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Hua Cheng glances sideways at the new waiter at Xian Le, his regular coffee shop; he takes a subtle breath as his heart suddenly starts racing. What the heck?
Across the table, He Xuan rolls his eyes. Hua Cheng's skin is so pale that three lines of blush are perfectly visible on the tips of his ears. He calls over the new waiter—much to Hua Cheng's dismay—and places his usual order.
On behalf of both of them, because Hua Cheng is apparently—hey, and this is so weird—nervous.
“Understood, would you like anything else?” asks the handsome young man, he has to admit, while looking—with special attention, probably?—at Hua Cheng.
He Xuan snorts. “Yes, my friend wants to ask you out.”
His debt to Hua Cheng would increase, but He Xuan doesn't care when he can see these two pretty boys blushing furiously. Hua Cheng hits him and repeatedly apologizes to the young man. The waiter, whose surname is Xie—he can see it on his name tag—laughs and says it's okay, it's okay, he'll go get their orders!
He Xuan doesn't miss the boy's gesture as he brings his hand to his cheek with a sly smile, and concludes that Hua Cheng has a chance.
“You should leave your number on the napkin,” Hua Cheng pauses in his intention to hit him again, blinks. “And tip. QingXuan once worked as a waiter and said that tips made his days happier, whether they were good or bad.
“Bastard.”
And despite insulting him, Hua Cheng still listens to him. He Xuan would be tempted to record him with his cell phone camera if it weren't for the fact that the screen was broken. Oh well, he'll just have to settle for telling Shi QingXuan about it.
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He can't help but roll his eyes when Hua Cheng—with a bright look and subtle smile—comes to his apartment the next day to recount his phone call with, he now knows, Xie Lian.
Xie Lian, who is so kind and sweet, so intelligent and amusingly clumsy. He took a job as a waiter to “experience” a little bit of adult life. He and Hua Cheng studied at the same university, but in different majors and with a few years ahead of them—“Does that mean he's older than us?” Hua Cheng doesn't answer. Xie Lian, a boy with a charming smile and infinite gentleness, had told him about the upcoming animal adoption fair; he intended to adopt a cat. “Maybe San Lang would be interested in accompanying me and, who knows, meeting his future companion?” He Xuan couldn't help but be surprised.
“San Lang? You gave him your childhood nickname? What the hell? Did he invite you to adopt a dog or was he flirting with you?”
“I don't think Gege is the daring type...”
“Now you call him ‘Gege’?” He Xuan takes another bite of the cookies Shi Qingxuan left last night. He can't help it, they're delicious. “Good luck on your date, I guess. Remember to cancel my debt,” he raises his voice in response to his friend's protest, “YOU'RE WELCOME.”