The next day, Yu Nian successfully acquired two dark circles under his eyes.

He had stayed up too late the previous night, and even after getting up, he was absent-minded, as if sleepwalking while washing up.

He cupped a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face, droplets hanging on his eyebrows and nose, but when he looked up, he still saw a restless face in the mirror.

When he left, Yu Nian, out of some subtle thoughts, deliberately dawdled for a while.

But it seemed like today was deliberately going against him. Just as he stepped out, almost simultaneously, Qi Wang’s door also opened.

The two met in the narrow corridor.

Qi Wang wore a dark long coat, with the smoke-gray scarf he gave him wrapped around his neck.

The smoke-gray color particularly complemented his pale skin.

Even in the dim indoors, Qi Wang seemed to shine brightly.

Yu Nian sadly felt his heart skip a beat.

“Why are you late today?” Yu Nian didn’t dare to look at Qi Wang directly, turning his face slightly and asking vaguely.

Qi Wang closed the door. With one hand, he swung his backpack onto his shoulder, while the other reached out to Yu Nian, “I usually leave early, but today I’m a bit late. I’ll take you to work on my way.”

He said it casually.

His hand was spread out in front of Yu Nian, palm facing up.

Yu Nian looked at this hand, inexplicably feeling a moment of hesitation. His Adam’s apple rolled, involuntarily swallowing saliva.

But Qi Wang just looked at him calmly, completely unaware of what was going on beneath his seemingly innocent face.

Yu Nian deflated again.

He put his hand on top, the backpack slipping a bit on his shoulder and hanging on his arm.

“Then I’ll trouble you.” He murmured, a bit dejected.

It was almost October, and the air was gradually losing its heat, becoming slightly cooler.

Yu Nian sat behind Qi Wang, unsure of how to hold on. He used to have his arm around Qi Wang’s waist, very straightforwardly, although a bit proud, but he didn’t think it was ambiguous. Now, however, he always felt like he was taking advantage of Qi Wang.

It wasn’t until Qi Wang urged him that he reluctantly held his waist.

…

Yu Nian was restless at work that day.

The impact of falling for Qi Wang was greater than he had imagined. He even played several wrong notes on the piano in the afternoon. Fortunately, the customers in the store were either busy with their phones or chatting, so most of them didn’t notice him.

Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, supposed to be a time for family reunion and longing, but for some reason, there were more and more couples in the store every day, holding hands at the counter when paying.

A couple came to the counter to buy cakes, the girl in a white sweater, wearing a fluffy hat on her head, cutely pointing at the small cakes in the display cabinet, hesitating over which one to choose.

The boyfriend, also handsome, seemed to be a nearby college student, grinned foolishly, saying they should buy both, and he’d eat whatever she couldn’t finish.

The front desk was filled with the sour smell of love for a while.

They looked like college students from nearby, lively and youthful, with a hint of innocence in their eyes.

Several employees nearby all showed kindly smiles, looking on with good intentions.

Song Yunchun shook her head with emotion. “Youth is truly something.”

She instructed Chu Hejun, the receptionist, “These two have spent a lot of money in our restaurant, give them a mooncake as a gift.”

Chu Hejun immediately took out a custard mooncake from the counter.

The girl happily thanked Song Yunchun, carrying several small cakes, and left with her boyfriend.

Song Yunchun watched their retreating figures, smiling, “It’s interesting to watch others fall in love.”

As the boss, she had plenty of free time, sitting next to the counter, letting Qi Wang make her an Irish coffee, the aroma of alcohol and coffee blending together, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Now that the store was less busy, and there weren’t many customers needing assistance, there weren’t too many hands needed.

After playing a few songs on the piano, Yu Nian sat down to rest. He didn’t ask Qi Wang to make it, but made a cup of cappuccino himself, something Qi Wang had taught him.

He sipped the coffee slowly, but his gaze couldn’t help but fall on Qi Wang, who was still busy not far away.

He also thought love was really good.

But for someone like him, with a minority sexual orientation, trying to find a partner always involved a bit more trouble than others.

Just now, when he sat at the piano, his fingers danced on the keys as usual, but several notes were played wrong.

When he finished playing a piece and took a break, a music college girl who often came here for coffee smiled at him and said, “You played a few wrong notes just now.”

Yu Nian scratched his face, feeling embarrassed.

Thinking of this, Yu Nian drooped his head, feeling a bit disheartened, and took another sip of coffee slowly, with foam sticking to his lips.

Qi Wang was just bringing over a cup of coffee, asking Xiao Gu to take it to the customers.

When he glanced up, he saw the milk at the corner of Yu Nian’s mouth, so he took a tissue and wiped it off for him.

His fingertips lightly grazed the skin at the corner of Yu Nian’s mouth, the scent of coffee mixed with a hint of bitterness from the alcohol on his fingers.

It was a very ordinary action.

But Yu Nian had a guilty conscience. When he leaned back, he almost fell off the chair.

Qi Wang also froze, his hand suspended in midair, looking at him with confusion.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Yu Nian thought, “How dare you ask.”

We, two men, can’t be intimate! Don’t you get it!

But he couldn’t say that, nor could he bear for Qi Wang to really distance himself from him, so he just mumbled vaguely, “Nothing, I just didn’t sit steady and almost fell.”

Qi Wang didn’t think much of it.

He said to Yu Nian, “You’re already grown up, even if you spill food on yourself, that’s one thing, but you can’t even sit still.”

After saying that, he didn’t pay any more attention to Yu Nian, and went to make another cup of coffee. When the coffee customers stood near the counter, smiling and asking him questions, he nodded and answered them.

Yu Nian watched with mixed feelings, absentmindedly fiddling with his coffee cup.

Of course, he wanted to get closer to Qi Wang, as it was the instinct of every secret admirer.

But when Qi Wang got close to him, he didn’t feel any ambiguity in these actions, which made it hard for him to muster any enthusiasm.

Just as he was thinking, he lifted his head and met Song Yunchun’s thoughtful gaze.

Song Yunchun took a sip of coffee and curiously asked him, “Xiao Yu, do you have a girlfriend?”

Yu Nian almost sprayed the coffee out of his mouth.

He coughed twice, his eyes even a little panicked, “Why do you ask that?”

Song Yunchun was also startled.

Honestly, she was just a bit curious.

In the entire restaurant, she was the only one who knew about Yu Nian’s prestigious background.

Being an ordinary person herself, she couldn’t help but fantasize about stories like Cinderella marrying a prince, or the princess and the pauper.

Seeing Yu Nian, so handsome, with a good personality, manners, and education, she just wanted to casually inquire.

She wondered, “I don’t know… I just thought of you and those two young ones from earlier, they’re not much older than you, and many high schoolers are dating now, so I just asked.”

She touched her nose, feeling a bit embarrassed, “I didn’t mean anything by it. If you don’t want to say, forget it, I just asked casually.”

Yu Nian relaxed.

He was a bit slow to catch on, and felt a bit embarrassed. With his guilty conscience, he felt like everyone was peering into his soul.

But Song Yunchun had really caught him off guard.

He thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head honestly, “No, really, I’ve never had one, unless holding hands with a girl in kindergarten counts.”

“Oh?”

Song Yunchun was shocked.

She looked at Yu Nian incredulously, “Really? When I was your age, I had a handful of boyfriends. At the age when hormones are raging in high school, you actually don’t have a girlfriend? That’s unusual.”

She even raised her hand and gestured towards Yu Nian a couple of times, “You’re already like this, with such a good personality, there should be a long line of girls confessing to you.”

Yu Nian chuckled.

He didn’t hold back, “There have been quite a few who confessed to me, but I just don’t like them.”

At first, in middle school before he realized his orientation, he treated the girls who confessed to him like buddies.

Later, after realizing his orientation, that was even less possible. As a gay man, could he really lead those girls on?

But when he thought of his high school days, his expression dimmed again, “Actually, I did think about dating in high school, but before I had anyone I liked, I encountered some things. Going to school every day was annoying enough, and I didn’t have the mood for it anymore.”

“I see.”

Song Yunchun also understood, although she didn’t know exactly what those annoying things were, but thinking of Yu Nian running away from home, she could guess a bit.

She didn’t want to pry into other people’s troubles, and regretted asking.

She comforted him, “It’s okay, troublesome things will pass. High school classmates, teachers, leaving that school means leaving everything behind. The world is vast, and maybe you’ll never meet those people again in your life.”

Yu Nian smiled and nodded, “You’re right.”

Song Yunchun didn’t ask any further questions, and instead started thinking about how to advertise her restaurant.

But Yu Nian was a bit restless.

He helped Song Yunchun brainstorm while appearing indifferent, and asked softly, “Boss, in our restaurant, I seem to be the youngest one, do the others all have partners?”

He knew Qi Wang didn’t have one, but he asked knowingly.

But Song Yunchun immediately fell for it, “No, most of the people in our restaurant are single. Chu Hejun, Xiao Gu, Xiao Xu, Linyang, and even our head chef, are all single. Oh, and your boss, me too.”

She pointed at herself.

Yu Nian chuckled.

He turned the menu to the next page, indirectly stirring up trouble, “Never mind others, but how about Qi Wang? With his looks and charm, he seems like he’s had eighteen relationships.”

Song Yunchun was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

She patted Yu Nian’s shoulder, “Right? You think so too. I’ve always said that Qi Wang, with such a handsome face, seemed to attract young girls as soon as he arrived. They say the bad boys are always attractive, he doesn’t look like a decent man, more like someone who would break a lot of girls’ hearts.”

But then she quickly defended Qi Wang, “But he really isn’t like that.”

Yu Nian’s heart was in his throat.

“What do you mean?” 

Song Yunchun didn’t notice Yu Nian’s ulterior motives and continued to happily share gossip.

“Qi Wang, well, I think he’s almost on his way to becoming a monk. Maybe he was a monk in his past life. I don’t know if he had a partner before, I didn’t dare to ask, but ever since he came to my restaurant, there have been countless girls asking for his number, and even beautiful older women in BMWs asking him out, but he turned them all down, he’s heartless.”

Song Yunchun remembered and even sympathized with those beautiful women, “I don’t know what kind of goddess he’s looking for. Those women were really beautiful, with good temperament and very charming, but he, with his wooden head, just won’t open up.”

Yu Nian’s fingers twitched, a sentence almost slipping out—what if he doesn’t like girls?

Luckily, his rationality prevailed, forcing him to hold back the words.

“Oh, I see,” he absentmindedly joined Song Yunchun in complaining, “That’s indeed a pity. I wonder what he likes, his standards seem quite high.”

He was just saying.

Then he noticed a shadow cast over him. Raising his head, he found the subject of their gossip standing right in front of them.

This time, Yu Nian was genuinely startled.

So was Song Yunchun beside him.

Both of them gasped and instinctively leaned back, even leaning towards each other like two startled quails.

Qi Wang’s gaze swept over these two flustered individuals, disdain tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Are you two bored?” he asked. “If you are, come and help. Yu Nian, take this cake to table 17, and you, boss, a customer has a question and wants to speak with you at table 3, hurry up.”

His height alone, coupled with his commanding presence, made his words imposing.

Yu Nian and Song Yunchun, caught gossiping, felt extremely guilty and immediately stood up together, no longer daring to sit by the bar and watch the fun, obediently getting up.

Song Yunchun once again wondered, who was the boss of this restaurant?