The tycoon's wicked wife from the era of literature has been reborn.

Gao Qinghe nodded. "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Where did you meet him?" Gao Qingmiao asked while eating, seemingly just concerned about the current situation of an ordinary old friend.

After three years of reflection, he has learned to hide his true thoughts.

However, these little tricks are practically useless against the old fox Gao Qinghe.

However, seeing her younger brother grow up, Gao Qinghe felt quite comforted.

“She opened her own clothing studio in the old neighborhood across from the department store. I went to see it, and it was quite well-run. I even bought a few outfits.”

At this point, Gao Qinghe suddenly remembered that she had asked Mo Xiaohong to make two sets of pajamas.

Mo Xiaohong called a couple of days ago to ask her to pick it up, but because she had a cold and was on an IV drip, she hadn't had time to go yet.

"Are you free?" Gao Qinghe asked her younger brother.

Gao Qingmiao nodded, indicating that she should speak frankly.

Gao Qinghe asked him to pick up her clothes tomorrow. Gao Qingmiao was clearly taken aback. He hadn't expected his older sister to have such an attitude. He thought she was going to warn him not to go.

After only a moment's hesitation, Gao Qingmiao quickly agreed.

On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but the young man's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

But this initial enthusiasm was quickly dispelled by the cold wind.

The reality is, she most likely doesn't want to see him again, right?
Gao Qingmiao took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable tension in her heart, and told herself that she was just going to help her older sister get some clothes and visit her old classmate.

This self-reassurance seemed to actually work.

By the time it was time to leave the next day, Gao Qingmiao felt that she had completely returned to a normal state of mind.

The store is easy to find because the store name is her own name.

Around 10 a.m., the temperature dropped sharply these past two days, the morning rush hour was over, and there were few pedestrians on the street.

Orange leaves from the maple trees along the roadside are occasionally blown off by the wind.

As luck would have it, a maple leaf fell into Gao Qingmiao's hand.

He picked up the maple leaf with interest, looking up to examine its veins.

"Ding-a-ling~" A crisp wind chime sounded.

A person walked out of the store.

Her short hair was tied with a long, light brown ribbon, adorned with many beautiful beads of varying lengths, swaying gently.

She was wearing a gray linen lantern-sleeved long dress, summer sandals that revealed thick white cotton socks, and carrying a bucket of trash, about to empty it.

Their eyes met, and both of them looked a little awkward.

Gao Qingmiao quickly tossed aside the maple leaf in her hand and spoke first:

"I'm here to get my sister's clothes."

"Long time no see, Mo Xiaohong."

Gao Qingmiao noticed that his heart was still beating a little fast. He breathed softly, afraid that his unusual behavior would be noticed by the other person.

Mo Xiaohong nodded slowly, "Oh, um, good morning."

"I'll throw out the trash first, you go in first," she said with a warm smile.

It felt like I had run into an old classmate I hadn't seen in years.

Gao Qingmiao breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and nodded, and made way for her to go first before pushing open the door and going into the store to wait.

It was windy on the street. Gao Qingmiao hadn't paid attention to the weather when he went out today and was only wearing a thin sweatshirt. He genuinely felt cold on the street.

I thought it would be warmer inside, but to my surprise, it wasn't much warmer inside than outside.

Gao Qingmiao looked around, feeling as if a cold wind was blowing from somewhere.

After searching for a while, I discovered that the wind was blowing up from the cracks in the bricks under my feet.

The store actually has a sewer?

This is so disregard for feng shui! How can a business like this bring in money? He strolled around the shop, which wasn't big; it was just a few steps to the end.

Gao Qingmiao originally wanted to send her a money tree to change her feng shui.

Looking at it now, there might not even be enough room for half a money tree here.

The ground was covered with scraps of cloth, and in the center was a round platform with a mannequin on it. The mannequin was wearing clothes that matched the colors and patterns of the scraps of cloth on the ground.

Gao Qingmiao flipped through the design sketches on the workbench and was very suspicious that she had been busy in this small shop until late at night yesterday.

After wandering around for a while, I discovered there was another small cubicle in the back.

Without curtains, it doesn't count as a door; it's essentially a semi-open space.

The trash can is some distance away, and the person hasn't returned yet.

Gao Qingmiao walked curiously toward the dark little cubicle, praying in her heart that her place wouldn't be too bad.

Otherwise, he would feel uncomfortable seeing it.

It shouldn't be worse than his 20-square-meter single room in Qing County, right?

Unexpectedly, the cubicle was much smaller than I had imagined, barely big enough to fit a single cot.

The walls were covered with shelves, one side piled with clothes and the other with cooking seasonings scattered about, creating a lively atmosphere.

There was a small dining table next to the bed, very small, only about half the size of a single school desk.

There was a lunchbox on the table, the lid ajar.

Gao Qingmiao opened the lid, and inside were a few leftover noodles.

There wasn't even any scallion, and she doesn't even like scallions, but couldn't she even spare an egg?
The wind chimes rang, and Gao Qingmiao quickly put the lid back on. Feeling inexplicably guilty, she went out and awkwardly asked:

"Is there a restroom? I need to use the toilet, but I can't find one."

Mo Xiaohong stood in front of the unfinished mannequin, looking at him.

He neither smiled nor acted fiercely, but simply gave off a "keep making things up" look.

Gao Qingmiao is no longer pretending!

"Why don't you stay somewhere nicer and eat better? Don't you make a lot of money?" he asked, puzzled.

Mo Xiaohong couldn't help but smile, tidied up the workbench, and arranged the breakfast she had bought.

"A basket of xiaolongbao, two bowls of pork chop rice noodles, and two cups of sweet soy milk—isn't that a feast?"

Mo Xiaohong brought over two tall wooden stools, sat down herself, and pointed to the other one.

Without saying anything, she picked up her own portion and started eating, the hot soup noodles making her feel warm all over.

The chilly atmosphere in the shop seemed to dissipate. Gao Qingmiao glanced at her, sat down, picked up the soy milk in the plastic bag, bit a hole in it, and asked her about the plain noodles on the small table in the cubicle as she sipped.

Mo Xiaohong couldn't remember at first, and after a pause, she said "Oh":

"I stayed up too late last night and was hungry. I wanted to go out and find something to eat, but all the nearby shops were closed, so I came back and just cooked some noodles for myself."

"We haven't bought any groceries for a few days, so we've been eating plain noodles all day," Mo Xiaohong said with a laugh.

She seemed to be in a good mood, and even picked up a xiaolongbao for him, urging him to eat it quickly before it got cold.

Gao Qingmiao hadn't eaten breakfast, but she didn't stand on ceremony. She ate a mouthful of soup noodles and a steamed bun, the two of them eating heartily without saying anything, glancing at each other every now and then, and then unable to help but laugh.

We hadn't seen each other for over two years, but apart from that brief moment of awkwardness at the door, everything felt like it had gone back to how it was before.

Oh, not entirely.

Mo Xiaohong crossed out a line on the bill, tore it off, and handed it to Gao Qingmiao, saying:
"We do not offer credit. The total cost for materials and labor is 480 yuan. Please settle the bill."

Gao Qingmiao, who was carrying her sister's custom-made clothes and was about to leave, paused for two seconds before she realized what was happening.

He's his own boss now.

And, sister, you've gone too far!

Trying to rip off your brother for a mere few hundred yuan? Is that even fair?! (End of Chapter)