An Peiwen stood in the doorway, sunlight streaming in from behind him.
Xie Hui froze. He knew who this man was.
The three women froze too. They had no idea who this man was.
But they all stopped working, their eyes fixed on the man in the doorway.
Wang Xiaoliang had already hurried over to greet him.
"Uncle Wen, what brings you here in person?"
An Peiwen patted his shoulder and looked him up and down.
"You've lost weight."
Just those few words, spoken lightly, but his hand lingered on Wang Xiaoliang's shoulder for an extra second.
"Come on in and sit down."
"No, let's go. Business before pleasure. Once we're done, you can treat me to a meal."
Wang Xiaoliang paused, then grinned.
"Who visits someone without bringing a gift, then asks his nephew to buy him dinner? Uncle Wen, you're my uncle. Don't take after Third Uncle, all right?"
An Peiwen smiled.
Cui Wanqiu discreetly drew a breath. Li Yongling lowered her head, too embarrassed to keep staring. Yi Jiahui was even more blatant, propping her chin on her hand without so much as shifting her gaze.
An Peiwen shook his head.
"You're getting to be almost as slick as Liu Xinyu."
He paused, then corrected himself.
"No, you've outdone him."
"Come on, stop dawdling. Let's go take a look at that storefront."
Wang Xiaoliang turned and beckoned to Xie Hui.
"Come on, Mr. Xie."
Only then did Xie Hui snap out of it. He grabbed the keys from the table and followed. One thought kept running through his head: when Wang Xiaoliang had said he knew An Peiwen, he had taken it as a joke.
Now the man was standing right in front of him.
In the flesh.
At the storefront, Xie Hui took the two people