Xuyi

Ai Zhiyi went upstairs to take his violin and cell phone, then returned shortly after.

Before he left this place, he reminded Chu Weixu about the note he kept earlier, "Weixu, don't forget to buy the ingredients I wrote down earlier." He then shifted his eyes to Wen Qi, who was standing beside Chu Weixu, and said to him jokingly, "Remind him. A slacker like him likes to pretend to forget something. Don't let him find an excuse again."

Wen Qi nodded excitedly. "Okay, brother! I can assure you that he'll go buy them this time!"

Chu Weixu brought Ai Zhiyi to the door. He was about to kiss Ai Zhiyi on the forehead before Ai Zhiyi left, but Ai Zhiyi pushed him away and warned him not to kiss him in public, making them both laugh. Chu Weixu went inside after Ai Zhiyi had completely disappeared from his sight.

Since no customers had come yet, Wen Qi decided to do his tasks at one of the customer tables.

Glancing at Wen Qi, Chu Weixu asked him to do his work at the counter next to him, so Wen Qi immediately stood up and sat over there.

For a while, both of them didn't say much. Wen Qi was busy with tasks on his laptop, while Chu Weixu also didn't want to disturb him and chose to watch videos on Weibo while occasionally checking if someone had ordered the online menu.

In the silence of both of them, Wen Qi suddenly muttered, "I've been curious for a long time ...."

Chu Weixu heard that, so he turned his head, and asked, "About what, Mr. Curious?"

Wen Qi turned to Chu Weixu, showing a dead glance upon hearing his new name. But, as soon as he asked curiously, his face became soft, not dominating anything, "Xuyi. Why did you name this tea house Xuyi? Does it have any particular meaning to you?"

Hearing the question, Chu Weixu suddenly felt something deeper in his chest that he couldn't describe in words. He couldn't help but smile.

Naturally, it had a significant meaning to Chu Weixu and Ai Zhiyi.

"Brother, come on, tell me, I'm curious," Wen Qi urged.

Chu Weixu giggled. "How many years and why are you only asking me that now?"

Wen Qi pouted.

Chu Weixu read the look on the young man's face as if the young man was cursing him through his eyes, making him unable to help but laugh at him before he gave an answer.

"Xuyi is an abbreviation of both of our names. Weixu and Zhiyi, taken from the last character of our names. Xuyi means giving you an appreciation for many beautiful and refined aspects of life — music and art, literature, a drama where you will find much peace and relaxation," Chu Weixu explained.

Wen Qi nodded in understanding. "Hmm ... that's a great name. It's perfect for both of you who love music. Who suggested it first? It couldn't be you, right?"

"It's definitely Xiaoyi." Chu Weixu chuckled, then started praising Ai Zhiyi, "He's a person who always thinks many things through even the smallest things."

"I know, right?" Wen Qi chuckled softly, then said enviously, "You two are really good together. Brother Ai is a perfectionist, while you're an indifferent person. Don't you two complement each other? Ah, how lucky. I also want to have a partner who can get along well with me."

Chu Weixu only showed a gentle smile in response that he agreed with the opinion.

Such talk seemed to make Wen Qi even more excited, so he asked Chu Weixu about what both of them liked to do other than music to pass the time, while Chu Weixu didn't mind answering.

Until Wen Qi asked something that he wanted to know for a long time with hope, "Brother, Brother Ai said that you have a good voice. I'm curious, I want to hear it in person. Would you like to sing? Just a little, one strophe is fine too."

However, for some unknown reason, after Wen Qi asked the question, their atmosphere suddenly became quiet; very quiet as if the world was muted. Wen Qi thought that he might have asked the wrong question, so he intended to apologize.

But, the moment he opened his mouth, Chu Weixu's voice seemed to cut off his breath. Chu Weixu suddenly said deeply as if it was a sound from the depths of his heart.

"I only sing for Xiaoyi." There was a smile at the end of his words.

The words themselves held a deeper meaning to Wen Qi. By how Chu Weixu called Ai Zhiyi with the name, Wen Qi knew that their closeness was like a married couple.

He could feel Chu Weixu's feelings from the snippet Chu Weixu just said, that how much Chu Weixu loved Ai Zhiyi to the general understanding that Chu Weixu's love was only for his cousin.

He knew clearly that Chu Weixu wouldn't glance at anyone else in this world as if he had attained mundane perfection and needed nothing anymore.

Chu Weixu's love was certainly unwavering!

Wen Qi scowled in annoyance but was also disappointed that his request wasn't fulfilled.

But, still, he believed that Chu Weixu had a good voice. Even though he didn't hear Chu Weixu sing even once, by his voice as he spoke, Wen Qi could tell how alluring the man's voice was. Wen Qi thought about an image of a god's voice while chanting a rune.

Sensing their atmosphere grew colder, Chu Weixu patted Wen Qi's head, intending to lighten the mood by saying, "Why don't you just turn on any songs? I know your ears are empty from not hearing something that makes you cheer up."

"Hmph!"

Wen Qi pretended to be sulking, but he still listened to Chu Weixu's advice. He opened the music player on his laptop, started tuning in to a song, and connected it to the wireless speakers so that the sound of the music covered the entire room, immersing them both in tune with a calm rhythm.

Chu Weixu watched Wen Qi silently and smiled. The young man had soft facial features like Ai Zhiyi, reminiscent of Ai Zhiyi when they were in school, only their personalities were very different. Ai Zhiyi was a quiet and shy person, while Wen Qi was too chatty as a man.

Since Wen Qi was Ai Zhiyi's younger cousin, Chu Weixu also considered Wen Qi as his family, and how he always mocked him showed their closeness like two brothers.

After all, he would have helped Wen Qi if he had asked him for help. But so far, Wen Qi had never done so.

Moments later, two customers pushed open the door and entered. Both of them seemed to be a young couple — about the same age as Wen Qi judging by their appearance — twenty-one years old. They then sat near the glass wall and had a cheerful smile on their face.

Wen Qi knew very well what he had to do. He immediately stood up, then walked over to the couple to take orders, while Chu Weixu remained at the counter to wait for Wen Qi with his notes. They both knew their respective duties very well.

Shortly, Wen Qi came with a note and immediately handed it to Chu Weixu.

Blontea and brownie cake. Chu Weixu read it, then immediately made tea. As Ai Zhiyi had already prepared dessert before, so Chu Weixu only needed to cut it to serve.

It didn't take long for Chu Weixu to ask Wen Qi to quickly deliver the customer's orders to their table, while he recorded what had been sold in the notebook according to Ai Zhiyi's instructions.

After that, both of them sat back at the counter while waiting for the other customers until the two previous customers left.

A few minutes later, a notification came in on the iPad. It was seen that someone was ordering vanilla tea and dessert. There was also the customer's address on the message.

Chu Weixu immediately prepared the order.

After that, he was about to ask Wen Qi to deliver it to the customer's address. But, as soon as he saw Wen Qi was busy with the tasks he was working on now, Chu Weixu suddenly felt uneasy. So, he decided to ship the order by himself.