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The blinds were drawn, TV glowing faintly and running in the background. A half-eaten bag of chips lay abandoned on the floor, right beside a growing graveyard of empty soda cans.
And in the middle of it all laid X.
Sprawled like a corpse across the couch, he had the remote dangling loosely from one hand. He looked like he hadn't moved in hours, his sleeping mask still perched crookedly on his forehead.
Lin Ling carefully sidestepped the cans, stunned. Ever since they became acquaintances after placing relatively close to each other in the Tournament, he begun seeing a brand new side of X. He knew from a while ago that the top hero was a homebody who desired to be a normal person, though not to this extent. "Are you alright? You're usually not this reclusive."
Nothing.
"X?"
X didn't move. "Weekend." He muttered, and left it at that.
So that's how it's like on his off day...
"Want to go out?"
X blinked, sluggish. "You're asking me? Then... nope."
He really doesn't seem willing to part with his couch... Lin Ling realised. He made a mental note not to disturb during weekends unless absolutely necessary. "I'll get going then. Rest well."
There's a long, dramatic sigh from the couch. "Where to?"
"The grocery store."
There was a long pause. Then, with the speed and precision of someone who had just regained all energy, X stretched and sat up, taking off his sleeping mask. "... Could've said that earlier."
X really wasn't joking when he said that he wanted to live the life of an ordinary person.
Lin Ling really only needed to grab some necessities since he was running low and preferred brands that were familiar, but they have been making rounds around the supermarket for the last 40 minutes without an end in sight.
Honestly, he might as well stay longer. Ever since Lin Ling signed his contract with Treeman, it's been non-stop chaos with getting into photograph shoots and interviews, on top of him trying to figure out the motives behind Moon's killer. A mental reset from it all was appreciated.
Perhaps it was a power he gained as his trust value rose as 'The Commoner', but Lin Ling soon discovered he could alter how the general public saw people near him. With this ability, he could make anyone, including himself, appear like an unremarkable person temporarily. During the Hero Tournament, this power briefly disrupted some heroes he faced, giving him just enough of an advantage to win a few matches.
Of course, that special ability too attracted the attention of X, and he welcomed Lin Ling to stay around as that meant he'd be able to go out without being fawned over constantly even after his identity was revealed.
With his hands shoved in his pockets, X seemed strangely entertained by all of this. Compared to when he was maneuvering around town like a pro, he was fully immersed in comparing prices with absurd seriousness. He'd tap fruit to test ripeness, wrinkle his nose at labels, and even reach to the back of the shelf for the longer lasting products.
"Which one do you like better?" X asked suddenly, holding up two different frozen food packages to show him.
"They're the same." Lin Ling said, because he could not actually fathom what the difference was outside of the packaging.
"They're not." X turned the packages around, pointing out the differences which were negligible at best. Lin Ling made a face at his explanations, and X seemed amused.
In the end, they decided with a coin toss, and Lin Ling went back to the Hero Tower with way more groceries than he needed.