Lin Yiyang and Wu Wei were waiting beside a large parking lot, waiting for the bus they were going to take.
Although the temperature has risen in the past two days, it is still windy and the temperature is low as it approaches darkness.
Wu Wei put his hands in the pockets of his winter clothes, stamping his feet in the cold. Lin Yiyang was still playing with his mobile phone with one hand, and seemed to be still laughing. What laughing? Wu Wei wanted to see, but Lin Yiyang elbowed him away.
It happened that a Chinese bus was full of people. Passing by, the driver saw Lin Yiyang through the window, stepped on the brakes deliberately, and shouted to the outside: "Back to New York? Take you for a ride?"
Lin Yiyang made a call, and while waiting for the tone, he said to the driver: "Your car is full, go first."
The driver laughed and cursed "fake politeness" and popped a cigarette butt.
The crimson light drew an arc and almost landed on Lin Yiyang's clothes. He took half a step away and avoided it.
The phone just got through.
"Help me entertain two children. I have something to do at the moment and I can't take care of it," he said to the person on the phone, "Yes, the game is promised to you."
***
"You agreed?" Yin Guo was surprised.
The elevator door opened, and two men in business attire walked in, separating the siblings.
"Speak quickly." Yin Guo leaned against the elevator wall, urging in Chinese in a low voice.
"No, he said he wanted his friend to pay the bill." The cousin walked around behind the two men and handed the phone to Yin Guo, letting her read it for herself. "I told him that it's okay for a friend to come, and I'll pay for it."
Yin Guo hastily read the chat records of the two of them.
Lin Yiyang didn't reply much, saying that he was on the way. According to his reply to Meng Xiaotian, he was saying that Yin Guo and the others were guests from afar, and now that they are here, they naturally want him to invite them. This is the rule of the Chinese, and it must be observed even in a foreign country.
Meng Xiaotian originally wanted to invite him to dinner, but of course he refused to agree.
After a few sentences, Lin Yiyang turned his attention to their stay in Washington for a few days. Meng Xiaotian said that Yin Guo couldn't leave New York for too long, so he only booked a hotel for one night and left tomorrow afternoon. He asked Lin Yiyang when he would return here, but Lin Yiyang couldn't tell for sure.
His final reply was——
Lin: See you later.
As a result, that greedy Meng Xiaotian, even though he rejected Lin Yiyang's suggestion to treat guests, still couldn't forget that restaurant, and the first thing he did when he got to the room was to make a reservation. Unfortunately it was full.
The two had a quick meal in the hotel restaurant. After dinner, she took Meng Xiaotian to the nearby White House to take a group of photos and then went back to the hotel.
Due to the rush to book a hotel that night in New York, there was only the last big bed left, and the siblings slept in their clothes, one at the head of the bed and one at the end of the bed, sleeping very aggrievedly. Arriving here in Washington, Yin Guo immediately asked for a room with two single beds, and was finally able to stretch out and sleep. After taking a shower, she couldn't wait to get under the covers.
"You have to get up early to check out the nearby museums, there are many."
These were Yin Guo's last words before falling asleep.
When she regained consciousness, she was awakened by the sunlight falling on her face.
There are takeaway boxes on the small dining table and desk in the house. It should be ordered last night, but my cousin is gone. She lay on the bed and called Meng Xiaotian several times, but no one answered.
Yin Guo hugged the quilt lazily, and sent a WeChat message to Meng Xiaotian: Where have you been? museum?
Tiantian: In George Town.
Xiaoguo: Did you go by yourself?
Tiantian: No, Brother Lin specially woke me up in the morning and asked a friend to drive me there. He said that if he did not apply to New York University this year, he could try this school next year.
Xiaoguo: He is so kind to you.
Tiantian: Yes, you are a good man. Just wait, I'll be back later, and I'll buy you lunch downstairs.
Yin Guo turned over and got out of bed.
That person looked very indifferent, but he really took care of Meng Xiaotian.
Pulling on her slippers, she stepped into the bathroom door, opened the drawer and rummaged through to find a new box of toothbrushes. He stopped all movements again, and returned to the room with his slippers on. She rummaged under her pillow to find her phone, and sent Lin Yiyang a thank you message.
Xiaoguo: Thank you, you also specially asked someone to take my brother to visit the school.
Lin: Easy to say.
Xiaoguo: [happy]
Lin: [coffee]
It seems that there is nothing to say.
She leaned against the wall, tapped the edge of her phone lightly on the wall, frightened by his indifference, it was rare to see such a quiet person. It seems that he and his cousin hit it off more. Forget it, don't want to, thank you too.
After that day, Yin Guo never talked with Lin Yiyang alone again.
Quan regarded him as his cousin's new friend in the United States and had nothing to do with him.
After the two returned to New York, the hotel also had extra vacant rooms, so she quickly changed the big bed room into two small rooms, filled a lot of daily necessities, and officially started the short-lived life.
The last time she came by herself was Zheng Yizuo's guide. The standard tourist itinerary was full of museums, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, churches, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway, etc., and other landmarks. She doesn't want to go to these attractions again this year, and let Meng Xiaotian explore by herself. Anyway, with Google Maps in hand, she can't lose where she goes.
Every morning to noon, the two wandered around, mainly eating.
In the afternoon, we parted ways and went our separate ways.
After all, she still has competition tasks and needs to train on time.
Over the next week or so, Meng Xiaotian would occasionally pop out Lin Yiyang's name, and it was Lin Yiyang who made supplementary recommendations when he was playing alone that day. With such a new friend around, Yin Guo saved a lot of effort, and she gradually got used to his presence as she listened to it, unlike the first time she always wanted to thank him for everything that happened.
On Saturday, Yin Guo got up late.
Meng Xiaotian came to report on time. She was brushing her teeth and asked inarticulately, "Where do you want to go today?"
"Near New York University." The cousin leaned against the door frame.
Yin Guo rinsed her mouth and wiped her mouth clean: "Didn't you go there a few times?"
"It's fun over there," Meng Xiaotian showed her a screenshot, which is a cafe, "io, I want to go here."
She was inexplicably impressed by the name. It's okay to go, anyway, there is no fixed goal.
"On the day we arrived here, the bar we went to was also nearby." Yin Guo kept forgetting to tell his cousin.
"Really?" When my cousin arrived here for the first time that day, he couldn't figure out where the bar was.
"Well, I'm passing by to show you."
Yin Guo combed her hair with a comb, and tied her long hair into a loose ball head, so that if it snows, the hat will not fall apart when she wears it. She was distracted by recalling the specialty stores nearby, and wanted to take Meng Xiaotian through it like a carpet.
When she got to the door of the cafe, she finally remembered why she was so impressed by the name: the color is eye-catching.
It's hard to forget the all-green walls and awnings. At this time, most of the seats outside were empty, only two young people wrapped in down jackets were chatting in the wind. There are many guests inside, looking in through the glass, it is almost full.
"Is there no seat?" She glanced inside.
"It's okay." Meng Xiaotian smiled mysteriously.
Yin Guo looked at him strangely. Overcrowded, still laughing so happy.
"Brother Lin has ordered."
Lin Yiyang?
She thought she was hallucinating: "Did you date him?"
"He asked me out," my cousin pushed open the door. "He didn't want me to tell you in advance. He said that we would meet if we could. If we couldn't, we should just have coffee by ourselves, so as not to miss it again."
Yin Guo was pushed on the back by her cousin and sent into the cafe.
With a creak, the glass door closed behind her.
There are decorations hanging all over the walls, and everyone is chatting. There are many customers, but not many Asian faces, so you can see him right away.
He was sitting in the corner of a dark red couch under a huge portrait oil painting.
The person is leaning against the wall, wearing a black hoodie, and the winter jacket is draped over the back of the chair. The table is small and the person is tall, so I have to rest one arm on the small coffee round table, and put the other hand on my knee. It feels like only half of my body is behind the table.
People are the most alert to their mother tongue. He has heard Chinese long ago and knows that they are here.
He raised his eyes and looked at her.
Is this the second official meeting between the two?
Yin Guo subconsciously stopped, two or three steps away from him.
We chatted a lot in the text, and at first glance, we are still unfamiliar, but our facial features and body shape will be familiar, but they are all the initial impressions left in the bar. Looking at it in the daytime, it is slightly different...
Lin Yiyang's gaze was always on her.
Under his gaze, Yin Guo walked slowly to the coffee table, hung his backpack obliquely on the back of the chair, and sat down with his cousin one after another. The tables are really small.
He pushed over a menu: "See what you want to eat?"
"Go ahead," she pushed back. "You are familiar with me. I haven't been here before."
Lin Yiyang nodded, without any further rejection, ordered tiramisu and coffee for them, and panini himself. Eating this kind of hard food that is used to fill his stomach, it seems that he has not eaten lunch and rushed here directly.
After ordering, there was a brief silence between the three of them.
Yin Guo was afraid that if she chatted with him, it would be as cold as in WeChat, so she simply looked down at her phone.
After scrolling through the circle of friends for a while, I went to Weibo again, and finally returned, and started to delete the dialog box. All in all, I was looking for something to do. After deleting and deleting, I arrived at the dialog box with Lin Yiyang.
It was the conversation ten days ago, and his last expression was [coffee].
I didn't expect to meet again, but also drinking coffee.
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Meng Xiaotian couldn't help smoothing things over: "Chat, chat, it's not good to be cold."
So, he chatted with Lin Yiyang first, from the university major to this cafe. Lin Yiyang told him that this place was built in the early twentieth century, and this place happened to be a gathering place for artists and writers in the past hundred years, so it is very likely that a certain literary figure came here before he became famous, such as Hemingway? Or, some pages of The Catcher in the Rye were written here. Where there are ages, there can always be a bit of legend, and celebrities will naturally be more attractive.
Lin Yiyang said a few words casually, without repeating them.
But Yin Guo looked at the table in front of him, and the surroundings, and the pendants on the wall.
When he said it, it was quite a feeling.
When the coffee was served, Zheng Yi's greetings also arrived.
She asked Yin Guo where she was playing today. She heard that it was New York University, and she remembered the things she wanted to buy. Anyway, Yin Guo is also there, why not go today, lest she make a trip by herself.
In fact, shopping is not troublesome, the trouble is that she forgot the name of the shop.
Zheng Yi: Ask Lin Yiyang, anyone who can recommend io must know that place.
I can only ask him.
Yin Guo asked for help: "My friend said that there is a small shop selling coffee beans here. Many restaurants buy beans there, and they will write that the coffee beans come from there on the signboard at the door to attract customers. But the door is hard to find, you know ?"
Lin Yiyang thought for a while and said, "I'll take you there."
"No, tell me your name, I'll search the map, and I'll definitely find it."
"I'm on my way." Lin Yiyang returned her.
Afraid of wasting other people's time, she drank the remaining half cup of coffee in one gulp: "Then let's go."
The original intention was not to waste his time, but it was too obvious, as if he was grabbing food...
Lin Yiyang glanced at the empty coffee cup amusedly. It seems to be saying: so urgent?
This look, this expression, and this kind of smile also appeared on the night when we first met, when she stirred the cocktail with a straw and observed the liquor. Yin Guo subconsciously tucked her long hair behind her ears, feeling very uncomfortable.
Meng Xiaotian completely missed this brief and subtle exchange.
He never heard that he was leaving, so he quickly wiped out the cake, took two sips of coffee, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Looking at the two of them again, they have already got up one after the other, and they are putting on their coats in a tacit understanding.
"You two are so fast." Meng Xiaotian sighed.
Why do you feel redundant?