Fang Long had spent several days job hunting, all ending in failure.

The small town had its lovable qualities, but also had very obvious shortcomings.

Because the place was small with fewer opportunities, and with the new year approaching, very few shops or businesses were hiring at this particular juncture.

In the end, it was Ren Jianbai’s wife—Lin Tian—who found her a job.

Lin Tian’s cousin was quite capable; she’d opened a boutique for young women in the town center, expanding from a single storefront unit to now four units connected together, growing from just women’s clothing to now clothing, shoes and socks, bags, jewelry, cosmetics… everything all in one place.

Every month, Cousin Lin would make a trip to Guangzhou, going through everywhere from Thirteen Hong to Wanling Wholesale Market, and whenever the boutique restocked with new arrivals, it was the happiest day for the town’s girls.

With the new year approaching, the shop had brought in a lot of new stock, but two employees had left. Cousin Lin was urgently trying to hire, and when Lin Tian learned Fang Long had lost her job, she mentioned it to her cousin, putting in a good word for Fang Long.

Cousin Lin let Fang Long come try it out, only the probationary wage wouldn’t be very high.

Fang Long, of course, had no problem with that—a slightly lower wage didn’t matter, as long as she had work to do every day, she wouldn’t feel anxious.

Having prior work experience, Fang Long quickly adapted to the new work environment. Not counting her, the shop had three other employees, all older sisters a few years her senior.

Fang Long’s daily work was stocking and organizing merchandise, answering customer inquiries, keeping an eye out for whether small items like accessories and socks might get pilfered, cleaning… and so on.

New year, new clothes—customers coming to buy new year outfits increased day by day, and Fang Long stood every day until her calves ached and talked until her throat went hoarse.

She wanted to perform well, hoping that maybe at new year’s she’d have a chance to get an extra red envelope as a bonus, and after the new year, a better chance of being kept on to continue working.

Life was like a balloon, visibly inflating day by day—only on the day of her birthday, a thorn still appeared, puncturing her life to shreds once again.

That day, her aunt had made plans with her early on, saying she’d cook a big feast and wanting her to come home for dinner, so Fang Long had asked the shop for the evening off.

Sunday brought many customers to the shop, and Fang Long had been busy like a spinning top since morning, even lunch was just hastily gulping down some bread.

In the afternoon, she was serving a customer trying on shoes when two customers she recognized walked into the shop.

It was Wu Danchun, and Wu Danchun’s mother.

Wu’s mother looked at her with a gaze full of disdain, as if she’d spotted some rotten fish or shrimp at the market—she nearly covered her nose and mouth.

Wu Danchun’s expression was the exact opposite of her mother’s.

She blinked her innocent-looking big eyes, asking in a surprised tone, “Fang Long? You’re working here now? What about the supermarket?”

Wu’s mother scoffed loudly through her nose, deliberately raising her volume: “What supermarket would dare hire a shop assistant with such a checkered record? Wouldn’t that be like letting a rat into the rice jar?”

Her voice was very loud, and other customers and employees in the shop turned to look.

Fang Long could feel her heart beating faster, her palms sweating faintly, but this time she held herself back, not responding to the mother and daughter. She withdrew her gaze, focusing on serving the customer in front of her.

Wu’s mother scoffed again and pulled her daughter upstairs to look at clothes.

After quite a while, the customer finally decided on the shoes she wanted to buy. Fang Long went to the stockroom, retrieved a new pair, and brought them to the counter to check out. Turning around, she saw Wu Danchun standing by the shelves.

She held two pairs of shoes in her hands, calling out sweetly, “Fang Long, do these two styles come in a size 36? Could you help me get them, I want to try them on.”

Wu Danchun’s face was full of smiles, as if the farce from a week ago had never happened at all.

The other coworkers were all busy. Fang Long clenched the hand hidden behind her back, her mouth corners drooping, took a deep breath, and finally answered, “Sure, I’ll go get them right away.”

Wu Danchun picked a pair of brown ankle boots and a pair of black Mary Jane shoes, both styles she usually favored—pure and elegant.

Fang Long carried the two shoe boxes over, half-crouching in front of her, taking the shoes out of the boxes, her voice flat: “These two styles just arrived yesterday, they’re this year’s popular fall/winter styles, simple to pair with a coat or skirt and they look great, very elegant—”

Wu’s mother, sitting off to the side, gave a scoffing laugh. “My daughter is naturally elegant, unlike certain people who curse all day and go around hitting people at the drop of a hat.”

Fang Long didn’t give her a glance, just took another deep breath, undid the laces on both pairs of shoes, and set them gently by Wu Danchun’s feet. “Try them on.”

Wu Danchun didn’t pick up on her mother’s remark to continue, but she didn’t defend Fang Long either.

She tried on both pairs separately, at one point saying she didn’t like the color, at another saying they pinched her feet. Fang Long, following her requests, kept fetching the same style in different colors, or the same color in different sizes.

Wu Danchun still wasn’t satisfied and set her sights on other shoes, having Fang Long fetch those too.

She had a delicate, gentle appearance, and with her brows slightly knitted she looked pitiably innocent, without a trace of scheming: “Sorry, Fang Long, you know how I am, I’m particular when I shop, it always takes some time and effort.”

Fang Long’s hands moved quickly, tidying the shoe boxes on the floor, and she looked up at Wu Danchun with a smile: “Mm, shoes are like men—you only know if they fit and if you like them once you’ve put them on. Otherwise, after spending so much time picking and choosing, you still end up with a pair that twists your ankle or pinches your foot, and that would be a poor trade, wouldn’t it?”

Wu Danchun’s mouth corners stiffened, and before she could retort, Fang Long had already walked off carrying a stack of shoe boxes.

In the end, Wu Danchun did settle on a pair of shoes, and also picked out a new year’s outfit—a horn-buttoned coat, a plaid wool short skirt, a ruffled blouse—the same outfit displayed on the mannequin at the shop entrance.

Earlier, after Wu Danchun tried it on, another employee had complimented her as being even prettier than a rich young lady from a Korean drama, flattering Wu’s mother into beaming with delight and immediately deciding on the purchase.

Fang Long later went to fetch shoes for other customers, and at some point, without her noticing, the Wu mother and daughter had already checked out and left.

She quietly let out a long breath, pressing the anger in her chest back down.

Hmph, she really wished Zhou Ya could have been there, to open his eyes and see clearly—she was not some troublemaking little brat who just caused problems all day!

As night fell, Fang Long prepared to clock out.

Behind the shop was a break room, smaller even than the stockroom, with a small sofa and low table for employees to eat, and beside it a storage cabinet shared by all the staff, where everyone’s changed clothes and bags were kept together.

Fang Long changed back into her own clothes and, bag on her shoulder, had just walked out of the break room when she ran into one of the employees, Sister Ying.

The shop owner wasn’t in the store at the moment, and Sister Ying was the most senior employee there. Fang Long, having just started a few days ago, wasn’t yet that familiar with the other staff, but the necessary courtesies still had to be observed, so she said to Sister Ying, “Sister Ying, I’m heading out first.”

Sister Ying nodded slowly, but her gaze stayed fixed on Fang Long’s bag. Fang Long, eager to get home, didn’t notice anything off.

Fang Long walked out of the shop; her motorcycle was parked under a tree by the road. Just as she reached it, her phone rang inside her bag.

It was a call from Ma Huimin. Fang Long picked up: “Hello, Auntie.”

Ma Huimin asked, “Long-long, about when will you be home? Your brother’s about to steam the fish!”

Auntie’s voice sounded very happy, and Fang Long’s mouth curved up without her realizing it: “I just got off work, I’ll be home in about ten minutes!”

“Okay, I’ll let him know then.” Ma Huimin said with a smile, “Don’t drive too fast, remember to wear your helmet, be careful on the road.”

On the other end of the phone, besides her aunt’s caring reminders, she could hear the sound of vigorous stir-frying, a sharp sizzling sound, as if hot oil had been poured right onto Fang Long’s chest, the heat making her eyes grow warm.

And that familiar scent of home cooking seemed to drift right up to the tip of her nose through the phone.

She rubbed her slightly damp nose, her voice softening: “Got it!”

Fang Long took the rarely-used helmet out of the motorcycle’s rear compartment and obediently put it on. Just as she was about to get on the bike, Sister Ying, who had hurriedly run out of the shop, called out to stop her: “Little sister! Wait a moment!”

Fang Long, still holding her keys, asked, “What’s wrong, Sister Ying?”

Sister Ying frowned, hands on her hips, her expression clearly not as friendly as usual.

She looked the young girl in front of her up and down, her gaze landing on the small crossbody bag at Fang Long’s waist, lingering there for a few seconds, before finally looking up at Fang Long’s eyes, asking cautiously: “Little sister, just now in the break room, did you happen to take anything from my bag?”