This Girl Has My Old Style

Yang Xiao just smiled and didn't say anything more. Toga Himiko clearly wasn't in the mood to chat with him either. In her mind, she only talked at length with prey she liked or people she liked. Someone ordinary like Yang Xiao she just ignored outright.

Even though they were coworkers now, that was all it was—just coworkers. A slightly closer bond than a stranger, but one that meant nothing either way.

This was actually the result Yang Xiao wanted. The best-case scenario was for Toga Himiko to think he was as ordinary as could be.

The two waited in the waiting room for a while, then boarded the High-Speed Rail after checking their tickets. Yang Xiao found his seat and sat down, while Toga Himiko was in a different seat.

To be fair, the Island Nation's High-Speed Rail wasn't bad, but compared to Huaxia's, there were still some differences. In certain aspects, it wasn't as advanced.

Once the train started moving, Yang Xiao closed his eyes to rest. Not long after, a stewardess came up to him and asked, "Excuse me, sir, would you like anything?"

Yang Xiao opened his eyes and saw the stewardess holding a wooden tray with water and some sushi snacks on it.

"I'll take a serving of sushi." Yang Xiao's mouth was still craving it. With his current salary and benefits, a little snack was no problem.

"Alright, that'll be nine hundred and fifty Island Nation Currency." The stewardess gave a professional smile.

Yang Xiao paused for a moment, remembering that food here was generally more expensive than at shops outside. But since he'd already ordered, he wasn't about to back out. He paid, and the stewardess left.

After finishing the sushi, Yang Xiao went back to resting. No one disturbed him this time, and when he opened his eyes again, they were almost at the station.

After getting off, Toga Himiko hailed a taxi straight to Mr. Shi's hometown. The driver glanced at Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko once they were on the road, smiled, and asked, "You two aren't from around here, are you?"

"None of your business. Just drive." Toga Himiko's words wiped the smile off the driver's face. He'd been planning to see if they were outsiders so he could overcharge them.

But now he wasn't so sure. This girl had a bad temper and seemed like trouble. So he decided to observe first.

By the time they reached the destination, the driver still hadn't figured anything out. The girl had her earphones in, listening to music, and the guy was leaning back in his seat, resting. The two hadn't exchanged a single word the whole trip, looking like complete strangers.

Forget it, forget it. He wouldn't rip them off. Something about these two just seemed off.

After Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko got out, the driver drove off without another word, not wanting to say anything more. What Yang Xiao didn't know was that because of Toga Himiko's first remark, they'd avoided being overcharged.

"I really don't want to be in this godforsaken countryside." Toga Himiko muttered, though it was still better than boring schoolwork.

"Let's hurry up." Yang Xiao took the lead. Mr. Shi had described the house number and location clearly enough that they wouldn't get lost.

The area around them was endless rice paddies, some of them abandoned.

But from the current perspective, the scenery looked just like something out of an Island Nation anime—beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

The air was nice too. Compared to the alley where Problem Solver was in Baoxu City, it was like heaven and earth—no contest.

"Block 31-543, this should be the place." Yang Xiao stopped in front of a two-story house. Houses here were all built like this, especially in the countryside. One- and two-story structures were the most common; three or four stories were rarer.

People here preferred to live low to the ground, partly due to local customs and partly so the houses wouldn't collapse in an earthquake and they could escape easily.

"Hello, anyone home?" Yang Xiao rang the doorbell. Before long, someone came out of the small yard. It was an old woman with white hair. When she saw Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko were just kids, she smiled a little. "Who are you?"

Yang Xiao smiled and said, "We're here on Mr. Shi's behalf to pick up some local specialties. May we come in?"

"Oh, I see. Come on in." The old woman opened the door right away and called into the house, "Old man! The people my grandson sent to pick up the stuff are here. Come down quick!"

"Got it!" A vigorous voice came from inside.

The old woman led Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko into the house and personally brewed two cups of tea for them. Toga Himiko waved her hand and said, "Ma'am, I don't like tea. Got any juice?"

Well, she sure wasn't acting like a guest. Yang Xiao rubbed his forehead.

"Alright, I'll get you some." The old woman didn't complain and even asked Yang Xiao if he wanted a drink. Yang Xiao declined, saying tea was fine.

"Tch, acting all grown-up. Drinking too much tea isn't good for you." Toga Himiko curled her lip, thinking Yang Xiao was putting on airs.

Yang Xiao chuckled and took a sip. It tasted pretty good. His current body might not be suited for tea, but his mind was mature enough that a little was fine.

What puzzled Yang Xiao a bit was that the old woman knew they were kids but still served them tea. Maybe she was just used to offering tea to all guests.

"Here we go!" An old man came down the stairs, both hands full of bags. He set the big bundles down in front of Yang Xiao, panting a little as he looked at him. "Young man, these aren't light. Can you two handle them?"

"Uh... there's a girl too?" The old man was a bit taken aback. What was this about? At least two guys should've come for this. A guy and a girl seemed risky.

"Hey, old man, you underestimating me?" Toga Himiko frowned, put down her peach juice, and walked over to the old man in a few steps. She bent down and lifted the bags.

"Oh? Not bad, girl. You're pretty strong?" The old man looked at Toga Himiko with surprise. At his age, he couldn't have lifted that much. And this girl actually did it.

To be honest, Toga Himiko found the bags a bit heavy, but it was fine. They could call a car anyway, since Gin-san was covering the expenses, and Yang Xiao could help too.

"Alright, old man, can I get another bottle of juice for the road?" Toga Himiko showed a few little fangs and smiled cutely.

"Honey, grab two more bottles of juice." The old man didn't waste a word and told his wife to get them.

After the old woman brought two bottles of juice, Toga Himiko looked at Yang Xiao and said, "You carry these two bottles. Let's go."

Yang Xiao chuckled, took the juice, said goodbye to the two elders, and they set off.

The old man watched Toga Himiko's retreating figure and marveled, "Kids these days are really something. Look at that guy—he's not even as strong as the girl. I don't know what to say."

"Yeah, that girl's got my spirit from back in the day." The old woman smiled.

"Heh, yeah, you were never slacking off. How else would I have taken a liking to you?" The old man chuckled, completely unaware that the old woman's expression had soured.

"Alright, you carry this." A hundred meters away from the old couple's house, Toga Himiko dropped the bags on the ground, took both bottles of juice from Yang Xiao, and didn't leave him a single one. "Don't tell me you can't lift it?"

Yang Xiao knew this was coming. He gave a wry smile, picked up the bags, and looked at Toga Himiko. "You take the rest."

"No way. You carry it all. How could my hands be used for something like this?" Toga Himiko shook her head lightly.

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