yournovel Chapter 500 Farewell
Chapter 500 Farewell
"The raw materials will be delivered early tomorrow morning, and I need to be there to receive them," Xu Xiaoyan said in a low voice, but her voice was clearly audible in the quiet corridor.
"Early morning?" Lan Yue frowned, the vertical line between her brows deepening slightly. "What time?"
"4:30".
"4:30?!" Lan Yue's voice suddenly rose a little, then fell back down, as if she remembered that the corridor was not well soundproofed.
She quickly glanced at both ends of the corridor to make sure no one else was alerted before looking back at Xu Xiaoyan.
"At that time... it wasn't even dawn yet. Weren't you afraid to be alone?" She asked this question with a serious expression, not as if she were just being polite, but because she was genuinely worried.
"It's alright," Xu Xiaoyan chuckled, but this answer was clearly not enough to dispel Lan Yue's doubts.
"Have you checked on the shop? Is it safe? Is anyone around?" Lan Yue bombarded her with these questions, speaking much faster than usual.
Her fingers unconsciously pinched the edge of the paper bag containing the cookies, creating several wrinkles in the bag.
That's just how she is; no matter how chaotic her own mind is, her first thought is always the safety of others.
"I haven't gone to see it yet," Xu Xiaoyan answered truthfully. She wasn't one to lie, especially not in front of Lan Yue.
"There shouldn't be any problems," she said, though she wasn't entirely sure herself.
However, the shop was listed by the trading center and is located at the intersection of the main street and the side road, about a five-minute walk from the trading center.
The area wasn't remote; although there weren't many people around 4 a.m., it wasn't completely deserted.
Blue Moon fell silent.
She lowered her head, her gaze falling on the cookies in her hand.
The motion-activated lights in the corridor automatically went out during the long silence between the two, leaving only the trapezoidal light shining from Blue Moon's room.
After a while, Lan Yue raised her head again, her expression calmer than before.
"Okay, have a good trip," she said.
Xu Xiaoyan sensed the reluctance in her words, and after thinking for a moment, she told her what she had been keeping to herself.
"I chatted with the owner of the congee shop for a while when I was eating on that street today."
She lowered her voice a little, "Guess what? You can buy rice, noodles, fish, and vegetables at a 10% discount with the rented shop."
The owner also said that many people rent shops but never open them for business, just to use this discount to stock up on food.
Blue Moon blinked. "No way, we just arrived! We haven't even had a few good days, and it's already starting again?"
"Don't overthink it," Xu Xiaoyan gently comforted her.
"This is just speculation by some people. The reason I'm telling you this now is simply to give you an early warning."
We've come this far from our own path, so we're used to thinking one step ahead in everything, right?
Blue Moon didn't reply, but the way she was holding the cookies changed.
The hands went from holding the item together to one hand tucked under the waist, while the other hand hung down and swayed gently at the side.
My shoulders have also relaxed noticeably; they're no longer tense like before.
"Anyway, it's always better to be safe than sorry," Xu Xiaoyan said with a slight smile. "As for you, there's no need to rush into anything. Go to the trading center tomorrow and get a feel for the situation."
If you feel the need, you can rent a shop, not to do business, but just to get a 10% discount on the purchase price and stock up on things for peace of mind.
The rent is a bit pricey; even the cheapest shop costs 150 yuan a month.
"One hundred and fifty yuan?" Blue Moon's attention was indeed diverted. Her eyebrows rose slightly, and her tone also increased by half an octave. Clearly, this number exceeded her expectations.
"Yeah, when I looked today, it was 150 yuan, and it seemed to come with eight shelves," Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "If you rent that place, we'll be in the same industry."
Blue Moon finally smiled. "That's one way. I'll think about it carefully."
"Okay, I'm leaving then," Xu Xiaoyan waved to her.
"Hmm," Lan Yue said, taking a step back while holding the cookies, her toes slipping from the edge of the light into the shadows of the corridor.
Xu Xiaoyan turned around and went back to her room, picked up her backpack, and looked around one last time. The single bed, desk, chair, and half-open bathroom door were all back to normal.
Finally, she turned off the light and walked out of the room.
The elevator went down, and she took it down to the first floor.
The door to the guardhouse was ajar, letting in a dim, yellowish light.
Sister Meng was reclining in her chair looking at her phone, with an enamel mug sitting on the armrest, steaming.
She heard footsteps, looked up at the bag on Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder, and then moved her gaze to Xu Xiaoyan's face.
"Sister Meng, I'm checking out," Xu Xiaoyan handed over the keys.
The key was silver-white and made of iron. There was a small piece of tape on the key handle, on which the numbers "612-1818" were written in ballpoint pen.
She held the key handle with her fingers and handed it to Sister Meng.
Sister Meng took the key, nodded, and casually opened the drawer to throw it inside.
The key fell into the drawer and clattered against the other keys inside.
She didn't ask why, nor did she say, "You're leaving after only two days," she just hummed in response.
He picked up the enamel mug again, brought it to his lips, blew on it, and took a sip.
The sound of hot water going down your throat is a soft, low "gulp".
Xu Xiaoyan said "I'm leaving," turned around, and pushed open the door to leave.
Xu Xiaoyan came out of the apartment building and walked north along the dimly lit sidewalk, only to find that there seemed to be hardly anyone on the street.
She originally thought that Qing City was at least a city of some size, and there should be some nightlife at night, such as barbecue stalls, food stalls, or at the very least, a few convenience stores open.
After walking for almost twenty minutes, she only saw two or three noodle shops that were still open.
The noodle shop owner sat at the entrance, not greeting anyone who passed by, his gaze lazily sweeping over them before returning to his stove.
"They go to bed really early here," Xu Xiaoyan muttered to herself.
She quickened her pace; the direction of the trading center was easy to spot—just head towards the area still lit up.
Although the trading center itself was closed, the surrounding streetlights were more densely packed than elsewhere, illuminating the streets within a radius of several hundred meters.
After turning a corner, she saw the main street. The bustling commercial area during the day was now deserted, with most of the shops on both sides closed.
Xu Xiaoyan recalled the location on the map in her mind; C-12 should be at the intersection of the main street and the side road.
She stood at the intersection looking around, and soon spotted the shop at the entrance of the third alley on the right, sandwiched between a noodle shop and a grocery store.