My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

The news of the reopening of the Half Sugar Dessert Shop spread like wildfire within the industry.

This store has been open in Beicheng for almost ten years and has long been one of the most eye-catching landmarks on this street. It's not because the storefront is particularly grand, but because no matter when you pass by, there's always a long queue in front of it.

Now that the news of the reopening has been released, old customers seem to have made a pact to come back from all directions, and the place is packed every day, with the queue often stretching to the street corner.

Although there are many people, the amount of food produced each day is limited. Sometimes, people at the end of the line finally manage to get to the counter only to find that the display case is already empty. They can only sigh and say they will come back tomorrow.

Even so, people still lined up even earlier the next day, as if it were an unspoken understanding that this store was worth the wait.

"Here's your mousse, please take it." Su Qing smiled and handed over the packaged paper bag, the curve of her lips perfectly placed.

A woman in her forties stood in front of the counter, dressed in a well-tailored business suit, with exquisite but understated makeup.

She's a regular customer of Half Sugar. She used to be a department manager in the office building next door, and she would come to the store almost every afternoon to sit for a while, order a latte with a slice of mousse or tiramisu, without fail.

Later, Bantang closed down, she changed companies, moved her office to the south of the city, and never came to this street again.

I saw a message forwarded by a former colleague on WeChat Moments today, so I drove over during my lunch break.

"Time flies, it's been more than two years already." She took the paper bag, glanced down at the neatly packaged dessert box inside, then looked up at Su Qing, her eyes filled with undisguised emotion. "I thought Half Sugar wouldn't open again, but I didn't expect you to be the first to come back, Xiao Qing."

Su Qing smiled and nodded gently.

She knew that the aunt genuinely liked the shop, so she didn't explain the twists and turns in the middle, and simply said that she would come often when she had time.

Looking at Su Qing's face, which was almost unchanged from her memory, the aunt couldn't help but sigh... Indeed, eating sweets makes people happy, and happiness makes people look younger. This girl, Xiao Qing, is still exactly the same as before after all these years, as if time has forgotten to move on her.

She sighed enviously, said nothing more, picked up the paper bag, and turned to leave.

It wasn't that she didn't want to sit and eat slowly in the store like before, but when she was queuing, she glanced at the store and saw that all the booths were full, and there wasn't a single empty seat on the bar stools by the window.

She walked out of the store and glanced back at the familiar wooden signboard. She took out her phone and snapped a photo, including her takeout box in the frame. She then posted it on her WeChat Moments with the caption: "More than two years later, it's still so popular."

After she posted this, many of her friends liked and commented on it. Some asked for the address, and others were surprised that the store had reopened.

Unbeknownst to her, this message was also seen by another person on her friend list. If she knew that her WeChat friend, the wife of the chairman of the Cheng Group, who never even replied to New Year's greetings in a group chat, was still using this account, she would probably be speechless with surprise.

Sun Yaqin was leaning back in the car seat, on her way back from the hospital.

The street scene outside the car window gradually transitioned from a quiet courtyard to a bustling commercial street. She leaned back in her seat, rubbed her temples, and casually opened her WeChat Moments to see if there was anything interesting today.

Then she saw the photos: the familiar wooden storefront, the familiar warm yellow lighting, and the familiar handwritten logo printed on the packaging box.

Her thumb hovered over the screen, zooming in on the storefront photo and then zooming out, looking at it repeatedly. Then she looked at the caption, "It's been more than two years."

More than two years have passed, and the figure who used to wear an apron and bustle around in this shop is no longer there.

She typed a message under that post on WeChat Moments, then deleted it after thinking about it. She just wanted the driver to stop by when he passed by, as she wanted to go in and take something home.

The driver responded and turned at the intersection ahead.

Sun Yaqin had just put her phone down, and before the memories of the shop and the person in her mind could even take shape, her phone rang.

She glanced down at the caller ID, rolled her eyes, and slammed her phone face down on the seat, not wanting to answer.

But the ringing was like a death knell, ringing and stopping repeatedly, and even the driver in the front seat couldn't help but glance at it in the rearview mirror.

She accepted it in the end.

Before she could even utter the word "feed," the other end of the receiver launched into a barrage of questions.

"Mom! Please help me just this once! I'm so close to getting Xiaomei's contact information. She lives in Anhe Community, and I've even figured out what time she leaves every day. I just need a chance encounter. Please have pity on your son!"

Sun Yaqin held the phone further away, rubbed her ears which were numb from the vibration, and felt her head start to ache again.

She didn't know what was wrong with her youngest son lately. He seemed to be possessed, constantly hovering around that girl named Xiaomei. He would call her for help every few days, saying things like his flowers were returned, he was stood up when he invited her to dinner, and even when they finally got each other's contact information, she wouldn't reply to his messages at all.

The girl clearly wasn't interested in him, but he just kept getting frustrated and started messing with his own mother when he couldn't handle things himself.

"Get lost." Sun Yaqin didn't say anything more, only replying with a single word.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Cheng Xiaoyu's sobs grew louder than before, filled with the heart-wrenching sorrow of being abandoned by his own mother: "Mom! I know you must have gone to the hospital to consult a psychologist for Xiaoran again. Your son has called so many times, but you didn't answer. You're the first to rush to help with Xiaoran's affairs, but you should also care about your own son! Otherwise, if our Cheng family line ends, who will inherit the Cheng family assets?!"

"Your brother." Sun Yaqin's voice was still in that unhurried tone, as if she were saying that the weather was nice today.

"What if my brother can't be cured? You know he's recently become obsessed with that young master of the Gu family, following him around all the time. In the end, won't it be your youngest son's son, your own grandson, who inherits his fortune?!"

Sun Yaqin leaned back in her chair, a mocking smile playing on her lips. Her tone was full of distrust as she slowly said, "Don't worry, just because you two can't do it doesn't mean others can't. I can give the assets to Xiaoran. If she doesn't want them, I'll donate them. Anyway, the money your father and I earned is just sitting there, better than letting you two spendthrifts squander it."

The person on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned by what she said. After several seconds of silence, she burst into an incredulous wail: "Mom! Tell me honestly, isn't Jiang Xiaoran your real mother...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Yaqin hung up the phone.

She skillfully swiped through her contacts, deleted the contact, and blocked the number in one smooth motion.

Then she flipped her phone over and placed it face down on her lap, leaned back in her chair, let out a long sigh, and a satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

"That felt great," she said.