Chapter 4: From Blizzard to Sunshine (3)
Lin Yiyang and Wu Wei waited by a large parking lot for their bus.
Although the temperature had risen over the past two days, as dusk approached, the wind picked up and the air grew chilly.
Wu Wei shoved his hands into the pockets of his cold-proof clothing, stomping his feet to keep warm. Meanwhile, Lin Yiyang was still scrolling through his phone with one hand, seemingly amused by something. What was so funny? Wu Wei tried to peek, but Lin Yiyang nudged him away with his elbow.
Just then, a Chinese-operated bus packed with passengers drove past. The driver spotted Lin Yiyang through the window and hit the brakes, calling out, "Heading back to New York? Need a ride?"
Lin Yiyang dialed a number and, while waiting for the call to connect, replied, "Your bus is full. Go ahead."
The driver chuckled and cursed, "Stop pretending to be polite," before flicking a cigarette butt out the window.
The glowing ember traced an arc through the air, nearly landing on Lin Yiyang’s clothes. He sidestepped just in time to avoid it.
The call connected.
"Help me entertain two kids. Something came up, and I can’t make it," he said into the phone. "Yeah, I’ll take that bet."
"You agreed?" Yin Guo exclaimed.
The elevator doors opened, and two men in business attire stepped in, separating the siblings.
"Tell me quickly," Yin Guo whispered in Chinese, pressing her back against the elevator wall.
"Nope. He said he’d have a friend cover the bill," her cousin replied, passing his phone around the two men to show her the messages. "I told him it’s fine if his friend comes, but I’d pay."
Yin Guo skimmed through the chat history.
Lin Yiyang’s replies were brief—he mentioned being on the road. From what he told Meng Xiaotian, he insisted that since Yin Guo and her cousin were guests here, it was only right for him to treat them. It was a Chinese custom, one he intended to uphold even abroad.
Meng Xiaotian had originally planned to treat Lin Yiyang to dinner, so of course he refused.
After a few more exchanges, Lin Yiyang shifted the topic, asking how long they’d be staying in Washington. Meng Xiaotian explained that Yin Guo couldn’t be away from New York for too long, so they’d only booked a hotel for one night and would leave the next afternoon. When he asked Lin Yiyang when he’d be back, Lin Yiyang couldn’t give a definite answer.
His final reply was:
Lin: We’ll meet again.
Despite turning down Lin Yiyang’s offer to treat them, Meng Xiaotian—ever the foodie—still couldn’t get that restaurant out of his mind. The first thing he did upon reaching their room was try to make a reservation. Unfortunately, it was fully booked.
They ended up having a simple meal at the hotel restaurant. After dinner, Yin Guo took Meng Xiaotian to the pedestrian path near the White House to snap some photos before heading straight back to the hotel.
Since their last-minute booking in New York had left them with only one king-sized bed, the siblings had slept awkwardly—fully clothed, one at the head and the other at the foot. This time in Washington, Yin Guo immediately requested a room with two twin beds, finally allowing them to stretch out comfortably. After showering, she eagerly burrowed under the covers.
"You should wake up early tomorrow and check out the nearby museums. There are plenty."
Those were Yin Guo’s last words before drifting off to sleep.
The next time she became aware of her surroundings, sunlight was streaming onto her face, rousing her from slumber.
Takeout containers littered the small dining table and desk—likely from last night—but Meng Xiaotian was nowhere to be found. She lay sprawled on the bed, calling his name several times, but got no response.
Lazily hugging the blanket, she sent him a WeChat message:
"Where’d you go? The museum?"
Meng Xiaotian replied:
"At Georgetown."
Yin Guo:
"Alone?"Xiaotian: No, Brother Lin specifically woke me up this morning and had a friend drive me there. He said if I don’t get into NYU this year, I can try applying to that school next year.
Xiaoguo: He’s really good to you.
Xiaotian: Yeah, such a great guy. Just wait, he’ll bring lunch back for you later.
Yin Guo rolled over and got out of bed.
That guy seemed cold, but he was genuinely considerate toward Meng Xiaotian.
She shuffled in her slippers to the bathroom, opened a drawer, and rummaged for a new toothbrush. Then she paused, shuffled back to her room, and fished her phone out from under her pillow to send Lin Yiyang a thank-you message.
Xiaoguo: Thank you for arranging someone to take my brother to tour the school.
Lin: No problem.
Xiaoguo: [Smile]
Lin: [Coffee]
Seemed like there was nothing left to say.
She leaned against the wall, tapping the edge of her phone lightly against it, intimidated by his aloofness. She rarely met someone so sparing with words. Maybe he just got along better with her cousin. Whatever, she’d already thanked him—no point overthinking it.
After that day, Yin Guo never chatted privately with Lin Yiyang again.
She simply regarded him as her cousin’s new friend in the U.S., someone unrelated to her.
Once they returned to New York, the hotel had vacant rooms again, so she quickly swapped the single large room for two smaller ones. After stocking up on daily necessities, she officially settled into her short-term stay.
Last time she visited, Zheng Yi had been her guide, sticking to standard tourist spots—all the iconic landmarks. This year, she had no interest in revisiting those places and let Meng Xiaotian explore on his own. With Google Maps, he wouldn’t get lost anyway.
From morning till noon each day, the two wandered around, mostly focused on eating.
In the afternoon, they went their separate ways.
After all, she still had competition commitments and needed to train on schedule.
Over the next week or so, Lin Yiyang’s name occasionally popped up in Meng Xiaotian’s conversations—usually when Lin had given him additional recommendations during his solo outings. Having such a new friend around made Yin Guo’s life easier, and as she listened, she gradually grew accustomed to his presence, no longer feeling the need to thank him for every little thing like before.
On Saturday, Yin Guo woke up late.
Meng Xiaotian arrived right on time. She was brushing her teeth and mumbled, “Where do you wanna go today?”
“Near NYU,” her cousin said, leaning against the doorframe.
Yin Guo rinsed her mouth and wiped it clean. “Haven’t we been there a few times already?”
“It’s fun there,” Meng Xiaotian showed her a screenshot of a café. “I wanna check this out.”
Caffè Reggio—the name felt vaguely familiar to her.
Fine, they didn’t have fixed plans anyway.
“The bar we went to on our first day is near there too,” Yin Guo said, realizing she’d never mentioned it to her cousin.
“Really?” Back then, her cousin had been too disoriented to even know where the bar was.
“Yeah, I’ll point it out when we pass by.”
Yin Guo picked up a comb to smooth her hair, twisting it into a loose bun so it wouldn’t come undone if she wore a hat in the snow. Distractedly, she tried recalling other notable shops in the area, planning to take Meng Xiaotian on a thorough tour.
Only when they reached the café’s entrance did she finally remember why the name had stuck in her mind: its eye-catching colors.The all-green walls and the awning made it impossible to forget. At this time, most of the outdoor seats were empty, with only two young people wrapped in down jackets chatting in the wind. Inside, the place was packed, visible through the glass—almost every seat taken.
"No seats, right?" she glanced inside.
"No problem," Meng Xiaotian replied with a mysterious smile.
Yin Guo gave him a puzzled look. The place was full, yet he was grinning so happily.
"Brother Lin reserved a table."
Lin Yiyang?
She thought she misheard. "You invited him?"
"He invited me," her cousin said, pushing the door open. "He told me not to tell you in advance. Said if he could make it, he’d come see you. If not, we could just treat it as having coffee on our own, so it wouldn’t feel like another missed chance."
Yin Guo was nudged forward by her cousin and stepped into the café.
With a creak, the glass door closed behind her.
The walls were covered in decorations, and everyone was chatting. The café was crowded, but Asian faces were rare, making him easy to spot.
He sat under a massive portrait oil painting, in the corner of a dark red couch.
Leaning against the wall, he wore a black hoodie, his cold-proof clothing draped over the back of the chair. The table was small, and he was tall, so one arm rested on the tiny round coffee table while the other lay on his knee, as if only half of him fit behind the table.
People are most alert to their native language. He had heard the Chinese conversation and knew they had arrived.
He looked up, his gaze meeting hers.
Was this their second official meeting?
Yin Guo instinctively paused, stopping two or three steps away from him.
They had exchanged plenty of messages, but face-to-face, it still felt unfamiliar. His features and build were somewhat familiar, but only from that first impression at the bar. In daylight, he seemed slightly different...
Lin Yiyang’s eyes never left her.
Under his gaze, Yin Guo slowly walked to the coffee table, slung her backpack over the chair, and sat down after her cousin. The table was indeed tiny.
He slid a menu toward her. "See what you’d like?"
"You order," she pushed it back. "You know this place better. I’ve never been here."
Lin Yiyang nodded and didn’t insist. He ordered tiramisu and coffee for them and a panini for himself. The fact that he was eating something so filling suggested he hadn’t had lunch and had come straight here.
After ordering, a brief silence settled among the three.
Afraid that talking to him would lead to the same awkwardness as their WeChat chats, Yin Guo lowered her head and focused on her phone.
She scrolled through her social feed, checked Weibo, then went back to deleting old chat logs—anything to keep busy. As she deleted, she reached her conversation with Lin Yiyang.
Their last exchange was ten days ago, ending with his [coffee] emoji.
Who knew they’d meet again over coffee.
Seeing the two of them silent, Meng Xiaotian couldn’t stand it and broke the ice. "Talk, talk. This silence is killing me."
So he started chatting with Lin Yiyang, from university majors to the café itself. Lin Yiyang told him the place was built in the early 20th century and had been a gathering spot for artists and writers over the past hundred years. It was entirely possible that some famous author had visited here before making it big—Hemingway, perhaps? Or maybe a few pages of The Catcher in the Rye were written here. Historic places always carried a bit of legend, and famous names made them even more appealing.
Lin Yiyang spoke casually, not elaborating much.But Yin Guo looked at the table in front of her and the surroundings, the decorations hanging on the walls.
After his comment, she actually felt the atmosphere quite strongly.
When the coffee arrived, so did Zheng Yi's message.
She asked Yin Guo where she was hanging out today. Upon hearing it was near New York University, Zheng Yi remembered some items she needed to buy. Since Yin Guo was already there, she figured she might as well go today to save herself a trip later.
Actually, buying things wasn’t the issue—the trouble was that she’d forgotten the name of the shop.
Zheng Yi: Ask Lin Yiyang. Someone who can recommend Caffe Reggio definitely knows that place.
There was no choice but to ask him.
Yin Guo turned to him for help: “My friend said there’s a small shop around here that sells coffee beans. A lot of restaurants buy their beans from there and even advertise it on their signs to attract customers. But the storefront is hard to find—do you know it?”
Lin Yiyang thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll take you there.”
“No need, just tell me the name. I can look it up on the map—I’ll definitely find it.”
“It’s on my way,” Lin Yiyang replied.
Not wanting to waste his time, she quickly downed the remaining half of her coffee. “Then let’s go.”
Her intention was to avoid inconveniencing him, but her haste was so obvious that it almost seemed like she was rushing him…
Lin Yiyang glanced at the empty coffee cup, amused. In such a hurry?
That look, that expression, and that faint smile—she had seen them before, on the night they first met, when she was stirring her cocktail with a straw and watching the liquid swirl. Yin Guo instinctively tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, feeling awkward.
This brief, subtle exchange was completely missed by Meng Xiaotian.
The moment he heard they were leaving, he quickly finished his cake, gulped down two mouthfuls of coffee, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. By the time he looked up, the two of them were already standing, one after the other, putting on their coats with seamless coordination.
“You guys are fast,” Meng Xiaotian remarked.
Why did he suddenly feel like a third wheel?
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