"An'an, hurry up and get up. Didn't we agree to go to Lingshui today?"
Looking at Xu An, who was still in bed, Zhou Haimei was a bit speechless. She went over to pull Xu An's blanket. In her sleep, Xu An unconsciously fought with Zhou Haimei for the blanket, clearly not fully conscious.
"Let me sleep for ten more minutes, just ten minutes."
"Not even ten seconds!"
With Xu An's scream, the blanket was instantly snatched away by Zhou Haimei.
The warmth was gone, and Xu An instantly woke up from the cold, with a messy head of hair. Xu An looked at Zhou Haimei in front of him blankly, still not clear what was happening.
"Hurry up and get up. Don't you even look at the time? The Mouse has been waiting here for a long time. How long are you going to sleep in? Did you stay up late again last night!"
Facing Zhou Haimei's questioning, Xu An felt a rare sense of guilt. Her eyes darted away, and she quickly pushed her out.
"You guys go out first, I'll change. Wait a moment, I'll be ready in ten minutes."
Amidst Zhou Haimei's skeptical gaze, she left Xu An's bedroom with the Mouse.
Xu Yan, who was waiting at the door, was already smiling, "An'an is still sleeping? This child really!"
Zhou Haimei affectionately took Xu Mama's hand, "Auntie, what delicious food did you make today?"
Xu Yan couldn't hide the smile on her face as she looked at Zhou Haimei. She pulled Zhou Haimei and the Mouse towards the dining table.
"If she doesn't get up, you guys eat first. I specifically made xiaolongbao today, and also wrapped some wontons. Come and try them quickly."
The Mouse, who had been silent all along, was now a little dazed.
She looked at Xu Yan, who was holding her hand, with a moment of hesitation.
Xu Yan also seemed to notice the Mouse's hesitation. She thought the other person didn't like being touched.
She quickly let go of the Mouse's hand, "I'm sorry, Auntie didn't know you didn't like being touched. You come over yourself, come and try Auntie's cooking."
But as soon as she said this, she saw the Mouse just shake her head, "No, Auntie, you misunderstood. I just..." The Mouse looked blankly at the back of her hand that still had residual warmth, "It's just that no one has held my hand like this for a long time."
"Ah!" Xu Yan was also stunned by this. She seemed to remember Xu An mentioning the Mouse's background before. Compared to Zhou Haimei, who lost her mother at a young age, the Mouse seemed to have both parents.
But looking at the child now, it was as if she hadn't seen her family for a long time.
"Have you not seen your parents for a long time?" Xu Yan then took the Mouse's hand again.
But the Mouse remained silent and didn't speak, yet she inexplicably yearned for the warmth of the gentle mother's hand in front of her.
Zhou Haimei wanted to break the ice, feeling the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
But Xu Yan affectionately held the Mouse's hand.
"It's okay, we won't talk about things you don't want to talk about. Come, child, let's eat."
The Mouse never thought that she would be able to enjoy family warmth one day. From the moment she decided to defy her family's arrangements and insist on establishing the back alley herself.
She had never touched the warm hands of a mother again.
But today, in Xu An's house, she felt the warmth of a mother's hand again.
It was a long-lost warmth, like timely rain after a long drought, suddenly filling her heart and allowing her to feel a sliver of light again.
Just as the Mouse and Xu Yan walked to the dining table, Xu An also came out after changing her clothes.
"Mom, what did you make? It smells so good."
Xu Yan rolled her eyes, instantly feeling that her own daughter was no longer as charming, "Go wash up quickly, others have been waiting for you for a long time. What's wrong with you."
Xu An, who didn't know what had happened before, felt she was innocently taking the blame.
When Xu An came out, the timing was just right, and Xu Yan had just finished reheating all the dishes.
While eating, Xu An suddenly remembered something, "But why did you guys come together? Did you make plans?"
In Xu An's impression, Zhou Haimei's relationship with the Mouse didn't seem very close.
Zhou Haimei swallowed the xiaolongbao in her mouth, "No, we met downstairs at your place and came up together."
Xu An nodded. After they quickly finished eating, they left with Xu An.
Before leaving, Xu Yan looked at Zhou Haimei and the Mouse with affection, telling them to be careful, but she didn't have a good expression for Xu An.
Xu An walked out for half the way, still speechless, "Did I provoke her again?"
This made Zhou Haimei and the Mouse laugh continuously.
As the three chatted, they arrived at Lingshui.
As the Mouse had said earlier, everywhere they looked, they saw girls.
Even little girls around five or six years old were walking on the street with smiles.
Xu An and her group were all girls, so walking among them wasn't particularly strange.
"Did you notice anything unusual?" the Mouse asked Xu An.
Xu An shook her head, "I can't tell."
Zhou Haimei added, "Mouse, aren't you going to see an old friend? Why don't we go together and ask? We really can't tell anything just by looking."
Xu An nodded, agreeing with Zhou Haimei's suggestion.
Seeing that both of them had made up their minds, the Mouse no longer hesitated.
"Okay, I'll take you to find her."
As she spoke, the Mouse led Xu An to a seemingly very simple factory.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Hello sir, we are looking for Wang Cuihua."
Hearing the name, the woman looked at the people in front of her and raised her eyes slightly, her gaze filled with impatience.
"Who are you?"
"Wang Cuihua is my older sister. We were passing by and wanted to come and see."
The woman looked behind the Mouse, "And those two?"
The Mouse was already getting impatient, but she still patiently explained to the other person.
"They are my friends."
The woman wanted to say something more, but the Mouse, being very proactive, handed over a bag of canned fruit.
On the Lighthouse, due to difficulty in preservation, even the price of vegetables was unusually high, let alone fruits.
Even the canned fruit in the Mouse's hand would sell for around 100 transaction coins.
The woman's impatient expression instantly changed, like a performer changing masks in a traditional opera.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and go inside."
Xu An and Zhou Haimei hadn't said anything from beginning to end, they just followed the Mouse inside.
"When we go in later, if you have any questions, ask quickly. I feel like there's something wrong here."
Actually, without the Mouse's reminder, Xu An herself had already noticed something was amiss.
"What exactly is this place? Why does it feel like everyone here is so serious?"