writing coffee

Business as normal the next day.

I got up an hour earlier than usual, cooked two bowls of noodles for myself, and after eating, I dressed neatly and sat upright on the sofa.

Wait for my father.

Since I moved here, every year on this day, my father will visit me and my mother.I don't want to see anyone on Christmas Day, and he knows that.

He will bring a large bouquet of little chrysanthemums, the yellow ones that his mother loves most, the ones that are as cute as wild flowers, and they will be kept in a vase with water, and with a vitamin C drop in, they can bloom for a full month.

I took the scissors and cut off the excess branches and leaves one by one, inserted a full bottle, cleaned the countertop, and my father came out of the guest room.

We sat on the sofa facing each other, separated by a vase of flowers, talking to each other silently.

Probably because of the character of a literati, my father is a little thin, but Aunt Xin took good care of him, he doesn't look old, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, he just feels gentle, gentle and gentle.

I have always been very grateful to Aunt Xin, she used another more lingering emotion to fill the vacancy I left for my father, so that every time I feel guilty, I can have a little luck in my heart.

After a long time, my father broke the silence: "Is the work in the bookstore hard?"

"It's not hard, it's good."

"It's not easy for independent bookstores to survive now. It's pretty good that you can persist until now."

I couldn't help but give him a serious look, is this a compliment to me?But yes, he probably doesn't know what books my bookstore sells. "Three years, I can't talk about persistence."

"If you have any difficulties, tell Dad." He also looked at me seriously, "No matter what, Dad hopes you will take good care of yourself."

Whenever this happens, I can't help but think, how great it would be if I were one of the majority!To be the most ordinary girl, even if she was worthless, would not embarrass him so much.But I can only answer: "Well, I know."

"Has the Spring Festival holiday been arranged? When will you go home for the New Year?"

"Thirty years." The last day.

"Okay." He replied, ending the topic by the way, "It's almost twelve o'clock, Dad will take you to the store by the way?"

"it is good."

Then there was silence all the way.

A few kilometers away, I stopped at three traffic lights and turned two corners. In less than 10 minutes, the car stopped on the side of the road opposite the "Writing Coffee".

This is one place I am very satisfied with this street. It is a wide one-way street. "Writing Coffee" is located on the left side of the street. From this angle, the facade design of American classical style is like a landscape. Even the crooked angle of the "resting" sign hanging on the glass door has a special charm.

But today there is a person outside the door spoiling the scenery.

Qianli held a paper bag with the logo of my favorite pastry shop printed on it, and she stared intently at the corner I usually walked over.The moment I saw her, I seemed to be tired from standing, and leaned back against the glass door, but my eyes were still looking in that direction.

I don't want to see her at this time.

My father obviously saw it too. He turned his head and looked at me almost subconsciously, without saying anything, but there was an involuntary ambiguity in his eyes.

I didn't give him any response and unbuckled my seat belt. "I'll go first, Dad, be careful on the road." Then he opened the door and got out of the car.

After the car drove out slowly, I lifted my foot and walked towards the door of the store.

Qianli soon saw me, and came up to me in surprise, "Where did you come from?!"

I looked at the bag in her hand, "My breakfast?"

"It's just a snack! You didn't have breakfast?" she replied, handing the bag to me.

"Eat." I kept on stepping, passed her and continued walking.

She turned around and followed, "Did you come here in that car? How dare you take a taxi so close?!"

I stopped and looked back. My father's car hadn't gone far.The car window is closed, but I seem to be able to see his lonely side face and painful eyes through the window glass.

I know that if my being alone for so many years had only given him a little luck, then today, this last luck has also been wiped out.

Although, this is just a misunderstanding.

"No taxi." I replied lightly.

"Oh..." She stopped asking, and when I opened the door, she graciously changed the "resting" sign to the "welcome to visit" side and hung it out.

It was already twelve o'clock, and today's preparations were a bit rushed. Fortunately, the guests were very considerate and did not come to the door in a hurry.

I prepared the things at the bar, weighed 20g of Yergacheffe beans, added half a pot of purified water to the hand pourer, and boiled it up, intending to ask Qianli to come in and make a cup of coffee.

She was arranging the bookcase on the other side, at this moment she suddenly turned around and said, "Murong, I searched around carefully, you really don't have any traces of festivals here!"

I glanced at her, didn't answer, folded a piece of filter paper and put it in the filter.I decided to rush myself.

She came over and continued to express her opinion, "Forget about Christmas, it's over anyway! You don't plan to decorate for the New Year? Why don't you always decorate for festivals? It was the same for the last store celebration!"

I turned around and went to the wall to get the cup, and scalded it carefully with hot water.

"Why~"

"I don't like it." I said concisely, hoping that she would let go of this topic.

"But, don't you think it's deserted? The whole world is festooned with lights, and it's all alone here. You don't know. When I first came here and saw the door of the store, I thought it was so pitiful. I was alone. Gray, gray, gray! Watching other stores put on new festive clothes..."

Why is she talking so much today?

Once the water is done, I pour the beans into the grinder, turn on the grind, and wash the filter paper.

"If you find it troublesome, I can help you, just leave it to me! There is still a week before the New Year, how about it?"

Pour the coffee powder into the filter, pat it flat, pour hot water, and start steaming.Waiting for the space for the coffee powder to release carbon dioxide, I looked up at her and said lightly, "It's not that good."

Maybe it's because I usually don't talk when I make coffee, she didn't realize that I was in a bad mood and continued to talk. "Don't worry, I won't be too exaggerated, you have to believe in my professional level, I have been certified by Uncle Xiao!"

I took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly, while controlling the water speed of brewing coffee, while controlling my emotions, I interrupted her without raising my head: "Qianli——"

"I'm definitely not going to throw all the—"

"Oh!"

I slammed my hand on the kettle on the countertop, and looked up at her with a cold face.

I was so angry at that moment, so angry that I lost my mind, I was disgusted with her obsession with decorating for the holidays, and I even had a secret, ugly resentment in me when she mentioned her mother.But when I met her eyes, I immediately realized how hideous I was, how...terrible.

She opened her eyes wide and looked at me in astonishment, her pupils filled with real strangeness and fear.That horrified gaze entangled me layer by layer like a spider's thread, and it was airtight. I was trapped in place, with difficulty breathing, but helpless.

I didn't find help until the familiar wind chime sounded.

A young man wearing a peaked cap pushed open the door and poked his head in, "Hi, take delivery!" He looked at the delivery slip in his hand, "Murong?"

I let go of the stiff hand holding the handle of the pot, and walked out of the bar mechanically, "It's mine, thank you."

He shrank back, brought in a cardboard box with a wooden frame, put it on the ground, and handed me a delivery slip together with a signature pen, "Please sign it."

"It's a glass, please open it for me to take a look first, thank you." I hope he stays for a while.

He used a knife to pry open the top wooden strips. I opened the carton and checked them one by one. Unfortunately, they were intact.I watched him ride the tricycle until he was far away. During the whole process, Qianli stood there without making any movement.

There was a sad silence between the background music, and I turned my back to her and bent over to carry the box.

She finally spoke: "Murong—"

There was another "bang", louder than the one just now, accompanied by the sound of glass shattering.

It hurts!I withdrew my hand, looked at the bloodstain on my index finger pierced by the wooden strip, slowly stood up straight, closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling extremely bad.

"I'm sorry..." I heard her say behind me.

sorry for what?

I buried my injured index finger under my thumb, clenched my fist, and as soon as I turned around, I saw her eyes were red.She bit her lower lip, her mouth trembled a few times, she blinked at me, but said nothing.

She is about to cry.

Oh, she thought I was losing my temper with her.

I suddenly felt a deep self-loathing.Why should she like me?What do I have that she likes?Does she know what I used to look like?Does she want to know?What will she do if she knows?

"Qianli," I lowered my eyes, trying to make my tone sound mild, "As you can see, I'm not a good-tempered person, I'm not what you think, and I'm not what you imagined. "

She didn't answer.

I almost said to myself: "How much do you know about the person you like? How much of him do you see? How much of him do you like? Do you know?"

She did not answer.

I closed my eyes, looked at the patterns on the floor, and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I'm in a bad mood today, I'm sorry for losing my temper with you. But, can you please...leave first? I want to be alone Wait a while..."

She didn't say a word.

she left.

I stood where I was, unable to move for a long time, a feeling of being abandoned by the whole world poured into my eyes, but I knew I deserved it, and I couldn't vent it.

Another gust of wind chime rang, and I subconsciously turned my head to look, but it was a strange face...

"Hello, welcome to visit~" I nodded with a smile, I really admire my professionalism.

"Hello~" The visitor looked down at the box at the door, "Have you got any coffee?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, come in first and find a seat. I'll tidy up, soon~"

"Ah, it's okay, I'll read a book first!"

"Thank you~"

I carefully moved the box into the bar. It wasn’t heavy. There were only twenty glasses, but two of them were broken just now.

I went to the medicine cabinet and looked through the hemostatic stickers, but I ran out of them, huh, what a coincidence.Fortunately, it was only a small wound, and the bleeding had stopped. I rinsed it off with clean water, and after spraying alcohol, I felt almost healed.

There was still Yirgacheffe that had just been half-flushed on the bar, and the water in the hand pourer was still warm, but the ground coffee in the filter was already cold.