The skinny guy and I chose to stay quiet. The little girl's eyes lit up, her cheeks flushed, and she slowly pushed her bicycle toward us with a shy, bashful expression.
"I, I... God Nan..." The girl stammered, unable to get a complete sentence out.
Nan Tian was patient and gentle. "Don't rush. What's your name?"
"My name is Su Xiaoyu." The girl stopped obediently and answered.
Nan Tian beckoned to her.
The girl kept pushing her bicycle over, practically floating as she walked.
"Xiaoyu, can you tell me where we are?" Nan Tian asked again.
The smile froze on Su Xiaoyu's face. Her eyes widened in alarm. "Oh no! God Nan! God Nan, how did you end up here? Were you... from here before?"
Nan Tian shook his head. "No. I met one of my fans. She's from here."
Su Xiaoyu's gaze immediately shifted to the skinny guy and me.
It was the first time she had looked directly at us since noticing us.
But I didn't want to be mistaken for one of Nan Tian's fans.
The skinny guy shifted.
I couldn't see his expression, but the girl immediately looked away, as if she didn't believe we were fans.
"These are two friends of mine," Nan Tian said by way of introduction. "Where are we? What happened?"
Su Xiaoyu looked bewildered and helpless, clutching the handlebars. "Actually, I don't know either... I... "
"Don't rush. Let's find somewhere to sit and talk," Nan Tian said soothingly.
Su Xiaoyu lowered her head. "There isn't really anywhere. Nobody's running any shops here. They're all closed."
We'd seen the same thing on our way over.
If only one or two shops had been closed, that might have been an isolated case. But every shop had its shutters down and was locked