Chapter 46: Coffee Made by Cats Who can resist the urge to “save Fengchen”…
Chang Xile was walking back to the dormitory when he suddenly felt hungry. He had woken up late that morning and left in a hurry, so he hadn't eaten anything. At Dai's house, he had no appetite, so he only had a few sips of wine.
The food in the dormitory was running out, so she suddenly decided to turn a corner and go to the afternoon tea street in the school.
The streets were deserted. Since the part-time students were on vacation, most of the shops on that street were closed. Chang Xile strolled for a while, wondering if he would have to return to the commercial street near the school gate to buy something to eat.
She was so hungry that she was about to suffer from hypoglycemia and didn't know if she could make it through the back street.
Just when Chang Xile was about to back out, he suddenly heard a cat's meow.
"Human! You can come here to find food!"
Am I finally going mad with hunger? Chang Xile was dazed for a moment, then looked carefully and saw a tabby cat at the end of the road. It glanced at Chang Xile, made sure she was following, and ran forward.
At the corner of the street, the sound of wind chimes rang out. Chang Xile peered over and spotted a new shop he hadn't noticed before. A porcelain wind chime shaped like a sunny doll hung on a wooden sign. The good news was that the sign at the door read "Open."
The tabby cat turned its head and looked at Chang Xile again, then went in through the small flip door specially left for kittens in the corner of the shop door.
Chang Xile walked closer and whispered the name on the sign: "Cat Coffee."
She felt a chill: "What a strange name."
But it feels somehow familiar.
Anyway, let's go in and take a look. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's edible. She pushed open the glass door, but didn't hear the usual "Welcome" in this situation. Eh... isn't it actually closed? Or maybe this is just a part-time job for a college student, and they haven't received any service training.
Chang Xile looked up at the service desk and raised his eyebrows in surprise.
The white-haired waiter finally raised his eyes from his sketchpad when he heard the sound of the wind chime being turned by the door. He stood up, frowned, and said, "Closed today."
He met Chang Xile's gaze for three seconds and fell silent.
Why did they only stare at each other for three seconds? Because after Chang Xile held on for three seconds, her vision went black and she fell forward. Before she could kowtow to the clerk who was trying to drive her away, her forehead met a warm chest.
Anping hugged Chang Xile, looked at her dark hair, and exchanged glances with the tabby cat squatting beside her.
"Meow——" the kitten let out a long cry.
When Chang Xile woke up, she was half-reclining on the lazy sofa in the store. She stood up, confused, and looked around. She saw Anping approaching the table by the window with a cup of steaming milk. After he put the milk down, he glanced at Chang Xile and walked over to her, holding out his hand.
Chang Xile was about to speak when she realized there was something in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the ball-like object—it was sweet, chocolate.
She didn't hesitate, and took Anping's hand to help her stand up: "Thank you."
Luckily, someone was in the store. If Chang Xile had passed out on some deserted street corner, she'd be dead by the time she was found after the holiday. If she was even more unlucky, the Xie Grim Reaper would come and take her soul away, fulfilling the apparently unequal treaty he'd proposed today.
Fortunately, it was Anping. Chang Xile recalled something she had seen online a while ago—someone fainted from hypoglycemia while picking up takeout, and when he woke up, the delivery guy was crying and stuffing food into his mouth. She couldn't tell whether being caught in this predicament by her ex-boyfriend or by a stranger would be worse.
She turned her head to look at the steaming milk on the table and couldn't help asking, "Didn't they say they were closed today?"
Chang Xile closed his eyes and thought to himself, "I made a drink for you out of kindness. Do you still think you can joke around like before?"
"Yes, remember to pay triple overtime pay." Anping placed a payment code on the table and walked back to the service desk to pick up the drawing board.
Chang Xile sat on a chair, picked up her cup, and sipped her milk. She silently looked at Anping—he usually wore a white shirt and washed-out jeans, and he worked at the cat cafe during National Day, when everyone else was reuniting with their families or going out for fun.
Anping's current living conditions might not be so good. Even if they weren't lovers, they were still friends. Chang Xile picked up his phone, scanned the QR code, and clicked on the number to transfer it.
His phone dinged. Anping glanced at the automatically lit screen and said calmly, "If you didn't know, you'd think I was running a scam. A glass of milk costs 1,800 yuan."
"Isn't this a shady shop?" Chang Xile couldn't help laughing. "How can it really be called coffee made by cats? What did the cat do wrong to become a coffee ingredient?"
Anping looked up at the sign outside the store and didn't respond.
"But..." Chang Xile looked at the large space across from him that was separated by a fence. Inside were cat climbing frames, cat scratching boards, water, cat food, toys, and everything you could think of - except cats.
"Why are there no cats in the cat cafe?" She turned her head to look at the tabby cat that had reoccupied the lazy sofa since Chang Xile woke up. This was the only cat in the store and it had strolled in from outside by itself.
You can’t really use cats to make coffee...haha.
"Actually, this is the school's stray cat shelter. They come and go as they please." Anping supported his head with one hand and looked at her in this position.
"That shop owner is truly a kind person," Chang Xile exclaimed in sincere admiration. The school cats usually find themselves fed by kind students—sometimes with so many different kinds of food that they can even be picky eaters. But when students are on vacation, especially during winter break, it becomes a difficult time for the kittens.
It was cold, with nowhere to hide and food hard to find. When Chang Xile was in high school, he once saw the frozen corpse of a kitten on a path near the cafeteria.
Chang Xile looked at the tabby cat in the store with emotion. The cat was licking its fur leisurely and contentedly. It seemed that the cat didn't have to worry about this winter.
Anping noticed her gaze and suddenly added, "Cats don't receive guests."
"Who do you think I am?" Chang Xile said righteously, but quickly changed his tone and said, "I paid the fee after all, so petting the kitten is only natural."
Anping rested his chin on his hand, tapping his face with his fingers rhythmically. After a while, he stood up, walked over to Chang Xile, bent down, and said, "Touch it."
Chang Xile had always loved touching Anping's hair. His white hair was smooth and shiny, and she loved wrapping the slightly longer strands around her fingers and then untying them. But Anping never liked having his hair messed up, and would always immediately reach out and lock her wrists, temporarily detaining her.
At this moment, he obediently let her touch his hair.
Ultimately, it was all driven by the need to make a living. It was truly heartbreaking. Chang Xile's hands were itching to move, even wanting to give him another sum of money. Could it be that "saving prostitutes" was truly a trait ingrained in the bones of the Chinese people? Chang Xile sighed silently and began to ruffle his hair. The fluffy hair frizzed slightly under her touch, but Anping showed no impatience at all. Chang Xile looked at the back of his slender neck, then looked away and withdrew her hand.
"Did you make your money back?" Anping raised his head, not feeling embarrassed after seeing off a customer. With messy hair, he sat down on the chair opposite Chang Xile.
Chang Xile looked at him, looking like he had just been "ravaged," and was inexplicably furious. She raised her hand to fix his hair, but she said nothing, not even joking.
"Are you angry?" Anping was keenly aware of Chang Xile's emotions, but this time he didn't understand why.
Could it be that he hadn't touched it enough? Anping turned his eyes to the tabby cat on the lazy sofa. With just one glance, the tabby cat stretched itself and ran out through the small door in the corner.
He pondered, still unable to come up with a solution, when he suddenly heard Chang Xile ask, "Can others do this?"
Her voice was muffled.
"Well?" he asked.
"Give you money and then rub your hair." Chang Xile struggled to describe what had just happened, trying not to make it sound too bad.
Anping's eyes curved subtly: "Our restaurant is new, and you're the only one who's made this request so far...customer.
Chang Xile stared at him.
She didn't know if it was low blood sugar that caused her thoughts to stagnate slightly.
She actually had a lot to say to Anping. Just like in the past, they sat together in the studio or by the lake surrounded by forests, and Chang Xile chattered about her day's experiences while Anping listened quietly, occasionally asking questions.
In just a few days, she went from believing in ghosts to attending a friend's funeral, being possessed by a ghost, and being forced to make a deal with the God of Death... These events were so bizarre they were almost a dream. Chang Xile couldn't confide in her parents, who forbade her superstitious beliefs, nor did she want to tell her aunt Dai Shanyan about her existence. But if she didn't speak out, she felt she was going crazy.
Anping waited patiently for her to speak. During this time, he reached out and wiped the water from the corner of Chang Xile's mouth. He picked up the cup and tasted her milk, commenting, "It's too sweet."
"This isn't how friends should behave." Chang Xile suddenly called out his name, "Anping."
"What should it be like?" An Ping didn't expect that after all this time she would only come to this conclusion.
In the past, Chang Xile said that they were not like lovers, but now, she says they are not like friends.
Do we have to be strangers?
Anping narrowed his eyes and for the first time thought whether his original conciliatory policy was too roundabout.
"How about I support you?" Chang Xile always says shocking things, especially today.
An Ping's original solution was instantly overturned. This sentence was a bit beyond his scope. He blinked, and it took a moment to confirm that she was not joking.
"What is the specific method?" Anping asked tentatively, fearing that he had misunderstood the meaning.
"I'll give you money, and you chat with me." Chang Xile clenched her hands nervously. She thought this was fair, because Anping needed the money, and she needed Anping's company. But she belatedly realized that directly throwing money at someone might be a bit hurtful.
Anping didn't think so - in fact, the plan proposed by Chang Xile was really a standard case of benefiting the enemy by one thousand and losing twenty-five thousand of his own.
He smiled slightly and corrected her, "It seems there's a more precise way to describe the relationship you're talking about."
"What is it?"
"consult."
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