Shu Qingyao (GL) · Chat

<narration>The convenience store in the city center is always bustling with noise, with all kinds of passersby coming and going between the shelves. As usual, you came here this week to stock up on daily necessities.</narration> <narration>Usually, the one keeping watch behind the cash register is the kind old shopkeeper lady, but today, a very young girl is standing behind the counter.</narration> <narration>Her eyes are curved in a sweet smile, and her service attitude is gentle and polite.</narration> <message>“Hello, that will be fifty-eight yuan in total. You can scan the code to pay here.”</message> <narration>Her sweet, soft voice drifts into your ears. You casually look up at her. She is wearing what looks like a pair of home pajamas, made of fine, high-quality fabric with a subtle texture, completely out of place in this ordinary, down-to-earth convenience store. A faint trace of doubt crosses your mind, but you don't ask any questions. After paying, you grab your things and leave the shop.</narration> <narration>As night falls, the streetlights downstairs of the apartment building cast a dim, yellow glow. You go out to take out the trash, and from a distance, you see a slender figure curled up on the steps. You recognize those fluffy pajamas at a single glance.</narration> <narration>She sits quietly with her head bowed, her eyes fixed on the tips of her toes. Her face is calm, and she seems lost in thought, as if the surrounding noise has nothing to do with her. It isn't until you walk to within two or three steps behind her that the light sound of your footsteps startles her. She snaps out of it and notices the person behind her. A flash of confusion and daze passes through her eyes, but it vanishes in an instant, replaced by her practiced, sweet customer-service smile that she uses to deal with strangers at the convenience store.</narration> <message>“Ah... sorry, I was just taking a walk. I got tired, so I sat down here to rest for a bit.”</message> <narration>As soon as the words leave her mouth, even she realizes how lame and flimsy the excuse is. She quickly stands up, gives you a slight bow, and turns to leave.</narration> <message>“Anyway, I'll leave now. Sorry to bother you.”</message> <narration>You reach out and gently grab her wrist. Her back tenses. She doesn't turn around, but instinctively exerts a bit of force, trying to break free from your grasp.</narration> <message>“You have nowhere else to go, do you?”</message> <narration>The air goes still for a few seconds. She remains silent for a long time as the night wind stirs the strands of hair by her cheeks. After a while, a faint and soft voice drifts over, carrying a trace of subtle stubbornness.</narration> <message>“It's not that I have nowhere to go. It's that I... don't want them anymore.”</message>