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Meow.
Lan Huan is greeted with a fat mass of fur swirling between his legs, which then settles down near his basket of groceries.
“Meow,” it yawns, through half-lidded eyes.
Lan Huan bends down to look at the intruder, a large, long-haired cat with a perpetual smugness about it. He pats the cat’s back and looks from one end of the aisle to the other. No distressed wails for a lost pet. He picks it up and circles the area for signs of a worried owner. No one. He prodes at the cat's neck and feels a piece of fabric underneath his fingertips. Lan Huan spins the collar around and pushes away some fur to look at any potential information printed on it’s tag.
Baxia. Call XXX-XXXX-XXXX. She’s not lost, but we’d like her home anyway.
He smiles softly, rubs the cat’s fur one more time, and pauses to think. Lan Huan figures that if the owners weren’t too far away, he could drop off the cat. Otherwise, he’ll simply call and wait for their arrival.
He reaches for his phone in his back pocket and swiftly punches in the number. His phone rings twice, and he hears a click.
“Qinghe Teas and Delights. How may I help you?”
Lan Huan’s eyes widen. A shop? The title seems familiar, and he recalls seeing it on his way to the supermarket. He looks down at the animal, now half-asleep between his legs. He should be able to drop this ‘Baxia’ off with Qinghe Teas and Delights, since it isn’t too far from his current location.
“Um. Hello?” The same voice crackles through the receiver, and then mutters, “Man, if this is a prank call, Da-ge will-”
Lan Huan snaps back to the present. “Hi! Yes. I believe I have your cat.”
“Ah! She did run off, like, thirty minutes ago,” the person on the other end muses. “Baxia loves exploring. Hang on, let me get Da-ge.”
Lan Huan waits. He didn’t expect this phone call to be more than a minute long. He lists off all the things in his head that he could be doing currently. Like picking out the last of his needed ingredients, standing in line, paying for his-
“Hello?”
Lan Huan sucks in a deep breath. The man’s voice is deep and powerful, like the roaring of a waterfall, crashing as it meets its end with jagged rocks. Lan Huan’s legs are jelly.
“Hello. I have your cat,” he mumbles. “Baxia.”
The man roars with laughter, a hearty sound, the kind that startles and resonates. “Hah! I’m sure Huaisang already shared, but Baxia is very adventurous.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, If you aren’t too far, would you mind dropping her off at our shop?”
“No, I don’t mind. I should be there in a few minutes,” Lan Huan smiles for no one in particular.
“Thank you. See you soon.”
“And you.”
Click!
Lan Huan groans and rubs his temples. He is far too romantic with a capital R for his own good, and as always, finds himself falling for anyone and liking anything that even slightly appeals to his aesthetics. He is utterly hopeless. Lan Huan huffs and looks down at Baxia, who is now completely sprawled across his shoes, belly on display. He snorts and shakes his head, before leaning down and scooping her up into his arms.
Lan Huan’s grocery shopping takes less than five minutes before he rushes outside, shielding Baxia away from the rain. He plops her down on the car seat with his bags, sternly tells her to sit, and then ignites the engine. As he drives, he looks back to make sure Baxia is alive and well, who simply yawns and curls up, a paw over her snout. He exhales.
Finally, Lan Huan spots the carved-wood sign of the quaint Qinghe Teas and Delights and manages to get a parking spot a minute away from its entrance. He dashes into the shop, pushing the door open, and is hit with an overwhelming wave of serenity, the smell of teas and freshly baked treats calming his senses.
The shop is beautiful, from the many hand painted fans hanging from the ceiling to the soft greens of the painted walls to the food counter, each level displaying a few dozen unique desserts. Lan Huan is desperate to order one of the many treats, but he hears a gasp off to his side.
“Baxia!” A young man, who seems around five years younger than him, admires the fat cat perched in his arms.
Lan Huan extends his arms to pass Baxia to the young man, who simply shakes his head. He looks up, a strange, teasing twinkle in his eyes.
“Oh no, Baxia is picky. She refuses to go into anyone’s arms, except for Da-ge’s, that is.” The man grins, and then winks. “Though, Baxia is well-known for being an excellent matchmaker.”
“Stop spreading rumors, Huaisang,” the deep voice from earlier warns from behind Lan Huan.
Lan Huan spins around and…
Oh.
Lan Huan feels his breath being sucked out of him. Again. Before him stands a man with a dimpled smile and dark eyes in the shape of half moons. The man’s hair is pulled up into a tight ponytail, cascading in dark waves down his back, with some strands framing his chiseled face. Lan Huan finds himself peering at the man’s… um… assets, before he hears a cough and stares back down at the man, who now has a light blush staining his cheeks.
“Uh,” the man mutters. “My cat…?”
“Oh! Y-yes! Sorry.” Lan Huan feels the tips of his ears warm. “Here.”
Baxia purrs as the man pulls her out of Lan Huan’s arms into his own and coos into her ears. The man rubs her paws and smiles so softly as she twists in his arms. He strokes her fur in repeated motions, and they stand like that, one petting a cat and the other admiring the scene.
“I suppose… uh-,” the man murmurs, glancing up at Lan Huan through dark lashes. “I should thank you.”
“No, no. There’s no need. After all, Baxia wasn’t ‘lost, just wanted at home’.”
The man grins at Lan Huan. “My name is Nie Mingjue. May I at least treat you to something?”
“And I am Lan Huan. I would deeply appreciate it, but you are under no ob-.” Nie Mingjue cuts him off with a sharp shake of his head.
“Please, take a seat.”
Lan Huan sighs and sits down at the table closest to the counter, watching as Nie Mingjue hovers over the display with a thoughtful expression. As he chooses, he calls out to Lan Huan.
“So! What brings you to this area?”
“Oh, I prefer the produce here. It’s all very fresh and organic.”
“Yeah, you kinda seem like the type to like ‘fresh and organic’.”
Lan Huan laughs in response, and Nie Mingjue looks away sheepishly. He seemingly chooses two desserts (both egg tarts) at random, pours two cups of tea, and then plops down in the seat next to Lan Huan.
“Are you much of a cat person?” Nie Mingjue sips his tea.
“I’d like to think so,” Lan Huan pauses. “Though, I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet a cat like yours.”
“Bah! That’s because she’s a special girl,” Nie Mingjue slaps a thigh. “I got her from my mothers, and they were always great with cats before they, uh… passed on.”
Lan Huan nods empathetically. “I understand. I’d say I share the sentiment, but I don’t know much of my parents. I’d like to think they were nice people.”
Nie Mingjue drops his gaze. They sit in awkward silence, before Lan Huan finally manages to break the ice with a morbid death joke. Nie Mingjue chokes on his tea and waves a hand in front of his face, trying to stifle his laughter.
Eventually, they fall into an easy conversation, as they trade information back and forth. Lan Huan finds out that Nie Huaisang is Nie Mingjue’s half-brother, that Nie Mingjue has an immangeable sweet tooth, and that he secretly loves to listen to American pop as he works out. In exchange, Nie Mingjue learns that Lan Huan also has a younger brother, Lan Zhan, that Lan Huan can’t tie his shoelaces and tucks the ends into his shoes, and that he loves playing his xiao in his free time.
And so, the two men chat away, trading life stories and clinking their glasses together in pseudo-toasts. The familiarity the two share would make one think they are old war buddies, or at the very least, acquaintances. Alas, neither of the men knew the other prior to today’s encounter. Eventually, their conversation dwindles, and Nie Mingjue notices that Lan Huan’s egg tart has gone untouched.
“Ah, shit. Please! Go ahead, and eat.”
Lan Huan smiles delicately before biting into the egg tart. Instantly, the mild flavor of the egg swirls with the sweeter taste of the dough shell, and in that moment, he decides that this is the best pastry he has ever had. He must’ve said something out loud because he notices Nie Mingjue gazing at him.
“It’s really that good?” Nie Mingjue raises an eyebrow at him, trying to maintain neutrality, but his expression betrays hope.
“Yes,” Lan Huan states, almost too forcefully. “You have earned yourself a new regular, Nie Mingjue.”
Nie Mingjue grins, and Lan Huan grins back, and they stay like that for a few moments, and then for a few more, and time seems to slow down. They study each other’s faces, and Lan Huan fears that the rapid thumping of his heart against his chest is very much audible to Nie Mingjue.
“Would you like to go on a date?”
Nie Mingjue claps a hand over his mouth, almost as if trying to force the words back into his mouth. One of his hands is clenching and unclenching on the surface of the table.
Lan Huan blinks.
“Ah, never mind, ignore me! I-,”
Lan Huan gently unfurls Nie Mingjue’s fist. “I would love to.”
“Oh… how about tomorrow? After closing time,” the shorter of the pair wheezes out. “At six o’clock!”
Lan Huan nods cheerfully and slips a business card to his future-date. “Here’s my phone number.”
Nie Mingjue’s lips part, but his younger brother swoops in and snatches it off the table.
“Ooooh, Da-ge. Did you manage to finally snag a date?” The young man cackles.
“Huaisang! Give that back right now before I-!”
And with that, the brothers race off, older chasing the younger around the room, one yelling obscenities and the other squealing with delight. Lan Huan chuckles. Before he has the chance to sit up, he feels Baxia rubbing against his legs, smiling up at him.
“Oh, you matchmaker, you,” Lan Huan whispers to himself, scratching Baxia’s ear.
With that, Lan Huan dusts off the table for the last time and calls out a “goodbye” to the shop. When he arrives home, he can feel his brother’s eyes on his back, but he’s too wrapped up in his own thoughts to be able to address his brother’s concerns.
Tomorrow at six o’clock...