By the time Wen Ning returned to the shop, dawn had already broken.
Lu Ming sat at the table munching on a steamed bun, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's. Seeing Wen Ning come in, he asked through a mouthful of food,
"Where did you go? How come I didn't see you?"
Wen Ning draped his jacket over the back of a chair, poured himself a glass of water, and took a sip.
"I had something to take care of."
Lu Ming didn't ask any more questions and kept eating his bun. Wen Ning, however, was planning out the evening.
White Impermanence, Xie Bi'an, would bring Duan Xiu up. Then they would go to the hospital together and enter Lin Dagang's dream.
They couldn't put this off any longer. They had finally coaxed a spark out of Lin Dagang's will to live; they had to strike while the iron was hot.
Business was slow during the day, so Wen Ning caught up on sleep in the shop.
Lu Ming played video games. Zhang Siyu occasionally glanced up at Wen Ning, looking as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she never asked.
That evening, the shop closed.
Wen Ning sat behind the counter, his fingertips tapping unconsciously against its surface.
Lu Ming was playing a game beside him when he suddenly looked up.
"Aren't we leaving yet?"
Wen Ning said,
"Not just yet. We're waiting for a friend."
Lu Ming said nothing more, only turning the game's volume down a little.
At nearly eleven that night, the temperature in the shop suddenly dropped a few degrees. Without a breath of wind, the door swung open a crack.
White Impermanence, Xie Bi'an, floated in with Duan Xiu, their feet never touching the ground.
Wen Ning stood to