My Heart Beats - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Xueman, her Crazy Person, was now deeply asleep in her arms. Looking at her sleeping face, the flush on her cheeks still hadn’t faded. Yinchi reached out and gently touched her long eyelashes. At this moment, she felt utterly complete because Xueman was beside her.

After leaving a kiss on her forehead, Yinchi gently withdrew her arm, casually slipped on her shirt, and left the room. Turning on the kitchen light, Yinchi put the coffee pot on to brew coffee. She watched intently as the water vapor turned into boiling coffee, then took out the fresh cream from the refrigerator. Yes, her kitchen lacked many things, but it was fully stocked with coffee-making tools and all types of coffee cups.

Xueman leaned against the doorway, watching Yinchi’s back, realizing that her Jerk was actually a very focused person—when singing, writing songs, and making coffee. It was just that she also enjoyed making her angry, which made her feel like the Jerk was just a big child.

“Why aren’t you making Whisky Coffee?” Xueman hugged Yinchi from behind, resting her face on Yinchi’s shoulder blade. Yinchi squeezed her hands, savoring the embrace of the person behind her. Come to think of it, they hadn’t really hugged yet. After about a minute, Yinchi turned around and embraced Xueman, whispering in her ear, “The days of drinking Whisky Coffee are over. I guess I waited for you, and now that you’re here, I don’t need it anymore.”

Xueman smiled, pulled back a little, and pecked her on the mouth. “Tell me your story about coffee.” Tell a story? She wasn’t good at it. But she could try. Yinchi turned back to turn off the simmering coffee and poured the hot coffee into the filter. She pulled Xueman back to hug her from behind, resting her head on Xueman’s shoulder. “This way you won’t be cold.” The warm breath hit Xueman’s ear, making the blush that had just receded creep back onto her cheeks. Yinchi kissed her apple-like cheek and began her story.

“My love for coffee must be inherited from my dad. He was a mad coffee enthusiast, constantly immersed in the cocoa beans he grew. He rarely paid attention to me, and the only topic we could communicate about was coffee. He told me he wooed my mother with a cup of coffee, and only she truly understood his inner world. He said every cup of coffee represents a different mood, and everyone should have their own exclusive cup of coffee. When there’s another person in the world drinking the same coffee with the same feelings, the most compatible person in your life appears.”

“Did your dad teach you your coffee-making skills?” Xueman suddenly realized something. Yinchi was momentarily stunned; her Xueman was truly smart. “Most of it was taught by my master.” “Master? Male or female?” “Female.” “I knew it. Your performance just now didn’t seem like… a first time.” Xueman said with a hint of jealousy, playing with Yinchi’s fingers resting on her waist. “Why does that matter?” Yinchi knew what Xueman was thinking. “I didn’t love her.” “Are you that sure?”

The quick response was a little willful. Everyone has different standards for the people in their memories. But at a moment like this, who would really care about the truth of the past?

“I wasn’t completely sure, but after meeting you, I am certain.” “She certainly taught you a lot of sweet talk.” Yinchi turned Xueman’s body so she was facing her, smoothing her short, wispy hair. “No, I only say these things to you.” Xueman circled her arms around Yinchi’s neck. After hearing her say “I love you” for the first time, she wanted to hear more sweet words. Who told Yinchi to be so cold to her before? “How are you so sure I’m the person you were waiting for?”

“I had a feeling when I saw the writing on the back of the coaster, but most importantly, after you drank the Whisky Coffee I made, you told me, ‘This cup of coffee is like you.’ My heart skipped a beat then, but I didn’t show it. After that, when you didn’t want to drink it anymore, I became even more certain that your feelings for me were the same as mine for you.”

Yinchi kissed Xueman again. From the moment she fell in love with coffee, she had been waiting for that person to appear. Now she had appeared. From now on, you are my Whisky Coffee.

After a lingering kiss, Xueman leaned close to Yinchi’s ear and said, “Barista Xiao Chi, what kind of coffee is suitable for our current state?” Yinchi took the coffee out of the filter and grabbed an inverted cone-shaped glass from the cupboard. First, she poured in the warm black coffee, then placed cold cream on the top layer. Viewed from the side, the bottom was black and the top was white.

Yinchi held Xueman’s hand with one hand and the coffee with the other as they walked back to the room. She set the glass on the nightstand, then pulled the blanket to wrap their naked legs. “You’ll catch a cold if you stand outside any longer.” Then she picked up the coffee; the temperature was just right now. Yinchi took a gentle sip: “This is called Black & White. It’s best for couples. Try it.”

Xueman had loved the coffee since it was finished. The cone-shaped glass and the black and white layers looked so mesmerizing. She took it and drank a sip. At first, it was the sweetness of the cream, then the bitterness of the black coffee, and then the sweetness would cover it again. No wonder they said it was suitable for couples. Xueman couldn’t help but take a few more sips. After falling for Yinchi, it seemed she was hooked on coffee too. Or was it because love itself was addictive? In that case, Xueman was her addiction.

Yinchi saw a layer of cream covering Xueman’s lips, recalling that she looked the same when she drank the mocha in the coffee shop that afternoon. At that time, it took immense willpower not to do anything foolish. Now, she didn’t need to hold back. She leaned closer to Xueman, a hint of slyness flashing in her eyes. “You have cream all over your mouth.”

Xueman reached out with her free hand to wipe it off, but Yinchi grabbed it. “I’ll help you.” A fiery kiss landed on Xueman’s lips again, the taste of cream filling both their mouths. Yinchi used her other hand to take the coffee cup and reached back to place it on the nightstand. “I wanted to do this this afternoon at the coffee shop.” Xueman poked her nose. “So you wanted to kiss me even then.”

Yinchi moved her lips across Xueman’s, saying, “Not just then. In countless moments, the Jerk wanted to kiss the Crazy Person.”

In the early morning, the warm winter sun shone on them. Xueman looked at Yinchi’s slightly upturned sleeping face, recalling that morning not long ago when she had been held and slept next to her, looking at her face just like this. At that time, she was still a Jerk that Xueman disliked, but it seemed that was also when her feelings for her began to change. She reached out and rubbed Yinchi’s lips, feeling like she was in a dream. Happiness came too suddenly. Was everything in front of her real?

Yinchi stirred, slowly opened her eyes, glanced at Xueman, then quickly rolled over and was on top of her. “Good morning.” Their noses touched. Yinchi cupped Xueman’s face and said, “You’ve been watching me? Aren’t you sleeping?” “Everything is too beautiful, too fast. It feels like a dream.” Xueman ran her hand through Yinchi’s short, soft hair, gently caressing it. “I need to look carefully.”

These words made Yinchi feel a pang of sadness; she knew her unintentional coldness could hurt people. She lowered her head and kissed her, giving her a warm smile. “Silly girl, everything you feel is real.” Seeing her look a little tired, she kissed her forehead again. “Sleep a little longer. I’ll make breakfast. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” Tucking the blanket around Xueman, Yinchi, wearing flip-flops, walked out of the room.

The kitchen was so bare that she didn’t need to think about what to cook. Boiling water, cooking noodles, frying an egg—she made two bowls of the exact same breakfast Xueman had made last time, the only difference being that the unhealthy instant noodles had been replaced with slightly healthier egg noodles. Looking at the two simple bowls of noodles, they seemed insufficient in nutrition, so she also heated a cup of fresh milk.

After setting the utensils on the coffee table, Yinchi went to the room to wake Xueman. “Hey, hurry up and try a chef-level breakfast.” Xueman hooked her arms around Yinchi’s neck from behind, putting half her weight on Yinchi’s back. Yinchi froze for a second; she had never experienced such intimacy. But it was only a moment, and she quickly returned to calm.

“Isn’t it just instant noodles and an egg? What chef level?” Xueman released Yinchi and patted her shoulder. “But it’s impossible to find a third edible thing in your house. Let’s go grocery shopping together after the photoshoot.”

Yinchi didn’t respond, contemplating the implication behind Xueman’s words. But seeing that Xueman was already sitting on the floor ready to eat, she didn’t think about it anymore. She sat down next to her and handed her the milk. “Drinking hot fresh milk in the morning is good for your stomach.” Xueman took the milk and drank a few sips. “What about yours?”

“Milk’s purpose for me is to make foam, not to drink.” Xueman smiled. She truly inherited her father’s fervor. She picked up the bowl of noodles and took a bite. There was a change. “How come it’s not instant noodles?” “Didn’t you say that you shouldn’t eat so many instant noodles because your stomach isn’t good? I haven’t eaten them since then.” “You actually remember what I said?” Xueman looked at her in surprise.

Yinchi, who had been focused on eating her noodles, rubbed Xueman’s head. “I remember every word you say.” “Smooth talker.” Xueman gently pushed Yinchi, the smile on her face undeniable. Yinchi poked her nose. “Smooth talk is a patent I reserve just for you.” “Just eat your breakfast quickly. If this keeps up, I won’t need to go for the photoshoot.” Xueman glared at her, her heart racing as she slurped her noodles.

The breakfast took almost an hour. Xueman changed her clothes and said to Yinchi, who was washing the dishes: “The fridge is truly too empty. I need to buy some yogurt and juice.” She ran over and kissed her cheek. “It’s good for your stomach, and I love drinking it too.” Yinchi’s hands paused on the dish she was washing. “You’re going to stuff my fridge full? It’s fine as it is now. We can buy it when you want to drink it.”