NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71
Chapter 71 – Milk Tea
Mei Fang and Lin You Xi rarely had the opportunity to go shopping together since Mei Fang wasn’t accustomed to it. Most of the time, it was Xia Yuan who would either find Lin You Xi or all three of them.
After getting off the bus, they awkwardly discovered that the Xin Chun Supermarket’s door was still closed.
“Isn’t it supposed to open at eight? It’s already a quarter past eight.”
Lin You Xi seemed dejected, “How can these people be so relaxed about making money?”
“We might have to wait a bit longer for them to open properly. Let’s walk around the area for now.”
Bai Mei County is located in the central region of the Heavenly Dynasty, with no heating and very damp and cold air. As winter approached in late November, even with thick cotton clothes, Lin You Xi couldn’t help but sneeze.
Unlike boys who make loud noises when they sneeze, girls generally have a softer sound, like “Ah—Jiu.” But Lin You Xi’s sneezes always ended with just “Jiu,” softly and rather endearingly.
Mei Fang handed her a tissue and noticed the nearby milk tea shop had just opened. He asked, “Shall we go in there and sit down?”
“Sure.”
Lin You Xi nodded, wiped her nose, folded the tissue neatly, and threw it away.
“Your rhinitis is still the same; it acts up whenever the weather changes. Haven’t you gone to the hospital to check it out?”
“My dad took me to Xunyang City to see a doctor before. The doctor said I need to grow up a bit more before I can have surgery.”
Lin You Xi walked alongside Mei Fang with her hands in her pockets, “How much do electric scooters usually cost? Is 3000 yuan enough?”
“They’re definitely affordable, but quality varies. It depends on what the supermarket’s lottery draws.”
“I hope it’s not too expensive…”
When they arrived at the milk tea shop, the staff were busy cleaning and tidying up. Seeing customers arrive, they greeted them warmly:
“Hello… Two students, what would you like to drink?”
Mei Fang looked at Lin You Xi, “What do you want to drink? I’ll order for you.”
“Huh?”
Lin You Xi shook her head, “Why should you order? Today, you’re accompanying me, so naturally, I’ll treat you.”
“Um… I don’t really have anything special in mind. Whatever you choose is fine.”
“If you’re not drinking, then neither will I.”
Seeing the smile on the barista’s face gradually fade, Mei Fang quickly changed his tone, “Yes, yes, I’ll get a medium-sized red bean milk tea.”
“Me too… That’s eight yuan, right? Could you please make it hot?”
After Lin You Xi paid, she sat next to Mei Fang.
“Why did you order the same as me?”
She explained, “I wasn’t sure which one tasted better.”
“You and Yuan never came here before?”
“Not often, I don’t remember much.”
Lin You Xi thought for a moment, “And, weren’t milk tea shops only starting to become popular in recent years? The old pearl tea stands used to look very unhygienic. When I was in elementary school, the boys in my class loved taking out the pearls from the pearl tea and throwing them on the walls, making them wet and sticky. It was disgusting.”
“Hahahaha! I remember that.”
Mei Fang teased, “You complained about the hygiene of the pearl tea back then, but you didn’t eat fewer potato chips, did you?”
“That’s different.”
Lin You Xi smiled slightly, “Potato chips are a precious intangible cultural heritage in Bai Mei County. We must protect their business and keep them going.”
“If you think they’re that good, then that’s great.”
“Don’t you enjoy them too?”
“Well… I guess so…”
Mei Fang sighed deeply.
In his previous life, he was also a real fan of Bai Mei County’s potato chips. As a child, he always dreamed of buying and eating as many as possible once he had the money.
But when he finally had some money, he bought them in large quantities, ate a few bites, and then put them down, sighing, “Sigh, they’re not as good as they used to be.”
It felt as if the best memories were all from his childhood.
Mei Fang was lost in thought when he realized Lin You Xi had been watching him.
“What are you thinking about, Ah Fang?”
“Um… I was thinking about the past.”
“Why do you look so sad when thinking about the past?”
Lin You Xi pondered, “Weren’t we happy when we were kids?”
“You don’t understand, boys’ thoughts are quite complex.”
“…”
Lin You Xi frowned, “That sounds like something girls usually say.”
“Hmm, but I haven’t seen you use it.”
Lin You Xi pouted and gave Mei Fang an annoyed glance. Just then, the milk tea was ready and the barista handed them a heart-shaped sticker notebook.
“What’s this for?” Lin You Xi asked curiously.
“It’s for our milk tea shop’s wall of voices. You can stick any opinions, taste reviews, or personal messages you want to remember on the wall. These are notes left by previous customers. You can take a look.”
“Oh, I see…”
Mei Fang suddenly remembered that this place was near Bai Mei No. 1 High School, so the milk tea shop likely saw a lot of high school students.
After being reminded by the barista, Lin You Xi held her warm milk tea, curiously reading the contents of the stickers. Some praised the milk tea’s flavor, while others wrote melancholic youth literature:
“Your shadow isn’t in the sky, yet you’ve truly flown through my colorful world. That faint trace is the only track I seek you by now.”
There were also many random original melancholic youth quotes, such as:
“I’m looking up at the sky with a 45-degree angle, at that bright melancholy — By Phantom Dragon Sorrow”
Mei Fang, seeing Lin You Xi engrossed in reading the stickers, couldn’t help but ask curiously:
“Since you’re so interested, why don’t you write something?”
Lin You Xi shook her head, “I don’t have anything special to write now. We’ll write together next time with Yuan.”
“We could write something together, right?”
“No, I don’t want to.”
Lin You Xi shook her head again, “All the notes written by both boys and girls here are from couples. I haven’t seen any childhood friends writing here.”
“Hmm…”
Mei Fang wore a helpless expression.
Seeing him like that, Lin You Xi suddenly called out his name for no reason,
“Afang!”
“Yes?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to call you.”
Lin You Xi smiled sweetly, squinting her eyes. This was a smile she rarely showed in front of strangers.
“Haha… Are you not used to calling me like this during school?”
“A little.”
After saying that, Lin You Xi lowered her head and sucked on the straw, seriously drinking her milk tea. Mei Fang stared at her for a while, then also lowered his head to drink his milk tea.
“This milk tea tastes good.”
“Yeah, it does! Next time, I’ll bring Yuan along.”
After a while, they noticed the Xin Chun Supermarket finally opening its roller shutter door.
“It’s almost time, let’s go to the mall and see what the lucky draw scooter looks like.”
—
Sorry, I was playing God’s Balance again!
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(End of Chapter)