Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 28 Where the Lights Are Dim

That sound...

Chen Anran suddenly looked up, her gaze meeting a pair of eyes equally filled with astonishment.

Behind the checkout counter stood a young woman in a convenience store uniform. She was tall with long, jet-black hair, and even in her ordinary uniform, her delicate features were undeniable. However, her face was somewhat pale, and her eyes betrayed an undeniable weariness.

"Second Senior Sister?!" Chen Anran could hardly believe her eyes.

Found it? You ran into it so easily? In this unassuming convenience store?

Wei Qingyi was clearly shocked as well. Her hand, which was scanning the code, froze in mid-air, and she didn't bring it down for a long time. Her lips were slightly open, and she stared blankly at Chen Anran, who had suddenly appeared in front of her, as if she had seen a ghost.

"An...An Ran?! What are you doing here?!"

After a brief moment of shock, Chen Anran felt a surge of joy at having regained what she had lost, but this was quickly replaced by intense doubt and anger.

"I also want to ask you, Second Senior Sister!" Chen Anran suppressed her turbulent emotions, her tone urgent and reproachful, "What are you doing here? Why haven't you answered your phone or replied to your messages for so long? We were all so worried! We thought something had happened to you!"

Wei Qingyi snapped out of her daze, her eyes flickering slightly. She instinctively avoided Chen Anran's intense gaze, lowered her head, picked up the barcode scanner, and continued scanning the products, her movements somewhat flustered.

"I...I lost my phone a while ago and just got a replacement SIM card not long ago...I've been a bit busy with work, so I haven't had a chance to contact you..."

"Busy with work? So busy at the convenience store that you don't even have time to answer a phone call or reply to a message?" Chen Anran didn't believe this excuse at all. He stared intently at Wei Qingyi. "Second Senior Sister, what exactly happened to you? Don't hide it from us!"

Wei Qingyi pursed her lips, not answering immediately. She silently packed the scanned goods into a bag, then whispered, "That'll be twenty-eight yuan and fifty cents in total. Cash or scan?"

Seeing her clearly avoiding the issue, Chen Anran felt both anxious and pained. He knew that his second senior sister was stubborn and had a strong sense of self-respect; she must have encountered difficulties outside but refused to ask the sect for help.

He took a deep breath, knowing that now was not the time to ask questions, and took out his phone to pay.

"I live nearby, Second Senior Sister. What time do you get off work?" Chen Anran took the bag, her tone leaving no room for refusal. "I'll wait for you to get off work so we can talk."

Wei Qingyi glanced at the clock on the wall, then at Chen Anran's worried eyes. Knowing there was no way to avoid it, she sighed softly, her voice weary: "Half an hour left, we get off work at ten."

"Okay," Chen Anran nodded, "I'll wait for you outside."

He carried a small shopping bag and sat down on a bench in the rest area outside the convenience store. Through the glass window, he could see Wei Qingyi's busy figure behind the checkout counter, but that figure was no longer as upright and agile as he remembered when she was practicing martial arts on the mountain; instead, it exuded a weariness caused by the heavy burden of life.

Those half hour felt exceptionally long to Chen Anran. His mind was filled with all sorts of speculations and worries.

What exactly did Second Sister go through? Why did she end up working as a cashier at a convenience store?

When the clock struck ten, the shift change at the convenience store was complete. Wei Qingyi changed out of her work clothes and came out wearing a plain T-shirt and jeans that were a little faded from washing.

The cool night breeze ruffled her hair as she walked up to Chen Anran, her eyes filled with a complex mix of embarrassment at being caught in her predicament and deep weariness.

"Let's go," she asked softly, "Are you hungry?"

Chen Anran felt a pang of sadness seeing Wei Qingyi's feigned nonchalance. He didn't point it out, but simply stood up and nodded, "I'm a little hungry. Second Senior Sister, is there anything to eat around here?"

"There's a noodle shop at the intersection ahead; it should still be open at this hour," Wei Qingyi said, silently leading the way.

The noodle shop was nearly empty late at night, with only a few late-night diners.

The lights were dim, and the two found a corner to sit down and ordered two bowls of the most ordinary plain noodles.

The steaming noodles were served quickly, and the white steam swirled between the two of them, temporarily obscuring their expressions.

"Second Senior Sister," Chen Anran broke the silence, "can you tell me now? What exactly happened? Why are you working at a convenience store? Didn't you used to be an extra at the film studio?"

Wei Qingyi paused, her chopsticks still in her hand. She lowered her head, stirring the noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks, and after a while said, "The work of an extra... is unstable. Sometimes there are no scenes to film for many days in a row, and sometimes I have to go to several sets in a day."

Chen Anran chimed in, "So you found another part-time job at the convenience store?"

Wei Qingyi gave a soft "hmm" and still didn't look up.

Chen Anran could tell from her appearance that she was hiding something from him. In the past, whenever Wei Qingyi lied or had something on her mind, she would bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.

With a sigh, Chen Anran didn't press the matter and began to eat the noodles in her bowl with gusto.

For a moment, only the faint sounds of the two people eating noodles remained in the noodle shop.

Chen Anran finished his bowl of noodles in a few bites, put down his chopsticks, and quietly watched Wei Qingyi eating her noodles across from him. In the dim light, he could see more clearly the dark circles under her eyes and the lingering weariness between her brows.

Chen Anran spoke softly, "We are family. From childhood to adulthood, you, Senior Sister, and Third Sister have always taken care of me. Now that I am capable and the sect is starting to improve, we are no longer the Yunyin Sect that needed you to work hard outside to make money to survive."

Wei Qingyi's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.

Chen Anran continued, "Senior Sister's cultivation bottleneck has loosened, and she may soon break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Third Senior Sister and I dealt with an evil spirit incident together this time, and we made some money. The sect is currently undergoing renovations, and things will only get better in the future. Moreover, I have also entered the Qi Sensing stage."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Wei Qingyi abruptly raised her head, her eyes filled with disbelief: "You've mastered the art?"

"Hmm." Chen Anran nodded, stretched out his hand, and mobilized the faint spiritual power in his dantian. A slightly warm and almost imperceptible glow appeared on his fingertips. "Although it is still very weak, it is at least the first step."

Looking at the faint but real spiritual light, Wei Qingyi's eyes reddened slightly. "That's good..."

"So, Second Senior Sister," Chen Anran pressed on, her tone even gentler, "whatever difficulties you encounter, tell us, and we'll figure something out together. You don't need to bear it all alone. If Eldest Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister saw you like this, they'd be heartbroken."

A long silence stretched between the two. Wei Qingyi's shoulders shrugged slightly, as if she was trying her best to suppress her emotions.