Having gotten permission, Ah Mieu looked around and found no chairs in the store. Unwilling to sit on the ground, he pulled himself up onto the counter and sat next to the stack of documents. After kicking off his shoes, he crossed his legs before picking up the first document and began flipping through it.
The old man didn't seem to mind Ah Mieu taking over his shop's counter. Instead, he left through a door at the back of the counter and then returned sometime later with two cups of tea before handing Ah Mieu one.
Ah Mieu thanked the old man as he took the cup of tea, and with his eyes remaining fixated on the document in his lap, he took a sip from the cup before placing it off to the side.
Now, the scene in the store was of a young boy sitting cross-legged on the store's front desk, reading a stack of documents with complete focus while occasionally taking sips from the cup next to him. At the same time, the store owner, an old man, was sitting on a chair behind the desk, sipping his own tea while occasionally glancing at the youth with an apprehensive look in his eyes.
On the floor in front of the doorway, the evening sun spilled into the store while taking the shape of the rectangular doorway. That shape distorted and stretched further into the store as the sun slowly set.
A few potential customers entered the store during this time. Some were adults, while a few were children around Ah Mieu's age. However, no matter the age, upon entering, each person never failed to glance at Ah Mieu curiously as they walked past the front counter.
These potential customers only look at the knick-knacks on the shelves before leaving. The old man seemed used to their actions as he greeted them familiarly upon their entry and when they were leaving.
Just as the sun was setting on the horizon, a girl who looked to be around eleven or twelve entered the store with an excited expression on her face. This excited expression on her face faltered briefly when she spotted Ah Mieu sitting cross-legged on the counter with the pile of papers next to him; however, she soon looked away and beelined towards a particular shelf at the back of the store.
The little girl then returned to the front counter with a green hairpin that had a flower design on it. Even though it was covered in dust, one could tell from how it glistened when the sun hit it at certain angles that it was a hidden Gem among the junk sold in this store.
"Mister, my father said I could buy this hairpin."
The girl said as she approached the front counter and took out a silver coin that had several nicks on the corner.
The girl wanted to hand the silver coin to the old man behind the counter, but the pile of documents blocked her.
Just as the old man was about to get up and reach over the documents to collect the silver coin, Ah Mieu looked up from the document in his lap and reached out to take the coin from the girl.
The little girl only hesitated briefly before handing over the silver coin.
Ah Mieu took the coin and then passed it to the old man.
After collecting the coin, the old man counted out a few bronze coins in change from behind the counter before handing them to Ah Mieu, who then passed them to the little girl.
The little girl accepted her change from Ah Mieu but then sneaked a glance at his face as he went back to reading the document in his lap. She wasn't able to see his eyes clearly, but his cheeks became more visible after his hair shifted when he lowered his head.
Immediately, the girl's cheeks turned slightly red.
Ah Mieu was somewhat of an enigma. Due to his face being covered, one could only determine his age from his appearance and height. However, his appearance was covered by his baggy clothes, and his height was in a state of limbo, where one could not tell if he was an older teen who was short for his age or a younger boy who was tall for his age.
However, with that glimpse, the girl was able to determine that this boy was closer to her age. Adding to the fact that he didn't seem like a bad person, she let her curiosity get the better of her as she asked.
"Big Brother, are you planning to read all of this?"
Ah Mieu's focus while reading the document was broken, but he wasn't annoyed. Looking up at the girl, he smiled and responded.
"I am, and I'm almost finished."
"Really?"
The little girl's eyes widened in surprise.
"Big Brother is amazing! Even if Ling'er were to try reading so many papers, I wouldn't be able to finish them because I have trouble recognizing characters. Big Brother, how many characters can you recognize?"
The little girl, who called herself Ling'er, said as she gazed up at Ah Mieu with her bright, clear eyes.
Still smiling, Ah Mieu placed the document on his lap on the finished pile of documents by the side as he responded.
"I only started learning characters two years ago, so I only know a few. But I can piece together the ones I've learned so far to vaguely understand these papers."
"Big Brother, you're even more amazing! Even though Ling'er knows dozens of characters, I can't do that. But does this mean Big Brother can't fully understand these papers?"
Ah Mieu let out a light chuckle as he reached out to pat the little girl's head while saying.
"That's right, I can't understand them fully. However, that's not because I can't recognize the characters, but because a few things are missing."
The little girl seemed confused when she heard that, but when the old man heard Ah Mieu's words, he felt a cold wave wash over his body, chilling him to the bone.
"Ling'er!"
Suddenly, a man's voice was heard calling from outside the store. The little girl turned to the door and responded.
"I'm coming, Dad!"
Afterward, she turned back to Ah Mieu and said.
"Big Brother, I have to go now, my dad is calling for me."
The girl then turned to leave; however, she stopped after only taking two steps. She suddenly turned back to look at Ah Mieu and, with red cheeks, softly said.
"Big Brother, you look really handsome. You shouldn't hide your face with your bangs."
After saying that, the little girl turned and swiftly darted out the door like a shy rabbit.
Ah Mieu let out an amused laugh. He then positioned his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his hand. His gaze lingered on the dimming sunset outside the door with a slight smile at the corner of his lips.
Silence descended in the store, and the old man felt a stifled pressure settle on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. Not that he dared to.
After what felt like forever, Ah Mieu's calm voice broke the silence.
"I feel like you're hiding some details about the Han Clan from me… No, you're definitely hiding something from me."
Ah Mieu turned and looked at the old man.
Even though Ah Mieu's bangs were covering his eyes, the old man could feel his dissatisfied gaze boring into him, causing the pressure on his psyche to increase to the point that he started to tremble uncontrollably.
If the identity of this child was who the old man suspected it was, then having such a person dissatisfied with him was akin to having taken half a step into the grave.