Dongding Oolong

Chapter 16: Dongding Oolong

Shen Qingci's perspective

Winter abroad comes early and is very cold.

Shen Qingci wrapped her coat tightly around her and walked quickly from the library back to her dormitory. The streetlights stretched her shadow very long, making her look a little lonely.

Over the past six months, she has spent almost all of her time in the library and studio. The work of restoring ancient books is tedious and meticulous, requiring immense patience and concentration. She is grateful for such a job that allows her to immerse herself and temporarily forget everything back home.

In her dormitory, there is a small electric kettle and a simple tea set. These are what she brought from China and are her only connection with the past.

Tonight, she brewed Dongding Oolong, a high mountain tea from Taiwan with a delicate aroma, mellow taste, and a unique "cold fragrance."

Hot water poured into the purple clay teapot, and the tea leaves slowly unfurled in the water. She watched the rising steam, and her thoughts drifted back to the "Wanxiang Tea House." She remembered her grandmother's warm smile, Gu Yanchen's focused gaze on his tea, and those sunny afternoons.

Her heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by something, causing it to ache in waves.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see Yanchen, she just didn't dare to think about him. She deleted the contact information just to force herself to stop thinking about him. She was afraid that if she contacted him, all her persistence would crumble.

She didn't know how Gu Yanchen was doing now, whether the cultural tourism project was going smoothly, and whether he had... thought about her.

Once, at an international tea culture exchange exhibition, she saw an old purple clay teapot identical to the one in Wanxiang Tea House. She stood there, staring at it for a long time, and almost cried.

She knew she would never forget him. The teahouse was her root, and Gu Yanchen had unknowingly become the deepest concern in her heart.

She picked up the teacup and took a sip. The sweetness of the Dongding Oolong spread in her mouth, but it couldn't dispel the chill and longing in her heart.

She pulled out her phone and pulled out a photo she'd secretly saved of her and Gu Yanchen in the tea garden. They were smiling so happily in the photo. She gently stroked Gu Yanchen's face in the photo with her fingers and whispered, "Yanchen, I miss you so much."

But he would never hear these words again. At least not now.