The box Zhang Youning handed me was packed to the brim with an assortment of candies. They were beautifully wrapped, dainty, and adorable, featuring prints of the little cats I loved so much.
She pulled one out, held it out to me, and gave a slight nod, gesturing for me to try it. I took it, tore open the wrapper, and popped it into my mouth. Instantly, I was blown away by the incredible flavor.
There was a reason Zhang Youning was cut out to run a dessert shop…her skills were unmatched!
I gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up, showering her with compliments, and proceeded to eat several more in a row just to show how much I meant it. Seeing that I genuinely loved them, her smile brightened considerably, and her thumbs flew across her phone screen even faster.
“I’m glad you like them. Come find me when you finish these, and I’ll make you more.”
“Mhm! Thank you!” I texted back.
Since she had finished delivering the treats, she prepared to leave. I walked her to my front door, taking a quick peek at the neighbor’s house next door as I did. Their door was tightly shut, completely silent.
Suddenly, a hand rested gently on my head. I froze, looking up blankly at the person it belonged to. Zhang Youning was looking back at me with an unreadable smile, her hand tenderly stroking my hair.
Startled by the abrupt touch, my body tensed up automatically. I took an instinctive step back, putting some distance between us.
Youning’s hand froze mid-air. An awkward expression crossed her face as she quickly pulled her hand back and lowered her head, her movements becoming stiff and unnatural.
“I’m leaving,” she signed quickly, her smile strained as she practically bolted away.
Leaning against the doorframe, I watched as she skipped the elevator entirely and ran straight down the stairs.
“Ah, seriously.” Feeling a bit awkward myself, I decided to brush it off, went back inside, and deadbolted the door.
It was getting late; time to get some rest.
Life continued to roll by day after day. It wasn’t exactly boring, but it wasn’t thrilling either. The sun rose in the east and set in the west, the leaves on the school campus fell only for new buds to grow back—it was a perpetual cycle, and I felt like someone destined to live within that loop forever.
I made sure to attend the grand opening of Youning’s dessert shop. The place was packed with customers, and her parents were there helping out. When I arrived, Youning was ecstatic. She had baked a massive mango cake specifically to celebrate with me and her family.
Thanks to her exceptional baking skills, business at “Ah-Ning’s Sweet Shop” boomed. Every day, customers flocked to the shop just to snap photos, and Youning even gained a decent following online.
Before I knew it, the leaves of the plane trees at school had fallen one by one, leaving the branches bare and exposed.
Then, it snowed.
A thin layer of snow blanketed the branches, turning the roads slick and icy. Though the snow had been swept to the sides of the streets, it was still easy to slip if you weren’t careful.
“Youning!”
The moment I stepped out of the school gates after class, I spotted that familiar silhouette.
Bundled up in a plaid scarf and a heavy coat, Zhang Youning was standing in the snow waiting for me. Seeing me walk out, she purposely pulled her hand out of her pocket and waved vigorously, making sure I wouldn’t miss her.
Shen Leqing, who was walking out right behind me, greeted her warmly.
“I’m heading out first! You and Youning-jie be careful on the road!” Leqing called out as she waved goodbye.
“Got it, see you tomorrow!”
Ever since Youning found out my school wasn’t far from her shop, she would come pick me up after school whenever she was free. She’d bring me back to the shop to hang out or do my homework. Since my house was empty and boring anyway, staying at Youning’s place felt much livelier and safer, so I never turned her down.
Because she had been waiting for me, a thin layer of snow had settled on her head and shoulders. I stood on my tiptoes, leaning in to gently brush the snow off her clothes before pulling her along toward the dessert shop.
Unable to speak, she simply kept a sweet smile on her face, gently shaking our clasped hands.
“Did you have a fun day?” she signed, stepping ahead of me to face me.
I nodded, responding in fluent sign language: “I did! I even had braised pork for lunch…it was so hard to snag a portion. Oh, and winter break is starting soon! Sheng Yitang and the others said they want to come hang out at your shop once break starts!”
“Wonderful. I’ve just been testing some new recipes, so they can try them when they come.”
I beamed, nodding as I took her hand again, and we swayed our way back to the shop.
“Ah, Youning and Wen Ling are back! It must be freezing outside, hurry up and brush off the snow. Come in and get warm,” Cheng Yu-jie said, helping me take off my backpack and handing us some cloths to wipe away the melted snow.
I forgot to mention…Cheng Yu-jie was Youning’s childhood friend from the orphanage. Because she had albinism, she was never adopted and lived at the orphanage until she turned sixteen. Now that she was an adult, she had come to help out after hearing that Youning was hiring.
Youning had been adopted by her foster parents when she was ten, and the two girls hadn’t seen each other since. Cheng Yu had assumed Youning wouldn’t recognize her, but Youning had known exactly who she was with just a single glance and hired her on the spot.
And that brought us to the present. Aside from Youning and myself…a voluntary, part-time helper…Cheng Yu-jie was the only official staff member at the shop.
The shop wasn’t very busy at the moment, with plenty of empty seats. I picked my favorite spot by the window to set my things down, then immediately headed off to take care of more important business.
Cheng Yu-jie smiled helplessly. “Jinhu isn’t out here. He’s sleeping in the kitchen.”
Following her directions, I slipped into the back kitchen. Sure enough, Jinhu was sprawled out completely relaxed near the large oven. Inside the oven, a cake was baking, filling the air with a rich, delicious aroma.
Taking advantage of Jinhu’s lowered guard, I lunged forward, scooped the cat up right under his front legs, and pulled him into my arms to shower him with kisses.
Youning hurried into the kitchen right behind me. Seeing me smothering Jinhu, her hands flew into rapid motion as she signed.
“Is that so, Jinhu? I heard you knocked over the cream today, got it all over yourself, and then went to roll around in the dirt?” Instead of putting him down immediately, I inspected him closely and took a sniff. Sure enough, parts of his fur were still sticky and filthy, emitting a bizarre odor that smelled like a mix of whipped cream and mud.
I dropped the cat instantly, shaking my hands in disgust, and gave Jinhu a deeply resentful glare.
Youning looked at Jinhu, laughing as she translated for me: “Jinhu says he was sleeping perfectly fine until you disturbed him, and now you’re tossing him away in disgust. He says you don’t get to hold him next time.”
True to form, Jinhu glared right back at me with an equally resentful look.
Cheng Yu was already doubling over with laughter nearby. Helpless, I knelt down and started smoothing out Jinhu’s fur as an apology.
Jinhu flicked his tail and turned his back on me. But according to Youning, he had already forgiven me; he just temporarily didn’t want to look at me.
Fine then. He could go enjoy the warmth of the oven while I went to look for Wuxue.
Wuxue was nowhere to be seen in the shop. Cheng Yu mentioned that she had slipped out early in the morning. Wuxue was always like that…she hated staying in one place and loved going out on adventures. But with the year coming to an end and the weather being so freezing, wandering outside all the time was getting a bit dangerous.
Just as we were talking about her, a tiny black-and-white figure materialized outside the glass window the very next second. With her tail held high, she waddled inside through the small pet door.
Probably due to the drastic temperature change, she sneezed twice in a row the moment she stepped inside, shaking the snow off her fur. I reached out to touch her little paws and found them ice-cold, so I scooped her up and brought her straight to the kitchen to warm up too.
Youning had the exact same thought I did. The moment Wuxue returned, Youning caught her and gave her a stern talking-to. I couldn’t quite grasp everything she signed to the cat, but by the end of it, Wuxue’s eyes looked entirely reformed and innocent.
“Alright, she should behave herself for a while now,” Youning informed me.
I didn’t care much about what she had actually said to Wuxue…as long as it worked, that was good enough for me.
Ding-ling-ling—
The wind chimes at the entrance jingled, and Youning’s phone vibrated simultaneously.
“Hello, welcome! What can I get started for you today?” Cheng Yu’s voice echoed from the front, and Youning wiped the flour off her hands onto her apron before heading out to join her.
Since they had to work, it was time for me to get to my own things.
Winter nights arrived incredibly fast. What had been a dimly lit sky moments ago was now pitch black, and the streetlights flickered on, illuminating the entire city in a warm glow.
I stayed for a long time. I lost track of how long I had been playing with the two cats until I eventually ended up resting my head on the table, hugging Jinhu close, and drifting off to sleep.
In my dream, the sweet aroma of pastries still surrounded me. Clouds transformed into various flavors of little cakes, and even the fallen snow tasted like fruit tea. Cats became floating marshmallows in the sky, turning the entire world sweet.
I reached up, trying to catch a marshmallow from the sky, but no matter how high I jumped, I couldn’t reach it. I started pacing in circles out of sheer frustration. Perhaps the marshmallow took pity on my sorrowful state because it suddenly decided to drift right down into my hand. Overjoyed, I was just about to shove it into my mouth when…
“Wen Ling, Wen Ling, wake up! Stop dreaming, Jinhu is already completely covered in your drool!”
Cheng Yu shook me awake. I blinked open my eyes only to find Jinhu dripping with my saliva, glaring at me furiously with his fur completely puffed up.
“I’m so sorry, Jinhu! I dreamed you were a sweet marshmallow,” I quickly apologized, reaching out to stroke the little cat’s head to placate him.
Jinhu didn’t seem to buy it. He kept his back arched, tracking my movements like he was ready to pick a fight with me at any second.
Fortunately, Youning stepped in just in time. It took her quite a while to soothe Jinhu, finally preventing a full-blown catastrophe.
Standing to the side, Cheng Yu stared at the dirty, strangely-scented Jinhu and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Looks like I’ll absolutely have to take you guys for a bath tomorrow.”
I grabbed a cloth to temporarily wipe Jinhu down, brushed his fur neat, and offered a peace offering of Churu treats and canned food. Only then did I finally manage to win back Jinhu’s favor.
Youning and Cheng Yu packed up the shop and cleaned everything thoroughly. I topped off the food and water bowls for our two little furry friends, finished up the closing chores, and finally turned off the lights, locking up the shop for the night.
Cheng Yu hopped on her electric scooter and rode off, while I walked home hand-in-hand with Youning. Fearing that I would be cold, Youning took off her own scarf, wrapped it around my neck, and tied it into a beautiful, massive bow.
The bow she made was so big that it started blocking my view, so I twisted it around to my back. I then began strutting with my head held high, mimicking the elegant Western ladies from old movies. Youning burst out laughing, signing that I looked just like the snobbish white cat from Tom and Jerry.
I gestured for her to pull out her phone and record a video. I walked out in front, doing a dramatic catwalk, chest out, head high, making sure to elegantly pat my bow as I walked.
Then, I suddenly whipped around to face the camera, delivering a theatrical pitch: “The Youning-brand bow. Put it on, and you’re an instant princess. Because you’re worth it.”
Youning couldn’t hear a word I said, but the bright smile never left her face.