I endured the humiliation and humiliation while being besieged by the ghost story elder sister.

Upon hearing what Hachiko said, Himiko suddenly remembered that there really was such a thing.

He never expected that anyone would remember him, even though he had hardly ever spoken to girls before.

Xi Miao felt a little strange for a moment, while the three people sitting in the living room became a little wary, feeling that there was something else going on in their asking Xi Miao if she had returned.

However, they didn't say anything about it. After all, they didn't know the other party's background yet. If they acted rashly and got jealous, Ximiao might think they were being unreasonable.

then.

Fanxia and Arisa, who were sitting next to her, exchanged a glance. Even without saying anything, they instantly reached a consensus just from each other's eyes.

After a long while, when Xi Ling had finished preparing dinner and placed the exquisite dishes on the table, he took off his apron, sat on the cushion, and took a tissue to wipe the fine sweat from his fair forehead.

Why are you two still wearing these clothes?

Seeing that Honoka and Arisa had no intention of changing their clothes, Nozomi couldn't help but complain.

"What? Is Mio worried that seeing our swimsuits might make her do something embarrassing? Don't worry, we won't say anything about it~"

As if she hadn't heard what Yashiro had just said, Arisa teased.

She successfully made Ximiao glare at her fiercely, and then reply in an annoyed tone.

"If you both catch a cold, don't expect me or anyone else to take care of you..."

"Don't worry~"

Afterwards, the group sat down at the dining table and chatted briefly, focusing their attention on the food in front of them.

That night.

Arisa and Honoka were taking a shower in the bathroom, while only Hachi and Ami were left in the living room, sitting by the kotatsu and watching TV.

As for Himo, she was in the kitchen, slowly washing the dirty dishes that filled the sink.

At this moment, Ashi asked in a low voice to Hachiko, who was sitting opposite her.

"Are you sure that when Xi Ling sees his old classmates, he won't be reminded of his family?"

Ba Zi was taken aback at first, and looked at her with some surprise before she realized what was happening and said.

"I also tampered with the memories of his classmates, so nothing should happen, right..."

Chapter Eighteen: Managing the Shop

The next day.

At Nozomi's insistence, Hachiko had to take a day off and instead took over the day's business at the shop where the boy used to work.

In fact, Yashiro was very worried about Himiko going there to work alone, but she really couldn't think of a reason to stop him.

So, she could only lower her head and ask Honoka and Arisa to go with her so they could look after each other and help each other out. Only then, urged by Nozomi, did she go back to her room to rest.

As for Xi Ling and the others, they changed into clothes for going out, put on their shoes in the entryway, and then walked out the door.

On the way, the two people walking beside Ximiao were a little puzzled as to why Ximiao wanted to help out at the store today.

So, Arisa took the initiative to ask the question.

"Mio, what's wrong with you today? Why did you suddenly want to go to that shop to help out..."

“But that’s my family’s shop after all. It’s not really appropriate to always have Sister Baqi help take care of it… Besides, I also want Sister Baqi to be able to take a day or two off so she doesn’t have to work so hard.”

After hearing Mio's explanation, Arisa didn't ask any further questions, but instead stood aside, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon, they arrived at the shop. Xi Ling took out the key that Sister Ba had given him from her pocket and unlocked the shop door.

As the automatic glass door sensed the group, it slowly opened, allowing Xi Ling and the others to enter the store.

After turning on the lights, Sister Fanxia couldn't wait to turn on the air conditioning in the store as well. After feeling the cold wind blowing on her face, she breathed a sigh of relief, looked around, and then asked with some doubt.

"So...Mio, what should we do now?"

Although they were called over by Yashiro to assist Nozomi, neither she nor Arisa knew anything about what to do and had absolutely no experience in doing such a thing.

As for Ximiao, she had helped out at the store before, and relying on her memory, she easily walked behind the counter, turned on all the necessary equipment, and then spoke.

"If it's about helping out... then I'd like to ask you two to check what items on the shelves need to be restocked, and write them down if you see anything."

As she spoke, Nozomi took out two notebooks for recording restocking information and gave them to Honoka and Arisa.

After receiving the task, the two of them went off to get busy, leaving Ximiao alone behind the counter to deal with the group of old men and women that Sister Ba often talked about.

Not long after the water in the boiler boiled, the elderly group, who seemed to have timed it perfectly, entered the store and immediately discovered that the person behind the counter had changed.

Miss Yasuie, who should have been here every morning, had turned into a blond boy, which surprised them.

Then an elderly person with a better memory recognized Xi Ling and said something.

"Oh my~ Isn't this Nozomi? You're back from Xijing! I haven't seen you in ages because you were studying there~"

"I remember you lived next door, Mrs. Nishiyama, right? It's so nice to see you still so energetic!"

Ximiao recognized the old man and greeted him politely. In no time, she became familiar with the group of chatty old people.

Some people were worried that Yashiro might be sick since she didn't come today, and Mio's explanation was...

"Sister Ba, I saw that she looked a bit tired, so I gave her a day off and I came over to help instead."

"That's it."

Immediately afterwards, surrounded by a group of elderly people, Ximiao was busy ordering and paying for their breakfast, looking rather flustered.

Fortunately, he didn't make any mistakes. Sister Ba had specifically instructed him on whether the sauce for the cart noodles or other dishes should be thicker or thinner, so the elderly people were very satisfied.

After some time, Xi Miao's arms started to ache. She was surprised that her sister, Yashiro, hadn't told her that the workload was so heavy.

Now it seems he really underestimated Sister Ba's work ability. Just one cart noodle dish, with all the stirring of the sauce in that bowl, made Xi Ling a little impatient.

After watching the group of elderly people leave, Ximiao slumped into a chair behind the counter and let out a long sigh of relief.

Because the scene just now was really a bit scary, Arisa and Honoka, who had been assigned by Nozomi to check the goods, finally came over at this moment.

"Is this what they call the morning rush hour?"

"How terrifying... Yazumi actually spends every day like this..."

After hearing what the two of them said, Nozomi couldn't help but add.

"Before closing the shop this afternoon, I heard from Sister Baqi that there's still one more evening rush hour. You two shouldn't get too excited yet."

After resting for a while, Ximiao took the list of goods that needed to be replenished that the two of them had just written down and carefully examined it.

"Hmm... most of them are drinks and rice balls, so it seems that the group of elderly people we just saw were the main customers."

As for the rest, there were some snacks, which were probably bought by children who came here.

Thinking this, Ximiao stood up from the bench, led Fanxia and Arisa into the warehouse, and asked them to move the items outside according to the names of the goods on the list.

As for Himo, she was responsible for neatly arranging the goods that needed to be replenished on the shelves.

Perhaps because they had things to do, the people in the shop felt that time flew by, and before they knew it, it was noon, time for lunch.

I saw that Fanxia and Arisa each brought a stool and sat in front of the counter, looking at their phones to pass the time, looking bored.

Suddenly, they heard a stomach growl in the shop. Both of them blushed and couldn't help but ask Himo.

"Um...Mio, what are we going to do about lunch?"

"Hmm? There are bento boxes and rice balls in the freezer, take your pick. Of course, if you want something like cart noodles, that's fine too."

After saying that, Ximiao also came out from behind the counter and went to the freezer with them.

The variety of bento boxes and rice balls was dazzling. Even Arisa, who was used to seeing big things, had never seen so many ready-to-eat bento boxes laid out together with such a wide variety of styles.

"Here, pick any of these you like. You two don't get paid today anyway, so having some snacks as compensation isn't a bad idea."

That's what Hio said.

"As for compensation, I think it would be better to choose something else, don't you think, Honoka~"

Arisa grinned mischievously and nudged Honoka beside her with her elbow, as if seeking her approval.

This startled her for a moment, not quite understanding what Arisa meant, but after noticing that Arisa's gaze remained fixed on Nozomi, she instantly understood...

Even so, she didn't choose to tell Ximiao about this so that he would be on guard. After all, Fanxia herself was thinking about what kind of reward she would ask Ximiao for.

Soon, the group who had chosen their bento boxes sat back down on their stools, with only the sound of the microwave running echoing in the store.

"By the way, Mio, you've been back for several days now, but none of your old classmates or friends have come to visit you."

Suddenly remembering what Hachiko had said to Himo in the kitchen yesterday, Honoka asked curiously.

It seems they wanted to subtly inquire about Nozomi's past, treating it as a lighthearted anecdote.

Arisa, who was standing to the side, obviously understood what Honoka wanted to do and quickly asked.

"By the way, tell me about your past with Hachiko, like how you met or something."

"Eh?"

Seeing how interested the two of them were in her past, as well as in the past of Sister Baqi, Ximiao sighed helplessly.

Then, he said quietly.

"Actually... I didn't have many friends before, because of my hair, the kids here didn't want to play with this blond weirdo..."

"Huh? This seems a little different from what you told me before, Mio?"

Arisa remembers clearly that when Hiyo said he used to play soccer with other friends back in his hometown, he often did so.

But after hearing Arisa's words, Nozomi just silently shook her head.

"That was a lie to you, Arisa... After all, it's a little embarrassing to say something like that."

"..."

Yes, very good. Arisa has another legitimate reason to raid Nozomi's room tonight.

Fanxia, ​​who was listening nearby, suppressed a laugh and pressed for an answer.

"But why would Baqi say that several girls who know you asked you if you've come back to your hometown?"

"I don't know either~"

Ximiao shrugged, indicating that she wasn't quite sure what was going on.