Late-night convenience store
At two in the morning, the warm yellow light of the convenience store flowed like melted butter across the cold, hard shelves. When Jiang Yizhou rushed to the cashier with two buckets of instant noodles, Chen Yu was counting coins, his fingertips flicking back and forth between the "50 cents" and "1 yuan" notes.
"Working overtime again?" Jiang Yizhou placed the instant noodles on the counter, and the bottles collided with each other, making a crisp sound. Chen Yu looked up, and the dark circles under his eyes were darker than the cuttlefish balls on the shelf.
"Yeah, we're rushing to finish the project." Chen Yu pushed the coins into the cash drawer. The drawer snapped shut, like a taut string snapping. He pointed to a seat in the corner and said, "Wait until I take over."
Jiang Yizhou didn't move. Instead, he fished something wrapped in tinfoil from his pocket. When he unwrapped it, white steam rose from it—it was a freshly baked sugar cake, still scented with osmanthus. "Your mom asked me to bring this to you. She said you loved it when you were a kid."
Chen Yu picked up the candy cake, his fingertips shrinking from the heat. When he bit into it, the sugary juice numbed the tip of his tongue, but the sweet fragrance flowed down his throat, warming his eyes. He suddenly remembered that during evening study sessions in high school, Jiang Yizhou would always climb over the wall to buy this candy cake. When he came back, his school uniform was covered in grass debris, and he would stuff the paper package into his hand and lie on the table pretending to sleep, snoring when the teacher called on him.
"Oh, right," Jiang Yizhou suddenly pulled out a Rubik's Cube from his backpack, with all six sides already in place. "Last time you said you wanted to play the three-level cube, I've been practicing for half a month."
Chen Yu looked up and saw a small sticky note stuck to the Rubik's Cube. It was written by Jiang Yizhou in crooked handwriting: "The solution is written in the notebook on page 3. If you don't understand, ask me. Don't stay up late to figure it out on your own."
The edges of the sticky note were frayed, clearly having been rubbed many times. Chen Yu suddenly smiled and passed the cake to him: "Try it? Your mother's cooking skills have improved again."
When Jiang Yizhou bit down, the sugar splattered on his chin, like a star that hadn't been wiped clean. Chen Yu pulled out a tissue and handed it to him, brushing her fingertips against his skin. They both froze. The rain outside the window had started falling at some point, pelting the glass and blurring the city lights into a blurry patch of light.
"It's time for a shift change!" A colleague came out of the lounge yawning and patted Shen Yu on the shoulder. "Xiao Shen, hurry up and go. Jiang Yizhou has been waiting for you for half an hour."
Jiang Yizhou had already opened the instant noodles, and when the hot water poured down, the aroma instantly spread. Chen Yu took off his work clothes and put on his own coat. He zipped it up halfway when Jiang Yizhou reached out and held it down: "Let me do it."
His fingertips brushed across the side of his neck, carrying the sweetness of candied cakes and the warmth of instant noodles. Chen Yu lowered his head and saw their shadows huddled close together on the floor, like a tree with two heads.
"Let's go," Jiang Yizhou picked up his backpack and stuffed a bucket of instant noodles to Chen Yu, "Let's go back and soak them. They won't taste good if they get cold."
The rain was still falling. Jiang Yizhou tilted his umbrella towards Chen Yu, and half of his shoulder was quickly soaked. Chen Yu wanted to push the umbrella back, but he held her hand. "Don't move," Jiang Yizhou's voice was mixed with the sound of rain, a little muffled, "It's okay to get wet. You still have to go to work tomorrow."
The lights of the convenience store were left behind, and raindrops fell along the edge of the umbrella, splashing small water on the edge of the shoes. Chen Yu squeezed the warm instant noodle bucket and suddenly felt that the fatigue of overtime and the trivialities of life seemed to be wrapped in the warm steam of the instant noodles, slowly becoming less important.
When they reached the alley entrance, Jiang Yizhou suddenly stopped and said, "By the way, I have a competition next week. Are you coming?"
"What game?"
"Speed cube solving." Jiang Yizhou scratched his head, the tips of his ears reddening. "I just... wanted you to see how well I've practiced."
Chen Yu looked at his bangs wet by the rain and suddenly laughed out loud: "Okay, but if you lose you have to treat me to some sweet cakes."
On a rainy night, Jiang Yizhou's laughter was hotter than the steam from instant noodles: "Even if you win, it's a treat! All you can eat!"
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