When Jiang Ying walked out of the office building, it was raining in the sky. In March, it was cold in spring, and the temperature had just warmed up and then dropped sharply, as if it had suddenly returned to winter.
The street lights illuminated the dark night, and the spring rain covered the ground with pink and white petals.
She took out her phone from her pocket and glanced at the time. It was 23:48 on March 14th.
Twelve minutes left, her birthday is coming to an end.
After a day's work, the plan has not been changed. If the security uncle who locked the door hadn't urged her just now, she might have spent the night here.
It's raining just as it should.
Jiang Ying let out a long sigh, opened her umbrella and stepped into the rain.
No social animal is worthy of a birthday, it is nothing more than reminding her that she is one year older and has spent a year in such a confused way.
This afternoon, she went out for a trip, and when she came back, the parking space was occupied, and she found a place to park after turning around. Jiang Ying lowered his head and slumped his shoulders, and walked over listlessly.
If a person has Mercury retrograde, it is really a good thing.
Just as she was about to walk to the street, when she looked up, she was caught by a small house with a light on not far away.
In the silent and dim early morning hours, this shimmering hut looks like a treasure box accidentally dropped from the wizarding world, hidden abruptly among the trees and tall buildings.
Jiang Ying stopped and couldn't help approaching it out of curiosity.
I have heard from my colleagues that a new coffee shop has opened nearby, and the decoration is quite beautiful.
It's all this time, is it still open
Seeing the figure inside vaguely, Jiang Ying walked under the eaves, took the umbrella and gently pushed open the glass door.
A bell hung on the door, and the collision made a crisp sound, disturbing the quiet rainy night, and also disturbing the people behind the console.
It was a young man with a white shirt over a loose sweater, a gray apron, and gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, dressed in a mature and gentle manner.
Seeing Jiang Ying, he was a little stunned. He turned his head and nodded at her, showing a polite smile and saying, "Hello."
Jiang Ying also nodded at him, and quickly glanced at the environment in the store. White was the main color, the tables and chairs were all wooden, and there were many green plants. On the left side of the entrance are the front desk and the back kitchen, and there are five or six seats in the hall.
Simple Nordic style, but there are many warm places, warm yellow lighting, light green or yellow plaid tablecloth, a small pot of plants on each table, and printed throw pillows on the chairs.
"Not closing so late?" she asked.
The man just hummed and continued to lower his head to clean up the tableware.
Yun Hyun is the owner of this coffee shop.
There is rain today, and the ticking sound will make it more difficult for him to fall asleep, so he simply stays in the store to prepare the ingredients for tomorrow, to kill some time and energy.
But I didn't expect that there would be guests coming so late.
"Can I still order now?" Jiang Ying put the umbrella next to the door frame and walked over to the front desk.
When I got closer, I saw that the young man was quite handsome.
He is very tall, Jiang Ying himself is 1.7 meters, he must be at least 1.85 meters.
Thin lips, high nose, inner eyes, fair skin, and mild temperament.
For a handsome coffee shop owner, to meet a handsome amateur with such a setting, Jiang Ying raised her hand and rubbed the tip of her nose, hiding the corner of her mouth that she wanted to raise, secretly happy in her heart.
It stands to reason that the business has ended. Yun Xian hesitated, but nodded: "Yes, but not all meals are available."
Jiang Ying didn't look at the menu and asked directly, "Is there any cake?"
There was just one piece left today, and Yun Xian wanted to take it home by himself. He left a "wait a minute" and turned around to enter the back kitchen. When I came out again, I had a plate of light yellow sponge cake in my hand.
"That's it, cheese ice cream, okay?"
Jiang Ying was ready to go down: "Okay, just this one."
The cash register in the store has been turned off, Yun Xian asked, "Twenty-two, do you have any cash?"
Jiang Ying hasn't used cash much since mobile payment became popular. She shook her head, suddenly realizing that this was a good opportunity to get to the other party's WeChat.
Afraid that he would say "I'll open the cash register" in the next sentence, Jiang Ying accelerated and suggested, "I'll transfer it to you on WeChat? I'll scan you?"
"Okay." Yun Xian took out his phone from his pocket.
When he unlocked the screen and opened the WeChat interface, Jiang Ying secretly cheered.
Until you see that the other party has opened the face-to-face collection.
Jiang Ying: "…"
The little Jiujiu in her heart was ruthlessly killed by the convenient application of technology.
The smile on Jiang Ying's face froze, and he entered the value and paid 22 yuan.
His name on the page is *Nyan.
Jiang Ying didn't know the word, so he asked casually, "Jian?"
Yun Xian was stunned for a moment, then realized what the other party said, and replied, "xiàn, my name is Yun Xian."
Jiang Ying recited the name in a low voice—Yun Xian, quite immortal.
After paying, Yunxian took out the box and wanted to pack it for her.
Jiang Ying stopped him: "No need to pack, are you in a hurry to close the store
"No hurry." Yun Xian put it back in the box, took out a blue porcelain plate from the cupboard, and handed the cake to Jiang Ying, "Please take it slow."
"thanks."
A bar was set up next to the front desk, and Jiang Ying sat down nearby.
Soft and soothing songs are played on the store speakers.
Jiang Ying scooped a spoonful of the cake, the cheese was salty and sweet, and the taste was dense. She held her chin and watched the handsome boss busy at the console.
Thinking that she knew the name of the other party, Jiang Ying opened her lips out of courtesy and said, "Boss, I forgot to say, my name is Jiang Ying. Jiang's Jiang, welcome Ying."
Yun Xian didn't know why she suddenly reported herself to her home, thinking she was bored and wanted to talk to someone, he nodded slightly and continued the topic: "Are you working nearby?"
"Well, Zhicheng Studio, who makes games. I don't know if you've heard of it."
Hearing the name of Zhicheng Studio, Yun Xian hooked the corner of his mouth.
More than just heard, the name Zhicheng was proposed by him.
Knowing that the other party was a friend's employee, Yun Xian relaxed: "Have you eaten cake so late, aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
"Although there are still a few minutes, today is my birthday." Jiang Ying dug out a scoop of ice cream and put it into his mouth, his teeth chattering from the cold, and he said vaguely, "It's a sense of ritual."
Wen Yan Yunxian looked up at her, slightly surprised, and whispered a happy birthday.
The girl looks quite young and should have just graduated soon. The long black hair was tied into a low ponytail, perhaps because of the single eyelid, which made her facial features a bit colder, and it was an attractive appearance.
He doesn't know much about Li Zhicheng's company, but he also knows that in the initial stage, the boss is being squeezed by the investors and the employees are being squeezed by the boss.
Game development is also a hair-intensive job, she probably just got off work and is exhausted. I couldn't have a good time in time for my birthday, so I could only buy myself a small cake in the last few minutes of this rainy night.
If it happened that he was still in the shop today, she might not even have a cake.
Probably recalling how embarrassed he was when he was just working, Yun Xian looked a little more unbearable when he looked at Jiang Ying again.
Thinking that this was Li Zhicheng's fault, he sighed slightly.
Yun Xian turned around and went back to the kitchen. When he came back in a few minutes, he was holding a small aromatherapy diffuser.
He turned off the lights, leaving only one on the top of the bar, and took a lighter to light the aroma.
The sweet apple scent, the flames are burning in the dim light.
Yunxian pushed the aromatherapy in front of Jiang Ying and said, "Just find this."
Jiang Ying didn't know why, so his eyes moved from the candle to Yun Xian's face, staring at him blankly: "Huh?"
Yun Xian raised his eyebrows and gestured to her: "Make a wish, there are no candles, just take this one."
Jiang Ying snorted, the corners of his mouth raised when he lowered his eyes, and he muttered, "What should I do?"
"Well..." She thought about it for a while, but she didn't seem to have much wishes, such as smooth work, good health, and finding a boyfriend.
There are always so many coming and going.
The song played by the stereo came to an end, and a deep male voice whispered—
"Goodnightdearworld.
Goodnightoldtrees.
Goodnight and goodbye.”
"Every year I make a lot of wishes for myself, but few of them can be fulfilled." Jiang Ying folded his hands, closed his eyes, and said softly, "Then take care of human beings, I hope tonight, all those who suffer from insomnia will sleep well. Good night."
Her tone is very special, not sweet among girls, her voice is low, and her tone is calm, like light wine in a glass, which is very commensurate with her cold and clean face.
Jiang Ying opened her eyes, blew out the candle, raised her head and thanked Yun Xian, "Thank you, Boss Yun."
When their eyes met, Yun Xian was lost for a moment.
It was a rainy night, and the lights in the room were dim, but her eyes were full of candlelight, as bright as stars, as if hiding all the sparks in the world.
It is rare to see a single eyelid with such a big eye, water light and aura.
sleep tight.
For insomniacs, this is too pale.
Others cannot understand the pain of dragging a tired body and mind at night but unable to sleep for a long time.
Tossing and turning, from restlessness to numbness, he clearly felt his chaos, and only he knew what kind of torture he suffered in the middle.
So "good night" is the word Yunxian is most afraid to hear.
Because his nights were not peaceful, he needed to rely on drugs to force his brain to shut down, and when his consciousness returned to one place, he finally fell into a chaotic dream.
They had never met, and Jiang Ying could not have known the difficulties of the man in front of him.
When they meet by chance, she makes a wish of "good night and good dreams".
If it is a wish, then this sentence is too gentle.
The rain stopped, and the long night returned to silence.
His anxiety was suddenly relieved, Yun Xian turned his head to look out the window, perhaps his body and mind were relaxed, and he felt a bit of a rare sleepiness.
Yun Xian straightened his watch strap and said with a smile, "If I knew it was your birthday, I should invite you for this cake."
Jiang Ying laughed, and the curved arc pulled out the dimples on both sides: "The service in your store is really good, and the boss will give you cakes for his birthday?"
Yun Xian said, "Well, come to my store next year for your birthday, and I'll make it up for you."
Jiang Ying replied with a slight smile and said "the boss is very big", but she thought it was a polite scene.
Yun Xian was serious, but he still felt uneasy after thinking about it. He found a sticky note and a pen from the front drawer, and bent down to make a rough coupon. To say that it is rough is really rough. On the light blue paper, there are only the words "birthday coupon" and a small cake that he drew.
Yun Xian picked it up and looked at it, and added a small line below: "Jiang Ying belongs to".
In the lower right corner of the paper, he left his signature, with a dashing handwriting, which was regarded as a seal to guarantee his credit.
He handed the post-it note to Jiang Ying: "I'm serious, take it, come and exchange it with me next year."
Jiang greeted him and laughed out loud when he saw the words on the paper: "Exchange what? Will you accompany me on my birthday?"
Yun Xian didn't expect her to understand so much, and a trace of embarrassment flashed on her face: "I mean to give you a birthday cake."
The atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle, Yun Xian took off his apron and turned back to the front desk, Jiang Ying coughed, and looked away and pinched the broken hair on his cheek behind his ear.
Just as she carefully folded the paper and put it in her shoulder bag, the man folded back.
He was still holding an unfolded apron in his hand. His fingers were slender and his bones were distinct, and the skin on the back of his hand was even more pale against the dark fabric.
Jiang Ying raised her head to look at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yun Xian raised his hand and pushed the glasses that had slipped. Only then did Jiang Ying realize that there was a small mole just below his left eye, which was not obvious because it was blocked by the frame.
I don't know where I heard that people with tear moles love to cry and their hearts are soft.
Maybe so, because she heard Yun Hyun say—
"It's okay to celebrate your birthday, if no one is with you."
The author has something to say: Happy reading. A lighthearted short essay.