Chapter 25: Holding Brother Hunzi’s Little Hand

Tattooed Cousin’s Coffee Shop.

Since it was located on the first floor of the same mall as the bookstore, and Lin Shu still had some time before heading to Zhou Ya’s place for dinner, she decided to drop by and sit for a while.

Xie Buchan was wearing a black apron, busy clearing a table. He could be quite the delinquent, but when working, he adopted a sort of listless, corporate-drone vibe that somehow gave him a strange, husband-like domesticity.

Lin Shu plopped into a seat and waved her arm. "Hey, handsome! Handsome! Order over here!"

"Coming."

Xie Buchan set his things down, walked over, pulled out an order pad, and clicked his ballpoint pen.

Lin Shu said, "I’ll take a Loshen coffee, but hold the coffee; a cheesecake, but hold the cheese; and a bottle of mineral water from 1982."

Xie Buchan paused.

Lin Shu glanced at him sideways, flashing a provocative, punchable smile.

*Tsk.*

The boy tapped the brim of her baseball cap and retorted irritably, "Are you here to cause trouble? Do you want me to have someone toss you out?"

Lin Shu cupped her chin and grinned, baring her teeth. "Go ahead and toss me out. Then I’ll tell everyone you’re a heartless cad who refuses to take responsibility. And when your cousin beats you up, I’ll scream, 'Don't hit him! The baby can't grow up without a father!'"

Huh?

Xie Buchan was so annoyed he laughed. He tapped her cap again; though he said nothing, his eyes were clearly calling her a hopeless loser.

Since it was almost dinnertime, the shop wasn't busy. Xie Buchan went into the back to tinker around for a bit and returned with coffee and a matcha cake.

The latte art on the coffee was hideous. It was clearly Xie Buchan’s handiwork.

Lin Shu studied it for a moment, then thought of the little white dog in his profile picture. "Did you draw your dog in my coffee?"

"It’s free, so take it or leave it." Xie Buchan made a move to take it away.

Lin Shu blocked him, muttering, "Oh, it's free? Well, in that case, this dog is actually drawn quite beautifully. Look, even though the eyes are lopsided and the head is flat, you can tell at a glance—it’s definitely a dog."

Vivid, abstract. Mostly, it was free.

Xie Buchan went back inside and returned with a plate of pastries: trendy cream fruit tarts. She said she had ordered too much and still had dinner ahead of her, but Xie Buchan claimed his cousin wanted her to try them—they were a new item and he needed her opinion.

Lin Shu waved her fork, greeting Xie Buchan’s cousin through the glass. The cousin casually flexed his powerful, tattooed arm, giving her a thumbs-up while flexing his exaggerated muscles.

Do all men who lift do this? Lin Shu couldn't stop laughing.

She sipped her coffee slowly, trying not to ruin the art. Once she finished the tart and gave her feedback, she found she couldn't manage the matcha cake, so she split it into two pieces and asked Xie Buchan to share.

Xie Buchan reached out to poke at it.

"You've got something on your hand..." Lin Shu reached over to brush it off.

Xie Buchan looked up. "What?"

Lin Shu showed her fingers; it was a piece of glittery paper. Xie Buchan explained that two acquaintances had held a birthday party in the shop earlier, and despite sweeping three times, he hadn't realized some was still stuck to him.

"Confetti cannons," Lin Shu said. "Those are a nightmare to sweep. Static electricity makes the glitter stick to everything; you'll be finding it in random corners for the next month."

Xie Buchan looked like he wanted to die. Lin Shu just giggled.

In her past life, during the early days of his startup, Ji Xingshen often held celebratory parties at home. While they had their fun, she was worse off than a maid; a maid got paid by the hour, but she had to cook and clean up afterward, often working all day. She hated that kind of glitter more than anything.

"Was it friends or classmates?" Lin Shu asked.

"People from my class." Xie Buchan held the fork in his mouth, looking weary; he didn't seem to want to talk about it.

*Tsk.*

That expression was familiar. Lin Shu arched an eyebrow. "Ex-girlfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Xie Buchan replied.

"I knew you were gay! The truth finally comes out!"

"Yes, yes, your brother says the same thing about me. Do you siblings have radar installed in your heads? No matter how deep I bury it, I'm forced to reveal my true colors."

The two of them rambled on, their conversation disjointed but somehow flowing effortlessly. An outsider might have thought they were two malfunctioning robots.

...

"Lin Shu, why are you here?"

Ji Xingshen stopped in his tracks, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He stared in shock at Lin Shu and Xie Buchan sitting opposite her.

There was coffee on the table, desserts... This kind of boutique cafe wasn't cheap. Even a few items would easily run over a hundred.

Perhaps it was the shock. Perhaps it was his youth. Ji Xingshen actually confronted her on the spot: "Didn't you tell me you didn't have any money? How come you have enough to come here for coffee?"

She didn't have the money to cover his expenses, yet she had money to treat a delinquent from the next class over? How had she become like this?

Lin Shu was visibly stunned by his voice.

Xie Buchan spoke up. "Buddy, are you sick in the head? Since when does a girl pay when she's out for coffee with a guy?"

...

*Ugh.*

Lin Shu rubbed her philtrum to hide a twisted smile.

...

Ji Xingshen looked even more shocked. "Lin Shu, you're letting him treat you? That’s even worse, isn't it?"

Lin Shu stopped smiling and looked at her lover from her past life. "What’s the problem with that?"

"He’s a man."

Ji Xingshen asked if she even knew what that implied. A man treating a girl meant he had intentions, and a girl not refusing meant she had them too.

"Did you not hear a single word of what I told you before?" Ji Xingshen was aggressive. His cold eyes turned angry, and Lin Shu felt a sense of alienation.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Lin Shu said impatiently.

Ji Xingshen couldn't bring himself to mention Lin Zhou's instructions. He suppressed his frustration and looked at the girl, his face full of disappointment. "Lin Shu, are you just going to rot away like this?"

Xie Buchan slowly set down his cake fork and untied his apron. "Straight-A student, you'd better get lost now, or I'll make sure you rot right here."

Ji Xingshen sneered. "Do you think everyone is afraid of you? A good-for-nothing thug—what do you know besides picking up girls?"

Xie Buchan raised an eyebrow. Before he could rise to the challenge, a pair of cool, slender hands gently gripped his.

"...Why would it be Xie Buchan picking me up? It's clearly me picking him up." Lin Shu held Xie Buchan’s hand, looking wronged.

...

...

...

How do you make two men lose their minds with a single sentence?

Well, just like that. Guaranteed to work.

Xie Buchan looked at her, speechless. He wanted to pull his innocent, slender hand away, but it was firmly pinned down by those tiny claws.

How could a girl say something so explosive while acting all timid, then proceed to pin the hand of a 187cm guy so firmly? Such a natural talent. She should go into arm wrestling instead of polluting his innocence here.

It took only five minutes for Ji Xingshen to go from shock to rage, and now, to complete silence. He stared at their joined hands, motionless for a long time.

Huang Pingting hurried over, carrying two plastic bags full of miscellaneous items. She stopped abruptly and asked Ji Xingshen what he was doing, her face full of life.

Ji Xingshen’s gaze shifted to Huang Pingting, then back to Lin Shu, whose back was turned to him. He looked lost.

The smile on Huang Pingting's face faded. She looked at Lin Shu and Xie Buchan, her expression one of mild contempt, as if she weren't surprised at all. "Some people are just good at moving on to the next person seamlessly."

Lin Shu said nothing. Simply holding Xie Buchan’s hand had taken all her strength.

Ji Xingshen turned away in a sorry state. He paused for a moment, then straightened his back and strode forward.

Lin Shu thought to herself: with his ability to bend and stretch, he would surely achieve great things even without her help in this life. Success always belonged to people like him; the righteous ones were the only ones who ended up as outlaws.

Though that was a bit extreme.

But this way, at least her ears would be at peace. She wouldn't have to deal with Ji Xingshen, nor the likes of Huang Pingting who surrounded him.