"I guess I'll head back now; this is far enough for you to send me off."

Beichuan Lin stopped in her tracks, steadying her travel bag on her shoulder, and spoke to Beichuan Si and Beichuan Hui Li behind her.

She had just picked up her ticket and was about to go through security, so Beichuan Si and Beichuan Hui Li could only send her this far.

"Mommy Riri!" Beichuan Hui Li hugged Beichuan Lin, rubbing her little head against her chest, "I'm going to miss you! Have a safe trip!"

"Mhm." Beichuan Lin patted Beichuan Hui Li's head before turning her eyes to Beichuan Si, "Temple, remember to take good care of Hui Li. You two are siblings; you can't let her be wronged."

Beichuan Si responded to Beichuan Lin's words with an expressionless face, "No one besides me can bully Hui Li."

Cough, cough, cough, cough—

What does he mean 'besides me'?

Beichuan Lin coughed several times, then finally couldn't help but retort with irritation, "You can't bully Hui Li either!"

Beichuan Si seemed utterly indifferent to her words, simply saying, "Bon voyage."

"..." Beichuan Lin shook her head helplessly, "Forget it then."

Her voice paused, tinged with reluctance,

"Well, I'm heading out now, Temple, Hui Li."

"Mhm."

Following the responses of her children, Beichuan Lin no longer hesitated and turned to walk towards the security checkpoint.

Watching her figure disappear at the security checkpoint, Beichuan Si patted Beichuan Hui Li, and said calmly, "Hui Li, I've called a taxi for you. Take this money and go home first."

With that, Beichuan Si handed Beichuan Hui Li several banknotes.

"Uh... what are you going to do, Brother Temple?"

Beichuan Hui Li looked puzzled at Beichuan Si's actions.

"I've got some business to attend to, so I can't accompany you home."

Beichuan Si vaguely passed over the topic, clearly not wanting to explain to Beichuan Hui Li.

However, Beichuan Hui Li was accustomed to Beichuan Si leaving for various things, so she did not ask anything, just nodded vigorously and said,

"Then you must come back early, Brother Temple."

"I will."

Beichuan Si waved goodbye to Beichuan Hui Li, his expression unchanging.

After she got into the car, Beichuan Si exhaled and turned to look behind him.

Unbeknownst to him, two or three men in suits were already standing there.

The leading man in a suit approached, speaking respectfully,

"Mr. Beichuan, this way, please. We'll take you to the first location."

Beichuan Si did not hesitate, responding briefly before following them.

...

This was a small, quaint restaurant, or more accurately, a cozy, narrow diner. Its table settings could not be called refined, but the gleaming surfaces made it clear that the restaurant's owner had put in great effort.

The restaurant consisted of seven tables, each capable of seating four people. Since it wasn't the lunch hour for working people yet, the entire place was quite empty.

A middle-aged woman, wearing a navy blue server's apron and a white towel wrapped around her head, bustled between tables, wiping the already clean tables again and again with a cloth in her hand.

In such a setting, Beichuan Si entered the restaurant alone.

The bell over the door rang, and the middle-aged woman in the navy apron looked up, pulling a standard, customer-pleasing fake smile, "Welcome."

"Mhm." Beichuan Si responded briefly and found a corner to sit.

The middle-aged woman hustled to the counter to wash her hands, then quickly dried the water from her palms, before grabbing the menu and a hot towel and coming over to Beichuan Si.

The entire process took no more than fifteen seconds, showing that the middle-aged woman was well-accustomed to such tasks.

"Please use this." She placed the hot towel in front of Beichuan Si.

Then she opened the menu, displaying the contents to Beichuan Si—certainly considerate service.

Beichuan Si wiped his hands with the hot towel, then finally turned to look at the menu she was holding.

Mashed potatoes with stewed meat... Tempura... Tea-soaked rice...

The items on the menu were simple, mostly easy-to-make home-style dishes.

As for these dishes, Beichuan Si merely glanced over them, eventually focusing on one particular item on the menu.

Stir-fried wild vegetables.

Seeing Beichuan Si pause at this dish, the middle-aged waitress also timely said, "You've got good taste, sir. It just so happens to be the season for wild vegetables, and my husband went to a lot of trouble to get these."

In Japan, wild vegetables are actually quite popular, since these nutritious plants have become less common with the urbanization of modern life, and there are many people who want to eat such foods.

"That must have been tough." Beichuan Si nodded, showing a flicker of emotion, "Then I'll have a portion of the mashed potatoes with stewed meat and the stir-fried wild vegetables, with an extra serving of rice."

"Okay." The woman noted it down, then ran to the kitchen and called out.

Before long, steaming dishes of mashed potatoes with stewed meat and stir-fried wild vegetables were served.

"Enjoy your meal," said the female server, extending her hand.

After saying that, she turned to get busy with her own work.

But before she could get much done, she heard the sound of a camera clicking from behind her.

Taking pictures secretly?

The middle-aged waitress turned her head instinctively.

She saw Beichuan Si holding his phone, taking a picture of the stir-fried wild vegetables in front of him.

What's he doing?

She blinked, not understanding, then realizing it might be impolite, she bowed her head, pretending not to care, and continued with her work.

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