zhiyu glanced at the two of them, then suddenly stepped forward with determination.

Just as Su Yang and Zhao Mengrou were wondering what she was doing, she bowed deeply at the waist.

Su Yang quickly moved to pull her up. "Hey, Little Yu, what’s this about?!"

The past two days of Su Yang’s help had turned Xia Zhiyu’s life upside down.

At her lowest point, he had reached out with a strong hand and pulled her out of the mud.

Between everything that had happened and now being given such a beautiful place to live, her emotions overwhelmed her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

People like Xia Zhiyu—strong-willed but hardened by hardship—were often the most sensitive deep down.

Cruelty might not break them, but genuine kindness could touch the deepest chords of their hearts.

As Su Yang helped her straighten up, tears rolled down her pretty cheeks.

"Brother Su Yang, meeting you is the greatest blessing of my life. After my grandmother passed, I thought no one would ever care for me again... but then I met you."

"These past two days, you’ve completely changed my life. You’ve given me hope again. And now, Sister Mengrou—someone so kind—is letting me live in such a wonderful place. I... I don’t know how to thank you both. That’s why I had to bow."

Zhao Mengrou could guess that Xia Zhiyu’s past must have been difficult.

She stepped forward and took Xia Zhiyu’s hand. "Little Yu, we’ve only just met, and there’s a lot I don’t know about you yet, but I can tell we’ll get along."

"If you’re willing, you can tell me more later. You can think of me as your real sister. From now on, if you need anything, just come to me. Or if that doesn’t work, go to Su Yang—he’s loaded!"

The heavy mood lightened as Zhao Mengrou’s "loaded" remark made Su Yang laugh helplessly.

He turned to Xia Zhiyu. "Exactly, Little Yu. Spend more time with Sister Mengrou—she’s great. You’ll be good friends. Oh, and there’s also Sister Xiaolu from the restaurant."

"You should talk more, open up. You’re still way too introverted. I’ll introduce you to more friends later—they’re all good people."

After Su Yang finished, Zhao Mengrou pulled out a tissue and gently wiped Xia Zhiyu’s tears. "Alright, Little Yu, no more sad thoughts. Let’s go shopping!"

"Okay. I won’t bring up sad things anymore. I’ll listen to Brother Su Yang and talk more with all of you."

"Now that’s the spirit! Let’s go!"

The three of them headed out the door.

Soon, they reached the ground floor and walked toward the street, where the parked Ferrari had been replaced by an Audi RS7.

Su Yang reached the car first and unlocked it with a grin. "Ladies, your chariot awaits."

"You really have a lot of cars. What’s this one?"

"You don’t recognize an Audi?"

"Ohhh, an Audi. Nice, it looks good." Zhao Mengrou circled the car before sliding into the back seat.

Xia Zhiyu followed suit.

Once they were settled, Su Yang started the car and drove out of the neighborhood.

"I’ll take you shopping first, and we’ll pick up some things for Little Yu’s new place."

Xia Zhiyu instinctively opened her mouth to refuse, but Su Yang caught her expression in the rearview mirror and cut in, "Don’t even start. Can’t I celebrate you moving in by getting you some pots and pans?"

"Okay, Brother Su Yang."

Zhao Mengrou chuckled. "I’ll buy Little Yu something too."

"Sure."

Laughing, the three left Yuhu Bay.

About ten minutes later, Su Yang parked in the underground lot of Qianxiang Mall.

They took the elevator down to the supermarket on the lower level.

Su Yang was a regular here, often stopping by for household items.

At the entrance, they grabbed three carts and strolled inside.

Xia Zhiyu hadn’t planned to take one, but Zhao Mengrou insisted, handing hers over before grabbing another.

Inside, Xia Zhiyu hesitated at the sight of endless shelves.

Su Yang smiled at her. "Little Yu, just grab whatever you like. Don’t hold back, okay?"

Xia Zhiyu pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay."

Zhao Mengrou grinned. "Little Yu, take this chance to milk your Brother Su Yang dry. Get whatever you want—heck, I’m picking stuff too."

"Go wild. Let’s split up to save time." Su Yang waved them off and walked ahead.

The three began browsing separately. Su Yang didn’t need much himself—this trip was for Xia Zhiyu.

As he wandered, he thought, What should I get her? Snacks, maybe. Girls love snacks.

He headed straight for the snack aisle, loading up on cookies, drinks, and imported treats.

Next, he hit the home section for cookware, cups, and toiletries.

Before long, his cart was full. "This thing’s too small. Whatever, I’ll check out first and come back."

After loading the Audi’s trunk, he returned to the supermarket.

This time, he stocked up on meat, vegetables, rice, seasonings, fresh lobster, and crab from the seafood section.

Then came frozen cod, shrimp, yellow croaker, ribbonfish, sea cucumber—piling another cart high.

On his third trip inside, he finally spotted Zhao Mengrou and Xia Zhiyu.

He called out and pushed his cart toward them, only to find Zhao Mengrou’s filled with household items—while Xia Zhiyu’s held just a pack of sanitary pads and a bottle of cooking oil.

Su Yang sighed inwardly. Ah, Little Yu... Good thing we’re helping.

"Little Yu, how’d you only grab this much after all that time?"

Zhao Mengrou shook her head. "She’s still too reserved. Let’s just pick for her."

She glanced at Su Yang’s empty cart. "Why don’t you have anything?"

"Me? This is my third round already."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Mengrou asked, utterly confused.

"It means I’ve already loaded two whole carts of goods into the car. You guys are way too slow, so I had to step in."

"Damn, I guess I was holding back then. Alright, time to go all out!" Zhao Mengrou chuckled and pushed her cart toward a row of shelves.

......

Half an hour later, Su Yang entered the supermarket for the fourth time, completely out of ideas for what else to buy.

He’d already grabbed plenty of things, both necessary and unnecessary. At this point, aside from alcohol, there wasn’t much left to pick up.

Speaking of alcohol, his eyes lit up with an idea. ‘Hmm? Since I’ve bought so much today, why not swing by Little Yu’s place later and cook a meal for the two of them? Yeah, that sounds good. Guess I’ll grab some drinks too.’

With that thought, Su Yang pushed his cart toward the liquor section.

Meanwhile, Xia Zhiyu had finally picked up a few more items, though they were still just household essentials like tissues and laundry detergent.

Another half hour passed, and the three of them finally regrouped in the parking lot.

They stuffed the trunk and half of the back seat to the brim before calling it quits.

Staring at the mountain of goods, Zhao Mengrou scratched her head and asked, "Do you always shop like this?"

"Yep. Buy in bulk once and save yourself multiple trips."

"But won’t most of this go bad?"

"Not really. Most of it has a long shelf life—only a few things are perishable."

Su Yang shut the car door and turned to the other two with a grin. "Come on, we’re not done yet. Next stop—first-floor shopping!"

……