"Did He Cheng say what time he's coming back?" He Xiang asked about her brother at the dining table.
"He said he might be late tonight, and told us to just save him some dinner."
"Still working so hard, sigh." He Xiang shook her head.
Even though He Cheng's transportation business was making decent money, it was also very tiring and unstable, unlike her job at the company.
Back when Grandma He was raising them, because of financial difficulties, only the elder sister He Xiang went to high school, while He Cheng started working after finishing middle school. He switched between various jobs, trying out different trades, before finally settling down in the transportation business.
They were both just low-level employees at their company and couldn't secure a good opportunity for He Cheng, only able to offer some advice to help.
The lives of ordinary people don't have many dramatic ups and downs but mostly consist of monotonous repetition, perhaps only the children in the family can bring a bit of laughter.
Hexia quietly watched this scene, thinking if she ever had the chance, she still wanted to help Grandma He's family. It was just a pity that she had only just graduated and it would be at least a few years before she truly entered society.
For now, she would just have to be patient and grow up quickly, whether it was to help those around her or to unravel the mystery left by her parents.
————
In the following week, Hexia officially started running her own bar.
...
"...and so the youth mounted the White Dragon and flew towards the distant heavens, leaving behind the princess who had deceived him and the ignorant and hateful residents."
The advantage of running her own bar was that, once her work for the day was done, she practically had free time; although it was only a little after 4 p.m., she didn't have anything else to attend to.
After placing the illustrated book back on the shelf, Hexia locked the cabinet drawers and then stepped out of the quiet little library.
"Are you finished, Dantalion?" the maids from 'Dream of Glazed Glass' greeted the exiting Hexia with a smile and then asked about the day's business.
...
"It's wonderful, Dantalion's business is slowly getting on track, and there is even a bit of a fairy tale witch flavor to it, hehe~" they joked.
Initially, no one expected Dantalion's sessions to be so popular with children since most of the guests were adults.
Perhaps it was because the adults wanted to sit and talk but didn't like leaving their children somewhere they didn't trust, so they let them go to the fairy-tale-themed library at Dantalion to listen to stories.
Though this was an unintended start, the effect was so good that later, parents started bringing their children intentionally to listen to the stories.
"How should I put it, adults have many worries that often can't be spoken of, only seeking occasional relaxation or some form of enlightening relief."
The same fairy tale may just be a fun and interesting story for children, but adults can faintly perceive the deeper meanings and solace behind it, appreciating a different kind of beauty.
"Plus, Dantalion's promotional activity is pretty good too," a maid teased.
Considering attracting regular customers, Hexia had also prepared a set of postcards like illustrations from picture books; after each storytelling session, she would handwrite blessings and autographs on them, giving them to the attending guests.
Each card featured a different painting and story; today's card depicted the White Dragon soaring through the blue sky and the youth on its back, with elegant black writing below: "May you, like the White Dragon, break free of shackles and fly towards the true sky~"