My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

The car got stuck in traffic a block away from Half Sugar.

It wasn't a traffic jam, it was a people jam... The line stretched from the store entrance along the sidewalk all the way to the street corner, the end of the line disappearing into the shadow of the plane trees, with no end in sight.

Driver Chen, gripping the steering wheel, glanced at Sun Yaqin, who was looking around in the rearview mirror, and suggested, "Madam, there are too many people. Why don't you wait in the car, and I'll go queue up for you?"

"No need." Sun Yaqin had already opened the car door, stood on the side of the street with her bag, and looked up at the winding queue in front of her. "I'll queue up myself."

She had considered having the driver do it, and she had also considered walking to the front and announcing the Cheng family's name.

But standing on this familiar street, looking at that familiar storefront, she suddenly realized that every time she came to Bantang, Xiaoqing had always saved a seat for her. She had never queued or waited for a seat like the other customers.

She wants to queue up once today.

The group was moving forward more slowly than she had expected.

With nothing else to do, she moved forward with the queue while looking at the newly changed promotional posters on the store's exterior wall... It was still the same hand-drawn style as before, with cakes, bread, and cream puffs, each one drawn exquisitely and adorably.

Her gaze lingered on the close-up of the cream puff, remembering that Xiao Ran loved eating it when she was little.

Every time she brought a bag of cream puffs to Su Qing's house, Xiao Ran would sit quietly on the sofa, taking small bites of the cream puffs, with cream on the corners of her mouth and her eyes curving into two crescent moons.

If Xiao Ran could taste this flavor again, it would probably help her recovery.

As she was happily reveling in her thoughts, the line in front of her suddenly began to disperse.

Instead of moving forward, they dispersed. The customers who had been queuing for a long time turned around in twos and threes, their faces showing undisguised disappointment, muttering that they must come earlier tomorrow.

Sun Yaqin paused for a moment, then stood on tiptoe to look ahead. She saw a shop assistant wearing a black apron push open the glass door and walk out. With an apologetic bow, she said to the customers still in line, "I'm sorry everyone, all items are sold out today. If you want to eat, please come earlier tomorrow."

Sun Yaqin glanced down at her phone... The store opens at nine o'clock, with a two-hour lunch break, and it's only a little past two o'clock now.

The small blackboard at the entrance that read "Sold Out Today" has been flipped over, and the staff is about to move the promotional stand by the door back into the store.

The crowd gradually dispersed. Some people sighed and said they must come earlier to queue up tomorrow. An old lady was talking about how her grandson loved the cream puffs here the most. She hadn't been able to buy any yesterday and hadn't made it today either. She didn't know how she would explain it to her little darling when she got home.

The two girls who came together complained to each other about leaving too late, saying that next time they should just wait at the store entrance.

Sun Yaqin stood there, looking at the small blackboard that read "Sold Out," and a feeling of regret welled up in her heart.

She had waited in line for so long and finally found something that Xiao Ran would like, but she couldn't even get inside.

She sighed and was about to turn and leave when she stopped after taking a step... She looked at the shop assistant who was about to close the door and suddenly felt that the face looked familiar.

The shop assistant also saw her, paused for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"You are...Mrs. Sun?" The shop assistant pushed the door open again, her tone a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. "The Mrs. Sun who used to come to the store often, right?"

Sun Yaqin nodded, somewhat surprised.

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The shop assistant smiled and opened the door fully, stepping aside to make way for her. Her tone was warm and respectful: "Please come in quickly. It's very sunny outside. The boss instructed us before that you can just be led to your usual spot without having to queue."

Sun Yaqin followed her into the store. The familiar warm yellow lights, the familiar wooden booths, and the familiar sweet aroma of butter and caramel in the air.

As she walked, she glanced around and casually asked, "Didn't your boss close the shop before? Why is it open again? Did Yan Ning go back to Beicheng?"

The shop assistant, who was leading the way, turned around and smiled upon hearing this, her tone casual and natural: "The one you're talking about is the former store manager, Yan Ning. He went to Ancheng a long time ago. You also know the current boss, Miss Su, Su Qing."

Sun Yaqin suddenly stopped.

She stood in the middle of the corridor, the air around her seemed to have been sucked away by something, leaving only a buzzing in her ears and the sudden, violent pounding of her heart in her chest.

She looked at the shop assistant who was still walking and talking ahead, her lips moved several times, and then she spoke in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "Who did you say...?"

The shop assistant didn't notice that the person behind her had stopped and was still reminiscing to herself, "Miss Su? I remember that every time you came before, Miss Su would save you a seat and dessert in advance. At that time, I thought Miss Su was just an ordinary shop assistant like us. I waited for several years and she never left. Now that I think about it, Miss Su was probably experiencing life back then."

As she spoke, she pushed open the door to the reception hall. The table by the window, the corner with the best view, the spot where Su Qing would always lay out a tablecloth and set out the tableware for her in advance, was now quietly basking in the warm afternoon sunlight.

Sun Yaqin stared at the empty table, but her mind was filled with the two words the shop assistant had casually uttered earlier.

Su Qing.

Of course she knew who the shop assistant was referring to as Miss Su.

But how could the person she's talking about be the same person she knows... She clearly saw the coffin being buried three years ago.

Her first thought was that someone had impersonated Xiaoqing, used her name, taken her place, and brazenly reopened the shop where she used to work.

What could her purpose be... Xiao Ran?

She knew how deep Xiao Ran's feelings for Xiao Qing were, and if someone with that face tried to approach Xiao Ran, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The shop assistant pulled out a chair for her to sit down, poured her a glass of warm water and placed it on the table, saying that Ms. Su was busy and would be right over.

As the sound of her footsteps fading away as she ran back to the kitchen faded into the distance, Sun Yaqin picked up her water glass and took a sip.

She told herself that no matter who this person was, since they dared to impersonate Xiaoqing, they shouldn't think they could get away with it so easily.

But another voice echoed softly in her heart... She still wanted to see her, even if this person was disguised as Xiaoqing, even if this person wasn't real.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Su Qing and Feng Tang stood side by side in front of the worktable, looking at the shelves that had been completely emptied.

The last batch of freshly baked bread was sold out in less than ten minutes after being brought to the front of the house; even the samples in the display case used for taking photos were bought up.

The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

Su Qing was bending over, carrying the molds that hadn't been washed yet into the sink, when the kitchen door was pushed open a crack. The same employee poked half his body in, his voice a few decibels lower than usual: "Miss Su, there's a Mrs. Sun outside looking for you. I've already arranged for her to stay in your usual spot."

Su Qing stopped moving.

She straightened up, still clutching a mold covered in batter in her hand. Her expression froze for a moment, then the surprise slowly transformed into a faint, somewhat relieved helplessness.

Sister Yaqin is here.

She knew this day would come sooner or later, but she didn't expect it to come so soon.

She put the mold back into the sink, turned around and looked at the desserts left on the worktable. These were the ones she had specially set aside to take home for Xiao Ran. Each one was carefully wrapped in a takeout box and neatly arranged.

She picked out a small white porcelain dish with a piece of tiramisu on it. The aroma of cocoa powder wafted faintly in the air, and the top layer of buttercream still had a cool sheen, as if it had just been taken out of the refrigerator.

This is something Sister Yaqin orders every time she comes; she's remembered this preference all these years.

In the reception hall, Sun Yaqin sat in her usual spot by the window, holding a glass of water that was already half-cooled. Her gaze fell on the sycamore tree outside the window, which was shedding its leaves, and her fingers unconsciously rubbed the rim of the glass.

At this moment, her mind was filled with thoughts of how to question the imposter later, but for some reason, a corner of her heart was trembling uncontrollably.

The door behind me was gently pushed open.

She turned her head, and then seemed to be nailed to the spot by something.

The person who walked in against the soft, warm light in the corridor wore a light gray apron and carried a plate of tiramisu that still smelled of cocoa powder. Her long hair was loosely tied back, with a few strands falling beside her fair ears.

That face, that smile with the corners of his eyes slightly curved as he looked at her, that gesture of walking to the table and gently placing the dessert in front of her... it was exactly the same as when she first met Su Qing in the bookstore.

Three years have passed. She has aged three years and has several fine lines around her eyes, but the person in front of her seems to have been completely forgotten by time. Even the curve of her lips when she smiles has not changed in the slightest.

"Sister Yaqin," Su Qing's voice was very soft and gentle, as if afraid of startling something, or as if she were calling someone she hadn't seen in a very long time, "You're here so early?"

The exact same words, the exact same tone, the exact same slightly rising intonation at the end.

Sun Yaqin stared at her blankly for a long, long time, until the tears in her eyes gradually condensed into two warm drops that silently slid down from the corners of her eyes.

She didn't wipe it, but instead looked down at the plate of tiramisu on the table, at the small, familiar latte art pattern on the cocoa powder, then raised her hand and gently rubbed the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and smiled softly.

"Hmm... I want to see if Xiaoqing is still there."