Senior Sister was a girl like that, so her thoughts were probably pretty lively. She probably liked looking pretty, too, so dressing up was surely a must.
If it was for dressing up, jewelry or something should work. Nothing too expensive, though. Senior Sister probably wouldn't accept it.
Something for everyday use... hair clips? Worth considering. I could buy a hairpin, but her hair was so long that putting it up would probably be tiring.
Senior Sister probably really liked maple leaves. There was a maple tree planted in the courtyard, and her clothes had red on them, along with patterns that looked like maple leaves.
Xu An suddenly came up with a good idea, but it would only be fun if he did it together with Senior Sister when the time came.
As he thought about all this, the two of them soon arrived at Dr. Lor's clinic.
When Dr. Lor saw them, he first stopped what he was doing, then said with a smile, "Have you already told Eric and the others the results of the investigation?
"I've already put together the chain of evidence. Hui Crystal Meike's crimes are very clear now.
"There were quality problems with their corruption-suppressing medication, causing Ether Corruption to break out among large numbers of workers... and afterward, they actually refused to pay compensation!" Lor's tone gradually grew a little heated as he spoke.
Xu An found it a little strange, but he couldn't tell what was wrong. He said quietly, "Dr. Lor, don't get too worked up."
"Ah... sorry, I lost my composure a little. In any case, I've had all this organized evidence printed into pamphlets so more people can see their crimes. That way, more people will surely join the protests later and put pressure on Hui Crystal Meike.
"Thank you so much for this, masters of Mount Yunkui!"
"All right, Belle. Now that we've told him, we should go," Xu An said. He had only planned to come take a look at the commotion, never expecting so much to follow.
"I'm kind of hungry. Those soup dumplings of Senior Sister's weren't enough to fill me up," Xu An said.
"You've got some nerve saying that. Senior Sister Fufu finally managed to buy two baskets of soup dumplings, packed them in a bag, and brought them back to savor slowly. But you? You started eating the second you arrived. Honestly, you're lucky she's so good-tempered. If it were me, I'd have smacked you ages ago." Belle rolled her eyes as the two chatted while walking.
"Oh, come on, cultivating last night really took it out of me~ I'll buy a basket later to apologize to her.
"Speaking of which, what do you think about me buying Senior Sister Xiaoguang a hairpin?" Xu An asked Belle.
"Emmm, sure. I know a shop, and they even let you DIY one by hand," Belle suggested with a smile.
"All right. Making it myself would be more meaningful, too," Xu An said. But inwardly, he thought, It feels so strange. Those shops clearly just buy the materials and find some basic tutorials, then use gimmicks like handicrafts and designing things yourself to avoid the labor costs while charging way more than a normal sale. Sigh~
The two decided to go make it when they had time, and soon returned to the shop.
A gray-haired figure appeared in the courtyard.
Belle's eyes lit up when she saw him. "Brother!"
She then jogged over and hugged Wise. "I missed you so much."
Wise smiled and rubbed Belle's head. "I missed you, too."
Then he looked up at Xu An, who had come back from outside with Belle. The two met each other's eyes and nodded in greeting.
"Senior Brother Ye just brought me here. Fortunately, nothing happened along the way."
"Phew, that's great. As long as you made it here safely." Belle couldn't hide the happiness in her voice.
They all chatted with Wise about what had happened earlier. Xu An didn't interrupt; after all, Wise knew nothing about what had happened over the past few days.
Xu An was thinking about Senior Sister, so he took out his phone and decided to chat with Ye Shunguang.
(Good morning, Senior Sister?)
(Are you still in bed, Senior Sister? The sun's already shining on your butt.)
(Senior Sister! I had soup dumplings this morning, and they tasted amazing. Want to go have some together next time? I remember that shop's fried noodles being really good, too. So fragrant.)
Xu An looked at the messages he had sent on his phone.
Senior Sister probably wasn't up yet. After all, it was only nine.
Xu An had guessed correctly. Because of something Xu An had said before leaving yesterday, our young Senior Sister Ye had suffered insomnia for the first time. She had sat in bed for a long time, wanting to message Xu An in the middle of the night but fearing she would disturb his sleep. She had spent the whole night in that awkward state, only managing to fall asleep toward dawn when she truly couldn't hold out any longer.
"That's probably it," Xu An murmured.
Suddenly, Xu An spotted a figure. It was Damian from TOPS, whom he had met before.
Xu An raised an eyebrow and called into the courtyard.
"Master! That Big Rice An from TOPS is here."
At that, Damian's mouth twitched. It's Damian, you bastard, not Big Rice An! He clenched his fists. Forget it. I can't afford to mess with him. I'll just pretend I didn't hear.
"Oh, speak of the devil. Let him in~" Yixuan said.
"Oh, come in." Xu An lowered the arm he had been using to block the way.
Damian wore an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, masters. I was dealing with a few matters just now, so I'm late. My apologies.
"I heard you braved the dangers to enter the Hollow and investigate, without notifying me... that truly was negligence on my part."
"Oh? Here to pick a fight?" Xu An raised his eyebrows, a smile on his face, though it was rather chilling.
Damian's expression remained calm, but inwardly, he was seriously starting to think about backing out.
"Of course that's not what I meant. I was merely concerned for your safety. If anything happened to you, my superiors would hold me accountable," Damian explained.
"Oh, not listening. I think you were provoking me just now," Xu An said.
Damn it, you're clearly the one provoking me, you bastard. You're nothing but a rotten egg.
"How could I? I merely heard that you found some outdated production plans in the abandoned production area, so I came specifically to clear things up.
"Those materials are confidential TOPS matters and have nothing to do with this safety incident. I hope everyone at Yunkui Summit won't misunderstand."
"Huh~ Mr. Damian, why has your attitude suddenly become so polite? This isn't how you acted before~" Belle remained skeptical.
Fufu was more direct. "Exactly. Where did that arrogant attitude of yours go? Why did even your eyes become so much clearer the moment we got our hands on evidence against you?" As she spoke, she planted both hands on her hips and stepped a little closer to Damian, staring him down.
"You're overstating things. I never intended to oppose any of you from Mount Yunkui. Before, I was simply doing what I had to from my position as the person in charge.
"But the situation is different now. The workers under me have begun protesting, and I'm doing everything I can to handle the related compensation." As he spoke, Damian rubbed his temples, seemingly run ragged by recent events.
"Handling compensation? Huh? Dr. Lor said you deliberately covered up the accident records and weren't handling compensation at all!" Belle's voice rose several notches.
"Huh?! This is a misunderstanding! I've already applied for compensation funds. They're just still going through the process and haven't been approved yet." Damian looked somewhat stunned by this and hurried to explain. "As the person in charge, I obviously have to do everything I can to ensure the employees receive their proper benefits!
"You heard all this from Dr. Lor, didn't you? What else did he tell you?"
Xu An suddenly took over, signaling Belle not to rush, as the situation had changed.
"He said you threatened him and stopped him from helping people with Ether Corruption," Xu An said, looking into his eyes.
"Yes, that did happen. But Dr. Lor doesn't have a formal medical license. Prohibiting him from providing illegal treatment was also something I was supposed to do.
"Besides, I've always suspected that the treatment he gives the employees... has problems."
Everyone froze at his words, seemingly not having expected this turn of events.
"There's something wrong with Dr. Lor?!" Senior Sister Fufu's eyes widened even further in disbelief.
"Yes... he's been persuading my employees to give up TOPS's corruption-suppressing medication and choose his Worry-Free Water instead.
"Although the effectiveness of that so-called Worry-Free Water remains questionable for now, he seems to have gained quite a few followers after that incident.
"Many people have spent money on his medicine. He must have made quite a lot.
"But judging by the current prices and the medicine's ingredients, his prices are clearly far too low, so he must have some other objective.
"However, I was still investigating this and hadn't fully gotten to the bottom of it when you from Mount Yunkui became involved."
By then, Belle had regained her composure as well. "You mean... there's something wrong with Dr. Lor's medicine?!"