8 – vol.2 Strawberry Milk
Zhou Wensen quickly provided an answer to her confusion:
“It’s actually pretty frustrating. My boss originally asked me to take a major client to see our company’s suburban project, but something suddenly went wrong at the site. The boss told me to stall for time.”
“But in this big suburban area, surrounded by universities and parks, where could I possibly stall for time? It’s not like I can take the client to stroll around a park, right?”
As he spoke, his tone was full of complaints, but he quickly changed direction, saying:
“Fortunately—I had a flash of inspiration and remembered you’re here, Suisui!”
When he said this, Zhou Wensen’s eyebrows were raised with pride.
He continued triumphantly, “A coffee shop, what a perfect place! So, I thought I’d bring him here to sit for a while. Once my boss gives me the okay, I’ll take him over.”
After listening to this torrent of words, Wen Ruosui roughly understood the situation.
However, she had some concerns:
“Wouldn’t that… be a bit inappropriate?”
After a pause, she explained, “What I mean is, what if the client isn’t satisfied with this place? Could it affect your work?”
“No way!” Zhou Wensen said confidently.
He brought two fingers together, gestured near his temple, and gave her a wink. “Don’t worry, I trust your skills, Suisui. You’ll definitely impress them. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought him here.”
A few seconds later, he added, “Oh, and for the coffee, just serve lattes. Bring some desserts and cakes too, and try to make the setting as impressive as possible.”
After saying this, Zhou Wensen leaned his head outside to look.
Wen Ruosui followed his gaze and saw a black car in the distance on the street outside the glass window, heading in their direction.
It must be the client he mentioned.
Zhou Wensen’s expression immediately turned serious. “No time to talk now, he’s almost here. I’ll go outside to greet him. As for the food and drinks, Suisui, just handle it as you see fit.”
With that, he pushed open the glass door and hurried off to meet the client.
Wen Ruosui shook her head helplessly at Zhou Wensen’s hurried retreating figure.
She turned back and began bustling around, following his instructions.
Meanwhile, at the counter, Xiao Hui was still sitting listlessly in her spot. Her eyes looked a bit red, but she seemed to have regained her composure, likely having accepted reality.
Having vaguely overheard their conversation earlier, Xiao Hui fiddled with a candy between her fingers, spinning it around, and asked somewhat lethargically:
“Is Vincent here again?”
Wen Ruosui stood in front of the cabinet, taking out the freshly ground coffee beans from the automatic grinder, and nodded. “Yeah, he is.”
Xiao Hui was also familiar with his visits.
She didn’t react much, simply replying with an “Oh.” Then, she pinched a corner of the candy, tore open the wrapper, and popped the nougat into her mouth.
But after a moment’s thought, Xiao Hui realized something was off.
She mumbled around the candy, “Wait… isn’t today a weekday? Why isn’t he at work?”
Wen Ruosui was bent over, placing the freshly ground coffee powder into the filter beside her, pouring in hot water, and pressing down the plunger, waiting for the imported French press to extract the rich coffee.
As she waited, she lowered her head and thought for a moment, only telling Xiao Hui half the story:
“He said he brought a man with him.”
A man…
This keyword naturally piqued Xiao Hui’s interest.Her previously drooping head instantly perked up, and she stopped chewing the nougat in her mouth, opening her eyes wide with a gossipy expression as she asked:
“Using work hours for dating, how impressive.”
“Did you get a new boyfriend?”
Hearing this question, Wen Ruosui couldn’t help but chuckle.
It was no wonder Xiao Hui reacted this way—after all, she had also just mistaken Zhou Wensen for bringing a new boyfriend.
Actually, this café was still Vincent’s go-to dating spot.
A dating spot for men.
Over the past year, Wen Ruosui and Xiao Hui had already witnessed him bringing five different boyfriends to the shop.
And every time he brought a new boyfriend for a date, he would order two caramel macchiatos and a seasonal dessert. This kind of routine operation was nothing new to the two girls.
Wen Ruosui turned around and patted the gossip lover’s head, smiling as she said:
“No.”
She took a large spoon from the counter, scooped out the fine foam floating on the coffee’s surface along with some suspended coffee grounds, and discarded them before explaining to Xiao Hui:
“The one who came today isn’t a boyfriend. He said it’s a client, and something came up halfway, so he stopped by here for a while.”
After a pause, she added gently, “I just saw you were in a bad mood earlier, so I was teasing you.”
Xiao Hui let out an interjection: “Tch.”
As soon as she heard it wasn’t a boyfriend, Xiao Hui’s interest immediately waned by more than half.
She resumed chewing her nougat while tossing the wrapper into the trash can, grumbling:
“And here I thought I’d get to see his sixth boyfriend.”
Wen Ruosui, busy with her tasks, responded with a smile: “He hasn’t even broken up with his fifth one yet, and you’re already thinking about seeing the sixth.”
As she spoke, Wen Ruosui glanced toward the door out of the corner of her eye.
Outside the café, a pure black Mercedes-Benz slowly came to a stop. Sunlight reflected off the car’s body, even the edges shimmering with a silvery glow.
He had arrived.
Time was a bit tight. She poured the coffee from the pot into two white porcelain cups, added milk foam, and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon powder. After finishing these tasks, she instructed Xiao Hui:
“Xiao Hui, get up and start working once you finish your candy. Help me bring these two cups of coffee to the seat by the window. Also, pick out some desserts and bring them over.”
Then, she pointed toward the door, signaling: “I’ll go outside first to greet the guest.”
Xiao Hui tilted her head and mumbled: “Got it.”
Wen Ruosui said as she walked out: “Just a bit more work, and after the café closes, you can take a long break.”
Xiao Hui frowned even more anxiously: “Closing means I’ll be unemployed, with no money.”
“Don’t worry, when we close for good, you’ll get a big bonus,” Wen Ruosui promised.
“Really?” Xiao Hui was overjoyed.
At the mention of money, the young girl’s spirits instantly revived. Even her drooping bun perked up as she giggled: “Alright, alright, I’ll get to work, Boss Suisui!”
She was back to her energetic, spirited self.
Seeing her adorable expression, even Wen Ruosui, who had already reached the door, couldn’t help but laugh.
She simply couldn’t resist turning back, vigorously ruffling Xiao Hui’s head, and playfully saying: “Hurry up.”
And the figure with the bun had already left her spot and started busily working.Wen Ruosui also turned around, directing her gaze toward the café entrance, where she noticed someone had already pushed open the glass door and entered.
Zhou Wensen was walking at the front.
Holding the glass door open, he gestured to the person behind him, saying, “President Pei, please come in.”
Seeing the figures of several people, Wen Ruosui quickly stepped forward to greet them, saying:
“Welcome.”
However, as soon as the words left her lips, she lifted her eyes and saw the tall figure stepping through the doorway—
She froze instantly.
Her polite smile stiffened at the corners of her mouth.
The step she had intended to take forward remained rooted in place, unable to move even half an inch further.
Beside the glass door, the swaying wind chimes continued to emit crisp, tinkling sounds.
The coffee grinder hummed softly in the background.
The rich aroma of coffee and the sweet scent of cake drifted into her nostrils.
The gentle summer breeze that slipped through the glass door brushed softly against her cheeks, lifting a few stray strands of hair on either side.
Standing motionless, Wen Ruosui was completely lost in thought.
Within her field of vision, it was as if the surface of a lake under the afternoon sun shimmered with rippling light.
Amid the light, airy chimes, she could hear the erratic rhythm of her own heartbeat.