1:45 PM.
Lin Mu carried all the freshly brewed coffee upstairs.
Seeing Lu Qing deeply engrossed in writing, she didn’t dare to speak too loudly. Instead, she turned to Su Ling, who was sitting beside him, and introduced the drinks:
"This one, a Spanish Condensed Milk Latte, is my specialty."
"Mm-hmm," Su Ling nodded slightly.
"This one, a Humbera Americano, it’s a bit on the sour side."
"Oh, okay," Su Ling responded, not entirely sure what that meant.
"This one, a Hot White Chocolate Mocha, sweet."
"Ah," Su Ling acknowledged.
"And this one, he wanted a Flat White, but I didn’t make it. Instead, I made a lemon special to reduce his caffeine intake. Hmph, I’ll let him off the hook this time~"
"You’re really thoughtful," Su Ling whispered in approval, watching as Lin Mu carefully placed the beautiful glass cups on the table mats.
Lin Mu continued, "And finally, this one’s for you."
"Eh? For me?"
"Yep, you’ll definitely love it."
She took the last green drink from the tray and gently placed it in front of Su Ling, proudly saying,
"Hot Matcha Latte, a brand-new creation! Hehe, take a whiff, isn’t it fragrant? And look at the color, isn’t it vibrant?"
"…"
Su Ling took the fifth drink, holding it in her hands. Internally, she thought, *Kids say the darndest things*, but on the surface, she forced a small nod and said,
"It’s definitely very green."
"Hehe, A-Ling, since your brother’s so busy today and you don’t have much to do… why don’t you come downstairs and hang out with me?"
"Huh?"
Su Ling was caught off guard by the sudden, unreasonable request from the mischievous girl.
She turned to Lu Qing for help, seeking his opinion.
"Sure, go ahead if you want to," Lu Qing replied, too absorbed in his writing to pay much attention. He reached for the iced Americano on the table, took a big gulp, and as his Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
Su Ling glanced at Lin Mu, noticing the smug look on her face, clearly pleased with herself.
*Well, she’s beyond help now.*
The young girl reluctantly stood up, picked up her latte, and said to her brother, "I’ll go downstairs for a bit then. It’s quieter up here for you to focus on your writing."
"Good girl," Lu Qing replied contentedly. He grabbed his mouse, clicked on the "Word Sprint" system in his writing software, and created a room, waiting for other authors to join—
He was already gearing up for a "word sprint battle" with his peers.
Unbeknownst to most, this was a system that prioritized speed over quality, allowing authors to team up and compete to see who could write faster and more. It seemed pointless, and honestly, it was, serving more as a psychological boost than anything else.
Seeing that he was already getting into the groove, Su Ling knew there was no point in staying. She followed Lin Mu downstairs, intending to chat more about music and, at the same time, get a closer look into Lin Mu’s mind to figure out if she was genuinely clueless or just pretending.
"I’m heading down now."
"Alright."
The two girls quickly made their way to the first-floor lobby.
"Hehe, A-Ling, how many girlfriends does your brother actually have? As his sister, do you know the details?"
As soon as they reached the counter, Lin Mu started prying into gossip.
Her question was sharp and invasive, showing no regard for the "player’s" privacy.
"…How many?"
Su Ling broke into a cold sweat, unsure how to answer.
But she instinctively started counting in her head, pondering—
*Bai Xing probably counts as one, since she’s practically part of the family, just waiting to meet the parents.*
*The stalker… not sure if she counts, but judging by the way she talks to my brother, she’s clearly holding back some strong feelings, just biding her time for the right moment.*
*I don’t count. In my brother’s eyes, I’m just someone he needs to take care of. The way he looks at me is completely different from how I see him. So, I’m definitely out of the running.*
So, rounding it off…
"He only has one girlfriend."
For some reason, Su Ling awarded the "Best Girlfriend Award" to Bai Xing without hesitation.
"Oh! Really? So he’s actually pretty loyal… Do you think he’d get mad if I kept calling him ‘Ah Hai’?"
Lin Mu seemed a bit conflicted, wiping a glass as she asked.
"It’s fine, just pretend his last name is Hai," Su Ling replied mercilessly, convinced that her brother had the potential to live up to that title sooner or later.
But Lin Mu pressed on:
"Then, when you see your brother with a girlfriend, don’t you feel a bit… uncomfortable or upset?"
"…"
There was no doubt that the mischievous girl’s question was both absurd and cutting, with a hint of armor-piercing insight.
Su Ling was at a loss for how to respond.
Instead, she shot back, "Why would I feel upset? I’m not a brother complex type. Why would I care?"
Her expressionless reply came off as slightly stiff.
And this only fueled Lin Mu’s curiosity further:
"Eh? You don’t? That’s weird. If I were you, I’d probably feel a bit off."
"…Why?"
"Because, think about it, normally, your brother’s affection at home is all yours, right? But once he gets a girlfriend, wouldn’t he suddenly shift that attention to someone else?
In other words, imagine a cake. At first, you get to enjoy the whole thing, all to yourself. But once the cake’s owner decides to share it with someone else, you’re left with only half. You can never go back to that initial, full experience. Do you get what I mean? Is my analogy on point?"
Lin Mu made a slicing motion with an imaginary knife, about to continue with, "And if your brother had two girlfriends, you’d only get a third of the cake…" when she noticed Su Ling’s shoulders trembling slightly.
*Oh no.*
She sucked in a breath, her teeth slightly clenched, and muttered regretfully, "Did I hit a nerve…?"
*She’s so pretty, and when she first came here, she seemed really clingy, to the point where I even mistook her and Ah Hai for a couple… Now that I think about it, there’s definitely something there.*
Though Lin Mu wasn’t great with social cues, she occasionally had moments of insight.
Seeing Su Ling lost in thought, she realized this topic needed to be dropped immediately. If Su Ling got upset and stopped coming, what would she do?
After all, the shop only had these two regular customers. She didn’t want to deal with new ones—meeting strangers was exhausting and unpredictable, and honestly, she wasn’t keen on trying.
So, she had to keep them both happy, especially Su Ling.
With that in mind, Lin Mu quickly decided to change the subject.
She wiped her hands, stepped out from behind the counter, and offered,
"A-Ling, how about I play some music for you? Today, I’ll play the acoustic guitar to prove I’m not a one-trick pony. I’ll wrap up last time’s challenge. Hehe, pretty thorough, right?"
"Huh? Acoustic guitar? Are you singing too?"
Su Ling perked up at the mention of something within her expertise.
But then…
"Yeah, singing. I want to practice an original song and warm up my voice too."
"An original? What’s it called?"
"Ah, it’s a song I wrote last summer. It’s called ‘One-Sided Love,’ written for someone special."
"…"
…
…