"Did He Cheng say what time he''sing back?" He Xiang asked about her brother at the dining table.


    "He said he might bete 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 thepany.


    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 theirpany 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 ofughter.


    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."


    "There would be no more salvation, no more redemption; when the darkness descended a second time, no sword-wielding hero would sh through thorns to save this fallen kingdom."


    "Tears became the sea ofment, people drank the bitter fruit of past deceptions and shortsightedness, and creeping monsters submerged the entire kingdom, sinking it into the abyss of bitterness and salt."


    The story slowly came to an end, and the lights in the room gradually brightened. The young girl sitting on a chair that resembled a blooming trellis slowly closed the book, the lingering sounds of the tale seeming to echo in everyone''s ears.


    A round of apuse followed, not fiery, but filled with genuine admiration, touched by the depth of the story, as if entranced.


    The small library''s audience was about a dozen people, half of them children.


    After closing up for the day, Hexia was surrounded by children asking for autographed cards, their parents looking on with satisfaction.


    "I got my third autograph card from Sister Dantalion!" a child proudly held up the card featuring the White Dragon and the youth, beaming with joy.


    "I''m going to collect all 12 cards and disy them," said a few more children happily running back to their parents after getting their cards.


    "That''s it for today''s session, thank you all for listening~"


    Finally, Hexia, holding an illustrated book, bowed to the audience in the library before the curtain slowly closed.


    After everyone in the small library had left, Hexia began rearranging the scattered chairs and waited for the cleaning robot at her feet to automatically vacuum up the dust and food scraps.


    Sitting in the tall chair, she was about to lean back and nap when a small snake head peeked out from behind her.


    "Okay, don''t disturb me now." Hexia took the little snake that had been rubbing against her ear down, ced it in her arms, and then continued to close her eyes for a short rest.


    So, after about half an hour''s nap, once the cleaning robot had tidied up the floor and chairs, she leapt down from the tall stool.


    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 cing the illustrated book back on the shelf, Hexia locked the cab drawers and then stepped out of the quiet little library.


    "Are you finished, Dantalion?" the maids from ''Dream of zed ss'' 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 vor to it, hehe~" they joked.


    Initially, no one expected Dantalion''s sessions to be so popr 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 thatter, 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 asional rxation 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 sce behind it, appreciating a different kind of beauty.


    "Plus, Dantalion''s promotional activity is pretty good too," a maid teased.


    Considering attracting regr 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 ck writing below: "May you, like the White Dragon, break free of shackles and fly towards the true sky~"