The Little Green Plum is Sour

A moment later, in the guest parlor.

Several figures took their seats.

Da Ming looked at the young man sitting opposite him, who was calmly brewing tea, a hint of surprise on his face.

"I hadn't expected Boss Jiang to be managing so many businesses at such a young age. Truly a promising youth."

Jiang Ci'an shook his head, his movements unhurried as he poured boiling water into the pot, the fragrance of tea curling upward.

"My parents passed away early; I was merely forced to take over the family business."

As these words fell, Wang Dong'er, who had been curiously examining her surroundings, immediately fixed her gaze on Jiang Ci'an, her eyes shifting slightly.

Even the previously composed Da Ming paused, his hand holding the teacup faltering ever so slightly.

"My apologies, I spoke out of turn." Da Ming looked somewhat regretful.

Jiang Ci'an shook his head. "It is nothing. I just thought of it suddenly, without meaning to."

As he spoke, he took the contract Ning Zhicheng had left with him from the drawer, spread it out on the table, and pushed it toward Da Ming, his face still wearing that gentle smile.

"Mr. Niu, please look over the contract. If there are no issues, you may sign it."

Da Ming watched Jiang Ci'an's smile, yet he inexplicably sensed a feeling of strain. He sighed inwardly, feeling that he had been too talkative.

Without further comment, he picked up the contract and flipped through it, not reading it too closely.

For him, a storefront lease contract was merely a formality. If he hadn't been accompanying Dong'er out for a stroll, he wouldn't have even come here today, leaving it to his subordinates instead.

He signed his name directly on the signature line, then took a gold soul coin card from his sleeve. He paused, swapped it for a purple-gold one, and handed it over.

"This is the rent."

Jiang Ci'an nodded, took the card, and began to count, his expression remaining impeccable.

To be honest, when he first recognized Wang Dong'er, Da Ming, and Er Ming, he had indeed panicked.

According to his memories, under normal circumstances, Wang Dong'er should only arrive in Shrek City in a few years when Shrek Academy opened, and even then, she would be disguised as a boy.

As for Da Ming and Er Ming, they should have remained at the Clear Sky Sect in Cloud Recesses, never leaving that place.

Yet now, all three of them had appeared in Shrek City simultaneously, and even in his pharmacy.

It was equivalent to just leaving the starter village only to have the endgame boss suddenly block the entrance; anyone would be stunned.

Thus, he subconsciously considered the worst-case scenario: whether their arrival in Shrek City was because of him.

He wondered if his arrival or some action he had taken had caused a butterfly effect, drawing the attention of a certain God King, who had then dispatched Da Ming and Er Ming to eliminate him—an unexpected variable—to avoid any interference with his ten-thousand-year grand plan.

However, after calming down and thinking it over, he realized that didn't seem to be the case.

Primarily, there was no reason to do so.

First of all, he was not a Child of Destiny. No matter how biased Tang the God King's focus might be, it shouldn't fall on an orphan who had moved from the Douling Empire.

If there were other reasons, he could only think of his own martial soul and that peculiar Virtual World.

But if it were truly because Tang San had discovered what he had done in the Virtual World...

He had toyed with Xiao Wu so much that, given Tang San's personality, he would likely have thousands of layers of "death-seeking" charges stacked over his head.

Tang San would surely be red-eyed, panting like an ox, and would have descended personally to kill him, perhaps even extracting his soul and subjecting him to a thousand cuts, making him wish for death.

How could he possibly be letting Da Ming and Er Ming come to his pharmacy to sign a lease, chat politely, and even bring Wang Dong'er along?

Consequently, he could only attribute all of this to some sort of coincidence for the time being.

Although he felt it certainly wasn't that.

Jiang Ci'an sighed inwardly.

With his limited perspective, he could only guess blindly; that was the consequence of having no solid footing.

For now, he could only take things one step at a time.

As these thoughts flashed by, Jiang Ci'an finished counting the soul coins and looked up at Da Ming, his tone strictly professional.

"Mr. Niu, it seems you have given me too much."

Da Ming waved his hand. "Just consider it as me renting for a longer period."

Jiang Ci'an paused slightly, then nodded a moment later, his face still wearing that gentle smile.

"That is also fine. I will add it to the contract. However, if Mr. Niu decides to stop renting early, I will certainly refund the rent for the remaining months. I do not accept rewards for no service."

Da Ming paused, somewhat puzzled. "Does Boss Jiang think we won't be renting for long?"

Jiang Ci'an nodded and said frankly, "I won't hide it from you, Mr. Niu. The location of these two shops is truly not ideal. No matter what kind of business it is, I have never seen one last more than three months."

"Although Mr. Niu is clearly no ordinary person, I imagine you wouldn't want to run a losing business indefinitely."

"Is that so?" Da Ming nodded slightly. He wasn't displeased and casually offered an explanation.

"Thank you for the heads-up. However, we are only planning to stay in Shrek City for a short time and are just preparing these two shops as a place to stay; we don't intend to run any business."

"I see. It seems I was overthinking things."

Jiang Ci'an silently took note, retrieved the shop key from his storage soul tool, placed it on the table, and pushed it across.

Da Ming took it, and after the two exchanged a few more polite pleasantries, Da Ming rose to leave.

However, as Da Ming turned his head, he saw little Dong'er still sitting in her chair, her blue-pink eyes fixed directly on Jiang Ci'an across from her, lost in thought.

"Dong'er?"

Wang Dong'er snapped back to reality, only to find everyone's gaze fixed upon her. Her expression shifted, and she hurriedly stood up before giving a light cough.

"Sorry, Big Daddy. I was just... thinking about something."

Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, and in the end, she couldn't help but steal one more glance at Jiang Ci'an before quickly looking away.

Jiang Ci'an: "..."

No, why are you looking at me?

Jiang Ci'an felt it was inexplicable, yet he remained composed on the surface, maintaining his gentle smile.

Beside them, Xiao Xiao narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze flickered, sweeping back and forth between Jiang Ci'an and Wang Dong'er twice, and she pursed her lips, saying nothing.

Da Ming paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on Jiang Ci'an for an extra second before he looked at little Dong'er beside him, appearing thoughtful.

He didn't say anything more, simply cupping his hands in farewell.

"We'll be going now."

"Safe travels."

Jiang Ci'an walked them to the door and watched the three of them depart.

After walking a few paces, Wang Dong'er couldn't help but look back, her gaze resting on Jiang Ci'an and Xiao Xiao beside him for a moment before she turned back around to catch up with Da Ming.

Jiang Ci'an kept his smile until the three figures disappeared around the street corner, at which point he withdrew his gaze and returned to his usual posture.

He turned his head, only to see Xiao Xiao also looking in that direction, her brows slightly furrowed as if lost in thought.

"Xiao Xiao?"

Xiao Xiao snapped out of it and turned to look at Jiang Ci'an, speaking in a seemingly casual, offhand manner:

"That girl is truly beautiful, isn't she, Ci'an?"

Her tone was lingering and clearly off.

Jiang Ci'an: "..."

Why is my childhood friend... acting so sour?