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

He then continued, "The only person who was willing to play with me back then was Sister Ba. Although she was quite tall at the time, I was quite startled when we first met."

"Yes, I can imagine it."

However, this still doesn't explain why Hiyo could see the existence of these kinds of strange tales back then.

Arisa could only attribute the reason to Nozomi's talent.

Then, without noticing that Arisa's expression was a little strange, Nozomi slowly told the two people in front of her how she met Hachiko and how Hachiko moved into her house.

Although neither of them knew whether Yashi had tampered with this part of their memories.

But seeing the expression on Ximiao's face, as if she had remembered something funny, they didn't intend to expose this white lie.

But one thing they were fairly certain of from Himeko's words was that he didn't know that Yashiro was also a ghost story...

They didn't even understand why the house they were living in was called a haunted house by some of the locals.

As for getting anything out of Hiyo, that seems unlikely.

Arisa and Honoka exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding what the other was thinking.

Chapter Nineteen: Easy to Handle

"Ugh... I'm so bored. I never thought that staying home to rest would make me feel so empty..."

After having lunch with Ami, who was also staying at home, Hachiko, who was forced to stay at home, slumped on the table with a long sigh, looking utterly bored.

Seeing this, Ashi, who was sitting opposite her, kept her eyes on the tablet in front of her, staring at the rising or falling trend of futures, and then said without looking up.

"If you're really worried, why don't you sneak over to the store and check it out?"

"Huh? Huh~"

Her words were like a wake-up call. Just as Ami said, even if Mio wanted her to rest, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to go to the store to buy something to eat during her break.

Thinking of this, Hachi suddenly stood up and walked upstairs to her bedroom, seemingly intending to change into clothes for going out.

And Ami, who finally didn't have to listen to her complaints, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's just one day off work, and he's acting like this even on a day off. He really is a workaholic!"

She couldn't help but complain like this.

Meanwhile, the three people sitting in the shop were also bored and didn't know what to do.

Having grown tired of playing on her phone, and with her little bottom feeling a bit numb from sitting on the stool, Ximiao listlessly slumped over the counter, playing with paperclips to pass the time.

"Hey~ Mio, Arisa, look what fun thing I found~"

Fanxia, ​​who had been wandering around the store since earlier, suddenly called out from among the shelves.

then.

Hiyo and Arisa followed the sound and saw that she was holding a box that looked like a deck of cards, but with brighter colors.

The boy recognized what it was at a glance, paused for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"Isn't this 'UNO'? Where did you find this thing, Honoka-nee?"

"It's on that shelf near the door, how about it~ want to come play?"

Just as Fanxia was encouraging the two people next to the counter to play with her "UNO" set, coincidentally, the glass door suddenly opened and made a ding-dong sound indicating that a customer had arrived.

"Oh my~ Isn't this Nozomi-kun? Why isn't Yasuie-san here minding the shop today?"

"Eh?"

Hearing that the guest seemed to know him, Xi Ling was a little confused. Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar girl in front of him, he couldn't recognize her for a moment.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"It's me, Kyoko Nishiyama, your classmate from junior high, um... I was the sports committee member!"

After the dark-skinned girl in front of her explained repeatedly, Xi Ling vaguely remembered that there seemed to be such a person.

After confirming that it was her former classmate, Nozomi put on a professional smile and said.

"Ah~ I remember now, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Hmm—I'd like a serving of curry fish balls and a hot dog, both to go."

"it is good."

After saying that, Xi Ling turned around and went to the side to get a bowl of fish balls, but was immediately asked by the dark-skinned girl.

"Hey, Mio-kun, you still haven't told me what happened to Yashiro-san?"

"I'm on holiday. If there are no problems, I'll be back tomorrow."

Nozomi was incredibly aloof, showing absolutely no intention of speaking to the girl named Nishiyama Kyoko.

Just as Kyoko Nishiyama was about to go over and chat with Mio for a while, a tall figure suddenly blocked her way.

"Sir, is there anything else you need? Nozomi is busy right now, so please let me know if you need anything else."

Arisa looked at the dark-skinned girl in front of her with a very kind expression, but her wine-red eyes looked quite frightening.

Very easily, the girl, who seemed to be plotting something, was scared off, and this scene was also witnessed by Himo, who was busy behind the counter.

After a while, after the girl named Nishiyama Kyoko left, Honoka, who had been watching the whole thing from the sidelines, went behind the counter and whispered to Nozomi.

"Look~ It's a good thing Yagami had the foresight to send me and Arisa over to help, otherwise~ Mio, you don't know how long you would have been bothered by this kind of person~"

"Huh? Honoka-nee, did you help out in any way? I only saw Arisa block that person from trying to get close to me~"

"I love you," said Mio with a smile. She immediately saw through Honoka's little scheme of coming over. Taking advantage of the fact that Arisa wasn't looking in their direction, Mio reached out and pinched Honoka's butt hard.

"Alas?!"

Unexpectedly, Fanxia let out an embarrassing scream, which immediately drew a questioning look from Arisa.

In order to prevent the girl from discovering anything between them, Honoka had no choice but to suppress the strange feeling behind her and give Arisa a slightly awkward smile.

"what happened to you?"

Arisa asked with some curiosity.

"No, I just accidentally bumped into the table. It's nothing serious."

After glossing over the matter, she fled as if her life depended on it, leaving behind the counter and disappearing behind the rows of shelves, her face flushed.

It's already 3 p.m., and there are still four hours until they can go back, which is really hard to wait.

Just when Xi Ling thought that he would just sit there and wait for the group of old men and women to make a surprise return, he suddenly saw a sneaky figure at the door looking into the shop.

Because the sunlight outside was too bright, Nozomi couldn't see clearly who it was for a moment.

then.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when the dark figure hid its head, Ximiao dashed forward and rushed straight from behind the counter.

As the glass door opened, he turned his head and saw Sister Ba, who was looking around in a panic, searching for a place to hide.

"What, it's you, Sister Ba? Didn't I tell you to stay home and rest? Why did you sneak over here?"

"Huh? This..."

In her haste, she even forgot the speech that Ashi had taught her before she left the house. She stammered and couldn't make sense of it, which made Himiko even more puzzled.

However, it's not a good idea for the two of them to stand outside the shop in the sun forever. If we just let Sister Ba go back, it would seem a bit heartless.

Fortunately, Xi Ling led Ya Zi into the store. The powerful air conditioning made Ya Zi, who had been walking under the scorching sun, feel much cooler.

Meanwhile, inside the shop, Fanxia and Arisa were wondering why Nozomi had suddenly rushed out.

But when they saw him return, Hachiko, who was following behind him, immediately understood what had happened.

"Oh my~ Yashiro couldn't resist coming over here to check on things, did she?" Arisa couldn't help but say.

"It seems that this is correct."

Ximiao shrugged and went back behind the counter, crossing her arms and waiting for Hachiko to give her a reasonable explanation for why she was there.

With the help of the air conditioner's cool air, Yashiro finally calmed down and remembered what Ami had said to her before she left.

Despite lacking confidence, she still said this to Ximiao.

"I'm just on vacation, I came to the store to buy some drinks and snacks, is that not allowed?"

"Oh? You walked for more than ten minutes just to buy something?"

Xi Ling raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that Ya Yu-jie would say that. Presumably, someone had taught her how to handle this situation.

As for who it was, Xi Ling could roughly guess. Apart from Aunt Ami still staying at home, no one else was giving Hachi-nee advice.

Seeing that Nozomi didn't pursue the matter any further, Hachiko walked to the counter and asked softly.

"How are you feeling today? Was it comfortable staying in the store?"

"It's alright, but when facing that group of 'elderly walking groups,' I feel a bit overwhelmed."

He didn't hold back and directly told everyone about the group of old men and women. You see, his hands were numb from stirring the sauce for those cart noodles.

After hearing Ximiao's complaint, she couldn't help but smile and then said.

"You'll get used to it. Gradually you'll master the technique of mixing noodles, and your hands won't get so tired."

As she spoke, she brought over a stool and sat down in front of the counter. It seemed that she wanted to stay until closing time and then go back with Ximiao and the others.

With the addition of Hachiko-nee, the shop became lively all of a sudden. She was like an older sister, easily handling both Honoka and Arisa, leaving Nozomi stunned and wondering how she did it.

When the group of elderly people visited the small shop again, they were overjoyed to see that Ba Zi was there as well, and they quickly went up to ask him what was wrong.

"Didn't you say you were off today? Why are you here?"

"That's right, it wouldn't be good if we got too tired."

It seemed that Sister Ba was quite familiar with these old men and women. Xi Ling looked at her with some surprise, wondering how she could handle the elderly so easily.

"Hey, Mio, I feel like your coming here to help is a bit redundant."

Arisa and Honoka, who also witnessed this scene, gave very fair comments.

"...None of your business!"

Xi Miao glared at them, feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed, as if to say that if they continued to talk like that, she would make their least favorite dish for dinner tonight.