Flavored restaurants.

"We're back." Xu Zhengchen closed the umbrella and opened the door.

"Ah, you're back, have you bought your clothes?"

"Buying is buying, but ......"

"But?"

Xu Zhengchen lifted the shopping bag containing the clothes slightly: "I was afraid that she would not accept it if there were too many clothes, so I only bought a skirt." ”

Zhang Yufeng took the change and said with a smile: "That's it, it's okay, it's okay." ”

Su Yuxi bowed to Zhang Yufeng.

"I'll go home if it's okay."

"Hey, aren't you going to take the little girl home?"

Xu Zhengchen had a bad premonition: "Wait, wait!" Uncle, you know that I haven't brought a girl home since I was a child. ”

"Isn't that just right, maybe...... You two can still take the opportunity to develop a relationship or something. Zhang Yufeng dragged Xu Zhengchen over, and his squinting eyes revealed all kinds of wrongness.

Xu Zhengchen's face was black.

"Just kidding, you can't let a girl spend the night outside, right?" Zhang Yufeng regained his serious face and tried to clear his throat with two coughs.

"Actually, it's not impossible to ......"

"Okay, seeing that you're so embarrassed, then I'll let her live in the store for the time being." Zhang Yufeng crossed his hands on his chest.

“……”

June 7, 2023.

It was another mildewy rainy day in June, and the streets were empty, and there was not half a human figure. A few branches and leaves floated on the cover of the drainage manhole on the side of the road, the iconic puddles were everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of damp water vapor, and it seemed that there should have been a lot of rain late last night.

"Ha~~~ow~~~"

Outside the restaurant of Youwei, there was a sound of yawning early in the morning.

Groov.

Xu Zhengchen, who had stretched his waist, pushed open the door of the store as usual, his eyes were gloomy, and tired tiredness was written all over his face.

"Yo, young man, why are you in a hurry to come to work in the store early in the morning?" Zhang Yufeng was a little puzzled by Xu Zhengchen who was passing by, because according to the worksheet, he didn't have to go to the morning shift today.

"I left the flyer at the store last night, so I'm planning to come back this morning to pick it up." Xu Zhengchen said in a dream, "In the future, I may have to go outside to distribute flyers, ha~~~"

"Well, that sounds like a lot of work."

In this regard, Zhang Yufeng couldn't help but complain.

In fact, since Xu Zhengchen worked in the store, he really hasn't come so early, even if he works in the morning, he has to wait until after eight o'clock.

But Xu Zhengchen didn't think much about it, you know, the whole day's leaflet work yesterday was hard enough, and he had to come back to work on time, so there was no extra time to waste.

In order to save enough money for his mother's medical treatment, even if he works hard, he will do it hard, which Zhang Yufeng knows very well.

"There is a plate of steamed dumplings that have just come out of the basket in the kitchen, take them to eat on the road, and save you from starving." Zhang Yufeng crossed his hands on his waist and said.

"Okay." Xu Zhengchen, who had his back to Zhang Yufeng, waved his raised hand.

Boom. Boom.

There was a sound of footsteps at the staircase.

Su Yuxi leaned out of the corridor wearing a pair of ill-fitting slippers, and at this moment, the two of them met their eyes in unison.

Light white suspender nightdress.

Su Yuxi was wearing a dress that matched her temperament very well, no matter which man looked at it, she couldn't take her eyes off it, and Xu Zhengchen was no exception.

"Morning." Xu Zhengchen tried to squeeze a greeting out of his mouth.

Su Yuxi smiled slightly, the four fingers of his right hand were pinched with his thumb unhurriedly, and the back of his upward hand was placed horizontally on his chest, and then slowly lifted up. Then the five fingers gradually spread outward, and the thumb after the fist was clenched stretched out. *

"Ah, that...... See you later. Xu Zhengchen subconsciously avoided his gaze, and slipped into the utility room next to the stairs as soon as he slipped into the smoke.

"It's really enviable, the youthful ...... of boys and girls" Zhang Yufeng fell into strange conjectures.

The utility room next to the staircase has a small panoramic view, and the dusted closet is full of waste cardboard boxes at one end and a narrow aisle at the other end, making it impossible to make room to turn around.

"By the way, young man, I want to ask you something-" Zhang Yufeng's voice came from the hall.

"What's the matter?"

"Can you please take her to hand out flyers?"

"Huh?" As soon as he walked out of the utility room, Xu Zhengchen almost didn't hold the pile of flyers in his hand.

But if you think about it carefully, she and Su Yuxi went out to distribute flyers, firstly, to help her earn living expenses, and secondly, to meet her acquaintances or something.

Xu Zhengchen nodded.

"Then we're out the door."

The sun shines through the gloomy clouds and on the still damp and muddy paths.

Xu Zhengchen put the flyer into the basket, and then rode the bicycle in front of the store, and Su Yuxi sat on the back seat of the car. The orange-scented summer breeze blew in her face, causing the girl to gently brush the ends of her hair behind her ears with her hands.

To his surprise, the task of distributing leaflets was much easier than expected, and the two of them finished their work and rode towards the location of Asato Park.

This is also Su Yuxi's request.

……

"Not far away is the lake in Asaksu Park, where you fainted the other day." Xu Zhengchen muttered to himself.

I wanted to see the temple across the lake.

Pray for a temple?

Do you want to see it?

Don't want to.

He has always had no expectations for anything else, and he believes that prayers are not old stories or nonsense used to deceive children. Su Yuxi looked at his flat face, and somewhat knew that he was not interested in this topic.

It just so happened that Xu Zhengchen's parents came here to pray for blessings before their divorce, which is quite ironic.

Inadvertently, a trace of disappointment swept through Su Yuxi's heart.

The slight change in the girl's expression caught Xu Zhengchen's attention, and immediately, he took the pen from the girl's hand and began to scribble wantonly on his face.

In just a few seconds, Su Yuxi's face swept away the sadness and returned to the smile just now.

"Don't you want to go see the temple, then let's go and have a look." Xu Zhengchen pointed out the temple to her.

Su Yuxi, who was finished, stepped on a brisk pace and trotted all the way to the temple, and Xu Zhengchen, who couldn't let go, had to follow closely behind her.

After a while, the two arrived at the entrance of the temple.

The appearance of the temple gives people the feeling of being in tatters, and there are several holes in the beams that have not been repaired for many years, and there is a statue standing in the center of the temple, and there is a special incense burner for blessings on the left and right sides of the temple.

You know, my aunt used to bring me here to pray for blessings.

"Hmm."

Looking at Su Yuxi flying in the wind and her hair shining in the sunset, Xu Zhengchen, who was standing in front of the temple, seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and there was a feeling in his heart that could not be expressed in words.

So far, the identity of the girl is still a mystery.

A girl with a fever runs away from home, only to run into traffickers on the way, and after some struggle, she starts to escape?

Oh, no matter how you think about it, it's quite, Xu Zhengchen dislikes this idea from the bottom of his heart.

Descending the steps of the temple, there is an old tree planted on the right, which may have existed since the temple was built.

There is a prayer wall under the tree, and hundreds of prayer signs are tied with red ropes on the wall, and for more than ten years, countless sunshine and rain have eroded the words on it, and now it is impossible to distinguish.

"It's almost time for us to ...... back"

Thump!

Suddenly, Su Yuxi fainted without warning.

*The sign language done by Su Yuxi in this chapter of the novel means "good morning".