Storms and Tranquility
On July 11, 2027, at 3 p.m., the sweet aroma of vanilla latte wafted through the café. Xiaofeng used a small spoon to gently scrape the foam from the side of the cup, watching the fine foam bob up and down in the brown coffee liquid. Across from her, Xiaoqi smiled at her phone screen, her lips pursed, the diamonds on her manicure glaring under the warm yellow light.
"You didn't even ask me out when you went shopping." Xiao Qi suddenly spoke, his eyes still glued to the screen.
"I'm going to buy some sexy lingerie..." The porcelain spoon hit the edge of the glass, making a crisp sound.
Xiao Qi's thumb paused on the screen for a split second before she placed her phone upside down on the table. She was wearing an oversized black leather jacket, the neckline deliberately pulled low, revealing the small rose tattoo on her collarbone. "Wow, has she gone from fresh and innocent to sexy and mature? Do you need my advice?" she chugs down her iced Americano.
"Do you have experience?" When Xiaofeng raised his eyes, he met Xiaoqi's evasive gaze.
"To be honest, I envy you."
"I should be the one telling you this..."
"If only I could have your happiness..." Xiao Qi scratched her short, dark green hair irritably. "You're getting better and better. You're always so cheerful every time I see you. Honestly, in terms of figure, looks, and brains, I'm definitely better than you. But why is it that when we're best friends, you're always the one everyone stares at?"
The jazz music in the cafe suddenly changed to a lively tune. Xiao Qi's voice suddenly rose as if a switch had been flipped. "My hair color is cool, isn't it?" The couple sitting next to her cast a curious look at her. She immediately lowered her head and lowered her voice to a mosquito's hum. "They all say I'm very avant-garde. Look, I've got dozens more likes on my WeChat Moments."
Xiao Qi gave a wry laugh, twisting the ends of her hair with her fingers. "Your short red hair looked so cool and sexy, so I followed the trend and dyed it... What happened? My hair is this dull green. From a distance, I look like a seaweed spirit fresh out of the water."
"Do you like yourself like this?"
"I like being stared at."
"But when I secretly wiped my tears, I kept thinking of how you were working so hard on your career." Xiao Feng stirred his coffee. "Seeing how neatly you took care of yourself, I even secretly muttered, 'How can this guy handle everything?'"
Silence slowly spread between the two of them, like a freshly brewed tea bag, making the air heavy.
"Isn't it cool to say that you like women?" Xiao Qi suddenly said, with a tentative tremor in his voice.
"Cool?" Xiaofeng pushed a piece of Basque toward Xiaoqi. "Last time you called me and complained, 'The bear Huang Xin gave me is so ugly, but it's pretty warm when I hold it while sleeping'—was that just an act?"
The sound of the silver spoon piercing the cake stopped abruptly. Xiao Qi's ears gradually turned red, and she suddenly buttoned her leather jacket to the top, as if this could lock away all the unspoken thoughts in her heart.
"Another time, you called me from the bathroom and said your heart was pounding when Huang Xin was fixing your computer. Was that fake too?"
"He's just a little brat," she muttered, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to the window, as if searching for the figure of the "little brat" in the crowd.
"What are you afraid of?" Xiaofeng's voice softened, as if she were holding a ball of cotton. "Are you afraid that admitting you like him will make you uncool?"
The jazz music had suddenly given way to soothing piano music. Xiao Qi suddenly looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. "They all say that girls who know how to flirt are powerful. If I told you I like that silly boy, you'd definitely laugh." She sniffed, her voice tinged with tears. "But Xiao Feng, I really get jealous when I see him talking to other girls."
Xiao Feng took out a tissue and handed it to her. He watched her wipe away her tears carelessly, ruining her carefully applied smoky makeup. "Oh, this smoky makeup turned into panda eyes, which is quite cute."
After Xiao Qi slowly calmed down, Xiao Feng spoke softly, "Did you check Huang Xin's Moments yesterday? He said, 'It doesn't matter who you like, as long as he's by your side,' and the picture he included was a profile picture of you. It was taken quite well."
Xiaoqi buried his head even lower, as if he wanted to crawl into the crack of the table.
"Actually, being cool or not has nothing to do with who you like." Xiaofeng held Xiaoqi's hand. "People who dare to admit their true feelings are the most powerful. It's much cooler than liking someone of the same sex, wearing leather jackets and dyeing their hair."
Their shadows huddled together on the glass door of the cafe. Xiao Qi stared out the window, then suddenly grabbed her phone, her fingertips rapidly tapping on the screen. Xiao Feng caught a glimpse of her new Moments post, a single photo of Basque with the caption: "Sweets are best enjoyed with the one you love."
The moment she pressed the send button, Xiao Qi's lips curled up into a brilliant smile. That smile was brighter than the sunlight outside the window, shattering all her pretentious, cool expressions.
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