Chapter 9 Is there any tea?
In the celadon bowl in front of him, steam was rising from the clear noodle soup, thin noodles lay in the clear soup, a few slices of tender green vegetables and a round poached egg lay quietly, as simple as Su Nian, but with the power to soothe people's hearts.
Ling Shen picked up the chopsticks and the warm noodles slid into his mouth. The light taste spread across his tongue, just right to soothe his churning stomach after drinking.
He quickly finished the bowl of noodles and drank most of the warm soup. His stomach felt warm and even his headache was relieved a little.
From downstairs came the sound of Su Nian opening the shop door, accompanied by the crisp tinkling of wind chimes. Ling Shen knew that the bookstore had opened and a new day had arrived.
The sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting mottled shadows on the floor. Dust particles floated in the air. Everything was quiet and beautiful, but it caused ripples in his heart.
"Boss Ling, today's meeting..." The assistant's voice pierced Ling Shen's eardrums like electricity, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone. The missed call notification from 3 a.m. was still hanging on the lock screen. The person on the other end of the line was clearly weighing their words carefully: "The board of directors has been asking for the third time. Quarterly report..."
The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected Ling Shen in his suit and tie, his tie clip gleaming coldly in the morning light. He suddenly tilted his head to look out the window. Between the shadows of the trees, two girls carrying canvas bags were chasing each other across the zebra crossing.
Their laughter penetrated the glass. The girl with a ponytail raised her hand, and the milk tea in her hand cast an amber spot in the sunlight.
He suddenly wanted to be willful for once, not caring about what was happening in the company, nor caring about those so-called meetings and reports.
"Postpone it. I'm going on vacation soon. Don't contact me if you don't have anything to do." Ling Shen hung up the phone, leaving the assistant on the other end of the phone with a face full of question marks.
Su Nian behind the bar was concentrating on fiddling with the incense coil, her slender fingers holding the lit incense stick, and the orange-red sparks flickered on the incense head.
As the curls of green smoke rose, the damp and musty smell was gradually replaced by the sweet aroma of pears, mixed with the steam from the coffee machine, weaving a gentle net in the warm yellow light.
"Boss, you're up so early today!" The girl with twin ponytails came over, clutching a notebook. "The mystery novel you recommended last time was so exciting. Is there a sequel?"
"Yeah, yeah," the girl with round glasses came over, holding up her phone. "The Christmas tree is ready. Do you want to take a picture and post it on WeChat Moments?"
"Boss, is the book 'Snow Country' that I read last time still available? I want to borrow it and read it slowly."
Amidst the constant inquiries, Su Nian maintained a gentle smile. He pushed the freshly latte toward the girl, the porcelain cup making a crisp sound against the wooden counter. "I put it on last night. It'll look even better when the lights are on."
As he spoke, he took down a dark blue-covered book from the third shelf. A ginkgo leaf bookmark he had made was still on the spine. "Be careful not to fold the pages."
Ling Shen leaned against the carved wooden staircase, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. Morning light streamed through the stained glass onto Su Nian, stretching his shadow long enough to interweave with the neatly arranged spines of the bookshelves into a flowing painting.
He looked at the spots of light dancing on the ends of Su Nian's hair, and suddenly remembered the fierce arguments in the board meeting last week, which now became distant echoes.
His fingertips unconsciously stroked the dark patterns on the cuffs of his suit, and he found himself counting the number of times Su Nian's eyelashes fluttered when he answered questions.
It wasn't until the last person around Su Nian left that Ling Shen slowly spoke, "Aren't you tired of being so busy?"
Su Nian paused, then looked up to see Ling Shen's silhouette, half hidden in the shadows. The overhead light cast tiny specks of light across his face, like diamonds in the snow, flickering and making it difficult to discern his expression.
"Why would I be tired? This is what I like to do." Su Nian bent down to turn off the coffee machine. The hot steam from the metal body blurred the lenses. When he took off his glasses and wiped them, the light in his eyes behind the lenses was surprisingly bright.
The dark brown mug spun in his palm. "The coffee is ready. Want some?"
Ling Shen's Adam's apple twitched. The burnt aroma of roasted coffee beans, mingled with the sweetness of frothy milk, washed over him. Memories suddenly flooded his nostrils—Jiang Yi always liked to place the iced American coffee heavily on his desk, the condensation on the aluminum foil cup soaking through the documents. "Drinking tea or something like that is too old-fashioned. Try this."
The young man's smiling eyes curved into crescents, and he sipped the bitter liquid, letting the caffeine burn his gastric mucosa, and still smiled and said "not bad".
"Do you have tea?" The moment Ling Shen said that, beads of sweat formed on the back of his neck. He hurriedly lowered his eyes to stare at the tips of his shiny leather shoes, not noticing that Su Nian's hand holding the coffee cup suddenly tensed, causing tiny ripples to form on the rim of the cup as the scalding liquid sloshed.
"Is black tea okay?" Su Nian calmed himself down and asked with a smile again.
The purple clay teapot made a subtle gurgling sound over the open flame. Su Nian turned his wrist slightly as he poured water in, and the tea leaves unfolded into dark green butterflies in the boiling water.
Ling Shen unconsciously took two steps forward. The wooden steps at the corner of the stairs creaked slightly, startling Su Nian's fingertips. The hot water splashing from the spout of the kettle burned his palms, leaving red marks.
When the gilded teacup landed on the black marble counter, the unique honey aroma of black tea mixed with the scent of pine smoke filled the air. "Please, I haven't brewed it in a long time, so it might be a little rusty."
Ling Shen picked up the teacup, and the unique aroma of black tea lingered in his nose. "It smells good."
Su Nian smiled slightly and placed a plate of snacks next to Ling Shen, "Go with this."
Ling Shen's fingers had just picked up a piece of cake, and before his fingertips touched the delicate cake flour, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the bluestone road outside the yard.
Then, the brass wind chimes hanging at the door suddenly rang rapidly, breaking the silence of the bookstore. Then came the breathless voice of Assistant Xiao Lin: "Boss Ling, I finally found you!"
Su Nian looked up and saw Xiaolin's suit jacket was wrinkled, his tie askew, and he looked at her with obvious dissatisfaction. He smiled slightly and turned to go to the bookshelf, leaving the space for the two of them.
Ling Shen reluctantly put down the cake, his fingertips gently rubbing the edge of the teacup, a hint of impatience between his brows: "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you I was going on vacation?"
Xiao Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, swallowed his saliva with a rolling sound, and said urgently, "Boss Ling, this really can't work this time! The cooperation in Europe has suddenly run into problems. They say you must go there in person to discuss it, otherwise the cooperation will be terminated. You'd better go back quickly!"
Su Nian came out from behind the bookshelf at the right time and said, "You should go back. I'll make tea for you next time."
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