Going to bed early or late made little difference to Chen Shi'an. On the first morning of the break, he still got up at five.
After a round of parkour outside, he had intended to go home and cook noodles, but instead turned at the intersection and ran toward Wen Zhixia's home.
He had drunk so much of Little Cicada's soy milk, but had yet to try her buns.
He ate noodles every day. Today, he would try something different.
At six in the morning, the Steam Delight Steamed Bun Shop was already open.
The entire self-built building housed family businesses. When he had brought Wen Zhixia wild mushrooms last time, she had told him that her Younger Maternal Aunt ran the bun shop, her great-aunt and great-uncle managed the convenience store next door, and her uncle ran the second-floor mahjong and card room. Chen Shi'an looked up toward the fourth floor. Two sets of school uniforms hung outside the balcony: one white and black, probably her younger cousin's, and the other blue and white. He recognized that one, of course—it was Wen Zhixia's.
Apart from drying clothes and a few potted plants, there was no one on the balcony. The girl probably wasn't awake yet.
Chen Shi'an lowered his gaze and walked up to the bun shop.
The couple inside were busy working. They both looked to be in their thirties or forties. Without even guessing, he knew they must be Wen Zhixia's Younger Maternal Aunt and uncle.
This early in the morning, the mahjong and card room wasn't open yet, only the bun shop and the convenience store beside it. There weren't many people buying breakfast at this hour on a weekend, and the couple worked together in an orderly fashion.
"Hello, Auntie."
"Good morning! What would you