"Drop you off at the intersection?"
"Hey! You have a bike! You have to take me right to my building!"
"You're too lazy to walk even a few steps?"
"Come on, hurry up~"
Wen Zhixia looked pleased with herself. Only after Chen Shi'an had ridden her all the way to the entrance of her building did she finally release his waist and hop off the back seat.
It was ten at night, and her aunt's breakfast shop had long since closed. Only the upstairs lights were still on in the self-built house.
Seeing her aunt come out onto the third-floor balcony to hang laundry and seemingly glance downstairs, Wen Zhixia grew a little shy and hurriedly handed back Chen Shi'an's backpack, which she had been holding against her chest.
"Then you have to come downstairs to pick me up tomorrow morning too, okay?"
"All right."
"I'm off. Bye, Taoist-"
"Bye."
The girl waved her little hand at him, then turned and pattered upstairs.
Chen Shi'an put his backpack on again. It was still a little warm from being held against the girl's chest the whole way.
He looked up and saw Li Yimei peering curiously from the third-floor balcony. With a smile and a nod, he turned his bike around and rode away.
Instead of heading home first, Chen Shi'an continued along the way toward the West River.
Sister Wanyin and Fat Ink were still running the stall, so he might as well go check on them.
From a distance, Chen Shi'an spotted the bustling milk tea stall beneath the banyan tree.
More than a dozen customers waiting in line had crowded tightly around the cart. The night-market lamp brightly illuminated the Tea Fruit Formula sign and menu. Some people were filming with their phones, others were ordering, and