Chapter 37 Rachel
The next morning, Shen Xiyu struggled to get up early. She and Chen Ningzhou had an appointment to study in a cafe today.
After meeting Chen Ningzhou, the two took a taxi to the coffee shop, which was not close to them.
This shop was discovered by chance by Shen Xiyu during one of his sketching trips. It is a small shop hidden in an alley, and the owner is an uncle whose age cannot be determined.
According to him, he used to be in the film industry when he was young, but he squandered all his money and didn't make any famous films, so he returned to his hometown and opened this weird shop. It sells cocktails at night and coffee during the day. It has two cabinets of books and can be used as a bookstore. It also shows movies from time to time, turning it into a private cinema. However, you have to listen to the boss's opinion on what to watch.
Shen Xiyu actually got along very well with the boss, and it seemed like they were close friends regardless of age.
The car turned a corner and stopped in front of a store called "Rachel's".
Once, Shen Xiyu asked him why he chose such a name. Was it because he liked the heroine in "Friends"? The boss was chiseling ice, and when he heard this, he looked up and thought about it.
"I've gotten older, so I've forgotten a bit. I think I had this person in my mind when I was 20. I couldn't quite pronounce her name, and I couldn't quite describe her image. I was struggling over whether to give her an English or Chinese name. In the end, I decided to go with something that blended Chinese and Western, and called her Rachel."
Chen Xiyu chuckled after hearing this. "Why do you care if Rachel is a blend of Chinese and Western?"
"So what?" The boss lowered his head and chiseled his ice.
"You can't remember the name or you don't dare to remember the name." Shen Xiyu teased him.
"Get lost."
“…”
*
Chen Ningzhou arrived at the place and woke up Shen Xiyu who seemed to be asleep.
He had only been here twice with Shen Xiyu. Sometimes it was not convenient for them to study or chat in the library, so Shen Xiyu brought him here. There were fewer people and it was quieter. The layout of the store was also pleasing to the eye. However, it was not close to their city, so it was troublesome to come here.
"It's been a long time since I came here." The boss looked up at the two people who pushed the door in.
"Uncle Guan, if I don't come, will you have no business?" Shen Xiyu walked straight to a sofa where he usually sat.
There were never many people in the store during the day, but Shen Xiyu once stayed here until eleven o'clock and found that the cocktails sold unexpectedly well in the evening. Everyone crowded in front of the projector, watching the black and white film selected by the uncle. Some people came in and out, but no one would yell to change the film. Even new customers who came in without knowing why would inexplicably sit down with a group of strangers, order a glass of wine and watch a movie with no beginning or end.
Uncle Guan always says that this is the charm of alcohol and the charm of movies.
He put the ground coffee into the machine and brewed it. "I squeezed a few dollars out of your mouth, little girl."
This is true. Although Shen Xiyu didn't tell Uncle Guan during those difficult months, he should have sensed it himself, so he never took money from Shen Xiyu. Sometimes she didn't order anything, but just came here to sit, and Uncle Guan would also serve her drinks.
"Why do you make me sound like a stingy person?" Shen Xiyu didn't take his words to heart at all. As he spoke, he took out the Wu San from his messenger bag.
Chen Ningzhou sat on a shorter stool next to him. He was tall, and sitting on the same level as Shen Xiyu made his back bent uncomfortably.
"Should we teach you two now or later?" Uncle Guan knew that they were busy with their review, so he asked before they started.
"I'm fine with anything." Chen Ningzhou saw the inquiring look from Shen Xiyu. He had originally come to accompany Shen Xiyu to find a comfortable place to review, not really to drink coffee, so naturally he didn't care much about these things.
"Uncle Guan, if you need me later, I'll do it myself." Shen Xiyu shouted to the man on the stage.
"You made this?" Chen Ningzhou uncapped the pen. "Is it drinkable?"
"I used to research new products here every day." Shen Xiyu raised his eyebrows, "Don't underestimate me."
Uncle Guan's voice came from not far away, "Yes, studying every day is not a drink for humans."
“…”
"Your choice is slow."
Both of them are very efficient once they start learning.
"I didn't have time to do the last big question at the end." Shen Xiyu pointed out his shortcomings.
"Okay, I'll try to speed it up."
“…”
"Send me a copy of this mind map." Chen Ningzhou pointed to the page on her tablet.
“…”
“Isn’t this question too time-consuming to solve in this way?”
“…”
The sky outside changed from blue and white to a dull orange-yellow hue in an instant. Someone had turned on the light above their heads, at some point.
Uncle Guan went from grinding coffee beans to reading out of boredom, and now he is chatting with an old friend who came to the store after get off work.
"Look, kids, you're so energetic." He pointed at the two people who had been sitting there motionless for the entire afternoon.
The woman sitting outside the bar followed his finger and looked at Shen Xiyu and Chen Ningzhou who were lowering their heads.
"Lao Guan, I was like this before the college entrance examination."
"In the end, you still become a social slave." Bai Guan shrugged. "You're not as free as I am."
"It's not you who's losing money." The woman laughed at him, holding the bottle. "It's time for your girlfriend to run away with someone else."
"That's because we were all too young." Bai Guan recalled his own embarrassing moments as a young man, and sighed with emotion, "Young people are capable of anything."
“…”
After correcting the last big question, Shen Xiyu stretched and was about to see if Chen Ningzhou had finished. He turned around and saw that the boy was sleeping on one side.
It was just seven o'clock. Shen Xiyu didn't wake him up. He quietly packed up his things and went to the bar to sit on the high stool.
"Sister Xiao Wan." Shen Xiyu nodded and greeted the half-drunk woman.
During the time when Shen Xiyu came here often, he would meet her in the store every day, so they were quite familiar with each other.
"Hey, I didn't recognize you just now." She looked at Chen Xiyu in surprise, "I haven't seen you for a long time."
"That's because you're a little drunk." Bai Guan took the bottle from her hand and said, "Go lie down over there for a while."
"Don't you know how much I can drink?" The woman was unwilling to accept it. "At least I can still drink this much."
She raised her hand and gestured a number.
"I know. What if Lingzi and the others come and you've already collapsed?"
"That's right, that's right." The woman jumped off the stool shakily. Shen Xiyu was afraid that she would fall, so he protected her.
"I'm going to go to bed. See you later, pretty girl."
The two men watched her go upstairs to the attic.
"Are you guys going out soon?" Shen Xiyu was lying on the bar, feeling a little sleepy.
Bai Guan was preparing glasses for the evening cocktails. "I'm not going out. I'm going to hang out with some friends tonight."
"oh."
Bai Guan raised his eyes and looked at Shen Xiyu, "Why, are you unhappy?"
"kind of."
"Why are you unhappy? Are you under too much pressure from reviewing?" Bai Guan didn't stop doing his work.
"I don't know." Chen Xiyu watched him wipe the cup. "I feel like everything is not going well. Academically, emotionally, at home... well, not really about family matters. Anyway, I feel so exhausted that I don't know where to put my strength."
Bai Guan noticed the way she was staring at him, "Why? Do you also want to get drunk and forget your worries?"
"I want to try it." She straightened up and became interested.
"We don't sell alcohol to minors." Bai Guan interrupted her thoughts. "But I heard you say there's something else going on with your relationship? Are you in a relationship?"
When Shen Xiyu heard his rejection, he instantly wilted again, "No talk."
"What's that?"
Chen Xiyu thought of the ambiguous kiss last night, "It just feels like there are too many uncertainties in front of me."
She didn't know how to describe it. "It's just, you know, there are too many things more important to me than this: the college entrance examination, career, gains and losses, every one of them is more important than this, but..."
"But he's the only one who can move my heart the most." Chen Xiyu felt more and more conflicted as he spoke. "I dare not admit this fluctuation, but I can't control myself."
Uncle Guan stopped what he was doing and said, "This is called first love syndrome."
"I remember it was the same when I was 18 or 19. My girlfriend cried when I wanted to go abroad, and in the end I didn't leave for her."
Bai Guan now speaks of this incident with self-mockery, "Making a movie takes time. I'm a new director with no money and no time. In the end, all the money I worked so hard to save was taken away by my first love."
Shen Xiyu laughed, "You were so stupid back then."
"Yeah." Bai Guan laughed to himself. "I was so stupid back then. That's what first love is like. If you keep going, the relationship will be ruined by reality. If you don't, you'll never be reconciled in your life."
"I can still remember what she looked like when she was young."
Bai Guan mixed a row of shots, which were the new wines he had recently researched.
He just picked up a glass and drank it, and Shen Xiyu also picked up a glass and put it into his mouth while she was not paying attention.
Seeing that she had already drunk it, Uncle Guan was too lazy to care about her. He took out a notebook to record the taste and ingredients of the wine. "This is the strong wine I mixed. I won't care if you get drunk."
"It's just a little sweet drink." Shen Xiyu stuck out his tongue, "It's just a little hot."
The two people continued with the previous topic.
"Will everyone become different when they grow up?"
“Are you different now than you were five years ago?”
Shen Xiyu secretly took another glass of wine from him and said, "Yes, I have become more beautiful."
"Save this for your date." Uncle Guan saw that his glass was empty again. "If you drink any more, I'll kick you out."
Shen Xiyu's topic jumped back to Liang Qi, "I just don't want to lose him as a confidant. Do you understand what a confidant is?"
"Do what you think, and get what you want." Bai Guan put his wine away where Shen Xiyu couldn't reach it. "Are you someone who worries about gains and losses? Think about it, no one can be with each other forever. Only by thinking about it and spending time together will these days become more precious."
"That's right." Shen Xiyu suddenly became excited. "I, Shen Xiyu, am not someone who worries about gains and losses."
Bai Guan was startled by her. "What are you talking about? Are you drunk?"
"You're the one who's drunk." Shen Xiyu was a little flattered. "I'm moved by your philosophy of life, no."
"Then you don't have to bark like a dog."
“…”
*
On the way back in the car, Chen Ningzhou kept wanting to ask what happened yesterday, but Shen Xiyu became drowsy as soon as he got in the car, and looked like he had gone crazy, so he never found a chance.
"I'm leaving." Shen Xiyu got off the car at the gate of his community.
"Send me a message when you get home." Chen Ningzhou always felt that she was acting strangely and abnormally tonight.
"Oh, you too." Shen Xiyu thought her voice was very loud, but in fact Chen Ningzhou couldn't hear what she was mumbling at all.
However, the taxi was already taking him to his home. After thinking it over, Chen Ningzhou opened his phone and sent a message to Liang Qi.
——zhou: Are you at home?
——L: Yes, what’s the matter?
——zhou: Chen Xiyu has gone back, go see if she has arrived home.
Liang Qi held the phone, feeling a little worried. Shen Xiyu was no longer a child, and Chen Ningzhou definitely did not make this request for no reason.
——L: Something happened to her?
——zhou: Maybe I drank a little.
Chen Ningzhou finally understood what kind of person Shen Xiyu was.
——L: Did you take her out for a drink?
Chen Ningzhou put his phone upside down on the back seat and stopped replying to his messages. He was so angry that he sneered, which scared the driver in the front seat and made him drive a little faster.
What did he mean by taking Shen Xiyu out for drinks? These two people were making a fool of him!
He shouldn't have said so much to that kid Liang Qi!
*
Shen Xiyu staggered out of the elevator. She really didn't feel that she was drunk, but she kept walking crookedly, which made her very angry.
The light in the corridor had completely broken down at some point, and no matter how Shen Xiyu stomped her feet, it wouldn't come on. She took out her cell phone from her trouser pocket, trying to light herself up, but couldn't find the flashlight button.
Just as she was getting angry with herself, a sharp white light appeared in front of her, blinding Shen Xiyu's eyes. She subconsciously raised her arms to cover her eyes.
The light shifted so that it wasn't shining directly at her.
Someone came over, grabbed her arm, and gently put it down.
Shen Xiyu opened his eyes after adjusting to the bright light.
"It's you, Liang Qi." Shen Xiyu felt dizzy and like he was dreaming.
"Why are you waiting for me here all the time?" She tilted her head, and Liang Qi saw himself in her eyes.
Liang Qi's heart turned into a pool of water, and he couldn't even utter the question on his lips.
"What if one day I'm not waiting for you?"
Shen Xiyu put his arms around his thin waist.
"Then I will cherish every time you wait for me."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: What Guan Shu said
The lead singer of Diuhuoche, Qiuzi, said this during a concert. They have a song called "Rachel".
There are a few more chapters of sweet cookies to come.
Then we'll move on to the main storyline.
My student days are almost over.
I love writing sour, sweet, sour, sweet! [Lop-eared rabbit head]
(Chapter 38 will be updated on May 10)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
