{The Dollar tree store 2}

However, from the moment they walked into The Dollar Tree store, Qian Xu immediately sensed something was wrong. Perhaps it was the shortage of living supplies around them, making the small supermarket particularly crowded today. Foreigners often had a certain odor about them, even if they used a lot of antiperspirant beads, the smell couldn’t be completely masked.

After turning on the heating indoors, this smell became even more intense.

Qian Xu noticed the despondency in Shen Qiyue’s expression.

“Alright, Let’s do it this way” Qian Xu couldn’t bear to see Shen Qiyue suffer in a place she didn’t like and endure the torment of this smell, so she waved her hand and arranged for Shen Qiyue and Shen Qinan, who had run over, to stay outside the store, “I’ll go in and buy things first, you two wait for me at the entrance, don’t wander around, okay?”

The two children nodded unanimously.

At this moment, no one mentioned accompanying Qian Xu. After all, going inside meant enduring a long line, and no one cared that Qian Xu had allergic rhinitis. They never noticed Qian Xu’s so-called sacrifice, nor did they ever think it was a sacrifice. It was simply assumed that purchasing things for the home was Qian Xu’s responsibility.

The two children found it boring waiting in the snowy weather.

Shen Qinan suggested they have a snowball fight.

He grabbed a handful of snow from a silver Chevrolet nearby, but before he could mold it into a snowball, Shen Qiyue immediately rejected the idea, “The snow here isn’t very clean, and there are people coming and going. I don’t want to dirty my jacket.”

The logo of Canada Goose was shaking on the girl’s arm as she spoke.

Shen Qinan: “You are being overly dramatic.”

Facing his sister’s dampening of spirits, Shen Qinan angrily threw the incomplete snowball he held in his hand at a nearby spot, muttering, “Girls are so dramatic. If you really don’t want to come, no one is forcing you to join us.”

“Isn’t it because you wanted to go out with her?”

That round, chubby face had long lost the politeness it had when Qian Xu was present, and her features instantly became as cold as ice.

Shen Qiyue was truly upset. Originally, she had the upper hand today. If her brother hadn’t hesitated to go out with Qian Xu and chose to leave her behind, Qian Xu would probably have stayed at home with her. She wouldn’t have had to go out in this cold weather, nor would she have to stand at the entrance of this low-end store, watching the constant flow of people passing by.

Shen Qinan fell silent.

His face darkened in the bright daylight.

He and his sister stood at the entrance of the Dollar Tree store, each with their backs turned to the other, seemingly in a standoff.

In the past, Qian Xu would have been anxious seeing this scene. She felt like there was an old, aging version of herself inside her, hoping for family harmony all day long, just like all the older generations. She never wanted any conflicts between the siblings.

But today, the queue was exceptionally long, and she couldn’t leave to comfort the two children. Restarting the line would mean spending even more time. She had to continue waiting in her queue. The African American lady in front of her sneezed and started praying again, but she couldn’t hear anything.

She just hoped the line would move faster so she could resolve the issue between the two children as soon as possible.

However, reality contradicted her expectations. The efficiency of the people in front was extremely low, and after half an hour, the line still showed no signs of moving forward. She realized someone had cut in line.

Her increasingly anxious gaze turned to the children outside.

They were just like usual, arguing, but they always made up after a quarrel.

However, she saw an unrealistic shadow on these two small, wobbly figures –

In the illusion, Shen Qiyue and Shen Qinan stood dryly just like they were today, but Shen Qinan’s attitude was far from firm. He seemed like he was about to be broken through by his sister’s aggression, wanting to compromise.

The two children seemed more mature than they were today.

The older Shen Qiyue earnestly said to her brother, “What can I do? We have to convince Mom to join this variety show. You should think of a way now.”

“You mean I should go find Qian Xu and use her so Mom will agree to participate in the parent-child variety show with us?”

“It’s not exactly using her,” the little adult Shen Qiyue said with a touch of playfulness, “but if you go find Qian Xu, our mom might be stimulated a little. In that case, she might agree to go with us…”

When Shen Qiyue’s words mentioned Qian Xu, her expression was almost expressionless; but when she mentioned her biological mother, Cheng Shuangyi, her eyes lit up –

Craving for that distant maternal love.

And the once resolute Shen Qinan wavered completely.

He said, “Alright, I’ll try finding Qian Xu and see how Mom reacts.”

The illusion dissipated.

In reality, they were not seven or eight-year-old children, and all of this seemed like an impossible dream. But no matter what, Qian Xu couldn’t console herself. She didn’t understand if this was a hint from the heavens, a clear omen, or just her own fear-induced anxiety?

She sighed softly but had to admit that she could easily become a tool for their manipulation at any moment.