Chapter 1: Light Cheesecake Iced Latte Part 1

The continuous rise in temperature had driven away the muggy dampness of the rainy season. It was the last evening of the May Day holiday, with the setting sun melting into gold, its clear yellow light spilling across the lush green lawn outside the pedestrian street park.

The rich tail note of the cello still trembled in the air as Miao Zhu steadied her instrument. Amid the rising and falling applause, she bowed with the flutist Jiang Jingjing to the passersby who had stopped to listen.

It was a public performance that lasted over half an hour. The Cloud City Symphony Orchestra, where Miao Zhu worked, held these small charity concerts irregularly.

A music student who had seen the performance info on the official website rushed over excitedly, holding a cute little bear bouquet. “Teacher Miao Zhu! Teacher Miao Zhu, I-I often go to the concert hall to hear you play, and I came specifically to see you today.”

Miao Zhu listened attentively, then smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

The sun slanted low, its afterglow creeping across the lawn and bathing Miao Zhu in light.

She was very young, her light gown’s long skirt hugging her well-proportioned figure. Her jet-black hair was coiled neatly at the back of her head, with a few stray strands dancing lightly against her slender neck in the evening breeze. Her smiling eyes seemed to hold shimmering stars.

Her cheeks, earlobes, wrists, and the backs of her feet—every inch of exposed skin glowed in the sunset.

The music student was so nervous he stammered incoherently. After a long pause, he finally blushed and asked, “…Teacher, do you take students?”

With that, he thrust the little bear bouquet right in front of Miao Zhu.

The admiration was all too obvious. Jiang Jingjing, standing beside Miao Zhu, couldn’t help but burst out laughing with a “pfft.”

“I don’t take students,” came a soft, melodic voice. “Thank you for the flowers, but I have a dinner with colleagues later, and it wouldn’t be convenient to carry the cello and the flowers.”

“…” The music student’s train of thought stalled. At that moment, a girl in a coffee shop uniform chimed in helpfully. “Hello, teachers. A customer from our shop ordered iced coffees for you.”

Judging by the girl’s name tag and the logo on her uniform, the coffee shop was just across the street, a few meters away. Jiang Jingjing had been sweating from playing the flute in the heat, so the iced coffee was perfectly timed. She greeted it with a beaming smile. “Thank you to this kind customer.”

The coffee shop clerk handed the takeout bag of coffees to Jiang Jingjing. “The customer wants to thank you for giving everyone a wonderful evening.”

Jiang Jingjing tore open the seal and pulled out the coffees from the paper bag. She laughed again. “Two light cheesecake iced lattes—this is our Miao~Zhu~Te~a~cher’s favorite flavor! Teacher Miao Zhu, maybe that kind customer is a friend of yours?”

Miao Zhu’s expression didn’t change. “Yeah, quite the show-off, not even showing their face.”

“Pfft!” Jiang Jingjing nearly spat out her coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the music student still standing there pitifully with the flowers.

It couldn’t be helped.

Miao Zhu was stunningly beautiful, and so talented too—becoming the principal cellist right upon joining the orchestra. In the two years they’d worked together, Jiang Jingjing had seen a sea of admirers swarming around Miao Zhu.

Miao Zhu had already packed her cello into its case, but the music student still watched eagerly. Jiang Jingjing waved sympathetically at him. “Handsome, we’re heading out~”

“Teacher Miao Zhu, I’ll come see you again!”

Miao Zhu smiled and walked with Jiang Jingjing toward the parking lot.

Xie Dasu had stepped away for something and had just hurried back. He spotted them from afar and quickened his pace to catch up. When he got close, he exchanged a glance with Jiang Jingjing, then both awkwardly looked away.

Xie Dasu was a pianist. Recently, after getting to know Jiang Jingjing through Miao Zhu, the two had quickly fallen into an ambiguous flirtation. To create opportunities to be with Jiang Jingjing, Xie Dasu had volunteered that day to drive Miao Zhu and Jiang Jingjing to the venue and booked a restaurant for dinner together.

Miao Zhu knew she was just a tool in this. Seeing their poorly concealed intentions, she said, “How about we skip dinner tonight? I’ll head home first.”

Jiang Jingjing immediately grabbed her. “Come on, Mia, let’s go together! We’ve finished this holiday gig—tomorrow we can finally rest. Doesn’t that deserve a celebration?”

Miao Zhu teased, “Not calling me ‘Teacher Miao Zhu’ anymore?”

Jiang Jingjing was caught. “Aww~yeah~!”

The three had dinner together, with Jiang Jingjing leading the chat about funny stories from their student days. Laughter flowed freely. After the meal, Xie Dasu drove and dropped Miao Zhu home with Jiang Jingjing.

The car pulled into Moon Reflection Villa and stopped outside Miao Zhu’s courtyard. Xie Dasu got out with Miao Zhu to help her with the cello. Knowing she lived with her parents, they didn’t want to disturb the elders, so Xie Dasu and Jiang Jingjing left soon after.

Miao Zhu pushed open the courtyard gate. The family helper aunt heard the car and came out from the house to greet her.

“Longlong, you’re back! Had dinner?”

“Aunt Huang, yes, I ate.” The two passed through the living room and headed upstairs together.

They ran into Miao Zhu’s mother, Miao Ling, on the stairs. Miao Ling was coming down and instructed from above, “Auntie, go rest in your room.”

Aunt Huang acknowledged and left. Miao Ling turned to Miao Zhu. “I saw your performance schedule—it ended early today. Why so late getting back? Out playing with friends?”

She continued down the stairs, so Miao Zhu followed. She handed the cello to Aunt Huang, who took it carefully.

“We went out for dinner together,” Miao Zhu said.

Miao Ling: “The guy driving—what’s his name? Soda?”

Miao Ling must have seen Xie Dasu getting out to help with the cello from upstairs. Miao Zhu didn’t elaborate, just corrected her. “Xie Dasu.”

Miao Ling raised an eyebrow dismissively. “You collaborate with him a lot. I looked into him—he’s a solo pianist with an impressive resume. But, Longlong, you live in Moon Reflection Villa where every house is worth at least 100 million, and your everyday cello is an antique worth nearly ten million. The gap is too big. You don’t need to entertain emotional needs disguised as friendship.”

“…” Miao Zhu said nothing.