DF Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Are You Free This Afternoon?

Chapter 9 Are You Free This Afternoon?

The car drove all the way from Fajin Temple into the city. Zhou Yin and Zhang Mingyue lived nearby, so Auntie Liu first dropped them off at their homes. The two bid farewell to Song Ji’an and Sheng Jia in the car.

Once the car started again, Auntie Liu asked, “The same address as before?”

Clearly, she was deeply impressed with Sheng Jia, remembering the young girl even after a week.

Sheng Jia gripped the towel tightly and softly said, “Could I trouble you to take me to Greenery Cafe? You can input the address directly into the navigation.”

Auntie Liu nodded. “Of course.”

Sheng Jia glanced at Song Ji’an, explaining, “If my mom saw me like this, she’d worry that I was being bullied.”

That was a lie. Sheng Huaiying wouldn’t care about these things. In fact, she didn’t think Sheng Jia would be bullied outside at all.

But Song Ji’an believed her. She asked in a low voice, “Is this the cafe where you met Xu Lijing while working part-time?”

“Yes, I have a few spare sets of clothes there that I can change into.” Sheng Jia paused for a moment before continuing, “Are you free this afternoon?”

Song Ji’an replied, “Yeah, what’s up?”

“I’ll treat you to coffee as… a thank you.” Sheng Jia felt a bit awkward.

Song Ji’an suddenly leaned closer to her, her eyes without the slightest cloud. She stared at Sheng Jia’s profile, her smile radiant. “Then I’ll have to consider it. Every time you thank someone, you feel like the matter is resolved and you don’t need to have any further contact with them.”

Sheng Jia, having been called out: …

She saw Auntie Liu’s eager, gossipy gaze in the rearview mirror, as if she also found Sheng Jia’s personality very special and interesting, and really wanted to see how the two young girls would get along.

Sheng Jia asked with difficulty and humility, “What kind of contact do you want to have?”

Song Ji’an was very direct. “Friends. Sheng Jia, you’re very special, and also very mysterious, always making people want to know you a little more.”

Sheng Jia pursed her lips. “I’m not special, and I’m not mysterious. I’m just an ordinary high school student.”

As she said this, what Song Ji’an was thinking about was when she rode her little electric scooter and took her around the Binhai Highway again and again. At that time, she thought she and Sheng Jia had their own little secret and could become friends, but in reality, Sheng Jia was thanking her for accompanying her to get vaccinated, and after the thank you, they were even.

Further back, was when Sheng Jia maturely and skillfully resolved Xu Lijing’s matter, which she observed the whole time.

Sheng Jia was the most unique girl she had ever met, and also the most difficult person to approach she had ever seen in her smooth and successful life. But this instead aroused her interest, always making her want to understand Sheng Jia a little more.

Even though Sheng Jia said they weren’t the same kind of people, Song Ji’an didn’t think so. There would never be two identical people in this world. Everyone was walking on different paths, but friends were people who could walk side by side after mutual adaptation. How would you know without trying? A single disagreement didn’t mean anything.

Although Song Ji’an said she would think about whether to accept Sheng Jia’s invitation, after arriving at the place, she got out of the car without hesitation, and told Auntie Liu to go home. After all, she was going to see a movie with her classmates tonight, and she could do something else here after having coffee, so as to avoid running back and forth.

The shop manager was on duty today. She was surprised to see Sheng Jia, who had taken a leave of absence, and then quickly asked her to go to the employee lounge in the back to change clothes after discovering the dirty clothes on her body.

Song Ji’an found a seat and sat down.

Greenery Cafe was a rather artistically decorated cafe, with green embellishments everywhere, showing a vibrant scene. The woven sofas and low tables added some warmth and casualness to the place, making for a very good environment.

The shop manager pointed to the QR code on the table, smiling and saying, “Are you Little Jia’s classmate? You can scan the QR code to order, or you can go to the front desk to look at the menu and order.”

Song Ji’an chose to order with the QR code. The cafe’s main business wasn’t actually coffee. The best-selling items were the dazzling array of different types of ice cream and shaved ice. She scrolled from top to bottom, attracted by several ice creams and hesitating, when a latte with latte art was placed beside her hand. On the white porcelain cup was a slender, fair hand, the nails trimmed very short and round. Looking up along the hand, Sheng Jia, who had changed her clothes, was standing beside her.

“I haven’t ordered yet, how come you’ve already served?” Song Ji’an teased before looking at the latte and becoming surprised, “Huh, how did you know I like to drink this?”

“Because every day at noon, there’s a osmanthus-flavored rice wine latte on your desk.” Sheng Jia replied, “I smell it every day.”

Song Ji’an blinked. “You can even notice details like that?”

Sheng Jia: …

Seeing this, Song Ji’an stopped teasing her, picked up the latte and took a sip. It was unexpectedly delicious, even better than the one she ordered every day, making her eyes light up immediately.

“Is there anything else you want to eat? You can order more.” Sheng Jia said softly.

Hearing this, Song Ji’an wasn’t polite with her. She looked at the several kinds of ice cream on the phone screen, each one especially marked with its volume. At most she could finish one more with her appetite, so she simply ordered the best-selling one, “This Phoenix Mandarin Duck Eye Coconut Ice Cream.”

The shop manager, who had been sitting at the cash register, laughed upon hearing this. “What a coincidence, this and the osmanthus-flavored rice wine latte are Little Jia’s specialties. The taste is the best when she makes them, I can’t make that kind of taste.”

Only then did Song Ji’an realize, holding the latte and waving it at Sheng Jia, “You made this?”

Sheng Jia nodded, then turned and walked towards the back kitchen, obviously preparing to make ice cream for Song Ji’an. This made Song Ji’an even more expectant.

She sat on the sofa and pulled out her phone to reply to two messages, and then a jingle of wind chimes came from the front door. This time, a familiar person came in.

Xu Lijing came in and skillfully scanned the code, ordered a drink, and then sat by the window looking out, not looking at Song Ji’an at all. Or perhaps that one encounter wasn’t enough for her to remember Song Ji’an.

The shop manager was deeply impressed with her. The set of tables and chairs in the shop were all replaced because of Xu Lijing’s trouble that time. She took a small cake from the freezer and walked to Xu Lijing.

Seeing this, Xu Lijing propped her cheek and said, “Sister, I’ve really learned my lesson. This time, I will definitely not fight in the shop and affect your business.”

The shop manager smiled at her and treated her very well, returning to behind the cash register after putting down the cake.

But Song Ji’an felt a little nervous. This time she wasn’t fighting in the shop, which meant Xu Lijing had a purpose this time. The only person in the shop who had a conflict with her was Sheng Jia.

According to Sheng Jia’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t tell the shop manager about the conflict between her and Xu Lijing at school.

Song Ji’an wanted to send Sheng Jia a WeChat message to remind her, but Sheng Jia hadn’t approved her friend request yet. So she could only send another friend request, and fill in the verification information with the words – “Xu Lijing is here, suspected of looking for trouble with you”, hoping Sheng Jia could see it in time.

But after Sheng Jia came out carrying the brightly colored ice cream that was almost as big as Song Ji’an’s face and another cup of fruit tea, Xu Lijing just snorted when she saw her, without any other action.

This calmed Song Ji’an’s somewhat worried heart.

After Sheng Jia finished serving Xu Lijing’s drink, she sat back across from Song Ji’an. After all, she had taken a leave of absence today and didn’t have any work needs.

Song Ji’an looked at the ice cream in front of her, not knowing where to start with the spoon. Honestly, if it was ordinary ice cream, she would definitely eat it in big mouthfuls, but this one deserved to be called Phoenix Mandarin Duck Eye. Even the phoenix feathers were sculpted distinctly, and the two eyes were rubies and white gems, lifelike and very beautiful. No matter where you put the spoon, it would feel like destroying the beauty. What’s more, this was made by Sheng Jia herself.

The temperature was as high as thirty-four degrees, and even though the indoor air conditioner was turned on very low, the ice cream was still tending to melt. Song Ji’an steeled her heart and finally started with the phoenix’s tail. The shaved ice was cool, crisp, and especially delicious, making her eyebrows stretch out involuntarily.

But after only a few bites, she heard a familiar school bell.

“Is there school on Saturday?” she couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“Nearby is Jingjiang No. 3 High School, they only get a holiday once every half a month in the upper grades.”

Song Ji’an nodded to show she understood, and deeply sympathized with the alumni of No. 3 High School for only getting a holiday once every so long.

Even though the class bell had rung, there were still some students in No. 3 High School uniforms passing by from time to time. Most of them were sports students, who mostly used these weekends to train, so their freedom was much higher than that of other students.

From afar, a group of people wearing No. 3 High School uniforms walked towards Greenery Cafe. Xu Lijing, who had been sitting by the window, suddenly got up and went out, leaving her fruit tea money on the table. Before Sheng Jia could get up to help the shop manager get the money, she saw Xu Lijing outside the window walking up to the group of No. 3 High School students, accurately punching one of the tall boys in the face, followed by a flying kick, kicking him in the stomach.

The scene outside suddenly became chaotic. The beaten boy covered his nose and frantically called out to his companions to seek revenge on Xu Lijing. The girls in the crowd retreated to the side, and a few girls who wanted to go up and get back at her were held back by their companions. Xu Lijing fought like a lone wolf with the remaining three boys.

Song Ji’an had never seen such a chaotic scene, and subconsciously wanted to call the police, but Xu Lijing’s loud shout came from outside the window, “Sheng Jia! Come help me!”

Sheng Jia stood at the door, arms crossed, unmoving.

Xu Lijing immediately added, “Five hundred!”

Hearing this, Sheng Jia immediately pushed open the door.

Song Ji’an’s face was astonished, and she quickly followed. She saw that with Sheng Jia’s addition, the situation instantly changed from Xu Lijing being suppressed to having a back-and-forth. Xu Lijing and Sheng Jia actually cooperated quite well, and immediately dispersed the other party a little. Sheng Jia took the opportunity to grab Xu Lijing’s wrist and ran out, taking advantage of the gap.

Seeing Sheng Jia about to run into the alley, Song Ji’an hurriedly called out anxiously, “Sheng Jia!”

Sheng Jia’s gaze fell on her. As she pulled Xu Lijing past, her other hand immediately grabbed her hand, pulling the two of them into the alley of Greenery Cafe.