Chapter One: This Season

Yichun in early winter was beautiful, like a girl in a pure white wedding gown, quiet and gentle. The warm morning sun left flecks of light across the white city, faint but earnest, shining over the land where countless people had poured out their sweat.

Many people only truly felt winter arrive after seeing the first snowfall of the year swirl through the streets, and many lovely girls, though reluctant, instinctively pulled on heavy padded coats. The more spirited young men still ran along the long streets in nothing more than thin sweaters. Yichun, draped in silver, looked so serene beneath the falling snow that the number of pedestrians did not decrease at all; if anything, it was greater than in late autumn. Most children loved this season, for in this age of information they could still feel the simple joys that belonged only to childhood.

It had already been two months since my cold drinks shop, Seek, opened, and overall, I was quite satisfied with the results. After two months of tension and indecision, I had gradually begun to adapt to this somewhat tight rhythm of life, and I was slowly starting to develop the awareness and bearing of a true businessman.

When I pushed open the door, the first person to meet my eyes was Yang Xiaoyu, dressed in a black work uniform. She had not changed much from a few months ago; she still wore her offbeat red hair, but now her delicate oval face was framed by a pair of round spectacles. I knew she was not actually nearsighted, but according to her, she wore them because they made her look cute.

"Morning, Boss Yang," Xiaoyu said in her usual offhand tone, making it perfectly clear that she did not regard me as her boss. There was more disdain than respect in those words for the title itself.

"Morning." I was truly grateful to this outwardly cool but inwardly warm girl. If not for her astonishing gift for making cold drinks, my little shop would probably already have sunk into the same desolate silence as all the others.

"Where's Qiaoqiao?" I glanced around and asked casually.

"Something came up at home. She probably can't make it today."

The Qiaoqiao Xiaoyu was talking about was a new waitress we had recently hired. Her real name was Li Qiao, a sweet young woman who had just graduated from university. I knew she would not stay long; after all, a university graduate in the awkward months between school and work would hardly choose to remain in a small cold drinks shop for the long haul. Still, her arrival had indeed taken a great deal of pressure off me.

I picked a random seat and sat down, while Xiaoyu continued pacing back and forth between the main hall and the back room, I had no idea what she was busy with. I never interfered with whatever she did, and if I occasionally found it odd and asked a question, I still might not get an answer. In time I had grown used to all of Xiaoyu's habits. My only rule was simple: as long as she did not drop the ball when it came to work, I did not care how she played around the rest of the time.

"Waiting for Sister Shi Yu?" Xiaoyu passed by me and asked indifferently.

"Mm."

For a while after the opening, Sister Shi Yu would come by the shop during the day to help me tidy up, and occasionally to play waitress for a bit. Of course I tried my best to stop her, because I was the only one who understood just how exhausted she was. I did not want her body to bear any more burden because of me. But Sister Shi Yu had always done exactly as she pleased. For every sentence of persuasion I offered, she had ten waiting for me. In the end, I had no choice but to give in.

What surprised me, though, was that during the times when Sister Shi Yu helped out as a waitress, the shop's sales were always especially high. Could this be the legendary effect of beauty?

During those days, Sister Shi Yu got to know Xiaoyu Yang. They were not what one would call close, but when they ran into each other, they would still smile and address one another as sisters.

Over these two months, as if it had become a habit, Sister Shi Yu would come to the shop every Friday morning to sit for a while, chat with me, and tell me about the week's various experiences, some amusing and some sad. Before long, Friday mornings had almost become an unspoken appointment for the two of us to talk. And today was Friday.

While I idly fiddled with my phone and browsed the internet, a pair of slender hands pushed open the shop door, and then a beautiful, mature figure walked slowly into the cold drinks shop.

A smile touched the corners of my mouth as I raised a hand and waved at Shi Yu.

Today, Sister Shi Yu wore a white long down coat for women. A black winter miniskirt highlighted her long legs and slender waist, while a pair of black knee-high leather boots brought out her noble, elegant bearing. Though she had tucked away the seductive allure of her summer figure, she now seemed to possess something even softer and gentler.

She walked gracefully to the chair across from me, casually draping her coat over the backrest before revealing the black V-neck sweater beneath, then slowly sat down.

"How's the shop doing lately? Has sales held up after the weather turned cold?" Shi Yu was not quite her usual self. The moment she sat down, she went straight to the point. Her tone was not especially severe, but I could see urgency in her eyes.

"Mm, sales are pretty good. Most customers come at noon and in the evening, so profitability isn't a problem." I spread my hands and told her the truth. In fact, for the first month or so, our conversations had mostly been about little things in daily life. This was the first time we had sat down and talked directly about business.

"Sis, here's your milk." Xiaoyu came over and placed a cup of steaming milk on Shi Yu's table, then stuck out her tongue at me, as though she had no intention of bringing me anything at all, not even hot water.

"Thanks, Xiaoyu. When things are quiet, you should get some rest too. Don't tire yourself out." Shi Yu looked happily at the milk in front of her, then gave the playful beauty Xiaoyu Yang a gentle smile and lifted the cup, blowing on it lightly.

"The milk isn't hot. I poured it out earlier and let it cool before you came," Xiaoyu replied with an affectionate smile of her own.

At Xiaoyu's words, Shi Yu paused, looked at me, then back at Xiaoyu, and asked in confusion, "You knew I was coming?"

"Of course. Every Friday morning, the rendezvous between the beautiful woman and Boss Yang is right on time. I haven't even bothered looking at the calendar lately..." After saying that, Xiaoyu fled back to her work area as if escaping for her life.

That left Shi Yu and me both blushing hard. I awkwardly explained, "Sister Shi, that girl has no filter. She always says nonsense."

Though Shi Yu's face had turned a little red, she did not avert her gaze from mine. Looking at my somewhat embarrassed expression, she covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"Well then, Sis should drink the milk first. If it gets cold, it's bad for your stomach," I said quickly, changing the subject and pointing at the cup of milk that was more than half full in front of her.

Shi Yu nodded, then brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip. After thinking for a moment, she asked me, "Your skill is still amazing. It seems you've even added sugar and a little cocoa powder. Want to try some?"

I shook my head, but with her words, an inexplicable melancholy welled up inside me, distant and yet deeply etched into my heart.

"Honestly, the design and decoration of this place are really quite good. It really is just as you said back then: once people come here, it's hard for them to forget it... I wonder if everyone has gained some insight while eating cold drinks..." Shi Yu set the milk cup back on the table and gazed thoughtfully at the sign on the wall beside us, its black background and white lettering catching her eye.

I gave a wry smile and did not answer. Whether anyone had gained insight, I did not know. But it reminded me of so many memories from the past, and that only made my heart ache all the more.

The person I loved still had no news to this day. I did not know whether she was doing well, or whether she still remembered that she had a boyfriend like me. In the blink of an eye, we had been apart for four months. I had quit smoking once again, and every now and then when I returned home and saw the bet slip between the two of us in the drawer, my heart would fill with an indescribable bitterness. Luo Qing, how long will it take before you come back into my world again?

"When you have time, take Xiaoyu out to eat more often. If it weren't for her help, this shop wouldn't have made it to where it is." Seeing the slightly absent look on my face, Shi Yu gently tapped the table and said.

Shi Yu's words pulled me back to reality. I hurriedly nodded. In truth, it was not just Xiaoyu, but also that girl Zhang Tongtong. I really ought to treat them both properly.

I still remembered the first few days after the cold drinks shop opened. The flow of customers had been beyond anything I could have imagined. There were clearly not enough tables and chairs in the shop, and because of a decision I had made, I was the only waiter on duty. Along with the joy came far more frustration and regret. If I had known that Sister Ke Wen's promotional work would be so effective, I should have spent more and taken a gamble, hiring a few more waiters.

With no other choice, I went to the campus girl Zhang Tongtong, with whom I had once worked for a while, and asked her to help me find a few friends to lend a hand temporarily. Money would not be a problem.

Tongtong was wonderfully straightforward. The very next day, she brought over three female friends she was fairly close with, and that solved the urgent problem we faced at the start.

As for Xiaoyu, there was no need to say more. She handled all the cold drink preparation in the shop by herself. Though her technique had become highly skilled, demand still outstripped supply, and many customers ended up waiting anxiously for quite some time before finally getting what they ordered.

During the day Xiaoyu had to stay busy at the shop, and at night she still spent time imagining new cold drinks, writing down the ingredients and preparation process, and occasionally staying behind to taste-test her experiments. Everything she did had long since gone beyond the responsibilities of an ordinary employee. I saw all of it, and I remembered it all in my heart. I had originally planned that once the peak of our publicity effect had passed, I would treat her, Zhang Tongtong, and Sister Shi Yu to a proper meal and formally express my gratitude for all the effort they had given me.

But the days that followed were no less busy. Zhang Tongtong and her classmates returned to school, and I had already hired Li Qiao in advance. Although the number of customers had dropped a great deal, the number of staff in our shop had also gone down, so the overall workload was still heavy. The only one who could breathe a little easier was Xiaoyu, and even that ease was only relative to how overwhelmed she had been before.

Little by little, I forgot about the promised meal. Though I had always been grateful to them in my heart, I kept putting it off. Only now, after Sister Shi Yu's reminder, did I suddenly remember, and I could not help feeling a little ashamed. A certain degree of self-reproach also stirred inside me, making me feel that I really was a failure as a boss...