Chapter 4: A Chance Encounter with Mr. Qi

She couldn’t afford to lose her composure over Gu Yuchen anymore.

“One mocha, please.”

After wiping away her tears, Wen Zhixian crumpled the tissue into a ball and shook her head at the man in front of her. “We don’t have any.”

She pulled out two packets of instant coffee from the drawer. “I only have these two packets of instant coffee left. If you want, I can make you a cup.”

The man glanced at the instant coffee packets in her hand. “…”

…

Wen Zhixian made him a cup of instant coffee and even shared a piece of cake she had planned to take home, giving him half.

“Why are you still out this late?” She sighed, trying to start a conversation and distract herself from what had just happened with Gu Yuchen.

“I just got off work. Feeling a bit tired, I thought I’d try my luck and see if your café was still open.” He paused for a moment. “I really like the coffee here.”

Hearing the compliment, she smiled. “Thanks for liking it.”

Then she changed the subject. “I haven’t asked you your last name yet.”

“Qi.”

Wen Zhixian traced a character on the table with her finger. “Qi as in ‘齐’?”

Qi Yanjing used his index finger to write the correct character on the table. “Qi as in ‘祁.’”

“Mr. Qi,” she said, and then introduced herself, “My surname is Wen, like the character for ‘warmth.’”

“Ms. Wen.”

Wen Zhixian asked another question, “Do you often come by this late?”

“Today, work held me up.” He took a sip of the instant coffee, his brows furrowing slightly.

Wen Zhixian touched her neck, suspecting that he found the instant coffee unpleasant.

Qi Yanjing glanced at the woman sitting across from him, her eyes slightly red as if she had been wronged. When she wasn’t smiling, it was as if she might break at any moment. The last time he saw her, she looked similar, and it was the first time he felt such a strong sense of fragility. He found himself inadvertently glancing at her a few more times.

After he finished the coffee, Wen Zhixian took the cup to wash. When she returned, the cake box on the table had been neatly tidied up by him.

Just as she was about to tell him she needed to close the café, Qi Yanjing suddenly spoke up, “How much do I owe you?”

Wen Zhixian smiled, “It’s just a cup of instant coffee, no charge.”

“And the cake,” he added, reminding her that he had eaten half of her cake.

“Consider it on the house.” Seeing the displeasure on Qi Yanjing’s face, she solemnly added, “I’m really grateful to you for bringing me my keys last time. I was feeling very low that day, and you let me experience a stranger’s kindness. It was the only thing that made that day bearable.”

A chance encounter, he thought, though today didn’t feel like a mere chance encounter.

She closed up the café, and Qi Yanjing threw the trash into the bin. He noticed the small blue velvet box inside but said nothing.

“Mr. Qi, how will you get home?” Wen Zhixian asked as she looked at him.

Qi Yanjing pressed his car key, and the lights of a Hongqi car across the street flashed twice. “My car’s over there.”

Wen Zhixian nodded and waved at him. “Drive safely.”

Just before leaving, Qi Yanjing stood by his car door and said to her, “Don’t lose yourself over a relationship. Love isn’t the be-all and end-all of life.”

He hadn’t intended to say anything, especially since he knew she might not listen. But today, he couldn’t resist offering some advice.

After returning from the café, Wen Zhixian took a shower and, feeling exhausted, collapsed onto her bed. She pulled out her phone from her bag and saw that Qin Zhaoli had sent her seven or eight messages and left several missed calls half an hour ago.

Lying on the edge of her bed, she called Qin Zhaoli back.

“Zhixian, where are you?”

“I just got home. What’s up?”

Qin Zhaoli asked, “Did Gu Yuchen come to apologize to you?”

“No,” she replied, thinking back to what had happened that evening. She rubbed her forehead and continued, “He didn’t come to apologize. He came to pick a fight, saying that hitting me was no big deal and that I was the one being unreasonable. He even threw away the ring. It’s really over.”

Qin Zhaoli was taken aback by Gu Yuchen’s words. He thought to himself, what a fool for love Gu Yuchen was—usually so rational, but he completely lost it over his ex. Breaking up with Zhixian was exactly what he deserved.

“Are you okay?” Qin Zhaoli asked.

Wen Zhixian couldn’t quite describe her emotions. She felt a deep sadness over all the years she had spent loving him. She should have been heartbroken, but Mr. Qi’s unexpected visit disrupted those feelings. Even though he had seen her at her worst, he hadn’t mentioned it at all.

It turns out that when you’re feeling down, it’s important to have someone to talk to, to avoid spiraling into negative thoughts.

“I’m fine. The harder he hits me, the quicker I come to my senses,” she said, thinking that maybe after a few more hits, she would be able to handle it all with complete indifference.

Qin Zhaoli chuckled on the other end of the line, “I knew once you made up your mind, there would be no turning back.”

After chatting for a while, they hung up. It was only after the call ended that Qin Zhaoli realized he hadn’t asked her if her face was better.

Wen Zhixian pressed her ear a few times, remembering that she hadn’t taken the medication prescribed earlier. She quickly got up to fetch a glass of warm water.

After taking her medicine, she stared into the steaming water in her glass. She was determined to give back that slap someday.

---

Hepburn Bar

“Weren’t you going to apologize? What happened? Zhixian didn’t forgive you?” Song Kairui couldn’t help but laugh.

Gu Yuchen kept downing drinks, one after another. Song Kairui stopped him for a moment, saying, “Don’t just drink. Tell me what happened so I can have a good laugh.”

Ignoring the sarcastic comments, Gu Yuchen got straight to the point. “I went to ask her why she returned the ring. If she had just said something soft like she used to, would I have said those things in anger? Instead, she told me to get lost.”

“You hit her, and you still expect her to say something soft? You’re spoiled by her, that’s what it is. Not only did you not try to win her back, but you also made things worse.” Song Kairui knew Gu Yuchen was just venting, but the truth was, he had actually laid hands on her.

Wen Zhixian and Qin Zhaoli were similar in that they were both the type to self-destruct once, and then they were done. Besides, this time, Gu Yuchen really outdid himself in messing things up.

“I thought after a few days she’d calm down. I thought we’d make up today and proceed with our plan to get married. But now, that plan will have to be postponed.”

When Song Kairui heard that, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on, man. Her face was so swollen from where you hit her. Forget about getting married—if she doesn’t break up with you, that’s a miracle.”

“She won’t break up with me. I know how much she loves me.”

Song Kairui was speechless. Sometimes, he really couldn’t stand Gu Yuchen. He had something about Gu Yuchen that he hadn’t told Zhixian yet. It wasn’t particularly important but definitely hurtful. If the day came when she stopped loving Gu Yuchen, he’d tell her.

“Oh, sure,” he replied, dismissively.

---

Wen Zhixian arrived at the café at 7:40, wanting to keep herself busy to avoid dwelling on things that didn’t matter.

When she got to the shop, one of the girls smirked at her. “Boss, wasn’t that guy yesterday really handsome?”

Another one chimed in teasingly, “And the boss even paid for his coffee! That’s her seal of approval.”

Wen Zhixian didn’t bother explaining. She remembered someone mentioning that Mr. Qi came to the shop every Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and today was Thursday.

She leaned on the counter and said with a playful tone, “Since you all say so, maybe I should treat him to another cup of coffee today?”