Our meeting had been so sudden, and our parting was just as abrupt.
But I should have been an unfortunate and unpleasant episode in his life.
When saying goodbye, I sincerely thanked him.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry! I hope you won't encounter unreliable people like me in the future."
He was stunned for a moment. Without waiting for his response, I armed myself with my suitcase and left the room.
……
Young people have good resistance, and within a week, I was back on my feet.
Perhaps due to good protection, my family members were also fine.
Seeing me idling around, my mother asked me to go to the supermarket to buy some groceries.
Seeing the throat lozenges on the shelf, I thought of Brandon.
I thought of the medicine he bought for me but didn't deliver, wondering if he was doing well and if he had fallen ill.
So when he suddenly appeared in front of me, I thought it was my own hallucination and slapped myself twice.
Brandon was taken aback when he saw me and was about to come towards me, but then he stopped when he saw me like that.
I didn't know what to say.
He didn't know what to say, either.
After a moment of awkward silence, he spoke first, "Hello."
Embarrassed, I waved at him and said, "Hi!"
He was out shopping for groceries too, and we pushed our carts while chatting.
I asked, "So, did you end up with a fever?"
"No, I guess my immune system is pretty strong, or maybe I was asymptomatic."
I sighed in relief. "That's good. Otherwise, I would feel terrible…"
He shook his head. "It's already happened. Not to mention where you might have caught it from, even if you did pass it to me, I wouldn't feel anything."
I let out a sigh, thinking he was quite the saint. "I really appreciate you. You even stayed to take care of me instead of leaving."
His expression suddenly turned strange.
I was confused.
"Actually I was worried about carrying the virus and affecting my parents."
I was speechless, feeling a deep sense of shame. I wished I could just disappear into a hole right then and there.
He continued, "I was afraid that you would feel too guilty at that time, so I didn't dare to say it."
Gratitude welled up inside me, but before I could express it, I heard someone call his name.
"Brandon?"
It was a well-maintained middle-aged woman, her eyes and nose resembling Brandon's quite a bit.
I guessed it was his mother.
I noticed his mom sneaking glances at me, so I smiled at her politely.