Inside the Nan Family Medicine Shop, Nan Zhiyi sat alone behind the counter, propping her cheek on one small hand, lost in thought.
A faint sadness showed in her dark eyes. Even the black hair tied into two buns behind her head seemed to droop.
Because she was short, her two little feet dangled beneath the tall stool, lending her a certain cuteness.
With a creak, the door swung open. Morning sunlight poured into the room through the doorway, and a tall, sturdy figure stepped inside. "Zhiyi, take a look at this prescription for me," he said quietly. "Do you have the herbs circled here? Could you put them all together for me?"
"Of course. I'll take a look right away."
Without lifting her head, Nan Zhiyi reached out and took the prescription.
Then she froze. Her gloomy little face suddenly lit up, and she raised her head to look at the tall figure standing in the sunlight. "Brother Zhou!" she cried in delighted surprise. "It's been so long! I thought you'd forgotten me! If you hadn't kept collecting your money every month, I'd have thought you'd vanished off the face of the earth!"
"Heh, listen to you, girl. Haven't I been living right over there all this time? Where would I run off to?" Zhou Chen smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair.
As Zhou Chen rubbed her head, a blush swiftly spread across Nan Zhiyi's pretty face, turning even her earlobes pink. She looked exceptionally adorable.
"What's wrong? You seem unhappy. Has the shop run into some trouble?" Zhou Chen glanced around.
Business was rather quiet today. That made sense: after last night's sweeping purge, the Lineages, great and small, were all busy selling off their assets. Who had time to come buy medicine?
Still, the Nan