AaSoL 04

Chapter 4: Snowstorm Turns to Clear Skies (3)

Lin Yiyang and Wu Wei were waiting by a large parking lot for the bus they were supposed to take.

Although the temperature had warmed up over the past two days, it was still windy and cold as it neared dusk.

Wu Wei had his hands in his coat pockets, stomping his feet to warm up. Lin Yiyang, however, was still playing on his phone with one hand, seemingly amused. What could he be laughing at? Wu Wei wanted to see, but Lin Yiyang nudged him aside with his elbow.

Just then, a Chinese bus, packed with people, passed by. The driver saw Lin Yiyang and, intentionally hitting the brakes, shouted out the window, “Heading back to New York? I can take you.”

Lin Yiyang dialed a number, waiting for the call to connect, and told the driver, “Your bus is full, you can go ahead.”

The driver laughed and cursed, “Don’t be so polite,” before flicking away a cigarette butt.

The red glow of the cigarette flew in an arc, almost landing on Lin Yiyang’s clothes, but he stepped aside just in time.

The call was answered.

“Help entertain the two kids, I’ve got something to do,” Lin Yiyang said into the phone. “Yes, I’ve agreed to the bet.”

“You agreed?” Yin Guo was surprised.

The elevator door opened, and two businessmen walked in, separating the siblings.

“Come on, tell me,” Yin Guo leaned against the elevator wall, quietly urging him in Chinese.

“No, he said he would have a friend pay,” Meng Xiaotian slipped the phone around the two men and handed it to Yin Guo for her to see. “I told him if his friend comes, it’s fine. I’ll pay.”

Yin Guo quickly skimmed through the conversation.

Lin Yiyang’s replies were brief, mentioning that he was on his way. From what he told Meng Xiaotian, it seemed like he was saying that, since they had come all the way, they were guests and should let him treat them. This was the Chinese way of doing things, even in a foreign country.

Meng Xiaotian had initially planned to treat him, but obviously, Lin Yiyang wasn’t going to accept.

After a few more exchanges, Lin Yiyang switched the topic to asking how long they would stay in Washington. Meng Xiaotian replied that Yin Guo couldn’t stay away from New York for too long, so they had only booked one night. He then asked when Lin Yiyang would be back, but Lin Yiyang couldn’t give a clear answer.

His last reply was:

Lin: “We’ll meet again.”

Despite rejecting Lin Yiyang’s offer to treat them, Meng Xiaotian, the food lover, couldn’t stop thinking about that restaurant. The first thing he did when they got back to the room was try to make a reservation. Unfortunately, it was fully booked.

They had a simple meal in the hotel restaurant, and after dinner, Yin Guo took Meng Xiaotian on a walk near the White House and took some photos before heading back to the hotel.

Because they had been in a rush when booking the hotel in New York, they had ended up with the last available room, a large bed. Both siblings had slept uncomfortably, one at the head of the bed and one at the foot, fully dressed. Once in Washington, Yin Guo immediately requested a room with two single beds, finally able to sleep comfortably. After a shower, she couldn’t wait to crawl under the covers.

“You should wake up early tomorrow and check out the museums nearby. There are plenty.”

This was the last thing Yin Guo said before falling asleep.

When she regained consciousness, she was awakened by the sunlight hitting her face.

The small dining table and desk in the room had takeaway boxes on them, likely from last night. Her cousin was nowhere to be found. She called out for Meng Xiaotian a few times, but there was no response.

Yin Guo lazily hugged the blanket and sent a message to Meng Xiaotian: “Where did you go? To the museum?”

Tian Tian: “I’m in Georgetown.”

Xiaoguo: “Did you go alone?”

Tian Tian: “No, Lin Ge woke me up this morning and had a friend drive me there. He said if I don’t get into New York University this year, I can try for this school next year.”

Xiaoguo: “He’s really nice to you.”

Tian Tian: “Yeah, a great guy. Wait for me, I’ll get you lunch downstairs.”

Yin Guo flipped over in bed and got out of it.

That man seemed cold, but he really did look after Meng Xiaotian.

She shuffled in her slippers to the bathroom, opened a drawer, and found a new toothbrush. She paused for a moment, then returned to the room. After checking under her pillow for her phone, she sent a thank-you message to Lin Yiyang.

Xiaoguo: “Thank you for having someone take my brother to visit the school.”

Lin: “No problem.”

Xiaoguo: [Happy face]

Lin: [Coffee]

It seemed like there was nothing more to say.

Leaning against the wall, she lightly tapped the edge of her phone on the wall, feeling a little discouraged by his coldness. It was rare to meet someone so quiet. It seemed like he connected better with her cousin. Oh well, she had already thanked him.

Since that day, Yin Guo hadn’t spoken to Lin Yiyang alone.

She considered him just a new friend of her cousin’s in America, nothing more.

When they returned to New York, there were extra rooms available in the hotel, so she quickly changed their booking to two smaller rooms. She also bought some daily necessities and officially started their short stay.

When she came last time, Zheng Yi was her guide, and their trip followed the standard tourist itinerary, with all the landmarks. This year, she didn’t want to visit those places again, so she let Meng Xiaotian explore on his own, knowing that with Google Maps, he couldn’t get lost.

Every morning until noon, the two wandered around, mostly focused on eating.

In the afternoons, they went their separate ways, each doing their own thing.

After all, she still had competition tasks and needed to train on time.

Over the following week, Meng Xiaotian occasionally mentioned Lin Yiyang’s name, usually when Lin Yiyang had made recommendations while he was out sightseeing alone. Having this new friend made things much easier for Yin Guo, and as she listened, she gradually got used to his presence, no longer feeling the need to thank him for every little thing.

On Saturday, Yin Guo woke up late.

Meng Xiaotian arrived right on time. She was brushing her teeth and asked, with her mouth full, “Where do you want to go today?”

“Near New York University,” her cousin leaned against the doorframe.

Yin Guo rinsed her mouth and wiped it clean. “Haven’t we been there a few times already?”

“It’s fun there,” Meng Xiaotian showed her a screenshot of a café. “I want to go here.”

Caffe Reggio. The name seemed oddly familiar to her.

“Sure, why not? We don’t have a set plan.”

“We went to a bar near there when we first arrived.” Yin Guo suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to tell her cousin about that.

“Really?” Her cousin had been disoriented when they first arrived and didn’t remember where the bar was.

“Yeah, I’ll show you when we pass by.”

Yin Guo grabbed a comb, brushed her hair, and put it in a loose bun. If it snowed, the hat wouldn’t mess up her hair. Distracted, she started thinking about the nearby shops she wanted to show Meng Xiaotian.

When they reached the café, she finally remembered why the name seemed so familiar: the bright color.

The walls and awning were entirely green, hard to forget. At this time, most of the outdoor seating was empty, with only two young people, bundled in down jackets, chatting in the wind. Inside, it was more crowded, and through the glass, Yin Guo could see it was nearly full.

“No seats, huh?” She peered inside.

“It’s fine,” Meng Xiaotian smiled mysteriously.

Yin Guo looked at him, puzzled. Why was he so happy when it was so crowded?

“Lin Ge made a reservation.”

Lin Yiyang?

She thought she had misheard. “You made a reservation with him?”

“He made the reservation for me,” her cousin pushed open the door. “He didn’t want me to tell you in advance, said if we made it in time, we could meet. If not, just treat it as us having coffee together, so we don’t miss each other again.”

Yin Guo was pushed into the café by her cousin.

With a creak, the glass door closed behind her.

The walls were decorated with items, and people were chatting. There weren’t many Asian faces, so he was easy to spot.

He sat under a large portrait painting, in a corner with a dark red sofa.

He was leaning against the wall, wearing a black hoodie, with his winter coat draped over the back of his chair. The table was small, and being tall, he had to rest one arm on the small coffee table and the other on his knee, feeling like only half of his body fit behind the table.

Being alert to his native language, he had already heard the Chinese and knew they had arrived.

He raised his eyes and looked at her.

Was this their second official meeting?

Yin Guo instinctively paused a few steps away from him.

They had exchanged many words, but seeing each other face to face still felt strange. Her memories of his face and figure were based on the first impression from the bar, and now, seeing him in daylight, there was a slight difference…

Lin Yiyang’s gaze never left her.

Under his gaze, Yin Guo slowly walked to the coffee table, hung her bag over the back of the chair, and sat down after her cousin. The table was really small.

He pushed a menu over to her. “See if you want anything.”

“You order,” she pushed it back, “you know better, I’ve never been here.”

Lin Yiyang nodded and didn’t refuse, directly ordering tiramisu and coffee for them, while getting a panini for himself. It was obvious he hadn’t had lunch, rushing straight here.

After ordering, there was a brief silence between the three of them.

Yin Guo, worried about the awkward silence, decided to look at her phone to avoid speaking.

She scrolled through her social media, then checked Weibo, before eventually going back to her messages and starting to delete some. In the end, she had nothing to do, so she started deleting messages. She got to her conversation with Lin Yiyang.

It was still the conversation from ten days ago, with his last message being [coffee].

She hadn’t expected that they would meet again, and it would also be over coffee.

Meng Xiaotian, seeing that neither of them was speaking, couldn’t hold back and tried to break the silence: “Come on, we should chat. Silence is so awkward.”

He started talking to Lin Yiyang, moving from university majors to the café. Lin Yiyang told him that it was built in the early 20th century and had been a gathering place for artists and writers, so it was very likely that a famous writer had been here before, perhaps Hemingway. Or maybe some pages of The Catcher in the Rye had been written here. Places with history often have a bit of a legendary feel, and having famous people associated with them only makes them more attractive.

Lin Yiyang casually mentioned this but didn’t elaborate further.

But Yin Guo looked around at the table and the decorations on the walls.

After hearing that, it did feel quite special.

When the coffee arrived, Zheng Yi’s message came through.

She asked Yin Guo what she was doing today, heard they were near New York University, and remembered some things she needed to buy. Since Yin Guo was already there, it would be easier for her to pick it up rather than do it herself.

Actually, buying things wasn’t hard; the problem was that Zheng Yi had forgotten the name of the shop.

Zheng Yi: “Ask Lin Yiyang, anyone who knows a place like Caffe Reggio probably knows that shop.”

Well, she had to ask him.

Yin Guo asked, “My friend said there’s a small store that sells coffee beans. Many restaurants buy beans there, and they even advertise it on the sign outside. But the store’s hard to find. Do you know it?”

Lin Yiyang thought for a moment and said, “I’ll take you there.”

“No need, just tell me the name, I can look it up on the map. I’ll definitely find it.”

“I’m on the way.” Lin Yiyang replied.

She didn’t want to waste his time, so she finished the remaining half of her coffee quickly. “Let’s go then.”

She had meant not to inconvenience him, but it seemed too obvious, almost like she was rushing…

Lin Yiyang looked at her empty coffee cup and smiled slightly. It almost seemed like he was saying: “In such a hurry?”

This look, this expression, and this smile—it reminded her of the first time they met, when she was stirring her cocktail and watching the liquid. Yin Guo instinctively tucked her long hair behind her ear, feeling uneasy.

This brief, subtle exchange was completely missed by Meng Xiaotian.

Seeing that they were about to leave, he quickly finished his cake, gulped down the last of his coffee, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Looking at the two of them, they had already gotten up and were putting on their coats in perfect sync.

“You two are really fast,” Meng Xiaotian marveled.

Why did he feel so out of place?