Xu Ou had just finished serving one customer.
Seeing that there weren’t many people in the store at the moment, she planned to leave things to Liu and head to the breakroom for a cup of tea.
However, as she turned her head, she inadvertently spotted three girls standing outside the shop.
Among them was a somewhat familiar figure.
Her footsteps unconsciously moved toward them. With a surprised but slightly uncertain tone, she called out to the girl in the middle, “Xinyuan?”
On the other side, Lin Xinyuan was just about to explain something when she stopped, looking toward the source of the voice.
She saw a middle-aged, beautiful woman walking quickly toward them.
Lin Xinyuan’s expression froze, and she immediately became a bit nervous and embarrassed.
But since things had already come to this, she didn’t tell Li Tang and the others to walk ahead anymore.
Instead, she shyly walked toward Xu Ou.
“Sister Ou…”
Hearing that soft, sweet voice after so long, Xu Ou couldn’t help but feel a sense of realization.
Looking at Lin Xinyuan, who had already reached her, she couldn’t help but recall the tomboyish girl from six months ago.
Comparing that memory to the elegant, fresh-faced young lady standing before her now, she marveled at how much the girl had changed.
As she looked closer, she felt that the child resembled an old acquaintance of hers even more.
Although she couldn’t see the girl’s full face clearly now, those beautiful eyes alone were a seventy-percent match for that person…
Coupled with the information she had gathered before the pandemic, a thought began to form in her mind.
While Xu Ou was lost in thought, she stared at the girl for quite a while, making Lin Xinyuan feel inexplicably awkward.
The girl lowered her small head, wanting to check herself over. But even after looking several times, she couldn’t find anything wrong.
Seeing the girl’s uneasy state, Xu Ou found it amusing.
Her affection was hard to hide, but she didn’t say anything more. Instead, she shifted her gaze to Li Tang and Liu Qingyan standing beside her.
With a smile in her eyes, she asked, “Are these two Xinyuan’s classmates?”
“Uh… yes.” Lin Xinyuan hurriedly snapped back to her senses.
Seeing that Xu Ou was no longer staring at her so intensely, she breathed a sigh of relief and replied, “The school lockdown was lifted, so we came out to shop, and… to see you, Sister Ou.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!”
Xu Ou happily rubbed the girl’s head, making Lin Xinyuan feel quite embarrassed.
She felt especially awkward noticing the gazes from her friends and some passersby, but she didn’t resist.
“Hello, Sister Ou! My name is Li Tang, I’m Xinyuan’s good friend!”
Li Tang was quick-witted. She immediately followed Lin Xinyuan’s lead and called out to Xu Ou sweetly.
At that moment, Lin Xinyuan seemed to remember something and hurriedly added, “That’s right, Sister Ou. Tang is also from our hometown!”
Upon hearing this, both Xu Ou and Li Tang were very surprised.
Xu Ou, in particular, looked at Li Tang with much more warmth. “Oh my, hello Tang! It seems we share a special connection. You should come here often with Xinyuan to hang out!”
Speaking of which, she had originally planned to go back home for the New Year.
After her family met with an accident years ago, being an only daughter who had married far away in Tianbei City, she hadn’t returned for many years.
Besides, she also needed to go back to find that person…
But she hadn’t expected the pandemic to hit, which had completely disrupted all her plans.
“Wow, Sister Ou, is that really okay?”
Li Tang was clearly very happy as well. This was the first person from her hometown she had met in Tianbei City besides Lin Xinyuan. Her tone naturally carried a hint of closeness.
“Of course, I welcome you both anytime!”
“Hehe, thank you, Sister Ou.”
After Xu Ou and Li Tang finished introducing themselves, Xu Ou turned to Liu Qingyan. Her gaze was equally warm and friendly. “And this classmate is?”
Lin Xinyuan immediately understood and was about to explain, but Liu Qingyan had a smile in her eyes as she shook her head at the girl.
Under Xu Ou’s slightly surprised gaze, she took out her phone, quickly typed a few words on a digital note, and then walked over to show it to her.
[Hello, Sister Ou. I am Xinyuan’s friend. It’s a pleasure to meet you.]
[I have a congenital defect and cannot speak. I’m sorry…]
Seeing this, Xu Ou froze for a moment. Soon, the way she looked at Liu Qingyan was filled with pity and tenderness.
‘Alas… such a beautiful and gentle girl. Heaven is truly unfair…’
Thinking this, Xu Ou sighed inwardly. She reached out and, with gentle eyes, rubbed Liu Qingyan’s head just as she had done to Lin Xinyuan, treating her like a junior of her own.
She didn’t pry into the girl’s condition, only smiling as she said, “Hello, Qingyan! Since you are all Xinyuan’s friends, we’ll all be good friends from now on.”
Having her head rubbed was a first for the girl, except for when Sun Ce did it. She couldn’t help but daze for a second.
Even though Liu Qingyan felt it was a bit strange, as if she were being treated like a child, she could feel Xu Ou’s kindness. In the end, she didn’t pull away.
She and Li Tang looked at this gentle elder and nodded vigorously with a sense of closeness.
After getting to know them, Xu Ou looked back at the girl.
Recalling what Lin Xinyuan had said about coming out to see her, her smile deepened as she looked at the many bags the three girls were carrying.
“Whew, that’s good. You must have been stifled after not being able to come out for so long.”
By now, most of Lin Xinyuan’s earlier awkwardness had faded. She scratched her head. “It was okay, I guess…”
“Well, come inside and sit for a bit. There are a lot of people outside. During these special times, regardless of whether things are opening up or not, you still need to be careful. Don’t copy those people outside who aren’t wearing masks!”
Xu Ou reminded the three of them with concern. Only when she saw them nod seriously did she feel satisfied.
Having said that, she took the girl’s hand and led the way, preparing to take them into the store first.
Lin Xinyuan stole a glance behind her, blinking to signal Li Tang and Liu Qingyan to follow.
The two looked at each other and hurriedly followed.
However, as they watched the interaction between the girl and the beautiful middle-aged woman ahead of them, their reactions were quite different.
Li Tang simply assumed the woman was one of Lin Xinyuan’s elders who ran a shop here, so she didn’t think much of it.
But Liu Qingyan was different. She looked at Xu Ou’s back and pondered silently.
Although the woman appeared very warm and gentle—and in fact, she truly was—the way she carried herself was ingrained in her very bones.
It made Liu Qingyan realize immediately that the woman’s family background was anything but simple.
Perhaps opening this shop was just a hobby to pass the time.
‘Xinyuan has this kind of friend… or rather… an elder?’
Thinking of this, Liu Qingyan stopped dwelling on it.
She was merely surprised; she had no intention of investigating further. She wasn’t interested in such things.
“Liu, keep an eye on the shop for a bit. I’m taking these younger sisters to sit in the back!”
As soon as they entered the store, Xu Ou gave instructions to a young woman.
The woman had already seen the three girls standing outside the shop earlier.
She had intended to go out and serve them once she finished her work, but before she could react, her boss had already gone out.
But now it seemed they were actually acquaintances of her boss.
“Alright, Store Manager.”
Liu responded briskly and went back to her tasks.
Only after they entered the breakroom and closed the door did Liu start to ponder while straightening some clothes.
She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.
‘It turns out the beautiful manager’s friends are all little beauties as well…’
Especially the girl whose hand the manager was holding intimately just now.
Even though she couldn’t see the girl’s face, just standing there, she had an aura like a secluded orchid in a valley.
She was inexplicably eye-catching, but not in an aggressive way. Instead, she made people feel very comfortable.
As she was letting her thoughts wander, she suddenly heard a customer calling from nearby.
“Sister, we’ve finished trying these on!”
“Oh, okay! Coming right now!”