Chapter 3: Homemade lemonade

“Yeah, last year was easier.”

“Listen to your teacher during class, and don’t forget to ask questions. It will make the end of the term more bearable.” He Yu lectured as she lifted her eyes from Ye Xun’s collarbone.

“Ok.”

“Are you an engineering major?” He Yu had once seen her working with a drawing of some machine’s frame on the computer. The nearby C University placed in the nation’s top ten for mechanical engineering, so He Yu guessed that Ye Xun was probably studying that major.

“Yeah, mechanical engineering.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.” He Yu said, “Ok, please wait a bit. I’ll start on your order after I deliver this to table three.”

“No rush.” Ye Xun replied as she watched He Yu walk away.

historical

He Yu returned to the counter and was about to make the coffee when she glanced at the glass pitcher full of lemonade that sat under the bar. He Yu personally preferred lemonade over coffee, especially when the weather was hot, so she always had a pitcher or two’s worth of lemonade prepared beforehand. She had let this pitcher of lemonade sit for a while so that the ingredients could mix and settle. It should be ready now.

“Do you want to try a glass of lemonade?” He Yu lifted the pitcher of lemonade and removed the lid. A light, yet fragrant smell wafted into the air from the fermented lemonade. “I made it myself.”

Ye Xun nodded: “Sure. Thanks.”

Ye Xun was in her third year of university, so that meant she was around twenty years old, only about six to seven years younger than He Yu. However, her demeanor and speaking lacked the passion that many others her age showed. Even when He Yu tried to converse with her multiple times, she only responded with a few words at most.

As the store became more crowded, He Yu quickly poured Ye Xun a large glass of lemonade and hurried off to tend to other customers.

With so many customers to serve, time flew by quickly. In a blink of an eye, it was already three.

He Yu took a break to catch her breath and looked up the weather forecast. The forecast earlier this morning had said it would be only 37-40° C. It was currently around 43° C (109.4 F). Not to mention, because this building wasn’t near any shade, and the sun was notorious for being extra hot in Chongqing, it probably felt like it was closer to 50° C. Anyone stuck outside during this weather would probably die.

Scrolling through WeChat, He Yu’s family group chat was quite lively. Her sister-in-law had just given birth to her second child in mid-June and had sent a picture of the cute little one-month-old in the group chat.

He Yu couldn’t resist commenting:

He Yu: The baby looks cute.

Immediately a reply popped up.

Cousin: If you hurry up and get married, you can have a baby as well!!!!

A few more people joined in as well, telling her to find a partner. All of the relatives around her age, both men and women, had settled down, some with children already. She was the only one left, and although people marrying late is a more common trend now; still very few took that route.

Not to mention, she was different.*

For people like her, forget marriage, finding someone was hard enough already.

During her university days, she had been in a few relationships, but each one had failed. The reality was not like the stories, just finding someone doesn’t mean she’ll fall in love.

This world is full of unexpected elements, with so many different twists and turns....

He Yu set her phone down and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. She sat there wiping down the cups, silently.

She sighed and thought, how long has it been since I was in a relationship?

Maybe around the time when she graduated from university? That relationship ended in less than a month, and both parties never met again.

By that estimate, she has been single for about three to four years now.

Jiang Yun had often lectured her about it. Saying that she should enjoy her youth and live freely, doing whatever the hell she wanted to do. Otherwise, she would be like a nun in a convent, always restricting herself.

While the idea of “doing whatever she wanted” sounded easy enough, it was hard to put it into practice. He Yu sighed again and threw those thoughts to the back of her mind, choosing to focus on work instead.

———————————————————————————————————————

Around ten o’clock that evening, before she could even take her shoes off, He Yu received a call from Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun asked He Yu for a favor. She wanted He Yu to let her cousin and the cousin’s roommate stay at He Yu’s place tonight.

Jiang Yun’s cousin went to C University and had missed the curfew because she was out late partying. C University’s had a strict curfew policy, so if the cousin and her roommate returned to the dorms, they would be caught, and disciplinary actions would be taken.

He Yu thought about it and agreed to the favor. She climbed downstairs to greet the troublemakers at the gate. The entrance was dimly lit, but she could make out two shadows, one tall and one short. When they came closer, He Yu was surprised. She recognized the tall one. It was Ye Xun. She never thought that Ye Xun would be the cousin’s roommate and stared as they approached.

And Ye Xun, her face half-covered by the shadows, stared back at He Yu.