On a late spring afternoon, Ke Ni sat in a café near the hotel, absentmindedly stirring a cup of cypress-flavoured sparkling cold brew with her straw.
Her mood was as restless and cramped as the bubbles in her cup, impossible to calm.
The rain had just let up, and the sky was gloomy.
Outside the window, water dripped rhythmically from the alloy awning.
Raindrops pooled into the dents in the ground, shattering the glittering reflections of the lights in the puddles.
The scattered sparkles rippled outward, looking a lot like the tiny sparks that burst out when lighting a handheld sparkler.
Ke Ni stared at the dazzling puddles, unable to appreciate them, her senses sharp and alert:
How many of the customers visiting this café, she wondered, were here just like her—as contestants for the open audition?
For example, the girl who’d just left the same hotel as Ke Ni and entered the café one step ahead of her.
While ordering, Ke Ni stood behind her and overheard the girl speaking softly on the phone, discussing some project’s model predictions and Shapley values.
Or, for instance, the boy sitting in the corner of the café.
His hair was tousled like Moroccan daisies battered by heavy rain, and he was biting his nails, typing out lines of code with one hand on his laptop.
And then, the boy who had just entered the café.
He wore loose shorts and perforated sandals, looking like he was on vacation.
He lazily leaned against the marble counter at the front desk, chattering nonstop as he placed his order.
The boy said, “A medium iced Americano, standard no sugar; a large vanilla latte with ice, less sugar, swap the milk for skim; a large cold chrysanthemum coffee with an extra shot of ice; a medium lemon sparkling Americano, no ice, standard sugar…”
By the time he got to the fourth cup, the cashier, Miss Xiao Shan, had to interrupt him, apologetically asking, “Could you slow down a bit?”
The boy replied, “Oh, sure.”
Ke Ni quietly listened to the conversation at the counter, hearing the boy slow his speech, then, in one breath, order eleven different coffees, each with its own requirements.
Throughout the entire order, the boy never once looked at his phone or the menu on the counter—his memory was astonishing.
He was obviously an extrovert.
While waiting for the eleven coffees, he’d already started chatting warmly with Miss Xiao Shan at the counter.
He said he’d lost a bet, and that’s why he was sent out to buy coffee in this chilly, miserable weather.
Miss Xiao Shan reminded him, “Actually, you could’ve just ordered delivery. For this many coffees, you’d only be charged a single delivery fee. Less than a yuan per cup, it’s quite a bargain.”
The boy waved his hand. “No way those guys would agree. They just love making me run around.”
As he spoke, the boy casually picked up the limited edition Rubik’s Cube on the counter and solved it effortlessly.
It took him ten seconds, successfully earning a gasp of amazement from Miss Xiao Shan.
She said, “You’re the second person today to solve that cube.”
The boy immediately asked, “Oh? Who was faster, me or them?”
Miss Xiao Shan laughed, “Both of you were so fast to me, it was done in a flash—so amazing.”
This was the most highly rated café near the audition venue.
Miss Xiao Shan at the counter seemed to have noticed the unusual customer crowd today and curiously asked the boy if there was another TV show being filmed nearby.
Ke Ni glanced over at the counter.
The boy smugly scratched the back of his head and shook it mysteriously, only saying the production team was solid and that the show would definitely air on TV, but kept the program’s name a secret, leaving everyone hanging.
The boy was obviously, like Ke Ni, a contestant.
They were here to take part in the intellectual competition reality show launched by Biao TV Station, now in the second round of open auditions.
Ke Ni withdrew her gaze from the three-layered Rubik’s Cube.
She’d been able to solve cubes since kindergarten—it wasn’t hard.
Anyone could learn it if they wanted, and sometimes, when she was in a good mood, she’d use it as an icebreaker to talk to a cute boy.
But this time, joining the open audition wasn’t Ke Ni’s own idea.
She had a psychological shadow about these kinds of competitions, felt extremely nervous, but couldn’t refuse her parents’ expectations.
Ke Ni’s family background was a bit unusual.
Her parents divorced when she was in Ke Huo High School.
But it wasn’t a messy, dramatic breakup—they parted ways peacefully after a rational discussion.
Even the arrangements for Ke Ni’s upbringing were the result of careful consideration.
Ke Ni’s Father was a university professor, and Ke Ni’s Mother was a jewellery designer who often travelled abroad.
Given the differences in their jobs, they both agreed Ke Ni should stay in the country and live with her father to ensure a more stable educational environment.
So, for all these years, Ke Ni had lived like this—
During the school term, she lived with Ke Ni’s Father.
During winter and summer breaks, she would go to stay with Ke Ni’s Mother.
Both parents had started new families, but every year on Ke Ni’s birthday, they’d meet up and have a meal together.
And as the New Year approached, they’d take Ke Ni to visit each other’s elderly relatives.
Compared to parents who treat their children as burdens and toss them back and forth after a divorce, Ke Ni was already very content with this kind of family relationship.
To maintain this balance, she’d learned a certain diplomacy and tact that allowed her parents to remain on good terms.
This time, Ke Ni’s Father and Ke Ni’s Mother rarely found common ground and together persuaded her to participate in the contest.
Ke Ni had almost no chance to refuse.
Putting aside her own wishes, participating in the open audition didn’t seem so bad after all.
The ice in her grapefruit-flavored sparkling cold brew had melted, and the coffee tasted watered down.
Ke Ni bit her straw and took two sips, unwilling to let her mind wander back to her past experiences in such competitions.
She picked up her phone and called Lin Xirun.
Lin Xirun answered, sounding out of breath.
Ke Ni paused for a second.
“Don’t tell me you’re out running again. The rain just stopped—are you really that disciplined?”
Lin Xirun was Ke Ni’s schoolmate and also a contestant this time.
He said, “The hotel gym is open twenty-four hours for free, why would I run outside? Are you at the hotel?”
Ke Ni had already checked in after lunch and spent half the day digesting her emotions alone.
She didn’t mention this, only saying she was at a café near the hotel.
Lin Xirun said, “Then wait for me a bit. I’ll go back to my room and change, then come find you for dinner.”
While talking to Lin Xirun, Ke Ni caught sight of the boy who’d ordered eleven coffees, carrying a bunch of takeout bags as he left the café.
Just as she hung up, the boy came back in.
Miss Xiao Shan at the counter joked with him, “Wow, lost another bet so soon?”
“Don’t even mention it.”
The boy gestured dramatically as he explained:
The ground outside was uneven, and he slipped in a puddle.
The other coffees were fine, but the medium lemon sparkling Americano spilled all down his leg.
“Order another one—no ice, standard sugar.”
Miss Xiao Shan said, “Sure thing.”
The boy kept joking, “Good thing I reacted fast—got up the moment I knelt down. If I’d messed up my handsome face, how would I appear on TV?”
Miss Xiao Da at the counter laughed and asked if there would be any celebrities in the show he was joining.
Ke Ni stopped listening.
She was watching the fun, picturing the boy’s awkward fall, a little guilty for finding amusement in someone else’s misfortune.
At this moment, Ke Ni had no idea that after her laugh, she’d step into the same puddle as that boy.
Nor did she know she’d end up hugging a stranger because of that puddle.
A few minutes later, Lin Xirun called: “Hey, was this street suffering from a drought or something before?”
Ke Ni asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Xirun said, “I’ve only taken a dozen steps and already passed three or four drink shops. I was planning to surprise you, but I can’t find you at all. What’s the name of that café?”
Ke Ni gave him a string of English words, then said, “I’m going to wash my hands. Wait for me outside when you get here.”
After washing her hands, Ke Ni touched up her tinted lip balm in the mirror and fixed her hair.
When she left the restroom, she could already see Lin Xirun waiting outside through the floor-to-ceiling glass dotted with water droplets.
The sky was getting darker, clouds lingering, and maybe there would be another heavy rain at night.
Lin Xirun was dressed all in black, hands in his pockets, standing by the sign outside the café, head lowered as if deep in thought.
He was wearing a black jacket with a stand-up collar zipped all the way up, hiding even his chin, plus a black baseball cap.
Ke Ni couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
Dressed so darkly in this gloomy weather—is he coming to meet her or out to do a hit job?
All that running and working out hadn’t gone to waste—he looked much more upright than before, his shoulders broader too.
She pushed open the café’s glass door and walked outside.
She didn’t know what Lin Xirun was thinking, but even the tinkling of the bell on the door didn’t make him look up.
Was he mulling over some problem again?
Ke Ni quickened her pace, holding back a mischievous urge to scare him.
She didn’t pay attention to the ground and, as she reached out to tap Lin Xirun, her foot twisted into a puddle and she lost her balance, stumbling forward.
A flash of an image appeared in Ke Ni’s mind—the boy who’d come back to the café to buy another coffee after his earlier mishap.
She really shouldn’t have laughed at others.
Lin Xirun was a familiar face from Ke Huo—gentle and always helpful.
She was sure he’d reach out to catch her.
But Ke Ni was wrong.
The person in black from head to toe didn’t move at all.
Ke Ni couldn’t stop herself and crashed straight into the person’s chest, her nose and chin stinging from the impact.
If she hadn’t reacted quickly and grabbed hold of him, she might really have fallen.
Ke Ni, holding her nose, grumbled to Lin Xirun, asking what kind of problem could make him ignore her in distress.
She looked up in frustration, only to meet a pair of unexpectedly calm eyes.
…It wasn’t Lin Xirun.
The person didn’t move or speak, just let his tense jaw slip out from the high collar of his jacket, lowered his eyes, and quietly looked at Ke Ni.
Her other hand was still pressed against his chest.
She froze for a moment, swallowing the urge to blame her friend.
Her aching nose slowly recovered its sense of smell, and she belatedly noticed the unfamiliar scent lingering at her nose tip—a faintly bitter herbal and mint fragrance, surprisingly pleasant.
Ke Ni quickly withdrew her hand and stepped back twice.
“Sorry, wrong person.”
The other party still said nothing, just nodded, then turned and left.
Even his hands, stuffed in his pockets, never came out the entire time.