The Childhood Sweetheart Was Sour

A moment later, in the reception room.

Several figures took their seats.

Da Ming looked at the young man sitting across from him, calmly brewing tea, and couldn't hide his surprise.

"I didn't expect Boss Jiang to be so young and already in charge of so many businesses. You're a promising young man."

Jiang Ci'an shook his head. His movements remained unhurried as he poured boiling water into the teapot, and wisps of tea fragrance rose into the air.

"Both my parents died young. I was simply forced to take over the family business."

At his words, Wang Dong'er, who had been curiously looking around, immediately turned her gaze to Jiang Ci'an. Her eyes shifted slightly.

Da Ming, who had been calm until then, also unconsciously paused with his teacup in hand.

"Sorry. I spoke out of turn." Da Ming looked somewhat apologetic.

Jiang Ci'an shook his head. "It's all right. I just suddenly thought of it without meaning to."

As he spoke, he took the contract Ning Zhicheng had left him from a drawer, spread it across the table, and slid it in front of Da Ming. His gentle smile remained unchanged.

"Mr. Niu, have a look at the contract. If everything's in order, go ahead and sign it."

Looking at Jiang Ci'an's smile, Da Ming inexplicably sensed something strained in it. He sighed inwardly, feeling he shouldn't have said anything.

Without another word, he picked up the contract and flipped through it, not examining it too closely.

A lease for a shop like this was nothing more than a formality to him. In fact, if he hadn't been accompanying Dong'er on a stroll, he wouldn't have come here today at all. He would have left it to his subordinates.

He wrote his name directly in the signature space, then took a gold Soul Coin card from his sleeve. After a pause, he changed it for a purple-gold one and handed it over.

"This is the rent."

Jiang Ci'an nodded, took the card, and began counting the money, his expression giving nothing away.

To be honest, when he first recognized Wang Dong'er, Da Ming, and Er Ming, he'd been a little panicked.

According to his memories, under normal circumstances, Wang Dong'er shouldn't have arrived in Shrek City until a few years later, when Shrek Academy opened. And she would have been disguised as a boy.

Meanwhile, Da Ming and Er Ming should have stayed at the Clear Sky Sect in Cloud Recesses and never left.

But now, all three had appeared in Shrek City at the same time—and in his pharmacy, no less.

It was like leaving the beginner village only to find a late-game boss suddenly blocking the entrance. Anyone would have been stunned.

So he'd instinctively considered the worst-case scenario: had they come to Shrek City because of him?

He wondered if his arrival, or something he'd done, had caused some kind of butterfly effect, drawing the attention of a certain God King, who had sent Da Ming and Er Ming to eliminate this unexpected variable before it interfered with his ten-thousand-year plan.

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

There was simply no reason to do such a thing.

First of all, he wasn't a child of destiny. No matter how far God King Tang's attention strayed, it shouldn't have landed on an orphan who'd moved here from the Dou Ling Empire.

As for any other reason, he could only think of his Martial Soul and that special Virtual World.

But if Tang San had noticed something he'd done in the Virtual World...

He'd already messed around with Xiao Wu so much that, by Tang San's standards, he'd probably piled up thousands of layers of "reasons to die."

Tang San would surely have bloodshot eyes and be panting with rage before personally coming to kill him. He might even tear his soul apart and torture him until he wished he were dead.

How could he possibly just send Da Ming and Er Ming to his pharmacy to sign a lease, chat with him politely as if everything were normal, and even bring Wang Dong'er along?

With that, he could only tentatively chalk it all up to some kind of coincidence.

Though he was sure it wasn't.

Jiang Ci'an sighed inwardly.

From the perspective of someone at the bottom, all he could do was guess blindly. That was what it meant to have no confidence.

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

The thought passed. Jiang Ci'an finished counting the Soul Coins, looked up at Da Ming, and spoke in a businesslike tone.

"Mr. Niu, it seems you've given me a little too much."

Da Ming waved a hand. "Just consider it payment for renting the place a little longer."

Jiang Ci'an paused briefly, then nodded. His gentle smile remained in place.

"That works too. I'll add it to the contract. But if you decide to stop renting early, I'll definitely refund the rent for the remaining months. I can't accept something I haven't earned."

Da Ming paused, puzzled. "Do you think we won't rent for long?"

Jiang Ci'an nodded and answered frankly. "I won't hide it from you, Mr. Niu. These two shops are in a very poor location. No matter what kind of business opens here, I've never seen one last three months.

"Even though you're clearly no ordinary person, I doubt you'd keep running a business at a loss."

"Is that so?" Da Ming gave a slight nod, not at all displeased. He casually explained, "Thank you for letting us know. But we're only planning to stay in Shrek City for a short while. We just need the two shops as a place to stay. We're not opening a business."

"I see. Then I was worrying over nothing."

Jiang Ci'an made a quiet note of it, took the shop keys from his Storage Soul Tool, set them on the table, and slid them over.

Da Ming took them. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he rose to leave.

But when Da Ming turned, he saw little Dong'er still sitting in her chair. Her blue-and-pink eyes were fixed on Jiang Ci'an across from her, and no one could tell what she was thinking.

"Dong'er?"

Wang Dong'er came back to herself, only to find everyone looking at her. Her expression changed, and she hurriedly stood up, then gave a light cough.

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

Her voice grew quieter with each word. At the end, her peripheral vision unconsciously flicked toward Jiang Ci'an once more before she quickly looked away.

Jiang Ci'an: "..."

Wait, why were you looking at me?

Jiang Ci'an found it utterly baffling, but his expression didn't change. He kept up the same gentle smile.

Beside him, Xiao Xiao narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze flickered as she looked back and forth between Jiang Ci'an and Wang Dong'er twice. She pressed her lips together lightly but said nothing.

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

But he didn't say anything more. He simply clasped his hands in farewell.

"Then we'll be off."

"Take care, everyone."

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

After walking a few steps, Wang Dong'er couldn't help glancing back again. Her gaze lingered for a moment on Jiang Ci'an, then on Xiao Xiao beside him, before she turned around and caught up with Da Ming.

Jiang Ci'an kept smiling until the three figures disappeared around the street corner. Only then did he look away and return to his usual expression.

He turned around and saw Xiao Xiao also looking in that direction, her brows slightly furrowed as if deep in thought.

"Xiao Xiao?"

Xiao Xiao came back to herself and turned to Jiang Ci'an. Then, as if making an idle remark, she said:

"That girl was really pretty, wasn't she, Ci'an?"

Her tone was faintly bitter—clearly not right.

Jiang Ci'an: "..."

Why did his childhood sweetheart sound so sour?