Chapter 13 Spring Festival Eve
"Boss, are you taking a holiday this year?" Lin Xiaoyu, who was wearing glasses, rested his chin on the wood grain of the bar, and his almond-shaped eyes behind the lenses blinked like two wet grapes.
There were still grains of unmelted snow on the ends of her hair, and her down jacket was unzipped, revealing a pink sweatshirt with a cartoon cat's paw print underneath.
"Yeah, boss. If you take a day off, we'll have nowhere to go." Tang Tang, wearing a high ponytail, put her red, frozen nose to the heater, the little bear pendant on her hairband swaying. "I don't want to stay home every day listening to my parents nagging me to get married."
She complained, but her fingertips unconsciously turned the family portrait sticker on the phone case, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously rose.
The coffee machine hummed softly. Su Nian flicked her wrist, and the milk foam in the latte art pitcher swirled into a dense cloud. The dark brown coffee liquid and the snow-white milk foam blended at the rim of the cup, forming two dancing tulips.
He gently pushed the gold-rimmed bone china cup across the bar, the bottom of the cup making a crisp sound when it hit the wooden countertop. "It's low-sugar, drink less, or you won't be able to sleep at night."
"Mmm, it smells so good. Boss, your cooking skills are amazing." Lin Xiaoyu buried her face in the steamy air, her eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows under her eyes. "The caramel macchiato you taught me to make last time, I tried it three times at home and failed each time."
She suddenly straightened up, her hair brushing against the coffee beans in the glass jar. "You haven't told me yet? Are you going to take a vacation?"
Su Nian wiped her hands with a linen towel. The red Chinese character for "Fu" (meaning "blessing") was already pasted on the bookshelf. "I'll be spending the New Year in the bookstore, but I should be able to take a few days off."
He reached out and adjusted the business hours sign on the wall. The red pen markings of "Closed from New Year's Eve to the third day of the New Year" were particularly eye-catching under the light. "If you come on the fourth day of the New Year, I'll save the newly arrived comics for you."
"That's great, boss! You're our savior." Tang Tang rested her hands on her chin, the strawberry manicure on her nails reflecting the coffee cup. "If I could celebrate New Year's Eve in a place full of books, even staying up late would feel like a ritual."
She suddenly lowered her voice. "Honestly, every time I come here, listening to the sound of flipping pages and the gurgling of the coffee machine, it's much more lively than at home."
Su Nian's fingertips brushed against the gilded book spines, causing the wooden bookshelf to creak slightly. She didn't notice that behind her, Lin Xiaoyu and Tang Tang were like two sparrows huddled together, their heads almost colliding with each other, sparks flying.
Lin Xiaoyu turned her head to look at Su Nian's position, and carefully leaned close to Tang Tang's ear, "It seems like I haven't seen that person for a long time?" Before she finished speaking, she nervously bit her lower lip and glanced at Su Nian.
"Which one?" Tang Tang looked at her best friend beside her with some confusion, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.
"Oh, that's it." Lin Xiaoyu stomped her feet anxiously, looked at the table by the window, and blinked continuously.
Tang Tang held her cheek with her hand, her eyelashes casting a fan-shaped shadow, "Oh, yes, it seems like they haven't been here for a long time. What a pity, I really like them." Tang Tang nodded suddenly and sighed with some regret.
The two girls fell silent almost at the same time, looking at the beautiful flowers on the table by the window, unable to describe their feelings.
Su Nian's fingertips brushed the gilded spine of Love in the Time of Cholera beside the bookshelf, the plastic cover rustling softly. His movements as he sorted the books gradually slowed, and his eyes involuntarily flicked to the left side of the third shelf—the empty space where Ling Shen always kept his unfinished poetry collections, now filled with a few dusty old magazines.
Yes, Ling Shen hasn't been here for a long time. Su Nian raised his hand and gently brushed the necklace around his neck. The necklace with his body temperature brought him back to reality.
He tugged at his collar, his Adam's apple rolling as he swallowed the sourness, and mechanically inserted "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in his hand into the gap, but the corner of the book was stuck crookedly between the two books.
Why would he miss Ling Shen? Their relationship was just a contractual one. Ling Shen treated him as a shadow, and he also missed his lover through Ling Shen.
"What am I going on about?" Su Nian scoffed at himself, his knuckles turning white from the strain he exerted on the empty bookstore. The crystal chandelier cast a flickering halo of light on the ceiling, causing bloodshot eyes to form.
The sound of the cold wind blowing through the dead leaves outside the door was very similar to the sound of the hem of Ling Shen's windbreaker sweeping across the door frame every time he pushed the door open.
I can't think about it anymore. The days without him were the same. Su Nian thought so and walked back to the bar. Under the surprised gazes of the two girls, she took out a tray of incense and lit it.
The rising smoke and the sweet pear fragrance slowly calmed Su Nian's restless heart.
Lin Xiaoyu and Tang Tang paused at the cashier's counter, clutching a newly borrowed mystery novel. They watched as Su Nian placed the incense coil on the low table in front of the gap in the bookshelf, the curling green smoke forming a vague outline in the air.
The usually calm boss's eyelashes trembled slightly at this moment, and his shadow reflected on the glass window swayed slightly with the smoke, like a reed blown to and fro by the wind.
The crisp sound of a copper bell startled the stagnant air. Su Nian watched the two girls disappear under the streetlight at the corner. The closing of the glass door brought in a gust of cold air, which blew away the ashes around the edge of the incense burner.
Su Nian put up the sign for a break, but her heart couldn't calm down no matter what. She sighed deeply and put down the couplets and decorations in her hands with some resignation.
Since he'd lost the mood to do anything, Su Nian simply decided to give up. He placed the unfinished couplet on the table and turned to place the recliner in front of the window. The ink on the rice paper hadn't yet dried, and the last stroke of the character "Fu" hung on the edge like an unshed tear.
Su Nian brought out the wine that was supposed to be drunk in the evening in advance, one cup for each person and one recliner.
Su Nian admired the falling snow outside the window while pouring a drink. "Even when I'm drunk alone, the world is still beautiful." Su Nian smiled, raised his glass, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in one gulp. The spicy wine slid down his throat, causing a burning sensation in his stomach.
He squinted his eyes and watched the snowflakes dancing under the street lights, as if he saw the scene of rolling in the snow when he was a child.
As Ling Shen stepped out of the airport, he saw his assistant waiting anxiously at the door. The cold wind blew his assistant's hair into a mess, and the notebook in his hand trembled slightly from the cold.
"Mr. Ling, you are finally back. You are needed to give a speech at the year-end meeting this morning, and there is also a banquet at noon..." The assistant followed Ling Shen closely with a notebook in hand, explaining today's schedule one by one.
Ling Shen nodded, and suddenly looked up into the distance - the streets and alleys were already filled with lanterns, and everyone's face was filled with smiles.
A vendor selling candied haws passed by with his cart, and amidst the constant shouting, a little girl with pigtails ran past him holding a lantern. Her clear laughter made Ling Shen pause.
The assistant looked at Ling Shen, who had stopped, with some surprise. Before he could say anything, Ling Shen had already gotten into the car and said, "Let's go."
The leather seats still held some cool air, yet Ling Shen felt unusually hot. He tugged at his collar, his gaze fixed on the receding street outside the window.
The car started and drove towards the Ling family. Through the car window, Ling Shen suddenly wanted to see Su Nian.
He was eager to know what Su Nian was doing, whether she was busy decorating the bookstore, or whether she was taking a break to make a pot of coffee.
The memory of Su Nian concentrating while making coffee suddenly became clear, her eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows under her eyes, and a little milk foam on the tip of her nose.
His mind and heart were constantly fighting. Reason told him that they were just in a contractual relationship, but his emotions kept pulling him to think of Su Nian's smile.
The scenery outside the car window was intertwined, and Ling Shen took out his mobile phone as if possessed. The moment the screen lit up, his finger hovered above Su Nian's number for a long time without letting go.
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