A tremendous sense of panic washed over Hu Qian. Through the eyes of the bulky Xiong Er costume, she saw Liu Chen walking towards her, her eyes widening in disbelief. Her legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
She had imagined countless scenarios of meeting Liu Chen again, but this was absolutely not one of them.
Hu Qian could even hear the sound of her own swallowing.
"Gulp."
Then, she saw Liu Chen stop in front of her, smile, and ask:
"Hello, I wanted to ask, is the shelf for the Mei Mei brand empty, or hasn't it been stocked yet?"
Hu Qian swallowed again, then licked her lips. She could even hear her own heartbeat:
"Thump, thump, thump, thump."
Hu Qian, still wearing the hood, finally pursed her lips tightly and shook her head, indicating she didn't know.
"You don't know?"
Seeing Liu Chen's confused expression standing before her, a sense of excitement inexplicably arose in Hu Qian's heart.
You want to know? I won't tell you!
—
Liu Chen looked at the clearly stiff Xiong Er in front of her, feeling a bit suspicious. She had worn mascot costumes before. Although they were cumbersome, moving inside allowed for ventilation.
It was actually quite stuffy for Xiong Er to stand there so still.
However, there was no need for someone who knew her to pretend not to. After all, among the people in Beijing, aside from Hu Qian, everyone else was her classmate, relative, or friend.
Meanwhile, "Xiong Da," who was promoting toy cars diagonally opposite Hu Qian, heard Liu Chen's question. She had expected Hu Qian to answer, but saw the girl was too shy to speak.
As no children were passing by her stall, she quickly beckoned and said:
"I know, I know! That shelf was changed today, but it sold so well! The sister in charge of restocking this area has been swamped today!"
Hearing Xiong Da at the toy shelf, Liu Chen walked over.
"Is that so, sister? Do you happen to know around what time the shelf was changed today?"
Xiong Da heard the detailed question and, having worked in the supermarket for two to three years, immediately realized that this seemingly elegant customer was actually from the manufacturer doing research!
At the very least, she was someone hired by the supermarket to assess employee performance! This had happened before; during the Lunar New Year, people would come and pretend to be customers, asking all sorts of questions.
If they answered carefully and were considerate to customers, they would receive commendations from the head office and extra bonuses.
Thinking of this, 'Xiong Da' became energized.
"I know, I know! It was changed at eight o'clock this morning, before we even opened. After clearing the old stock, it was this child, Xiao Qian, who wiped the shelf clean. This child is diligent. As for the toy bear employee opposite me,
After she finished cleaning, the warehouse staff helped stock the first batch of goods before we opened at nine-thirty. They brought several boxes. Our manager has good judgment. Once these goods were stocked, right after opening.
There was no need for promotions. Customers passing by didn't even look at the price; they just took two or three bags at a time."
Liu Chen stood in front of 'Xiong Da' and listened. When she heard the name Xiao Qian, the confusion in her heart gradually cleared.
To confirm, and to avoid mistaking someone, Liu Chen tilted her head slightly and asked 'Xiong Da': "And Xiao Qian, who is she?"
'Xiong Da' heard this. When would an ordinary customer ask for an employee's name? It had to be someone from the manufacturer or head office!
Thinking about how unfortunate Hu Qian was, having nowhere to go during the Lunar New Year, if the head office or manufacturer knew how diligent this child was, it would be good if she received a bonus during the holiday!
With this thought, 'Xiong Da' quickly replied:
"It's Hu Qian. Hu from 'Gu Yue Hu', Qian from 'Qian Nü You Hun'. It's a very easy name to remember!"
'Xiong Da's voice was always loud, as she had to project over the sounds of promoting toys in her bulky costume, otherwise, the children wouldn't hear her.
And so...
'Xiong Da', who was about to wave for Hu Qian to introduce herself, looked up and saw that 'Xiong Er' standing opposite her had started to sway from side to side.
"Hey! Hu Qian! Hu Qian!"
'Xiong Da' practically took three steps at once, crossing the supermarket aisle and using her costume body to support 'Xiong Er' who was falling backward.
"Help! She's probably suffering from heatstroke!"
Liu Chen hesitated. She felt that if she went to help, Hu Qian's 'heatstroke' might worsen.
In a daze, Liu Chen looked at Hu Qian, who had collapsed onto 'Xiong Da's' legs. The image of herself wearing a mascot costume and handing out flyers outside a bookstore in her past life flashed through her mind.
The temperature then was much hotter than inside the current supermarket.
As if by fate, retribution for retribution, what she had done standing beside him in her past life, she was now experiencing something similar in this life.
With this thought, Liu Chen no longer looked at Hu Qian, who was lying on the ground surrounded by staff, and instead turned to Ren Yu and said:
"Let's go. Aren't we still supposed to deliver snacks to your friends?"
Ren Yu glanced at Hu Qian, who was lying on the ground, her hood now removed, revealing her sweat-drenched face.
Then, without looking back, she pushed the cart and quickly followed Liu Chen's pace.
Hu Qian watched the two leave and finally let out a sigh of relief. As she exhaled, she felt a stinging pain above her upper lip.
"Hiss..."
Hu Qian couldn't help but reach up and touch the spot. The moment she touched it, the pain brought tears directly to her eyes. As tears flowed, the accumulated grievances, anger, and helplessness of this period seemed to open a floodgate.
Liu Chen had heard her name, but Liu Chen had done nothing.
Because Liu Chen disdained to.
As she understood this, Hu Qian was sitting in the changing room, holding the glass cup that 'Xiong Da'
Big sister had given her, filled with warm goji berries.
At this moment, a female employee of similar age to Hu Qian arrived late to change into her work uniform. She saw Hu Qian sitting blankly on the chair, having heard that she had almost suffered heatstroke earlier.
She offered a few words of concern and then couldn't help but excitedly share gossip with her peers.
"Qian Qian, let me tell you, when I was upstairs earlier, I saw a very elegant couple. The woman was wearing and carrying all luxury items, and the man too. The watch on his wrist, I saw it in a magazine. That brand must be at least tens of thousands.
I thought the woman had caught a sugar daddy, but guess what?"
Hu Qian held the glass cup in both hands, but her mind involuntarily conjured images of Liu Chen and that young man.
The young man was very handsome, even the most handsome she had ever seen. However, the look he gave her at the end, Hu Qian still felt a pang in her heart when she recalled it.
The female employee didn't wait for Hu Qian to respond and finished her story with a chuckle:
"Haha! Turns out that man was a gigolo! He bought a 400,000 pure gold Maitreya Buddha, and he swiped it on the woman's card!"
"Hey! Hey! Someone! Qian Qian has fainted again!"