Having spent several years abroad and just returned to a city she had never visited before, Jiang Mu knew it would take some time to get acquainted. Yet, the moment Gu Zhijie first drove her up to the observatory, she fell in love with the city upon seeing the neat rows of towering phoenix trees lining the mountain road.
Gu Zhijie told her that Nanjing’s phoenix trees had a long history, with many stories about their origin. The more accurate account was that they were planted for the funeral ceremony of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, but the most widely spread tale was that Madame Soong Mei-ling adored French phoenix trees, and Mr. Chiang had the entire city planted with them to please his wife. Jiang Mu arrived in Nanjing during the summer. Gu Zhijie mentioned that by autumn, the golden phoenix leaves would form a continuous necklace encircling the Meiling Palace. This romantic notion made Jiang Mu’s gaze linger on the grand canopy of trees—their sturdy trunks bearing the weight of history and witnessing a century of the city’s changes.
Jiang Mu recalled the last time she saw Jin Chao. He was sitting by the second-floor window in a white shirt, with a phoenix tree outside. When the breeze rustled the leaves, their shadows danced across his white shirt. Even now, whenever she thought of him, that image surfaced in her mind.
Thus, inexplicably, she developed a special fondness for this place.
Jiang Mu decided to settle in the eastern part of the city, a bit far from the research institute. Gu Zhijie asked if she could drive. Jiang Mu had never gotten a driver’s license, though she had considered it several times. But she always remembered Jin Chao’s exceptional driving skills and grew accustomed to riding in his car, telling herself she could put it off—and so she had, until now.
Gu Zhijie had offered to help her with housing, but Jiang Mu politely declined. He had already assisted her with submitting documents, her resume, and onboarding arrangements; relying on him for accommodation felt unreasonable.
Though the neighborhood she rented in wasn’t the newest, it was near the scenic Purple Mountain. On her days off, she would wake up early and walk along the hiking trail to the observatory. When she felt energetic, she’d climb all the way to Toutuo Peak before returning to her rental to shower and resume any unfinished work.
She had long broken the habit of sleeping in. Living alone, she made the most of her time and had grown fond of coffee. She needed a cup to get into the right mindset before starting work.
She had been to many places and tried countless cups of coffee, but she never found that vanilla latte with a hint of cinnamon. Now, she could hardly remember its taste.
Still, whenever she settled somewhere new, she habitually searched for nearby coffee shops. After trying a few local spots, she came across a highly-rated one called "oon" on a delivery app, with many young girls raving about the handsome barista. Out of curiosity, Jiang Mu ordered a vanilla latte and was surprised by how much she liked it.
From then on, whenever she needed a coffee boost, she ordered from there. She had been doing so for two months, from summer to early autumn. One Saturday morning, after working overtime at the unit, she didn’t take the subway back but opted for the bus. Getting off far from her rental, she unlocked a shared bike and pedaled home.In early autumn, the osmanthus flowers bloomed in Nanjing. The warm breeze was gentle, carrying their fragrance everywhere. This was a city capable of healing the soul; whenever Jiang Mu recalled Jin Chao, that profound sense of helplessness gradually melted away in this city brimming with humanistic warmth.
Flanked by intertwining branches of plane trees, the air was filled with the sweet scent of osmanthus. She cycled leisurely along the long, narrow path, listening to a light music piece titled "Autumn" through her earphones, riding back at a relaxed pace.
Gradually, gray-brick buildings began to appear on both sides of the road. The warm sunlight spilled onto the shopfronts, catching Jiang Mu's attention.
She had lived nearby for nearly three months but usually took the subway to work and had never visited this street before. Feeling curious, she slowed down.
Her gaze eventually settled on a sign partially obscured by plane tree branches. The shop was surrounded by lush greenery, its small storefront nestled among beautiful flowers and plants. The sign, painted in a starry sky blue, immediately drew Jiang Mu's eye. To read the words on it clearly, she circled around and craned her neck. To her surprise, the sign featured a handwritten English font with just one word: "oon." The rich aroma of coffee wafting from the shop made Jiang Mu smile instantly.
She never expected to stumble upon the coffee shop she had been ordering from for almost two months. Since she happened to pass by, she naturally decided to park her bicycle and go in for a cup of coffee.
Pushing open the stylish wooden door, she was greeted by the gentle jingle of bells. A cute, single-eyelidded girl looked up and smiled at her, saying, "Welcome to oon. What would you like to drink?"
Jiang Mu found the black menu quite novel. It featured a grand illustration of planets, with each coffee representing a different celestial body. The vanilla latte she usually ordered was labeled as Mercury on the menu.
Amused by the creative design, Jiang Mu told the staff, "I often order delivery from your shop. I had no idea you were located here—I couldn't even see the sign from the street."
The shop owner, a married woman a few years older than Jiang Mu, overheard and turned around, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "Yes, many customers say that, but the boss refuses to cut down the trees in the courtyard."
Jiang Mu chuckled along. "Your boss is so laid-back. By the way, I always get the vanilla latte. Do you have any other recommendations?"
The single-eyelidded girl suggested, "How about trying our signature 'oon'? It's a bestseller here, and many customers love it."
Jiang Mu glanced at the coffee's name on the menu. While all the other coffees had printed labels, only this one shared the same handwritten font as the shop's sign. She recalled that every time she ordered delivery, a small black card was included, with a handwritten "oon" in the bottom right corner. She couldn't help but remark, "This 'oon' is the one on the delivery cards, right? The font is quite distinctive."
The staff member explained, "Our boss wrote it herself."
Surprised, Jiang Mu smiled and said, "Then I'll take a large cup."While waiting, she surveyed the coffee shop. The courtyard had several black rattan chairs and tables under large sun umbrellas, while the ground floor interior featured a few circular sofas. Though not particularly spacious, the place was comfortably decorated. Wondering if the owner might be an astronomy enthusiast, Jiang Mu noticed an extra-large refracting telescope placed by the floor-to-ceiling window. She walked over to examine it, itching to try it out but hesitating to touch it without permission.
The portly shop manager told her: "No worries, that's for customers to use. But a child messed with the settings last time, and none of us know how to adjust it properly."
Setting down her bag, Jiang Mu adjusted the declination rod and altazimuth mount, then activated the finderscope to complete the calibration. A single-eyelidded girl approached and asked: "You know how to use an astronomical telescope?"
Jiang Mu smiled without answering. When the girl handed her the coffee, Jiang Mu suggested: "If you want daytime observations, tell your boss to add a Baader filter - you could observe sunspots with it."
After offering this advice, she accepted the coffee with thanks and left.
Outside the coffee shop, she found the shared bike she'd used had been taken by someone else. Jiang Mu stood momentarily stunned, though fortunately her rental apartment wasn't far. Taking a sip of coffee, she began walking back when her steps abruptly halted.
Humans possess about ten thousand taste buds, each capable of retaining memories. Yes, she had forgotten the flavor of that coffee from years ago, but her taste buds remembered.
As paulownia leaves drifted down and maple groves blazed with color, a series of ringing bell sounds echoed once more. The staff member saw the beautiful woman from earlier returning and asked: "Is something wrong?"
Jiang Mu walked straight to her, hesitating slightly before asking: "Do you have a particularly handsome guy working here?"
The staff member looked momentarily confused by the question. Jiang Mu added: "Oh, I saw someone mention it in the delivery app reviews."
The manager chuckled nearby: "He's off today, but you'll probably see him if you come another time."
Clutching her coffee cup tightly, Jiang Mu asked: "What's his name?"
The manager told her: "His surname is Gu."
Jiang Mu's anxiously suspended heart suddenly settled back down. She asked again: "Is he working tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Exiting the coffee shop, Jiang Mu took another sip of coffee, paused for a few seconds, shook her head and left.
The next day after work, Jiang Mu deliberately detoured to the coffee shop to buy an oon, successfully meeting the handsome young man surnamed Gu. He had fair, clean features and stood quite tall, but wasn't the person she sought, leaving her somewhat disappointed.
The single-eyelidded girl from yesterday approached Gu Tao and whispered: "That's the beauty who was asking about you."
So while preparing coffee, Gu Tao glanced several times at Jiang Mu. As dusk gradually fell, Jiang Mu returned to the telescope for another observation.
Just then, a dog suddenly burst from behind the changing room curtain and ran straight toward Jiang Mu. Sensing movement, she turned to face a pure black Labrador cautiously sniffing around her, circling repeatedly.
Jiang Mu bent down to look at the large dog, gradually furrowing her brow. It looked so much like Shandian, as if that familiar feeling had suddenly returned. Across the vast distance separating Tonggang from Nanjing over a thousand kilometers away, this inexplicable sense of familiarity left Jiang Mu utterly bewildered.
Gu Tao hurried out and called: "Mendan, stop sniffing around!"
Jiang Mu straightened up and asked: "His name is Mendan?"Gu Tao apologized, "Yes, it's called Mendan. It usually ignores people—it won't come out even when we call it. I don't know what's gotten into it today; maybe it likes beautiful women."
Jiang Mu paid no mind to Gu Tao's flattery. She stroked Mendan's large head and said to it, "It's okay. I used to have a Labrador like this too."
She gently patted Mendan's head, and surprisingly, it obediently lay down at her feet. Gu Tao watched in astonishment, exclaiming, "It seems to really like you."
After saying that, he went to get the coffee. Jiang Mu crouched down and lifted Mendan's belly. She remembered that Shandian had a scar from surgery, and after it healed, that spot no longer grew fur. But Mendan's belly was covered in fine, soft black fur. She wanted to part the fur to take a closer look, but Mendan wasn't having it and stood up, wagging its tail at her.
Gu Tao brought her the coffee, and Jiang Mu thanked him. As she was leaving, Mendan followed her all the way to the yard. No matter how much Gu Tao and the others called, it refused to go back. Only when Jiang Mu stepped out of the yard did it stop, standing at the gate and watching her from afar. Even when she had walked a long way and glanced back, Mendan's drooping tail perked up the moment she turned around.
Something stirred in Jiang Mu's heart. She thought of Shandian. In the past, whenever she left the garage, Shandian would see her off to the roadside and watch her get into the car. If she played hide-and-seek, hiding behind the bus stop sign and then jumping out, Shandian's drooping tail would suddenly start wagging wildly.
After that, she never kept another pet, afraid that once she grew attached, the pain of parting would be even harder to bear.
On the third day, after work, Jiang Mu found herself drawn back to the coffee shop called "oon." As soon as she pushed open the heavy wooden door, Mendan dashed out from the changing room, wagging its tail and approaching her. The single-eyed staff member, Xiao Ke, remarked in surprise, "Why is Mendan so attached to you?"
Jiang Mu crouched down and stroked it, smiling. "I don't know. I don't have any food on me. Is this the shop's dog?"
Xiao Ke replied, "No, it's our boss's dog. He travels often, so when he's away, the dog stays here."
Jiang Mu tilted her head with a faint smile. "Does a coffee shop owner travel that much?"
Xiao Ke explained, "The coffee shop is his side business. He has a main job."
Gu Tao, standing nearby, corrected him, "You could say the coffee shop is his main business, and he has a side job."
Jiang Mu didn't quite grasp the difference between the two statements. After getting her coffee and spending a little more time with Mendan, she left.
The next time she visited, Mendan was no longer in the shop. Their boss must have returned and taken it home.
Over the weekend, Jiang Mu went hiking and worked up a sweat. After showering, she grabbed her laptop and headed to oon, ordering a coffee and a slice of cake. Seeing that only Xiao Ke was there, she asked where the other two were.
Xiao Ke said, "The shop manager is off today. Gu Tao went to the boss's place to pick up Mendan."
Jiang Mu opened her laptop and pulled up her work documents, casually asking, "Is your boss traveling again?"
Xiao Ke replied, "I don't think it's for business this time. He's going to school to prepare his thesis proposal."
Jiang Mu typed for a while on her keyboard. When Xiao Ke brought her the coffee, she picked it up and said, "Your boss is quite the hustler."
Xiao Ke laughed. "Our boss is a superman. He even has to earn money to keep the shop running."Jiang Mu leaned back in her chair, taking small sips of coffee as she asked, "Does your shop not make money?"
Xiao Ke chatted with her casually: "I heard it was losing money for the first couple of years. The owner had to support the shop with income from other sources, but now we have more regular customers. This year has been pretty good."
Jiang Mu pursed her lips: "Impressive."
After saying this, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to her work.
About half an hour later, Gu Tao returned with Mendan. Weekend foot traffic was heavier than usual, and Jiang Mu wasn't the only customer in the shop. Yet the moment Mendan entered and saw Jiang Mu, he trotted over to her. For the entire afternoon, he refused to go back to the changing room, instead lying down not far from Jiang Mu, his large head resting between his paws as he stared at her. Though he didn't cling to her, he never wandered too far away, as if keeping watch over her.
Several times when Jiang Mu paused to drink her coffee, she had the fleeting illusion of returning to her senior year of high school, when she would bury herself in practice problems with Shandian staying by her side—an inexplicable sense of steadiness.
When her eyes grew tired, she took off her glasses and set them aside. Raising her head, she could still see the elegant Purple Mountain in the distance through the floor-to-ceiling window. She remembered telling Jin Chao long ago that she wanted to open a coffee shop with him at the foot of a mountain. Back then, such a life seemed perfectly content and peaceful. Only now did she realize how naive that suggestion had been. For instance, this coffee shop had lost money for two years before turning a profit. She wondered what kind of terrible idea she had proposed back then.
As dusk settled, she packed up her laptop and stretched. Walking over, she patted Mendan before preparing to head home. Mendan trailed slowly behind her, escorting her to the courtyard gate. After taking a few steps, Jiang Mu suddenly turned back. A strange thought popped into her mind, and she called out abruptly to Mendan, "Shandian."
Mendan, who had been sitting by the entrance, gradually stood up, his round eyes fixed on her. The next second, he dashed out of the courtyard and sprinted toward her...
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