020 To Be His Little Orange
“I’m used to both.”
“Tch! Knew you’d say that…”
Cheng Siyu raised the slender metal spoon, wrinkled her nose, and tapped Qin Ren’s cup.
But Qin Ren wasn’t just being perfunctory. He was telling the truth.
Whether it was being tricked by Cheng Siyu or meeting her here for a “rendezvous,” after two years, Qin Ren was used to it all.
…
“Brother-in-law, Dad has a new development~”
“Brother-in-law, my sister asked me to pass on a message to you.”
“Brother-in-law, I’ve discovered one of my sister’s little secrets. Old place.”
…
Counting carefully, this wasn’t the first time Qin Ren had been “tricked” into coming here by his sister-in-law. A rather simple lie like “major intel”—Qin Ren had already seen through most of it when he received the message last night.
But some things, you have to do even if you know they’re wrong.
After all, it concerned his lifelong happiness. With the determination of “I’d rather be tricked three thousand times than miss one piece of real intel,” Qin Ren would always show up.
“But to be fair, being tricked by you so many times hasn’t been completely fruitless.”
“What have you gained?”
Qin Ren raised the cup in his hand.
“The coffee here is pretty good.”
Qin Ren didn’t know much about coffee. To him, coffee only had two simple options: good or not good.
“Our department often orders coffee for afternoon tea at the company, both Luckin and Starbucks. But I always feel like there’s an artificial flavor to them, it’s stuffy. Not as good as Nescafé. But this place is very good. I don’t know why, but it just feels comfortable to drink.”
“It’s good, is it? Drink yourself to death then…”
“?”
His sister-in-law seemed to never need a reason to snap at him. It was always so sudden. As the brother-in-law, Qin Ren had to criticize her a bit.
“I say, Cheng Siyu, you were the one who chose this place. When I praise the coffee, isn’t that indirectly praising you? Why are you so ungrateful, kid…”
“Hmph!”
Cheng Siyu was indeed ungrateful. She stared at the vortex created by the spoon in her cup, feeling a bit sullen.
He’s already drinking coffee with his pretty sister-in-law, yet he’s concerned about the taste of the coffee…
Isn’t it just some stupid coffee?
After drinking it for two years, he hasn’t gotten any real business done, but he’s developed an appreciation for coffee. What kind of person is this…
Click—
The stirring of the metal spoon in her hand stopped. Cheng Siyu pinched her fair fingers.
“Anything else? If not, I’m heading back.”
“I haven’t finished my coffee.”
“Oh.”
Cheng Siyu poured the remaining half of her cup into Qin Ren’s, nearly making it overflow.
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Qin Ren grabbed a napkin and wrapped it around the cup just in case. Fortunately, it just barely held it all.
Hers and his.
Two cups of coffee combined into one, full to the brim.
So full that not a single extra drop from the outside could fit.
Cheng Siyu watched quietly, feeling her sullen mood lighten a little.
She looked up and saw her brother-in-law’s brow furrowed, his head lowered in a helpless predicament, carefully sipping from the rim of the cup. After two seconds of silence, Cheng Siyu burst out laughing.
“Laugh, laugh, laugh, what’s so funny!”
Qin Ren slurped along the rim of the cup like a Beijing native drinking fried liver, then glared angrily at his gloating sister-in-law.
“You’re about to graduate, yet you’re still so reckless. I hope you have the same attitude towards your life.”
“My attitude towards life is great.”
Cheng Siyu was quite proud in this respect.
“Brother-in-law, don’t look at the fact that I repeated a year. I’ve definitely worked harder and been more diligent in college these past few years than you.”
“On what grounds?”
“Because I’ve been single since birth. What about you? Weren’t you busy dating my sister in college? Although it didn’t last long before you were locked in the Leifeng Pagoda by my dad, but…”
Cheng Siyu made a gesture with her hands.
“Weren’t you also busy with ‘that’?”
That?
The sister-in-law’s gesture was too abstract. Qin Ren didn’t understand.
“Which ‘that’?”
“Exorcism.”
Cheng Siyu looked at her brother-in-law with a faint smile.
“You’re actually a mysterious exorcist, and the women in your bed are all fake. That’s what you said yourself when you were caught by our dad.”
“Hold on! Our dad?”
Qin Ren’s eyes widened.
“I told you not to talk nonsense, but you just have to, don’t you? Who’s ‘our dad’?”
Cheng Siyu’s pretty chin lifted, and she tapped the table lightly.
“You want to be with my sister. Isn’t my sister’s dad your dad?”
“He… he is…”
“I’m my sister’s sister. Isn’t her dad also my dad?”
“…”
“My dad = your dad. Isn’t that ‘our dad’?”
The logic was sound. Qin Ren couldn’t refute it, but it still felt strange.
Cheng Siyu didn’t seem to think it was strange and continued.
“I remember it clearly. You were incoherent that night, talking about exorcism and slimes… Brother-in-law, do you think our dad knows what a slime is?”
“…”
“You couldn’t even come up with a more reliable excuse. You went straight for a fantasy novel… Sigh, it just shows how guilty you were at the time.”
Qin Ren couldn’t pretend he didn’t hear that. After a moment of shock, he took a deep breath.
“No way, Cheng Siyu. After all this time, for the past two years, you haven’t believed me either?”
“Half-believing, half-doubting.” Cheng Siyu shrugged, giving her brother-in-law some face.
“Well, I’ll be.”
Qin Ren exclaimed.
“So when you said you supported me getting back together with your sister, you weren’t being sincere?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Those are two different things.”
Cheng Siyu rolled her eyes at him.
“You made a mistake, but I’m not like Dad. I don’t think it’s so serious that you have to break up. Just apologize properly, and you’ll be forgiven. Isn’t it that simple?”
“Ah, this…”
These words made Qin Ren feel embarrassed. He looked around and said in a low voice.
“I was in that situation, and that woman was naked. You… you really think I can be forgiven that easily?”
“Mhm.”
Cheng Siyu nodded lightly. At some point, she had picked up the small spoon again and was clinking it around in her empty cup.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t mind if you have other women besides my sister on the side.”
“…”
This crazy girl, she really can say anything…
Qin Ren’s expression froze. He stood up and reached out to touch Cheng Siyu’s forehead.
A warm, slightly rough temperature gently landed on her cool skin. Cheng Siyu’s fingertips trembled slightly, and a faint blush flashed across her cheeks. She looked up and met Qin Ren’s calm gaze.
“How is it? Not hot, right?”
“Mhm…”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. Why don’t you check for a little longer?”
“Slick-tongued…”
Qin Ren pulled his hand back, wagging his index finger to remind his sister-in-law.
“Don’t say things like that in the future, especially not in front of your sister.”
“She won’t be back for another year.”
“Is a year that long?”
“…”
Cheng Siyu opened her mouth but said nothing.
Right, is a year that long…
Only one year, and Cheng Siyun will be back.
…
The girl’s silence was a leaf quietly floating down onto the water, not attracting Qin Ren’s attention.
And Qin Ren would never know that this sentence of his, to some people, was like a thorn.
Thin and small.
It pricked in shallowly, yet it could pull out so many things from the past to the present.
Those sour, bitter things…
Those funny, ridiculous things…
And those occasional moments, like scraps, that she had treasured time and time again…
…
When exactly did she change from secretly wiping away tears under the covers to gradually feeling fortunate and grateful…
Grateful that because of her, she could have a little bit of unknown joy.
Grateful that because of her, the person who had never cared about her before would look at her a few more times.
…
Grateful that with Orange, she could be Little Orange.
…
From childhood to adulthood.
It had always been this way.
Of course, there would be a future.
“Brother-in-law.”
“?”
“Cheers!”
Cheng Siyu’s delicate face bloomed with a playful and bright smile as she raised her empty coffee cup to Qin Ren.
Qin Ren looked at her for two seconds, shook his head helplessly, and also raised his heavy cup, clinking it with a “ding.”
“A toast to what?”
“Silly, of course it’s a toast to you and my sister getting back together smoothly a year from now~”
“I’ll take that as a good omen.”
Finally, a proper, nice thing to say. Qin Ren smiled, drained his coffee in one go, wiped his mouth, and looked over. His mischievous sister-in-law was still holding her empty cup, pretending to drink. The large Peppa Pig print mug was tilted up, covering most of her small face.
“Weren’t you in a hurry to leave just now? Now that you’re done drinking, let’s go.”
“You go first.”
She was still playfully holding the cup, her voice sounding a bit muffled.
“I’ll sit for a little longer. My treat today.”
“Generous! You’d better bring some real intel next time. I still have to visit the old man for the Mid-Autumn Festival in September.”
Qin Ren gave her a thumbs-up. There was no need for too much politeness with his sister-in-law. He stood up.
First, the sound of a chair being pulled, then steady footsteps, and finally, the tinkling of the wind chime at the door.
Confirming that Qin Ren had left, Cheng Siyu gently put down her cup, revealing the redness in the corners of her eyes.
“Good thing he’s an idiot brother-in-law…”
She murmured thankfully, raising one hand to rub her eyes, while the fingertips of her other hand caressed the three words “Barometer” printed on the cotton-linen tablecloth.
Qing-yu…
Qin Ren, Siyu…
If brother-in-law knew the reason she chose this place as their old spot, he would definitely laugh at her for being childish…
She wasn’t sure.
But it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that her sister could get back together with him smoothly.
Cheng Siyu took out her phone, tapped on the name [Cheng Siyun] in WeChat, and skillfully typed on the screen:
[Sis, I saw brother-in-law again today. He said he misses you and stuff, so mushy… It’s August now. Even though it’s the last year, you have to remember to keep talking to him every day, trust me. The details determine success or failure. As long as you keep him hooked like this, he definitely won’t change his mind…]
After typing the last word, she hit send, turned off her phone, and let out a long breath.
You have to do your best, sister…
You like him, and he really likes you too.
Only when he and his beloved Orange get back together smoothly can I continue to be his Little Orange in the days to come…
…
The girl prayed and blessed, but for some reason, her vision became increasingly blurry. In her moist eyes, the thick mist that had been brewing for so long finally condensed into warm teardrops, clinging to her long eyelashes. With a light tremble and a soft patter, they rolled down like raindrops…
Translator’s Notes
-
Luckin / Starbucks / Nescafé: Luckin Coffee is a major Chinese coffee chain and a direct competitor to Starbucks in China. Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee.
-
Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰塔): A famous pagoda in Hangzhou. In the classic Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake, the monk Fahai imprisons the white snake spirit Bai Suzhen under this pagoda to separate her from her human lover. The term is used metaphorically here for being forcefully separated from a lover by an authority figure (the father).
-
Qing-yu / Qin Ren, Siyu (晴雨 / 秦仁, 思雨): A pun on their names. The cafe’s name is “Qíngyǔbiǎo” (晴雨表), which means “Barometer.” “Qíngyǔ” (晴雨) is a homophone for a combination of their names, “Qín” (秦) and “Yǔ” (雨). Siyu is thinking of this connection.
