Cloudside Café

The Fifteenth Cup of Coffee Part 1

Jiang Ying got up slowly. She quickly said, “There is a shopping mall nearby. I’m going to buy a new pair of shoes.”

Before Yun Xian could say anything, she walked forward without hesitation, and had to stop when she made her wound worse.

Yun Xian held her and asked, “Can you walk?”

Jiang Ying nodded vigorously, “I can go through this part of the road.”

Yun Xian lent her his arm. They slowly walked to the mall, Jiang Ying picked a section and sat down.

“Pick something first, I’ll be back soon,” Yun Xian said and went out.

Jiang Ying sat on the sofa while the shop assistant showed her some different styles. She looked like a mermaid walking on spikes. The only criteria she had was if the shoes were comfortable.

When Yun Xian came back a few minutes later, he had a box of band aids in his hand.

He asked, “Did you choose?”

Jiang Ying pointed to the two pairs of shoes by her feet. “Which pair do you think looks good?”

“Black.” As he spoke, he bent down and squatted. He took out a band aid from the box and tore it open. He held Jiang Ying’s ankle and gently pressed it to her wound.

His actions were done smoothly. Before Jiang Ying could react, Yun Xian was already putting the band aid on her other foot.

She put her hands to her side and stared at the serious man in front of her. Her heart had softened, as if all the warmth and glow during spring were in front of her.

After putting on the band aid, Jiang Ying put on the pair of shoes that Yun Xian had picked. The shoes were pointy black velvet flats decorated with pearls and studs.

Jiang Ying put it on and stomped lightly. The outside was soft and the sole was flat. It was much more comfortable than high-heeled shoes.

Yun Xian helped her to stand up and complimented, “It matches your skirt.”

It was already evening when they walked out of the mall.

The day and night scenes in Shen City 1 were different. Dusk, when there is a shift in daylight, was extremely romantic.

The clouds in the sky were tinted with a rosy color and dissolved into the buildings and trees. The peak of the evening was coming. Before a new round of activities began, the city became quiet and listless.

Jiang Ying looked at the sky and said, “Let’s take a double deck bus.”

They started at the People’s Square, then they went around The Bund2 and City God Temple3. It took 35 minutes. The second floor of the double deck bus had a great view of the city.

They were very lucky, there were not many tourists today. Yun Xian and Jiang Ying sat side by side in the back of the bus.

When the bus started to leave, Jiang Ying took out her earphones from her bag and gave Yun Xian one.

The song they listened to was “Strawberries & Cigarettes” by Troye Sivan4.

Strawberry smoke seemed to be the most appropriate way to describe a lover: Giving you sweetness and making you intoxicated.

Jiang Ying was distracted for a while and confirmed with the flower shop when the flowers would be received.

She had never confessed to anyone and had no experience. She did not dare to think about whether the end result would be good or bad. While there were thousands of people in the world, at this moment, only this man next to her was sharing the music and sunset glow with her.

That night, Jiang Ying was willing to take a chance no matter what—a chance to find out if Yun Xian was willing to be her real boyfriend or not.

They sat side by side. The evening wind blowing through their hair.

The three minutes and twenty-one seconds song was played for the third time, and the dreamy male voice sang “Strawberries and cigarettes always taste like you”. Jiang Ying realized that Yun Xian seemed to be looking at her, so she turned her head.

She looked at the man’s eyes, and saw that he had a smile in his eyes and on his lips.

Jiang Ying pushed the scattered strands of hair behind her ears and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Maybe it’s the enhanced dusk background, maybe it’s the small mole below his eye. The look Yun Xian gave to Jiang Ying was full of love and affection.

While Jiang Ying was flustered by this look and her heart was pounding, Yun Xian leaned closer to her, held her face, and kissed her.

The orange-yellow lights of the street lamps illuminated them, and the moon climbed to the clouds.

At that moment, Jiang Ying’s chest suddenly tightened, her breath was hot. She heard her own heartbeat accelerate crazily, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, like thunder.

Once the music in the earphone came to an end again, Yun Xian withdrew from the girl’s soft lip with longing.

He still held her face, pressed her forehead against his, and rubbed the tip of her nose.

The look on a man after he had fallen in love seemed to contain the moon and flowers. It was incredibly gentle.

Jiang Ying breathed unsteadily and asked in a trembling voice, “I-isn’t it sudden?”

Yun Xian gave a short chuckle, and his voice was husky and low, filled with desire as he said, “Sudden? I’ve been planning it for a long time.”

Footnotes

Shen City is another name for Shanghaiwaterfront area in Shanghai WikiWikiLink to the song