Cloudside Café

The First Cup of Coffee Part 1

When Jiang Ying left the office building, it was raining from the skies to the earth.
There was a cold snap this spring.
The temperature had recently warmed up, but then it suddenly plummeted.
It was like winter had returned for a moment.

The street lamps lit up the night, and the spring rain fell to the ground with the pink and white petals.

She took the phone out of her pocket and looked at it.
March 12 23:48.

There were still twelve minutes left before her birthday was over.

After working all day, her plans had not changed.
If she had not been urged by the security man locking the door to go, she might have spent the night there.

The rain was appropriate for the occasion.

Jiang Ying heaved a long sigh and opened the long purple sticky rice colored umbrella to step into the rain.

How could a company slave1 be worthy of a birthday? It was nothing more than a reminder that she was one year older and had spent another year in a chaotic state.

She went out this afternoon, and when she came back, the parking space was occupied and she had to go around in circles to find a place to park.
Jiang Ying walked listlessly with her head down and her shoulders hunched over.

When bad luck fell on a person, there really wasn’t a good thing found anywhere.

She was about to reach the corner of the street when she looked up and was attracted by a small nearby café with its lights on.

In the quiet, dark hours of the morning, the sparkling lights from the place were like a treasure box that had accidentally fallen from a magical world, hidden between trees and tall buildings.

Jiang Ying’s footsteps stopped and so did her eyes.
She was unable to withstand her curiosity to approach it.

She had heard from her colleagues that a new café had opened nearby and it was beautifully decorated.

Was it still open at this hour?

Jiang Ying could sort of see a person’s shadow inside, so she went under the covering and shook the water off her umbrella after closing it.
Then, she gently pushed the glass door open.

There was a bell hanging on the door.
When it was hit, it made a clear sound that disrupted the quiet rainy night and the person behind the work table.

He was a young man with a white button up under a loose sweater and gold-rimmed glasses.
His attire was mature and sophisticated.

He was wearing a deep blue barista apron, but it was clear with one glance that he was not a shop assistant, but the owner.

When the man saw Jiang Ying, he was a little surprised.
After he came to his senses, he nodded, politely smiled, and said, “Hello.”

Jiang Ying also nodded.
She looked away and quickly examined the shop.
White was the primary color.
The tables and chairs were wood, and there were a lot of green plants.
On the left side of the door was the reception desk and the back kitchen, and there were five or six tables in the room.

The room had a clean and simple Scandanavian style, but there were many cosy areas.
The lights were a warm yellow, and the tablecloths were either a light green or a yellow plaid.
Each table had a small pot of flowers and plants, and the chairs had floral printed pillows.

“”

“It’s so late, but you still haven’t closed?” she asked.

The man only gave a “mhm” and continued to look down to tidy up the dishes.

Yun Xian was the owner of this café.

It was raining today, and the drip-drop sound