Zhao Xifu watched Zhao Rong and his entourage leave, but didn't depart immediately.
He looked back at the door.
Bing Nian was meticulously setting the dining table.
Zhao Xifu crossed his arms and leaned against the door, quietly staring at the busy figure of his wife for a while.
Seeing her carry dishes and bowls to the kitchen, he leisurely turned around and found a more comfortable position to lean on the door, facing outward.
This time, when the shopkeeper turned to look back, the alley outside the side door had an added figure of a beautiful woman in red garments.
She stood charmingly at the same alley entrance where Zhao Rong and the others had left, turning her head as if assessing the direction they had gone.
At this moment, she seemed to have noticed the shopkeeper's gaze.
Ning Ying also turned her head back.
Their eyes met.
Ning Ying's mouth curved into a smile, warm as the winter sun, and she softly said, "Brother Zhao."
