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Ningguang stares down at her watch with the biggest scowl humanely possible; she's either going to be late for the play or she won’t make it at all. She didn’t understand the point of their weekly roster if the boss simply ignores her requests for off days – today was clearly marked off for her. Just because one of the younger staff couldn’t come in due to personal reasons, Ningguang was immediately called up. To be honest, the play wouldn’t be that important if it wasn’t her best friend requesting. They’re already in their late twenties and a friendship of more than a decade means the world to Ningguang; of course, she’d make it a point to support her no matter what.
“Ningguang! There’s someone at the counter!”
“I seriously can’t catch a break,” Ningguang mumbles under her breath. She plasters the fakest smile on and heads to the counter, readjusting her apron to make it more presentable. “Welcome to The Jade Chamber, what can I get you?”
Coming from a customer’s standpoint, Ningguang does come off a little rude because she isn’t even looking at the customer.
Feeling a tad bit mischievious this evening, an obnoxious smirk grows on the customer’s face. She was just about to get mad but a little tilt of her head and she sees the cashier’s beautiful, heart stopping features.
“Could I get a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew with 5 pumps of caramel and classic syrup, 5 pumps of white mocha with extra vanilla powder, coconut milk, heavy cream, less ice, extra almond milk, extra sweet cream, dark chocolate chips and extra whipped cream?”
What the fuck.
There is absolutely no fucking way I’m making that.
Ningguang looks up with clenched teeth and fists, hoping her expression doesn’t show too much – though she’s more than ready to smack the lights out of the customer. No one in their right mind would go to The Jade Chamber and order that absolute mess.
“I am not serving you that huge cup of diabetes.”
“Oh, I’m not actually ordering that. I was trying to get your attention.”
If the customer is a middle-aged woman or simply, a male, Ningguang won’t even bother giving them time of day. She still isn’t that pleased with the woman standing in front of her either way. “Well, what is it you want then? There’s someone else coming in so you might wanna make it quick.”
“Just an iced latte will do.”
“Right, and your name?” Ningguang deadpans, her fingers moving fairly quickly on the cash register. She can barely pretend she cares about the rest of tonight; she doesn’t.
“Beidou.”
The payment process doesn’t take long with Ningguang rushing to take the next customer’s order as well; she might not like her job very much but she’s good at it. An iced americano was one of the easiest drinks to make, and so Ningguang wonders why Beidou had to give her such a ridiculous order. Nevertheless, her actions don’t show her frustration in the least and she completes the order in double the time.
“Iced latte for Beidou!”
“Coming!”
The whimsical tone in Beidou’s voice reflexively makes Ningguang inwardly cringe – this one’s a real pain in the ass. No one, and Ningguang repeats, absolutely no one ever responds when their name is called out.
Beidou arrives at the counter with another one of her shit-eating grins, causing her dimple to make an appearance. Her eyes twinkle with mischief, extremely trickled by how easily it is to rile up the barista. “Thank you, beautiful. You’re as sweet as my coffee.” She involuntarily lets out a chuckle when Ningguang all but rolls her eyes at the greasy, shameless and backhanded compliment – her coffee will never be sweet. Unfortunately for Beidou, Ningguang doesn’t give her the opportunity to sneak in more comments, straightaway moving aside to call out the next customer.
If it isn’t for her phone going off like a fire alarm in her pocket, Beidou would be delighted to stay here just for laughs. She gives a little wave when she notices the barista stealing glances at her, “bye, Miss Ningguang!”
Just as Beidou finishes her drink and is ready to throw the cup away, her eyes widen at the name written on the cup.
Cornball with big boobs.
Cornball?
BIG BOOBS?
A soft laughter rings through the quiet night, breaking the once serene silence. ‘What a personality…’ Beidou thinks to herself. She knows the barista was not in a good mood, judging by the knitted eyebrows and body language. A part of her wanted to lighten the mood and atmosphere – which worked a little, in her opinion – at least the barista was distracted from whatever was bothering her. “Well… looks like I found a new place to get my daily coffee from.” Perhaps her favourite café closing down last night had some hidden benefits after all.
Ningguang rushes to her car with one hand frantically opening the door, the other dialing her best friend’s phone number to the best of her ability. She’s such a mess – not well dressed, not punctual and not prepared to attend a play at the theatre hall.
“Please leave your message after the tone.”
“Qing, I’m rushing over right now. I’ll be there during the intermission so wait for me in the waiting room for a bit when you can.”
It hasn’t been that long since she got her driving license but Ningguang can’t afford to waste any more time. Her best friend would definitely understand and assure her that the play isn’t even that important, but Ningguang begs to differ. They rarely get to meet up nowadays, what with the way responsibilities of being adults have overtaken their lives. Ningguang’s mind is so full of her best friend’s play and her countless promises to attend one after another that she fails to notice the moving shadow behind her car.
Only when a loud bang and an even louder yell is heard… Ningguang gasps.
Oh god, she’s killed someone.
“HEY! DO YOU DRIVE WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED?”
“I’m so sorry! Oh my God! Are you – YOU AGAIN?!”
Tonight, is going absolutely terribly, and Ningguang once again has to deal with a troublesome person. Luck is never on her side, it seems, neither is God’s play. She begrudgingly approaches the woman sprawled out on the floor, attempting to mask her horror at how nasty the gnash on her leg is.
“Ow… Ow… OUCH! SLOWLY!”
Beidou tends to overreact for the fun of it sometimes, but this gnash is probably the most painful one she’s gotten in years. She can feel the cold wind blow against her open wound and it stings so badly. Let’s not even begin to mention how swollen her ankle is by now, probably twisted it when she tried to break her own fall. Perhaps it was also her fault because she was walking in the carpark without any light from her phone… but by God, the barista was a bad driver all right. The street lamps didn’t do much to help their surroundings in the least; most people would definitely turn on the headlights and sidelights to ensure their safety first.
“Shut up and let me help you then!” Ningguang chides in exasperation, inwardly thanking the heavens when Beidou stops whining. She did feel a little bit guilty about this but her fatigue and annoyance are blocking that. “There we go… now put your arm around me.”
Maybe it’s due to the fact most people look a lot taller when they’re behind the counter, but Beidou is surprised that Ningguang is almost a full head taller than her. She puts her arm around Ningguang without hesitation but is then taken aback by how small the latter’s waist.
“Oh, you’re actually huge.”
Ningguang turns to her with a glare that could put her underneath the ground if looks could do something, “That’s a little bold coming from you considering I can literally squish you like a lemon right now.”
Oh, she’s feisty.
“Geez, okay. I was just joking…”
What else can Ningguang possibly do other than bring Beidou to the hospital by herself?
“Now sit there, and keep quiet.”
Beidou keeps to that, putting on her seatbelt with a pout on her face. The barista will probably deck her in the face if she still doesn’t cooperate. She was worried about leaving her bike here in the carpark overnight, and for good reason – she recently got it modified. It would be her first time riding it alone since the modification, and she wanted to make sure it was smooth before inviting her friend for a ride. In fact, it was also her idea for Beidou to get it modified and all, considering Beidou is such a big fan of both cars and motorbikes. Her collection at home and in the carpark downstairs (for private eyes) is already a huge sign.
Ningguang huffs the moment she gets in the driver’s seat, throwing her phone and trinkets into the middle compartment. She might have been unsure of making it to the play a few hours ago but now there’s no going back to that.
“You don’t have to bring me to the hospital you know, I’ll live,” Beidou mumbles, a little intimidated by the way Ningguang was gripping the steering wheel.
“And let you die here while I’m branded a murderer? I think not.”
The well-awaited but deathly silence engulfs the car soon enough, with Beidou struggling to stay awake. She was put in a rather uncomfortable position, her leg turned and twisted awkwardly. Ningguang, on the other hand, can’t thank the Lord enough for the quietness. She isn’t terrible company unless she wants to be but the events of the night have just gone from bad to worse. It all started from her being called back on her off day, then to the guilt of potentially missing a play, and then being made fun of by this troublesome woman. Of course, Ningguang’s mood would go down the drain.
Text message to Keqing
i’m rushing to the hospital with someone
i accidentally reversed into them.
sorry for missing the play ☹
Now, Ningguang rarely texts while driving but she’s so all over the place that rules simply do not have a position in her mind anymore. She accelerates and makes a big show of drifting a little; not because she wants to show off or anything, but because she doesn’t want to go through the trouble of slowly finding a lot. If she makes it look more serious and more severe, the security guards won’t bother her.
“I need help please! A car reversed into her by accident a while ago!”
Beidou isn’t even given an opportunity to be waken up peacefully before her door is forcefully yanked open, causing her to nearly fall out of the car. “Hey, what gives – HELLO?”
Ningguang watches silently as the doctors and nurses rush to her car with a stretcher, not so delicately handling Beidou along with her injury. She has an urge to simply leave the woman here and head on over to Keqing, but her conscience would never let her live this down. Furthermore, Beidou literally knows where she works now. What if she comes and makes her life at work a living hell? Ningguang’s boss is already pissed off at the attitude she openly showed, her colleagues unwilling to help her out because she never helps them out… customers are her only saving grace these days. It’s not as if she’s going to be able to enjoy the play anymore.
She might as well stay and save her butt with this one.
Beidou hates hospitals.
Beidou detests hospitals with a burning passion, and she’d much rather die at home than ever come here. The bright white lights, the syringes, the operating attire? Everything needs to stop.
“I don’t want to stay in. Just look at this for me and if I don’t need an operation, I’m going home.”
“Are you sure? We can take care of you well here.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Beidou didn’t leave room for any doubt, her voice and gaze shutting the nurses up. She did have a terrible feeling about how this was going to go though.
The check-up goes over the average time frame, and it has Ningguang’s anxiety skyrocketing. She knows the gnash on Beidou’s shin will most likely require stitches and the works but this is taking longer than expected. Her fingertips are clamped between her teeth, nervously chewing on the poor nails. If the doctors find out that she was the one who knocked into Beidou, will they turn her over to the police? Are they going to expose her and what she did? What about Beidou, what is she going to do? Ningguang has too many things to consider, and it’s eating at her constantly.
Ningguang can feel her phone vibrating in her pocket but she pays no heed to it, not with the nurse looking for her. “I came in with the accident victim, you can talk to me. How are her injuries?”
“She’s going to need stitches for the wound on her shin so that’s going to be a couple more hours, but her ankle will be put in a cast for now. The slightly fortunate thing is that they’re both on the same leg, so the other is fully functioning.”
Oh God.
It’s going to be a long night.
*
For the first time in her entire life, Ningguang finds herself purchasing a cup of coffee. She works in The Jade Chamber full time and has been for years now; yes, it’s completely ironic considering she doesn’t drink coffee. It was the most convenient job right after she dropped out of high school though, and Ningguang has stuck with it ever since.
“One iced latte and one iced tea, please.”
Does the order sound familiar?
Yes, that’s Beidou’s drink.
Beidou, as unhappy as she was with the doctor’s words, needed to have someone stay with her till her wounds and ankle were better. Her ankle wasn’t just sprained, they had also found a tiny hairline crack in her toe after two x-rays. The doctor was either psychic or just smart, knowing that Beidou was not going to see an orthopedic even if her foot was on the verge of falling off. The latter was madder than upset at all that; she simply hates being told she needs someone to be there. It makes her feel burdensome. Of course, Ningguang isn’t that bad of a person – there is no way she’s letting Beidou continue staying alone.
“You’re back!”
It’s difficult to pretend that she doesn’t miss staying with someone and welcoming her back home like that.
“Yes, I’m back, clearly. No one else stays here but you.” Ningguang’s words are sharp almost always, but it’s merely out of habit. She doesn’t even think about answering or filtering anything. “I got the coffee you were whining about so incessantly last night.”
If Beidou had puppy ears and a puppy dog tail, it’d be wagging crazily at the sight of the coffee. For the first few days of Ningguang coming over, Beidou was terribly annoyed. Sure, she found the barista extremely beautiful from behind the counter; sure, she wanted to poke fun and get some attention then. It makes a huge difference now because Ningguang comes over every day and helps her get things done, but the latter simply refuses to stay despite how late it can be.
Edging closer as much as she possibly can, Beidou stretches her hands out just like a baby would. “I need my daily dose of caffeine, quick!”
Coffee is gross.
Why would anyone willingly drink coffee?
This is the second week Ningguang’s been over to her place, and it’s also the umpteenth time she’s seen the latter buy iced tea instead of coffee from a place known for its coffee.
“Drink this.”
“No, that’s gross!” Ningguang shrieks, hand reflexively swatting at Beidou’s outstretched cup. “You know I don’t drink coffee; we’ve talked about this!”
If there was a fraction of a second that Ningguang considered taking a sip of Beidou’s coffee, she didn’t show that. She heads straight for the kitchen without bringing her tea, rolling up her sleeves. To be honest, she’s not the best cook and she’s terrible at deciding portions.
Beidou steals several glances in the direction of the kitchen, hoping Ningguang doesn’t suddenly pop out of nowhere and give her the shock of her life. She’s curious about what the ice tea tastes like, considering it looks plain and extremely … mainstream. “This is literally so tasteless, what the hell. For a coffee barista, she sure has some weird taste buds.” Beidou mumbles, dissatisfied with the sugar level and everything about the drink. This particular woman, who works with different types of coffee every day, is willing to drink something that’s close to normal water but refuses to drink her latte?
Ningguang’s head pops through the doorway, her hand holding a packet of instant noodles. “What else do you want? I’m planning to make ramen if you don’t have anything you’re craving.”
Before Ningguang knows it, Beidou is hopping her way to the kitchen on her one good foot. She rolls her eyes in response; there is no stopping this stupid woman when she wants something.
“Ramen with cheese! And I want some fishcakes.”
“You came all the way here… to tell me you want ramen too?”
Although there is a rather amused expression on Ningguang’s face, the tone of her voice is far from it. She knows Beidou is a little fearful of her – it’d be an understatement to say she relished that feeling, it’s fun – so her inner amusement just keeps building. With a soft “okay, I’m sorry!”, Beidou vanishes from the kitchen.
Dinner doesn’t take long to be prepared; it’s Ningguang’s staple meals most of the time so she knows how to add and remove things to change it up. She grunts, carrying the pot out into the living room. The sight of Beidou sitting on the sofa with her leg propped up on the coffee table no longer irks Ningguang as much as it did at first. Similarly, Beidou hated it when people moved her culinary items in the kitchen without telling her but all that changed. The two of them have their own pet peeves and peculiarities, yet none of that had persisted after they involuntarily got closer. Ningguang had given up her habit of eating in silence, while Beidou learned to treasure silence.
“Ningguang, can we play a game?” Beidou asks bashfully. “If I win, you need to try my latte. If you win, I’ll drink anything you want me to.”
The grimace that appeared on Ningguang’s face when she heard latte vanished as quickly as it came; if it gives her an opportunity to win, she’s down.
“Anything, you say?”
Beidou’s gaze falters momentarily; she’s in huge, huge trouble if she loses. It’s one of the rare instances where Ningguang looks mischievious and it’s typically at her expense.
“Yes, anything…”
A few hours later…
“I WON!”
“SHUT UP! LET’S HAVE ANOTHER ROUND!”
Ningguang’s eyes have gotten dark, extremely competitive and sore over her losing the past five rounds. She knows this game with the dog and its teeth clamping down on their hands is purely based on luck, but it’s impossible that she lost all five rounds so quickly.
“You’re such a sore loser.” Beidou whines, throwing her hands up in the air. She knew it was going to take a while before Ningguang admitted her defeat but this marks their sixth round already.
“Shut up.”
A huge, dramatic sigh leaves Beidou’s lips as she restarts the entire game, making sure all the teeth in the dog’s mouth are protruding again. She won’t be letting Ningguang win either way; the woman needs to have something sweet in her diet once in a while. Unbeknownst to her, Ningguang seems to have found something alluring about the younger woman. For some reason, she can’t take her eyes off Beidou’s side profile at all. The first time Beidou stepped foot into The Jade Chamber, she wore a tank top and a pair of sweatpants… the only thing Ningguang noticed then were her huge tiddies but her face hadn't stolen the spotlight like it is right now. Ningguang didn’t even take a second look at the latter, that’s honesty.
“HAH! I WIN AGAIN!”
“Ugh…” Ningguang groans, burying her face into her folded arms. She knows there’s no turning back from this anymore; Beidou humored her by playing till midnight. “Fine, I’ll take the rest of the latte because I know you won a long time ago. I’ll keep to my word.”
Impressive for someone who doesn’t even drink coffee.
Beidou leans in even closer, hands cradling her chin with an unexplainable smile. Despite the fact that they see each other every day now, she still finds Ningguang beautiful – an ethereal kind of beauty, if you will. Her feelings aren’t crystal clear at the moment, but Beidou isn’t going to pretend she’s not on the verge of falling.
“I’ll do a counter-offer then. I’ll still drink anything you want me to, but half a cup while you finish the half of the latte.”
Ningguang can’t hold back a growing twinkle, beaming like a Chesire cat as they exchange cups. She suddenly didn’t find Beidou annoying or pesky in any way, quite the opposite actually. Truthfully, Ningguang knows she cannot and refuses to lose; the competitive streak in her keeps growing with the years that come. “Alright, deal. Thank you for entertaining my antics and sore behaviour after losing like, the first four times.” Ningguang drags the cup over to her side of the table, sending a wink to the injured woman. Her cheeks flush once she registers what happened; that happened so naturally she didn’t even begin to stop herself.
Raising their cups, the two women share a toast.
Earlier when Beidou nearly gagged because of how tasteless Ningguang’s drink was, she can’t taste any of that now. She doesn’t know how or why, but the iced tea seems to be sweet now… almost as if there were six pumps of sugar added.
“You know, maybe I’ll get some tea instead of coffee next time.”
Deep down, Ningguang thinks the same.
*
A week and a half later, Beidou stands in front of Good Hunter – she’s a regular here, to the point where everyone knows who and what her usual order is. Truthfully, Beidou has never been a huge fan of The Jade Chamber, and she’d never buy anything from there. It was a rather (un)fortunate coincidence that her regular shop was closed, so she begrudgingly stepped foot into The Jade Chamber. A loyal consumer of the other brand and so Beidou was more annoyed than curious, till she caught sight of the barista. Who would have known a mere barista with her face covered by the cap, shuffling her feet back and forth, would catch Beidou’s attention?
Ningguang looks up from the book she’s holding, glasses cutely perched up on her nose. She had stayed over the night before since they were going to the hospital soon. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah… it’s my last check up with Qiqi, and we’ll see if I can start moving around with the bandage.” Beidou can’t hide the sad undertone in her voice; she knows if the doctor gives her the green light, Ningguang won’t need to come over anymore. “Do… Do you want to come with me?”
A rather cutesy tone for someone who hates acting cute, Ningguang thinks. She catches sight of Beidou’s rosy cheeks and reveals a glorious smile of her own.
“You don’t even have to ask.”
As Beidou and Ningguang wait patiently for the designated doctor to return, both of them can feel quite the opposite emotions. Ningguang is over the moon, because it means Beidou’s foot is healing and her stitches are recovering well. Beidou, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be that over the moon about her injuries healing – despite being the patient herself. Ever since they left her apartment, Ningguang noticed the latter didn’t speak more than three sentences to her. There’s just no way Beidou can maintain her silence for more than an hour; yet to Ningguang’s surprise, the car ride to the hospital was filled with random songs from the radio.
“Are you okay, Beidou-ah? You’re awfully quiet.”
Just as the sullen woman is about to respond, the tiny doctor comes walking into the office with a joyous look on her face; clearly, her x-rays scans are looking better than when she first came.
“Well, I have good news! The crack is healing faster than expected, so you don’t have to worry about movement. Same advice however, please walk carefully and don’t do any exercise or anything that could jeopardize the healing process.”
Beidou hears the sound of melodious laughter from the woman sitting next to her, and a wave of sadness overwhelms her again. She knows the three weeks must have been exhausting for Ningguang; to come over her shift despite being tired from dealing with people all day.
Ningguang must be happy too.
Making their way out of the hospital with their arms interlinked, all Beidou can think about is how she’s going to spend time with Ningguang ever again. She might have considered this nothing but a silly little crush at first, but as they spent more time together at her apartment… Beidou feels – no, she knows – it’s way more than that. Her ankle injury had been a much easier excuse to make use of; Ningguang was literally at her beck and call when she wasn’t working. Now that her stitches have been removed and her toe bone is healing well, Beidou can’t even fake another injury or Ningguang would have her wheeled into the hospital again.
“I guess this is it then…”
“Yeah… I’ll see you around.”
*
“Wait, so that’s it? You two just said your byes and left from the hospital separately? You didn’t even offer to send her home?”
“Um, no…”
Keqing facepalms at the lacklustre conclusion to their little stint; her best friend cannot be this dense. She didn’t even see it to the end and expects Beidou to reach out to her first. “That’s not how I expected it to go. I’d expect you to actually offer to bring her home; that’s how a gentlewoman should behave!”
Ningguang sulks at the major callout, choosing not to respond. She knows and is aware that her days haven’t been the same ever since the hospital; Beidou didn’t come back to The Jade Chamber, neither did she text. It’s been a full week since their last proper conversation and Ningguang is utterly confused. Why did she miss seeing Beidou? Why did she miss hearing the woman babble on and on about her day? It used to be such a bore to listen; Beidou is absolutely capable of talking to herself, anyone and everyone, it annoyed the heck out of her. Now that Ningguang is back to being in solitude every day with no one to talk to… it feels lonely.
“You miss her, huh?”
“Shut up.”
“That’s extremely rude of you!” Keqing scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “I was going to tell you about how I’ve been seeing your little gnome patronize the Good Hunter opposite your work place but now I’m simply not going to tell you the time.”
Just the mere mention of Beidou causes Ningguang’s heart to skip a beat involuntarily, but her mood sours once she hears Good Hunter. She knows the latter is a coffee enjoyer, and not much of a tea drinker. The Jade Chamber should be the representative coffee brand (it’s so not because she works there) if Beidou wants to have the best service and best coffee.
“As I was saying… HEY? COME BACK! NINGGUANG!”
Beidou sighs to herself, her feet digging deeper into the covers of her sofa bed. She bought another cup of iced tea today, but it hardly tasted like anything Ningguang always brought over. It’s been seven days – a whole seven days since she’s seen Ningguang or even spoke to her on the phone. Every day, she goes into Good Hunter instead but a sense of emptiness always overloads her instead. Beidou always wondered the appeal of plain tea, because it simply isn’t as good as coffee but Ningguang has a way of changing things. Instead of having coffee every day, Beidou has tried seven different kinds of tea during these seven days.
None of them proved sweeter than the one Ningguang brought here.
“BEIDOU! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!”
Ningguang?
Beidou shakes her head in denial; it’s already 2am in the morning, why would Ningguang be outside her door?
“DON’T MAKE ME CALL THE CLOUD RETAINER!”
Oh my God.
Beidou quickly throws on a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants over her underwear – that isn’t a hallucination or voices in her head. Ningguang is here and outside her door with a voice loud enough to actually attract neighbours’ complaints. She takes another look at the cup of tea standing on her coffee table, head tilting in slight confusion.
Something so strange about tea.
A deep breath, and the door flies open to reveal Ningguang standing there with her gaze directed at the floor. Her eyes are filled with tears when she finally sees Beidou’s warm eyes and chipmunk cheeks.
“Hey, what are – are you okay?”
Beidou stands as still as a statue, her arms stiffly by her side. Ningguang didn’t even give her time to greet her properly, instead burying her face into Beidou’s neck the moment the door flew open.
“I missed you.”
A month later…
“You’re late!”
“I’m so sorry, Ningguang…” Beidou pants, trying to catch her breath; Ningguang looks so cold and small while she shivers against the pillar. “I wanted to get you a cup of latte since you told me you learnt to enjoy it but I didn’t expect such a long queue.”
Ningguang gasps at the coincidence, because what sits in her hand hidden behind her back is a cup of iced tea with a little extra something. She’s glad Beidou has learnt to enjoy her favourite drink as well; the only difference is the sugar level between them. “No way… um… I bought you a cup of tea too; it’s my favourite but I wanted you to have some.” Ningguang mumbles, cheeks flushing at how fate seems to have its way of tying them together.
Beidou can’t hold back the cheekiest grin ever, and quickly exchanges the cups they’re holding. She woke up so early in the morning to prepare herself for their date today – her stomach was eating itself from inside out and her lungs were feeling a little tight. Once Ningguang sees that, things between them could either go well or be completely destroyed.
“Oh my… it’s extremely good today.” Ningguang gasps, stirring the coffee.
“So is the tea! Did you add something in it?”
Taking a deep breath, Ningguang readies herself for something she’d never have the shame to say to anyone else.
“I added six pumps of love for you.”
The flabbergasted look on Beidou’s face doesn’t give Ningguang a good impression, and she can feel her eyes welling with piercing hot tears. She should have known better other than to attempt a cheesy pick-up line – Beidou is the only one who can make it work.
“HEY COME BACK HERE!”
“No, I’m utterly embarrassed!”
Beidou chuckles, making a little jog to grab Ningguang by her wrist. She was just taken aback at how cheesy that line was; it’s so unlike the older woman to ever say something like that.
“Look at the cup. There’s a message for you, silly.”
And with that, Ningguang’s tears begin to reveal themselves. She puts the cup firmly on the bench beside them, before throwing her arms around Beidou’s neck. She doesn’t waste any time, lunging towards Beidou with the sweet taste of vanilla on her lips. “It’s definitely a yes, baby…” Ningguang smiles in between kisses, their lips curling at its ends as they moved against each other. Beidou’s hands gently rub the sides of Ningguang’s waist, feeling herself fall harder with each second passing.
The two cups sit on the bench with two messages staring at the couple.
I like you, Beidou… enough to add 6 pumps of sugar into the plain old tea that I love.
Will you be mine, Ningguang?