The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Life seemed to be gently turned back onto its original track by an invisible hand.

Life returned to normal, and Ye Shu resumed her routine of going between Corner Tea House and Cloud Garden.

At dawn, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Ye Shu got up earlier than usual, and soon the sounds of cooking filled the kitchen.

The aroma of rice porridge and the fragrance of oil from fried eggs slowly filled the quiet room.

He placed the breakfast he had prepared on the table and ate it quietly by himself. As he cleared the dishes, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the still tightly closed door.

The people inside probably haven't gotten up yet.

Yesterday's ordeal—motion sickness, low blood sugar… Even if the personality that controls the body might switch, the physical fatigue is real and needs time to recover.

He didn't intend to knock on the door to wake her up. He simply carefully prepared the breakfast he had left for her, put it into the still-warm pot, and covered it with the lid to keep it warm.

After doing all this, he walked to the cabinet by the bedroom door, just like many mornings before, and picked up his notepad and pen.

The pen paused for a moment.

What should I write? Remind her to get some rest? That seems a bit unnecessary.

Finally, he simply wrote:

Breakfast is in the pot, remember to eat it.

I tore off the sticky note and gently placed it next to the little ornament on the counter that I wouldn't miss. Then, I picked up my backpack, gently pushed open the door, and left.

The streets were just waking up in the early morning, and the air still carried the slight coolness of the night dew.

Everything overlapped with countless mornings in my memory, even the pedestrians passing by seemed to be the same group.

A listless office worker, an old man walking his dog on a leash while spitting on the ground, and a primary school student carrying a backpack and spending his pocket money to buy snacks while walking and eating.

Shops along the street gradually rolled up their shutters, and shop assistants, yawning, began arranging merchandise, preparing to welcome customers who might also be tired for the new day.

The world keeps turning no matter who's missing.

The words came to Ye Shu's mind: his departure and return were nothing more than a tiny speck of dust in the face of this vast urban system.

The thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't dwell on it.

Turning the familiar street corner, the sign for "Corner Tea House" comes into view, with a small wooden sign that reads "Preparing" hanging on the glass door.

Sure enough, Sister Chen Xing hadn't arrived yet at this time.

Ye Shu took out his key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. The wind chimes on the lintel seemed to welcome him back, tinkling softly.

A familiar, faint aroma of coffee, mixed with the scents of wood, books, and sun-dried tablecloths, gently enveloped me.

This aroma isn't the scent of freshly brewed coffee, but rather the scent of time and stories that has permeated every inch of wood grain, every page of a book, and every sofa cushion over the years.

The tables and chairs in the shop were silent, as if waiting to be awakened again.

He put down his backpack, fastened his work clothes, and began his day's work.

Sweep the floor, wipe down the tables and chairs, check the coffee machine and supplies, and put the books back on the shelves...

After working for a while, the wind chimes at the door started making a cheerful, crisp sound again.

"Oh! Xiao Ye! You're finally back!"

Chen Xing's loud and clear voice, with its penetrating quality, burst in even before anyone else could hear him.

Ye Shu looked up and saw Chen Xing still carrying her ridiculously large canvas handbag, appearing at the door.

Every time Ye Shu sees Chen Xing's big shoulder bag, it reminds her of a guy selling suitcases she saw on TV many years ago.

An elephant popped out of a suitcase, accompanied by the caption:

"If you can fit it all in, the world is yours!"

Ye Shu always felt that this was a pointless statement. If it could all be put in, it would be mine; but your box can't hold it all, so it's not mine...

Chen Xing's steps were as light as the wind; she almost ran up to him, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and she patted his arm twice.

"Great, Xiao Ye! It's good to be back! I've been so bored these past few days while you were gone, I was practically growing mushrooms! I was so incredibly bored!"

Ye Shu straightened up, still holding a rag in her hand, and chuckled upon hearing this:

"Really? Sister Chen Xing, your shop has been open for so many years, how could it be that no one comes just because I'm away for a few days?"

He didn't believe he had that much charm.

"Absolutely!"

Chen Xing walked around him, went behind the counter, and casually stuffed the heavy satchel under the counter while turning back, his tone exaggerated yet serious:

"Ever since you took leave, business at my little shop has plummeted! There are only a few regular customers each day who order and leave. The shop is so quiet and boring."

She put her things away, turned around, rested her elbow on the counter, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at Ye Shu with bright eyes, saying half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"So, I'm guessing you must have been a lucky cat in your past life, and I saved you, so you're here to repay my kindness in this life, right?"

Ye Shu shook her head in agreement as she wiped the table:

"I can't guarantee anything about this kind of mystical method; what if business turns out the same as before..."

"Pah! Pah! Children's words are innocent, let the wind blow them away~ Children's words are innocent, let the wind blow them away~"

Chen Xing immediately made a gesture behind the counter to dispel bad luck, interrupting his jinx:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! With you back, our popularity will definitely return! I have a particularly strong feeling today that we'll definitely make a big splash and achieve even greater success!"

As she spoke, she clenched her fist to encourage herself, as if she could already see the long queue outside the door.

Looking at her energetic appearance, Ye Shu couldn't help but smile as well.

He wiped the last table clean, washed and hung the rag to dry, then turned and walked into the small staff break room. From his backpack, he took out a small square box carefully wrapped in soft paper.

"Sister Chen Xing."

He walked back to the counter and placed the small square box on the counter:

"I brought you a little something when I went back to my hometown this time, it's just a token of my appreciation."

Most people would politely decline in such situations, saying things like, "Oh, you're going to spend too much," or "It's good that you're back, why did you bring anything?"

But Chen Xing clearly doesn't belong to the category of "ordinary people". In Ye Shu's words, she's not in Class One, she's in Class Two.

Chen Xing's eyes lit up when he heard the word "gift".

She immediately leaned most of her body out from behind the counter, propped her arm on the counter, and brought her face close to the small square box. Her first words were anything but ordinary:

"Great! What did you bring? Is it valuable? I heard you have ginseng where you live, it's very valuable! Did you dig up some wild ginseng? Show me!"

Ye Shu was amused and shook her head:

"It's not wild ginseng, and I can't afford wild ginseng anyway. Why don't you open it and take a look?"

Chen Xing tore open the packaging paper, revealing a simple wooden box inside. Opening the lid, a small clay animal figurine lay quietly on the cushioned cotton wadding.

The clay sculpture was no bigger than the palm of your hand, yet its craftsmanship was exquisite. It was made by mixing black clay with other materials and firing it, resulting in a warm, deep brown color.

The little animal has a round and clumsy body, with a pair of cute ears sticking out. Its eyes are dotted with two bright glazes, making them look shiny and innocent. It stands firmly on its four short legs, and its tail is just a cute little ball.

"Oh dear!"

Chen Xing fell in love with it at first sight, carefully holding the clay sculpture in his palm and examining it from all angles.

"This little deer is sculpted so realistically! Look at those eyes, so bright! Its憨憨 (simple and honest) appearance is so cute!"

She gently touched the smooth surface of the clay sculpture with her fingertips, and couldn't put it down.

Ye Shu watched from the side, and after she had admired it for several seconds, she smiled helplessly and gently corrected her:

"Sister, a roe deer."

"What?"

Chen Xing looked up, his face full of confusion.

Ye Shu pointed to the ornament in her hand:

"This is a roe deer, not a deer. A roe deer, the kind of roe deer that's called a 'silly roe deer'."

Chen Xing suddenly realized, looked down again for a closer look, and then nodded:

"Ah, a roe deer! A roe deer is fine too, they're cute! They're silly, sometimes they're quite like you."

After admiring it for a few more moments, I turned around and walked to a decorative wall inside the cafe.

Wooden shelves were nailed to the wall at irregular intervals, displaying interesting trinkets she had collected from various places, such as oddly shaped tree branches, postcards from other countries, and rather unconventional coffee cups.

She found a prominent spot, solemnly placed the dark brown clay roe deer sculpture there, examined it from all sides, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, this is it! From now on, it'll be a lucky charm!"

As usual, after the preparations were complete, Chen Xing enthusiastically made the two of them their first cup of coffee of the day, but still didn't make latte art for Ye Shu.

The two leaned against the counter, chatting idly about their experiences back home in the morning light and the aroma of coffee.

Ye Shu skipped over some thrilling and complicated entanglements, simply mentioning the scenery and that her family was well.

Chen Xing didn't ask many questions, just listened and occasionally commented "pretty good" or "not easy".

The cup of coffee was finished, seemingly signaling the end of a brief moment of leisure. Just then...

"Ring ring—crash—"

The wind chimes by the door rang, not just a few scattered sounds from a passing breeze, but rather the sound of someone pushing the door open and entering.

Ye Shu and Chen Xing both turned to look at the doorway.

Then the shop door started opening and closing frequently, and the small coffee shop suddenly had several more people.

Ye Shu was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously blinked.

Really? Is it that effective?