The afternoon sun slowly fell upon the girl. Her simple bun, paired with her small, perfectly proportioned head, exquisite features, and fair skin, made her look just like... a peeled quail egg... Liu Zhimin, holding a cup of iced Americano, sipped her coffee, watching the passersby outside, feeling a sense of ease.
Although the girl was usually cheerful and abstract, she occasionally had a very artistic side. Opportunities like sitting in a coffee shop, ordering a coffee, and staying for a while were very rare for her.
It was a pity it was a last-minute decision; otherwise, if she had brought a book and swapped the iced Americano for a latte, Liu Zhimin felt she could truly pose as a literary girl and sit in the shop all afternoon.
She checked the time; it was almost time for classes to end. Since she had already told Kim Min-jeong and Ning Yizhuo to cover for her, it wouldn't be a problem even if she didn't show up.
However, Kim Min-jeong and Ning Yizhuo would probably have a lot to complain about later.
"Excuse me, do you know where this shop is?"
A middle-aged Asian man asked the question in a strange English accent. Honestly, Liu Zhimin really couldn't understand what he was saying. She barely understood standard English accents, let alone this clearly odd one.
All the English she learned in school she had given back to her teachers! Damn it! These were the mistakes of her youth!
The two gestured back and forth. The middle-aged man's broken English, combined with Liu Zhimin's Korean-accented English, resulted in them explaining for ages without either understanding what the other wanted.
As the wind chimes at the coffee shop entrance jingled and the automatic door opened, several people entered the coffee shop, including Yu Qianjue.
His sister should be finishing class soon, so Yu Qianjue decided to order a drink and sit for a while in the coffee shop, and perhaps try to catch up on the script he hadn't finished writing.
"Hello, I'd like a... um... Flat White."
The barista paused slightly when he heard Yu Qianjue's order, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
Finally! Finally, it wasn't just plain iced Americano or latte! The skills he had learned for so many years finally had a purpose!
Although a Flat White didn't require much technical skill, it was still much better than an iced Americano.
Seeing the barista's excited expression, Yu Qianjue felt a bit bewildered but still found a seat, took out his iPad, and prepared to write his script.
Though he called it a script, it was essentially a game plot outline. He had played many games in his previous life, and although this world after his transmigration was almost identical to his past one, some aspects of culture and entertainment were lacking.
So, to make up for some regrets, Yu Qianjue would always record his experiences from his previous life whenever he had free time.
Fortunately, he was much more capable in this life; his body, learning ability, and memory were all monstrously strong, which allowed him to record everything clearly.
The barista delivered the coffee to the table. After thanking him, he took a small sip of coffee and then placed it on the table.
He actually had a bit of a 'cat tongue' and couldn't drink very hot coffee, so he needed to let it cool down.
But then again, the environment here seemed quite nice. Perhaps because it wasn't yet quitting time, there didn't seem to be many people.
It seemed that if he had time in the future, he could occasionally find a nice coffee shop to write his scripts.
As he thought this, he heard the conversation of a man and a woman behind him.
The reason he noticed was probably because the man's accent was too distinctive. For him, who frequently traveled between China, Japan, and the Peninsula, this accent was indeed very familiar.
It was an accent completely transliterated using Katakana, a unique Japanese English pronunciation. Although Japanese accents have gradually moved closer to international standards in recent years, many Japanese people still use Katakana transliterations.
This often led to people unfamiliar with it not understanding the meaning of what was being said at first.
The female voice sounded young, but her Peninsula-style English was no less distinct.
It was completely like a chicken talking to a duck... At this moment, both of them must be very embarrassed... Ugh... Goosebumps rose; his habit of feeling awkward for others had returned!
He stood up and walked behind them. Sure enough, a girl about his age was talking to a middle-aged man. From the man's anxious expression, it seemed they had been talking for a long time.
"Excuse me, I speak Japanese. Can I help you?"
Standing behind the man, Yu Qianjue offered his help.
The two talking turned around to see a person wearing black-rimmed glasses standing behind them, asking the question.
Only then did Yu Qianjue clearly see the girl's face, and when Liu Zhimin turned around, her gaze met Yu Qianjue's.
"Oh my gosh, this girl's head is so small, and her face is tiny too. Her eyebrows and eyes are beautiful. What a God-given talent!"
"Hmm... Finally, someone came to help? I really can't understand this strange English! But he's so handsome. Huh? So, is he a boy or a girl?"
The middle-aged man had originally wanted to ask where a souvenir shop was. He was about to fly out of the Peninsula soon, so he had rushed here but got lost.
"Excuse me, miss, do you know where this shop is? I'm not very familiar with this area. If you tell me, I'll relay it to him."
"Oh, okay. This shop is at..."
After translating for the man, he bowed gratefully and hurried out of the coffee shop.
"Ah... Finally, I'm free. I really couldn't understand what he was saying..."
Liu Zhimin finally breathed a sigh of relief. Communication was truly exhausting.
"It's understandable. After all, it's Japanese English and Peninsula English. It's normal for you two not to understand each other."
Yu Qianjue heard the girl's relieved tone and chimed in.
"What do you mean! Are you saying my accent is strange too?"
The girl was a little miffed. Although her English wasn't great, and she had practically given it all back to her teachers, she had always been quite confident in her accent. She had tried her best to express herself earlier; it was just that the other person didn't understand.
Liu Zhimin looked at Yu Qianjue with a somewhat resentful gaze. Only then did she have time to observe the young man in front of her carefully.
He wore punk-style clothing: a large, long black shirt on top, a copper coin with a character on it around his neck, long black and white plaid skirt over super loose long pants on the bottom, and finally, fluffy jellyfish hair, topped with large black-rimmed glasses.
He definitely wasn't from the Peninsula. People from the Peninsula didn't dress like that. She remembered seeing a similar style in a magazine before; it seemed to be Harajuku style.
Hearing the girl's complaint, Yu Qianjue smiled helplessly, raising his hands in surrender.
He thought this girl was quite outgoing. She was also one of those rare people who looked beautiful in a way that made others feel very comfortable, and her personality seemed quite interesting.
"But, thank you again for earlier. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known how to help him. After all, if he missed his flight due to a language barrier, I would have felt very guilty."
"That's true, but perhaps both of you were too anxious and forgot the power of technology."
Yu Qianjue shook his phone, indicating that phones could translate.
"Ah! Worry makes one confused; I actually forgot just now... Darn it..."
Shrugging, Yu Qianjue indicated it was human nature, but perhaps it was also because the girl in front of him was a bit naive?
"To show my gratitude, may I buy you a drink?"
Liu Zhimin winked at Yu Qianjue. From their conversation, she could tell that this person, whose gender she couldn't discern, was very interesting. It seemed like she could interact with him more.
The main reason, however, was still to figure out his gender.
"Well, you're quite generous, miss."
Although he had already ordered a coffee, it wouldn't be good to refuse the girl's kindness. Yu Qianjue nodded in thanks.
"I can afford a cup of coffee, and I think you're quite interesting."
Liu Zhimin smiled at Yu Qianjue, causing him to momentarily freeze, but it was only for an instant. He quickly returned to normal.
Yu Qianjue ordered an iced Americano, not wanting the girl to spend too much.
Just then, he received a message on his phone. Yu Qianjue looked down; it was from his sister, asking him to buy desserts from a nearby dessert shop because she wanted to replenish some energy after class, and apparently, there were some limited-edition desserts that would sell out if they went too late.
He checked the time; it seemed a bit tight.
He quickly walked to his seat and gulped down his coffee.
"Sorry, miss, I suddenly have an urgent matter. I need to buy something. I appreciate your kind offer."
He apologized to the girl and hurried towards the door.
"Hey! I still don't know your name!"
Yu Qianjue stopped and looked back at the girl.
"Next time. If it's fated, we should meet again. I'll tell you then."
He waved his hand casually, turned, and walked away.
"Bang!"
Then he bumped into the automatic door.
"Ouch!"
"Pfft... Hahahahahahaha..."
He squatted down in pain, vaguely hearing the girl's bell-like laughter from behind him.
Damn it! He had tried so hard to look cool, but he ended up making a fool of himself!
Can't you people on the Peninsula install more infrared automatic doors?! If an automatic door needs a button to open, is it still an automatic door?!
Standing up and pressing the button, Yu Qianjue ran out of the coffee shop, his face red.