Chapter 25
In the days that followed, Lin Xiaotang forced herself to devote all her energy to the coffee shop. She used busyness to numb herself, from preparing to open the shop in the early morning to closing and settling in late at night, exhausting herself like a spinning top, as if only in this way could she temporarily forget the emptiness in her heart that had been brutally ripped out and the dull pain that lingered day and night.
She smiled at the guests and chatted with Xiaowei, but there was always a lingering weariness and dazedness in her eyes. Xiaowei noticed that something was wrong with her and asked her carefully a few times, but she always brushed it off with "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."
However, his forced spirit could not ultimately conceal his inner turmoil and disorientation.
That afternoon, a sudden commotion sowed the seeds of disaster. A batch of fresh milk had just arrived and needed to be refrigerated immediately. Xiao Wei was frantically organizing the freezer when she grabbed a small bottle of whipping cream that she had discovered had expired a few days earlier and placed it in the corner of the work surface, intending to throw it away later. Just then, a customer came in to place an order, and Xiao Wei responded briefly before rushing off to her work, completely forgetting about the bottle.
A while later, Lin Xiaotang came over to get the materials. Her eyes swept over the worktable, and when she saw the bottle of cream, her mind was preoccupied with other orders. Subconsciously, she put it back in the refrigerator along with several unopened bottles of fresh cream next to it. Her actions were completely mechanical; her mind was not on it at all.
This seemingly insignificant yet potentially fatal mistake.
A few days later, the Market Supervision Administration's routine inspection arrived without warning. The inspectors meticulously examined every ingredient, record, and hygiene condition. When the bottle of expired cream that had been mistakenly put back was accurately found, Lin Xiaotang's face instantly turned ashen.
"Boss, what's going on?" The inspector's expression turned serious.
Xiao Wei was stunned. She hurriedly tried to explain that she had taken it out and forgotten to throw it away, but the record was incomplete, and her explanation was weak and unconvincing. Lin Xiaotang stopped her, all her explanations stuck in her throat. She knew that a mistake was a mistake, and the negligence in management was a fact.
The fine was issued quickly: using expired food ingredients, a fine of 5,000 yuan, and an order to suspend business for one month.
After the inspector left, the shop fell into a deathly silence. Five thousand yuan was undoubtedly a further blow to "Corner," which was already suffering losses due to its closure. A month-long shutdown was an even more devastating setback. Rent, utilities, basic employee salaries… these were all heavy burdens.
Xiao Wei cried with guilt, repeatedly saying, "It's all my fault." Lin Xiaotang waved her hand wearily, her voice hoarse: "It's not your fault, I didn't check properly. Go back first, don't come tomorrow... take a month off."
As night fell, Lin Xiaotang was the last to leave. She carefully locked the shop door, looked at the "Temporarily Closed" sign, and a huge sense of powerlessness and despair finally shattered the facade she had maintained for so many days.
She wandered aimlessly, like an empty shell. Before she knew it, she had arrived at that familiar street corner basketball court.
A gentle evening breeze blew, and several teenagers were jogging and shooting at the court. The sound of basketballs hitting the ground echoed loudly in the quiet night.
It was here... not long after that stormy night, that he kissed her for the first time.
The thrill, sweetness, shyness, and the illusion of having grasped happiness at that time, when recalled now, are like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting into her heart, causing excruciating pain.
All the grievances, anger, shame of being deceived, confusion about the future, and the sudden and enormous predicament before her... all the emotions erupted like a flash flood, instantly breaking down her last defenses.
She could no longer hold on, and slowly squatted down, burying her face deep in her knees, her shoulders trembling violently. Suppressed, broken sobs escaped her throat, starting as low whimpers and quickly turning into uncontrollable wailing. She cried like a lost child, helpless and desperate, as if trying to release all the pain and pressure of the past few weeks with her tears.
Tears blurred my vision, and the world was left with only a chaotic sadness.
Just then, a long shadow, pulled by the streetlight, gently covered her huddled figure and blocked her view.
The crying stopped abruptly.
Lin Xiaotang seemed to realize something, her sobs choking in her throat, and she slowly, very slowly, raised her head.
Tears blurred her vision, but she could still clearly make out the familiar silhouette standing in front of her, blocking the light.
Percy stood there.
He wasn't wearing a suit, just a simple dark sweater. He seemed a bit thinner, with stubble on his chin and obvious signs of fatigue and travel on his face. But his deep eyes were fixed on her with a complex and unwavering gaze.
His eyes held concern, pain, deep guilt, and a heavy yet unwavering determination that she couldn't decipher.
A night breeze swept by, carrying the chill of late autumn, drying the tear stains on her face and bringing a cold, stinging pain.
The two of them, one squatting and the other standing, stood a step apart on the edge of the empty basketball court, silently gazing at each other.
It felt like an eternity had passed.
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