“Ah, sorry, sorry, I’m late.”
The glass door was pushed open, the umbrella was folded up, and hung in a corner not far away.
As soon as she stepped inside, Zhu Niao caught a familiar scent—one that reminded her of a long-awaited reunion: the smell of alcohol.
And there she was, the red-brown-haired girl she hadn’t seen in ages.
When the girl saw Zhu Niao, she seemed startled, as if she hadn’t expected to run into her here.
“Sister Zhu, what brings you here today? Looking for me for something?” The shop manager, wrapped up in a plush air-conditioner blanket, looked at Zhu Niao in confusion.
Now it was Zhu Niao’s turn to be confused.
“Uh, I came to work.” Zhu Niao took two steps toward the counter, as if heading back to her workstation.
But the damp chill of her skirt clinging to her skin made her gasp sharply.
She had held an umbrella the whole way here, so she wasn’t drenched, but the hem of her long skirt was no match for splashing raindrops.
It was only then that she realized, even in autumn, her good boss had the air conditioning blasting. For Zhu Niao, who’d always prized thrift and saving, this felt a little strange.
And on a rainy day, no less, with the air conditioner running in a liquor shop that sold only alcohol, not cigarettes.
Behind the counter, the shop manager was wrapped in a fluffy blanket, with the perfect view of the rain outside.
As expected from someone with money, to be able to enjoy such ultimate comfort—air conditioning, a blanket, and the view of rain.
The last time Zhu Niao felt anything like this was because she forgot to turn off the air conditioning.
“Didn’t I tell you, Sister Zhu? During your period, you don’t need to come in. Just stay home and rest, take care of yourself.”
Seeing Zhu Niao shivering from the cold, the red-brown-haired girl instinctively moved to turn off the air conditioner.
“No need,” Zhu Niao stopped her, not wanting to ruin her enjoyment. “Do you have another blanket?”
“Yes, yes…” The shop manager produced another equally fluffy blanket.
Then Zhu Niao plopped into her workstation chair, wrapped herself up, and felt the warmth quickly returning to her body and the soft, cozy sensation.
So comfortable.
Seeing the tension melt from Zhu Niao’s face, the red-brown-haired girl finally let out a breath of relief.
“Sister Zhu,” the manager asked her next question, “where’s my brother? He knew you’d be coming to work today, but he didn’t come with you? Didn’t even drop you off, or say anything to me…?”
Zhu Niao felt like all her effort to be diligent today was only going to bring Guo Yu a great deal of trouble.
“I get it now. My good brother probably has a death wish.”
With a smile, the shop manager unlocked her phone, knowing full well Guo Yu was in for some bad luck.
“Wait!”
Zhu Niao stopped her. She knew that Guo Yu had no idea she’d decided to come to work today.
It was Sunday, after all. Even if her period was over, by the usual routine of this double-day-off job, she didn’t need to come in on the weekend.
But because the manager even gave her time off during her period, Zhu Niao felt a bit guilty—so she figured, since she had nothing else to do, she might as well come in.
Now she had become the very kind of person she used to hate—the sort who liked to come to work just because they had nothing better to do. The dragon slayer, at last, becoming the dragon.
“Actually… uh, actually I think there are better ways to deal with him.”
She couldn’t exactly admit she’d come on a whim and let Guo Yu, who was out delivering takeout to earn the family’s living expenses, get the full brunt of her impulse.
“If Sister Zhu has an idea, then of course we’ll go with yours,” the shop manager said, putting her phone down.
After all, she just wanted to stick up for Zhu Niao—it would be best if Zhu Niao handled it herself.
No way was she going to let her good brother lose such a wonderful sister-in-law over some trivial matter.
If you lost someone as good as Zhu Niao, you might spend half your life searching for another.
“Tell me some stories about Guo Yu from the past,” Zhu Niao said.
She’d rarely heard Guo Yu talk about his own past, which made her subconsciously assume there were issues in his family.
And as it turned out, Guo Yu’s family did have problems—problems big enough to be hung on a streetlight.
“Sister Zhu means… black history?” the shop manager guessed, beginning to interpret on her own. “Let me think…”
“Eh, that’s not… well, sure.” Zhu Niao saw the troubled look on her face. “Don’t tell me he doesn’t have any black history?”
“Oh, he has, he has—just that there’s so much I don’t know where to start.”
A lie, of course.
Even if she did talk about her brother’s black history, she would only pick the kind that wouldn’t affect Zhu Niao’s impression of Guo Yu—especially those related to romance.
So, she began.
“Sister Zhu, you know how little boys often say they’ll marry their mom when they grow up?” the red-brown-haired girl began softly.
Zhu Niao nodded. Not just in real life—even TV shows were full of that.
“But my good brother never did. In fact, in front of my mom, he read his essay at the elementary school parent meeting.”
Zhu Niao was stunned.
But thinking about it, this was exactly the sort of thing Guo Yu would do.
“Uh, then what happened?”
She found herself oddly curious about what happened next.
“The essay was praised by my dad, who also attended the meeting. Father and son hugged and wept. Even the teachers were moved.”
“And after that…?”
“Yes, they both got a beating. Both of them.” The shop manager paused before continuing, “But, it’s worth mentioning—when my mom questioned my brother about why he disliked her, he said he disliked all girls like my mom.”
“What kind of type?”
“Older women—so he got beaten even harder than my dad.”
After finishing, the shop manager added, “But back then, my brother also said what type of girl he liked, and said he’d never change his mind.”
“What type?”
Curiosity—and maybe a touch of urgency—colored Zhu Niao’s voice.
She asked the shop manager, wrapped in her blanket, scooting a bit closer.
The red-brown-haired girl’s lips curled into a sly smile as she eyed Zhu Niao up and down.
It seemed it was time for her to describe, in detail, from head to toe, the very girl sitting in front of her—her future sister-in-law.
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Clever lil sis