"One large iced Americano with no sugar, please. My brother is paying," I ordered to the cashier, Sicheng. He smiled and did his cashier thing. I sat at one of the tables and took out my homework. It was 3 pm and I could use the time I had to finish my mountain pile of homework.
After a few minutes, Sicheng came to my table with my coffee. He placed it on the coaster and sat in front of me.
"Hey, are you okay? I heard it from Xiaojun," Sicheng smiled sadly at me.
"Not really but," I sighed in the middle of my sentence. Sicheng understood what I meant and patted my head.
"It's okay. Maybe he is not the one," Sicheng smiled. I smiled back and took a sip of my coffee. He dismissed himself when a customer came up to the counter to order.
I took out the sacred phone after a half an hour or so and checked if there were any messages. There was one from boyfie.
boyfie
Are you there yet? I'm on my way.
me
Yes, I'm doing my homework at the most corner table in the cafe.
boyfie
Are you a student?
I thought you worked at the cafe.
me
呵呵(hehe) long story
Do you want to drink anything? I can get it for you.
boyfie
One regular iced latte, please. I'll pay you later.
me
Roger that
boyfie
Thanks 呵呵(hehe)
me
no problem
read
I placed the phone on the table and raised my hand as I fluttered my eyelashes at Xiaojun.
"This is not a restaurant, you lazy ass," Xiaojun said once he reached my table. He said that but he eventually took my order anyways. I ordered a regular iced latte, just like how the owner of the phone asked.
Xiaojun pinched my cheek quite harshly before walking back to his barista station. I rubbed my aching cheek and continued doing my homework.
Come to think of it, I never knew the face of the owner of the phone nor his name.
me
Hey, what's your name?
boyfie
Huang Renjun
What is yours?
me
NO WAY.
boyfie
Why?
What's wrong?
Do you know me?
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Was not Huang Renjun the one I bumped into this morning? What kind of a cliché coincidence was this? Maybe it was another Huang Renjun.
me
I might be wrong,, sorry
boyfie
No worries
I'm almost there
Sorry for making you wait orz
me
It's okay :))
read
I set the phone aside and took another sip from my bitter, cold Americano.
"Here you go," Sicheng smiled politely as he set the latte on the other coaster.
"Thank you," I beamed him my smile in return. He nodded and returned to his cash register. I stretched my limbs and checked my wristwatch. It was almost 4 pm.
I glanced at the entrance quite a few times, just in case Huang Renjun did not realise about my presence.
At 4.00 pm sharp, the bell of the front door rang which meant a customer had entered the small cafe. I looked at the person who just entered and I was definitely not wrong. It was the Huang Renjun who I bumped into this morning.
His eyes were scanning through the almost full cafe and stopped at me when he saw me waving at him. Renjun widened his eyes in shock and made his way to me.
"You-- aren't you that girl from earlier? Yes, it's you. Your eyes are still swollen," Renjun blinked his eyes a few times as he sat down on the chair in front of me.
"I know right. Crazy coincidence," I chuckled and that made him smile as well.
Renjun took out his wallet and was about to take some money out until I stopped him.
"It's my treat. Kind of an apology for running into you this morning," I smiled. It was not like I needed to pay for it. Renjun offered to pay for the coffee again but I insisted. He gave up and took a sip from his coffee.
"Oh, here's your phone," I handed Renjun his phone and he took it. He looked upset when he turned on the phone.
"What happened?"
Renjun looked at me for a split second before averting his gaze away. Shoot, I should not be a busy body. How could I ask something so sensitive to a stranger?
"I mean-- if you don't mind-- I'm sorry," I apologised and bowed.
"Hm, it's stupid anyway so I don't mind," Renjun took a deep breath before he started spilling the tea of his story.
"My girlfriend cheated on me for a university student. I kind of expected that our relationship would not last long but I did not know it will end like this. We fought almost every day but," Renjun's voice cracked midsentence, causing him to stop talking.
I handed him his coffee and that made him chuckle. He took a sip from it and placed the tall glass aside.
"Yeah. That happened. What about you? It's your turn to tell me what happened to you," Renjun said in a calmer voice now.
"You tricked me."
"I sure did," Renjun cackled softly.
I never felt this comfortable talking with someone I barely know before. I guessed I could tell him. Plus, our stories were quite similar.
"My boyfriend cheated on me as well. He did not tell me why. He just shut me down, I was the one who had to confront him. The reasons he gave was trashy too," I sighed as I remembered about what happened earlier.
Renjun tilted his head, he looked like he could not believe what I told him.
"Crazy coincidence number 2. Are we the same soul but in different bodies?" Renjun said in a serious tone which made me burst into laughter. Renjun looked at me with creased eyebrows, his eyes were grave.
"Sorry, I don't believe those spiritual kinds of stuff," I told him once I calmed down. He nodded but definitely was not going to keep quiet about it.
"Which means you do not believe in ghosts?"
"You're right."
"Aliens?"
"They too don't exist."
"Okay we're definitely not the same person," Renjun sighed in relief. I nodded and we talked more about ourselves. Sometimes we talked about our exes and we even shared the moments we had together with them. It was nice since we were able to comfort each other.
It was so fun chatting with Renjun despite our differences to the point we did not realise it was going to be dusk soon.
"I'll see you around. Thank you for keeping my phone," Renjun smiled warmly as he stood up from the chair. He waved at me before leaving the café.
"See you," I waved at him until he was out of my sight.
I might lose a boyfriend but I made a new friend which was way better. I could not wait to tell Miri about this interesting meeting.
