Bian Liming and Zhao Yuan always paid for their own coffee.
Zhao Yuan always ordered cappuccino; the coffee shop used hand-whipped milk foam, giving it a great texture.
Bian Liming always ordered Americano, but he chose different beans each time.
Bian Liming could discern the different flavors of the coffee beans in the shop – some had a wine taste, some a grape flavor, and others a chocolatey note. Since the coffee shop supplied different specialty beans every day, Bian Liming’s coffee was always a pleasant surprise.
“This one seems to have a hint of black tea flavor, a slightly fermented sensation. Really special! Give it a try?” Bian Liming pushed the coffee cup toward Zhao Yuan and lightly bumped the cappuccino in front of him.
Zhao Yuan stretched his neck, bit the straw in the cup, and as the coffee level in the straw rose slowly, he furrowed his brows, and his Adam’s apple moved solemnly.
“Only taste bitterness,” Zhao Yuan let go of the straw, tilted his head, and pushed the coffee cup back in front.
However, what got pushed was his own cup.
Bian Liming looked at the cappuccino pushed by Zhao Yuan, hesitated for a moment, picked up the cup, and took a sip. When he returned to his senses, Zhao Yuan was slightly wide-eyed, looking at him strangely.
Putting the cup back, Bian Liming leaned back against the chair back casually:
“The milk flavor is too strong; it covers up the coffee taste. Can’t taste anything.”
Zhao Yuan lowered his head, reached out, and switched the two coffee cups back. Strands of hair falling over his ears obscured the slightly reddened tips of his ears.
The scene in front of Zhao Yuan was a bit overwhelming. The milk foam on the cappuccino had touched the upper lip of Bian Liming, leaving a faint but piercing milk-white mark.
Coincidentally, the light music in the coffee shop ended, leaving a few seconds of complete silence, which felt a bit excessive.
Zhao Yuan, a bit nervous, changed the topic, “It’s been a month since school started, right? Are you still adapting to university life?”
Bian Liming held his coffee cup, bit the straw at the corner of his lips, raised his eyebrows when he heard this:
“What? Do you still want to be my responsible senior?”
Thinking about the scene from three years ago, Zhao Yuan smiled gently, feeling the lingering sweetness in his mouth, and looked up at Bian Liming, who clearly had shed his youthful appearance:
“If you want, I don’t mind.”
Bian Liming playfully rolled his eyes at Zhao Yuan:
“Come on, being a year older than me, you want me to call you a senior for a lifetime? No way! You’re too… beautiful.”
Zhao Yuan shook his head with a helpless smile.
The coffee shop was filled with the rich aroma of coffee, attracting many passersby to enter, order coffee, and then leave, heading to their intended destinations.
The bell on the door rang crisply, and Bian Liming, supporting his head with one hand, gazed steadily at Zhao Yuan. After a while, he spoke in a low voice:
“Zhao Yuan, do you want to fall in love in college?”
Zhao Yuan bit his lip, somewhat puzzled as he met Bian Liming’s gaze:
“At the moment, I don’t have strong thoughts about it… Why do you ask?”
Bian Liming continued, “Why don’t you have any thoughts? You don’t want to, or others don’t want to?”
After pondering for a moment with his eyes slightly closed, Zhao Yuan spoke earnestly:
“I seem to really not have these thoughts… The courses in the medical major are challenging enough for me. In our class of 80 people, there are only 5 Betas. If I want to become a clinical doctor, I’ll have to apply for a postgraduate program, and the competition is fierce. No one thinks they have too much time; I haven’t even joined any clubs.”
Bian Liming widened his eyes a bit, and his eyebrows rose in surprise:
“You… You’re not in the student union?”
“No,” Zhao Yuan shook his head.
The two coffee cups were soon emptied, leaving only a few ice cubes at the bottom.
Zhao Yuan and Bian Liming walked out of the shop one after the other.
Turning back, Zhao Yuan grinned at Bian Liming:
“All right, I have a class test next week. I need to go prepare.” With that, he habitually reached into his pocket with one hand.
Bian Liming, quick-eyed and quick-handed, reached into Zhao Yuan’s right pocket at the same time, his fingertips touching a cigarette box.
Zhao Yuan paused, his hand still, looking at Bian Liming with a puzzled expression.
Bian Liming held Zhao Yuan’s hand in his pocket, slowly pulled it out, brought it in front of his own face, and touched his slightly cool nose.
Feeling the warm breath falling on his hand, Zhao Yuan heard Bian Liming, with lowered eyes, speaking:
“Even if you didn’t smoke before, your hand already smells like your grandfather’s now.”
Zhao Yuan’s chest tightened, as if the flow of blood in his whole body had stopped for a moment. His head felt a bit stuffy, unsure how to respond to this statement and whether he should just smile lightly.
“Ah Yuan…” Bian Liming’s grip tightened, and under his thick eyelashes, a pair of bright and determined black pupils stared at Zhao Yuan: “It’s been two years. Your life is your own. Just because you’ve experienced sadness doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to embrace life.”
“I… I know,” Zhao Yuan’s voice trembled slightly.
Bian Liming continued to gaze at him for a while, then released his hand, inserted it into his pocket, and raised his chin towards him:
“You better know.”
…..
That Friday, Zhao Yuan finished the in-class test.
Before that, Bian Liming had invited him to the coffee shop twice, but Zhao Yuan was in the library both times, claiming to be busy.
Bian Liming suspected that Zhao Yuan was just avoiding him, so Zhao Yuan simply sent him his course schedule.
The test was not easy, and it would ultimately affect the GPA calculation. After finishing the exam, Zhao Yuan felt a bit absent-minded, thinking about the questions in the test. He didn’t notice someone waiting for him downstairs in the dormitory.
It wasn’t until Bian Liming, a bit helpless and somewhat disappointed, spoke with a low voice when Zhao Yuan was swiping the access card at the door:
“Zhao Yuan…”
The voice was not loud, but Zhao Yuan heard it, immediately turning back towards Bian Liming.
“What are you doing here?” Zhao Yuan walked towards him.
Bian Liming inserted his hands into his pockets, tilting his head in a very casual manner.
“I checked your schedule. You’re free tonight, right? Accompany me to watch a play.”
Zhao Yuan didn’t quite catch it. “Ah… ah?”
Bian Liming took out two printed tickets from his pocket and waved them in front of Zhao Yuan.
“I said, accompany me to watch a play tonight. You’ve finished your exams, no excuses. If it ends too late to catch the school curfew, just come to my place. There’s no one at home anyway.”
Zhao Yuan, tired from the recent exam preparations, actually wanted to rest a bit. But before he could say anything, Bian Liming decisively grabbed him and, as if insisting that Zhao Yuan had to accompany him, walked away. Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment but eventually went along.
Throughout the journey, Bian Liming didn’t stop talking, even in the car. He chatted incessantly, saying that studying wasn’t the entirety of university life. This precious time should be used to experience and explore the world. Even if becoming a clinical doctor didn’t work out in the end, life still held other exciting possibilities. Don’t limit oneself too much.
Zhao Yuan felt like he was being lectured by his own children on how to adapt to the world and live a good life, a role reversal from high school when he had taught these things to Bian Liming. Now, he listened patiently with a sweet and sour feeling in his heart.
Having paid too little attention to things beyond school, Zhao Yuan hadn’t heard of this play. It wasn’t until they entered, changed into costumes with the guidance of the staff, and sat down inside the venue that Zhao Yuan realized this was an immersive play.
However, Bian Liming seemed unaware of this. After changing into their costumes and taking their seats, Bian Liming whispered to Zhao Yuan, expressing surprise at the value of the tickets.
In fact, this play had interactive elements between actors and audience. Perhaps due to their seating positions, Zhao Yuan and Bian Liming were frequently asked to cooperate with the performance. It seemed all the actors assumed the two were a couple, and they were occasionally handed lines related to this. Zhao Yuan and Bian Liming had to respond along with the lines; otherwise, the plot couldn’t progress.
From the beginning, where Bian Liming had to give Zhao Yuan a rose, to the actors urging them to drink from the same cup, and later one actor looking at them and saying, “More than ten years have passed, and you two are still together!”
Zhao Yuan and Bian Liming were startled by the plot twists again and again, forced to interact reluctantly. Anxiously waiting for the play to end, it was already 9 p.m.
After changing back into their own clothes, they came out of the theater together.
The sky was completely dark, with only street lights illuminating the scene; the sound of wind and rain combined, and there was quite a bit of water accumulating on the road, carrying fallen leaves slowly towards the drains.
October in Yangcang City was like this, occasional unexpected heavy rain; coming suddenly and fiercely. There were umbrellas for rent at the theater entrance, and many people took them, hurrying through the pouring rain. Some called for taxis, waiting under the eaves, looking left and right.
Bian Liming and Zhao Yuan were a bit stunned, standing at the entrance, watching the approaching rain with a bit of astonishment.
“Let’s wait for the rain to ease a bit before leaving,” Bian Liming turned to look at Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan also turned to look at Bian Liming, nodding expressionlessly. The two stood side by side, leaning against the theater entrance’s wall, slightly tilting their heads back, silently waiting for the rain to pass.
“Hey,” Zhao Yuan nudged Bian Liming’s arm with his elbow, “Why did you choose this play? Just to tease me and make me fall in love?”
“It wasn’t my choice,” Bian Liming said, “But that interpretation isn’t entirely wrong.”
Zhao Yuan didn’t quite understand, slightly furrowing his brows at Bian Liming.
Bian Liming also tilted slightly towards him, explaining:
“I didn’t buy the tickets. There’s a girl in our class who asked if I had plans on Friday night. I asked her what she wanted, and she pulled out two play tickets, asking if I had time to go. I asked her if she was sure about giving them to me, and she said yes, so I took them.”
Zhao Yuan was stunned, blinking his eyes and opening his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.
“Uh…” he reluctantly organized his words, “So, you took both tickets from her?”
“Yeah,” Bian Liming nodded firmly, “Aren’t we a couple?”
Zhao Yuan looked at Bian Liming, swallowed a gulp of saliva, and sighed helplessly:
“Bian Liming, maybe you should refrain from teaching me about love. Why don’t you figure out if you can handle it yourself first…”
