「Qilixiang Milk Tea Shop.」
The place was hidden behind the Eastern International Hotel, tucked away after a dozen twists and turns. After navigating alley after alley, Li Yunzhe, who had parked at the hotel to follow Qin Fan on foot, finally caught sight of the sign.
"Damn! We’re finally here. That was way too hard to find! Bro, how did you even know about this place? I’ve lived in Jinling for nearly twenty years and never knew a nook like this existed!" Li Yunzhe exclaid, looking resentfully at the artsy sign.
At the sa ti, he was completely puzzled. A man of Big Bro Qin Fan’s stature... why would he co to a place like this? As for what makes it special, this shop seems no different from any other milk tea place. If I had to point out a difference, it would be that business here is bad. Extrely bad. So bad that in the whole spacious shop, there was only one young man sitting behind the counter, staring into space.
"Alright, cut the crap! Just head back!" Qin Fan said, rolling his eyes at Li Yunzhe’s whining.
"I’m not going!" Li Yunzhe blurted out, eting Qin Fan’s glare.
"If you’re not going, then follow quietly and shut your mouth! Stop with the pointless complaints!" Qin Fan snapped before turning and walking inside.
His mories of the Qilixiang Milk Tea Shop weren’t just about his reunion with the lovely Ji Yi. They also included the owner’s quirky personality, his unique thod of preparing milk tea, and his dates here with Jiang Yino. All in all, his past self had left plenty of footprints in this place.
The mont Qin Fan stepped into the shop, he caught Li Yunzhe smirking and sizing up the place out of the corner of his eye. Just then, the young man who had been daydreaming at the counter suddenly sighed poetically, "Beyond the mountains are more mountains, beyond the towers are more towers!"
What the hell? Instead of a ’welco,’ I get this artsy-fartsy crap? This dump is his ’mountains beyond mountains’?
Li Yunzhe, who had always hated pretentious people, couldn’t hold back. He stared at the man who was acting all profound and shot back, "You spout your poetry, while I just think you’re phony!"
"You—!!!" Confronted so directly, the young man at the counter flushed and glared, but after blurting out a single "You," he was at a loss for words.
"Do I need to throw you out myself?" Qin Fan asked, turning to feign annoyance at Li Yunzhe.
"My bad, Bro! I’ll shut up! I’m shutting up now!" Li Yunzhe said, even making a zipping motion across his lips. The punchable, smug grin on his face, however, was in full display. The more ti he spent with Qin Fan, the more he realized his big bro wasn’t as terrifying as he’d imagined. His initial fear had gradually vanished, and now, he was even bold enough to act cheeky.
"What would you like to drink?" the young man asked, moving past the awkward mont. He ignored Li Yunzhe and looked at Qin Fan.
"A pearl milk tea!" shouted Li Yunzhe, who had just promised to be quiet.
The young man glanced at him. "We don’t have pearls, and we don’t have tea. Only milk."
"What the hell? You run a milk tea shop without pearls or tea? You just sell plain milk?" Li Yunzhe choked out.
"Take it or leave it!" the other man retorted, rolling his eyes and waving a hand dismissively. "If you’re not drinking, then get lost. Don’t disturb my peace and quiet!"
"You—!!!"
But before Li Yunzhe could say another word, Qin Fan kicked him lightly on the backside. He didn’t say anything, but Li Yunzhe got the ssage and wisely shut his mouth.
"A cup of rose tea, please," Qin Fan said, smiling at the young man.
Rose tea. That’s what Ji Yi had always made him drink in his past life. Every ti they ca here, she would order for him, and it was always rose tea. Over ti, he’d actually grown used to it.
"I said, no tea! Rose milk, want it or not? If you want it, sit down. If not, get out!" the young man mumbled impatiently, his head bowed.
What the—! Son of a bitch! Is he trying to run a business or just pick fights? If it weren’t for Big Bro Qin Fan, Wolf Brother 709’s temper would have him flipping this table for sure!
Shooting the young man a venomous look, Wolf Brother 709 felt ten thousand alpacas stampeding furiously through his mind.
"Fine. Two rose milks, then," Qin Fan said with an unperturbed smile, showing no anger at the owner’s attitude.
"Find your own seats," the young man said haughtily. "Everything in this shop, apart from the tables and chairs, is for looking only. Don’t touch." With that, he stood up and, without another glance at them, walked straight into the back where the drinks were made.
"The hell with him! Wait—no, Bro, you can tolerate this? Damn it, does he really think this dump is so kind of paradise? Who acts that arrogant?" Watching the owner’s retreating figure, Wolf Brother 709 began to rant, completely incensed.
His confusion was also reaching its peak. On the first day of school, Qin Fan had dangled him out a seventh-story window over a minor disagreent. Just a little while ago, with the sa impulsiveness, he’d ordered him to beat up Li Guofu’s cronies, had Brother Ze from the Northeast stab Li Guofu ten tis, and had kicked that young master who was with Mr. Chang so hard he’d coughed up blood! How could a man who tolerated no offense put up with this kind of humiliation in so rundown shop? It’s impossible! This is weird, way too weird!
"Can you just shut up for once? Either be quiet or get lost!" Qin Fan said, starting to walk around the room. His eyes swept across every detail.
He had to admit, in terms of ambiance, this Qilixiang shop crushed all other milk tea places. Absolutely all of them. Whether it was a big chain or a privately owned store, they would all pale in comparison to the serene, fragrant environnt here, filled with the scent of flowers and the sound of birdsong. As for why business was so terrible, it was undoubtedly because of the young owner’s strange personality.
Behind Qin Fan, Wolf Brother 709 didn’t dare make another peep, but he couldn’t help but think to himself that when things are this strange, there must be more to it than ets the eye.
A short while later, the owner erged with two cups of rose milk. But when he saw Li Yunzhe holding a leaf and examining it, he flew into a rage.
"Put that down! Didn’t I warn you? Look, don’t touch! Damn it! Do you have a death wish?" the angry shout ca from behind them.
Li Yunzhe and Qin Fan spun around. At the sa ti, the owner’s furious expression turned icy cold.
The next second, a massive aura erupted from his body. Caught in this sudden change, Li Yunzhe began to tremble uncontrollably. An intense chill shot straight to his heart. Even with Qin Fan right beside him, he couldn’t stop a tremor of pure panic from running through him.
"I—!" Li Yunzhe’s lips moved, but he found himself speechless with fright.
"Phew—!" Seemingly realizing he had overreacted, the young man took a deep breath, and the oppressive aura vanished without a trace.
He placed the milk tea on the table. "Drink it while it’s hot. The flavor changes when it cools," he said.
With that, he walked over to the leaf Li Yunzhe had been fiddling with. Ignoring their stares, he picked up a pair of scissors, snipped off the leaf, and threw it straight into the trash.
User Comments
0 comments from readers