It was never good to turn up empty-handed on a first visit to someone's home.
Sun Xiangxiang had brought a pile of things, but as she parked at the entrance to Hongfang Street, she was still wondering whether she should have bought more.
Fruit, desserts, flowers, tea-everything she could think of was here, but she had no idea whether it was enough.
Still, she couldn't carry any more. Frowning, Sun Xiangxiang lamented her lack of eight arms, sighed, and followed the house numbers to the door of 23 Wuxu Alley.
The door stood open. Sun Xiangxiang poked her head inside and was greeted by bougainvillea in full bloom.
Laughter came from the house. It was Little Bai. Knowing she had the right place, Sun Xiangxiang suppressed her excitement and called inside.
"Little Bai!"
Bai Congming heard her and ran out of the house, a white streak of flour across his nose.
"Please leave, please leave!"
"Huh?" Sun Xiangxiang was momentarily bewildered. "Leave... for where?"
"It's 'please come in'!"
A voice came from behind Bai Congming, followed by Ding Ding in an apron. After correcting Bai Congming, he looked up at Sun Xiangxiang with a polite but distant smile.
"Hello."
Sun Xiangxiang swallowed involuntarily. Her eyes all but glazed over as she stared at Ding Ding, and she could barely get her words out.
"H-hello."
This was their first proper meeting. Surely she could do better than this.
Sun Xiangxiang sniffed and raised a hand, pretending to hide her expression while actually checking whether she was drooling. Only after confirming she wasn't did she speak.
"We've met before," Sun Xiangxiang said. "At my uncle's traditional Chinese medicine clinic."
The mention of the clinic seemed to jog Ding Ding's memory, though only vaguely. He dimly recalled a lively woman who had looked