Chapter 181 What a Nice Feeling
The cafe was called ‘Spring Breeze’. Everyone said that this was the boss’ confession to the lady boss. No one could top their standard of love affection. It was a pity that the majority of the people felt that the boss was not worthy of the lady boss. The good cabbage was fed to the pig.
The students who worked part-time here told everyone that the boss and lady boss came here a month ago. The cafe used to be a book store. The previous owner invested in stock and lost heavily so he transferred the property. The lady boss used half a months’ time to slightly renovate the place. The lady boss did almost all the frontline and behind the scenes’ work personally. The boss did not care about anything. Hence, everyone admired how blessed the boss was to be able to marry such a beautiful wife. She got the looks, the figure, and the temperament. Hence, several rich second-generation tried to come to the cafe and win over the woman’s heart. Unfortunately, the lady boss treated them as cold as snow and was only as gentle as water with the boss.
Every morning and evening, the lady boss would accompany the boss to take a stroll on the beach. After returning from their morning stroll, the boss would sit in at Xiamen University. In a short amount of time, he churned out a map of his sit-in lectures. He was most interested in Philosophy. Apparently, he even got into a debate during a lecture with one of the famous professors at Xiamen University. Eventually, the professor admitted defeat and the two even became friends. The professor was planning to recommend the boss to the school to let him become a teacher in the Philosophy department.
The boss sat in at lectures while the lady boss handled the rest. She would make lunch and wait for the boss to come back. After lunch, the boss would take a nap while the lady boss would then come to the cafe. In the afternoon, the boss goes back to sitting in at lectures. If there were no lessons, he would then come to the cafe. If the boss went to lectures, the lady boss would go back home earlier and prepare dinner. After dinner, they would then go take a stroll on the beach and then return to the cafe together.
This was the everyday life of the boss and lady boss. There were not many changes from time to time. Many would find this boring and mundane. They did not know how the boss managed to make the lady boss fall so deeply in love with him.
The boss and lady boss were of course Qin Sheng and Lin Su respectively. When he was near full-recovery, Zhuang Zhou transferred him to a private hospital in Hefei. When Qin Sheng could finally get off the bed and walk around, he always felt that being in the hospital was too suppressing and boring. Hence, Zhuang Zhou arranged for them to come to Xiamen. Lin Su and Qin Sheng liked this seaside city. Zhuang Zhou made the arrangements for the cafe and where they stayed at. It was all so that Qin Sheng could recover peacefully.
Lin Su and Qin Sheng returned to the cafe after strolling at the beach. The staff and regulars at the cafe greeted them politely. Qin Sheng and Lin Su smiled and nodded in response. The strange guest’s eyes were full of smiles. He was about 50-odd years old and had an evenly-distributed figure. However, the wrinkles on his face and the white hair at the top of his head told others that he was not young anymore. Anyone in the cafe could tell that he was not a regular person. He gave off a fearful aura and his outfit showed that he must be a retired leader or a savvy businessman.
Lin Su helped Qin Sheng to sit at the window seat next to the middle-aged man. Lin Su was wearing a pair of tight-fitting jeans and when Qin Sheng patted her perky butt, Lin Su immediately knew what he wanted. She glared at him and went to make him a pot of Dahongpao. Many guests cast their envious eyes on them.
Qin Sheng drank tea instead of coffee in the cafe. Lin Su would only tea for him. This was a privilege enjoyed by him only. No one else had this treatment.
Lin Su had just walked to the bar counter when a part-timer cum student, An An, said teasingly, “Sis, another four guests gave you flowers today. Are we still throwing them out?”
“Throw them away,” Lin Su said helplessly. She then lowered her voice and said, “Don’t let him know, if not he’s going to get jealous again.”
The petite and lovely An An covered her mouth and said, “I know. But we sell flowers too, what a waste if we throw them away! Why not keep them and sell them away? We can even make some money out of it.”
“You and your smart brain.” Lin Su knocked against her forehead gently. This girl was full of weird ideas.
An An spat out her tongue and walked over to take care of the pursuers’ flowers. She always felt that it was a pity. Looking back, she glanced at the boss who was sitting by the window. She always felt that he must have saved the galaxy in his past life. Otherwise, how could he have tricked the lady boss to be with him?
Not long after, Lin Su came over with the tea. She sat beside Qin Sheng. Qin Sheng lifted up his teacup and looking into the sea, he sighed sentimentally, “We’ve been here for three months already, time passes so fast.”
Lin Su replied calmly, “But I feel that it’s a bit too slow, you have yet to recover fully.”
“I was injured so seriously, it’s already good enough that I’m still alive. Let it heal slowly, it should be fine three months later. By then, I’ll be full of energy and revived back!” Qin Sheng nudged her nose gently and said happily. All the men in the cafe wanted to say, “What the f*ck? Will you die if you don’t show off your love?”
Lin Su whined, “You’re starting to get too full of yourself again.”
“Do you miss home?” Qin Sheng asked thoughtfully. After all, Lin Su had been with him for three months. During this period, she did not contact any of her friends and relatives of the past. She had put down everything and bid farewell to her past.
Lin Su held his hand and said, “You’re overthinking again, no? Home is wherever you are.”
“Home is wherever you are.” This was Lin Su’s most gentle love proclamation and the biggest promise to Qin Sheng. The corners of his mouth curled up and he smiled very brightly. No matter what happens in this lifetime, he could never let this woman down.
“Uncle Zhuang said that he’s arriving in Xiamen the day after tomorrow, it’s been a while since we last saw him.” Lin Su tried to change the topic. She did not want to talk too much about the past, in case it affected Qin Sheng’s mood.
Upon hearing of Uncle Zhuang’s arrival, Qin Sheng could not help but start pondering. He still remembered vividly the incident at Mount Jiuhua three months ago. Yan Chaozong and Ye Muyang joined hands to set up a death trap for him. Without Chang Baji by his side, Qin Sheng was bound to die. However, he did not expect Zhuang Zhou’s presence to change everything and even to save his life. He had too many questions.
When he woke up, Lin Su told him that Zhuang Zhou was his grandfather’s old friend. Qin Sheng found it even harder to understand. After all, his grandfather had never mentioned an old person with the surname Zhuang.
During then, Zhuang Zhou explained, “I am from Zhangzhou in Hebei. I already knew that you were here when you were in college. Your grandfather asked me to protect you secretly, but I wasn’t able to help much since Jiang Xianbang was also there. I didn’t interfere in many things. I knew that you were back the moment you returned to Shanghai. I knew about everything that happened to you when you were in Shanghai, including whatever that happened between you and the Han family, when you worked at Shangshan Ruoshui, as well as between you and Lin Su. I definitely know of the Yan family’s background in Shanghai. After Jiang Xianbang got into trouble, there was no one to protect you. I was worried that you would be in danger, so I sent someone to follow you secretly. Unexpectedly, they really wanted you dead, which was why I then saved you.”
This explanation was very logical, Qin Sheng could not find a flaw in it. Although there were still many parts that he did not understand, he accepted this fact nonetheless. No matter what, Zhuang Zhou saved him. If this had nothing to do with him, it would not have been necessary for Zhuang Zhou to step in.
“Okay, we’ll go pick him up when the time comes,” Qin Sheng smiled and said.
Lin Su left to do other things after sitting with Qin Sheng for a while. Qin Sheng sat by the window on his own, staring into the sea and entering a daze. The simple lifestyle these past three months finally allowed his flustered heart to calm down completely. Qin Sheng had new plans for his future and was not as impulsive and profit-oriented as before.
These three months, Lin Su did not contact anyone, neither did Qin Sheng. They did not know how the rest were doing. But Lin Su told him that after seeing him, she told them that he was fine and to not worry about him.
However, Qin Sheng was still worried. For example, he was the one that brought Chang Baji and Hao Lei to Shanghai. What would Chang Baji do now that Qin Sheng had left Shangshan Ruoshui? And there was also the bunch of people that had a profit-based relationship with him. He had promised Xin Xin and Auntie Wang to go back home during Lunar New Year. But who would have foreseen this? Once again, he did not return home in the Lunar New Year. Qin Sheng was more or less embarrassed and he did not know how to explain to them.
Just when he was still in a daze, the middle-aged man next to him slowly moved to the seat in front of him. Qin Sheng then realized and asked with furrowed brows, “You are…?”
The middle-aged man was a bit restrained and nervous but he still smiled politely. “Haha, I live nearby, I was just walking around because I was free. I saw that you guys have a good place, so I came in to have a sit.”
Qin Sheng naturally had to be wary of strangers. He frowned and asked, “You don’t sound local.”
“I’m from Beijing. You also don’t seem like a local. Why did you come to Xiamen to open up a coffee shop?” The middle-aged man answered calmly.
Qin Sheng squinted his eyes and asked, “How did you know that I’m the boss?”
“I don’t think there’s anyone here that doesn’t know that. When you and the lady boss entered, those at the surrounding tables were all pointing at you, don’t you know that?” The middle-aged man casually explained, “Why are you so sensitive, child? I’m just an old man, I can’t possibly harm you, hahahaha.”
Qin Sheng smiled awkwardly and answered, “Nah, I’m just asking casually.”
“The lady boss is quite pretty. Girlfriend or wife?” The middle-aged man asked after he looked up at Lin Su who was not far away from them, busy with her frontline and behind-the-counter work.
Qin Sheng replied, “Girlfriend.”
“Then you must hold onto her tightly. I heard that there are quite a number of men who are chasing after your girlfriend. Why don’t you get married earlier and break off their thoughts?” The middle-aged man laughed and said half-jokingly.
Qin Sheng laughed and said, “Uncle, don’t worry, my girlfriend won’t be interested in them.”
The middle-aged man could not help but laughed and said, “I really don’t know where your confidence comes from, hahaha.”
Xiamen was a tourist city. Although there were not as many tourists as in Gulangyu, there were still quite a number of tourists roaming around. Hence, there were always weird people to meet. However, Qin Sheng rarely bothered about them. He liked to sit at this spot and blank out.
“Did you come to Xiamen to travel or…?” Since he had nothing to do anyways, Qin Sheng started to chat with the middle-aged man.
He laughed and replied, “To forget about my troubles. I’ve retired and it’s boring to just stay at home. My son and daughter are not by my side. My partner had already left me years ago. Hence, every year, I will live in different cities. This month I’m in Xiamen, previously I was in Sanya.”
“Uncle, you do know how to enjoy life,” Qin Sheng nodded and said with a smile. These retired old people could understand, after working hard for your entire life, it was time to start enjoying life.
After chatting with Qin Sheng a while longer, the middle-aged man was worried that he would get suspicious. He got up and said, “Alright, it’s getting late. When you’re old, you tend to get sleepy easily. It’s time for me to go back and rest. I’ll pop by if I’m free tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll not send you off,” Qin Sheng said as he pointed to his crutches near him.
The uncle shook his head and laughed bitterly. He then left the cafe.
After walking out of the cafe, the middle-aged man did not go back home. Instead, he walked all the way to the beach. Standing in the sea breeze and listening to the waves, he let out a long sigh of relief. However, his eyes were slightly red. This was because it was the first time he talked to his son in such a manner after more than 20 years. What a nice feeling.