The typhoon officially made landfall in the middle of the night.
Wen Ning lay in bed, listening to the wind batter the rolling shutter with a metallic clatter all night long.
For once, Big Yellow hadn't curled up in his usual spot. Instead, he squeezed in beside Wen Ning, his ears pressed flat. Even a tough guy like Sang Biao was scared of wind, rain, and thunder.
Early the next morning, Wen Ning raised the rolling shutter to find the alley transformed.
Half the sign on the steamed bun shop next door had been torn off by the wind. Old Liu stood on a ladder, hanging it back up and cursing as he worked.
The tree at the mouth of the alley had been forced into an honorable retirement by the gale.
Meanwhile, Wen Ning's shop wasn't getting much business.
More precisely, he hadn't had a single customer. Wen Ning sat in the chair behind the counter, scrolling on his phone until its battery was nearly dead.
Normally, at this hour, at least two or three monsters would be lined up waiting for a bath. Today, though, the place was as quiet as a brothel after a police raid.
"Where's Sparrow Spirit?"
Wen Ning put down his phone. Unable to stand it any longer, he turned to Zhang Siyu, who was sorting vegetables by the kitchen door.
"He's usually first in line to freeload some millet. Why hasn't he shown his face today?"
Zhang Siyu kept working.
"He's really made something of himself lately.
"Oriole laid her eggs. He's busy at home taking care of his wife. Where would he find the time to visit your lousy shop?
"He was bragging to me the day before yesterday that Oriole had given him four chicks and he was a dad now.