Lin Yiyang and Wu Wei stood by a large parking lot, waiting for their bus.
Although the temperature had risen over the past two days, the wind was still biting as dusk approached. Wu Wei stood with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his parka, stomping his feet against the cold. Lin Yiyang, however, was still fiddling with his phone with one hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. Wu Wei leaned in, curious about what he was smiling at, but Lin Yiyang nudged him away with his elbow.
Just then, a Chinatown bus packed with passengers passed by. Seeing Lin Yiyang through the window, the driver tapped the brakes and shouted out, "Heading back to New York? Want a lift?"
Lin Yiyang dialed a number. While waiting for the call to connect, he called back to the driver, "Your bus is full. Go on ahead."
The driver chuckled, muttered a playful "Suit yourself," and flicked a cigarette butt out the window.
The glowing red ember traced an arc through the air, nearly landing on Lin Yiyang’s coat. He stepped back half a pace, narrowly avoiding it.
The call connected.
"Help me look after two kids. Something came up and I can't make it," he said to the person on the other end. "Yeah, I agree to that bet."
***
"You agreed?" Yin Guo asked in surprise.
The elevator doors slid open, and two men in business attire stepped inside, separating the siblings.
"Hurry up and tell me," Yin Guo urged in a low voice, leaning against the elevator wall.
"No, he said he’d have a friend come and pick up the tab," her cousin said, reaching his phone around the two men to hand it to Yin Guo so she could see for herself. "I told him having a friend come over is fine, but I’m paying."
Yin Guo skimmed through their chat history.
Lin Yiyang’s replies were brief, saying he was on the road. According to his messages to Meng Xiaotian, he felt that since Yin Guo and her brother had come from afar, it was only natural for him to host them now that they were on his turf. It was a Chinese custom he intended to uphold, even in a foreign land.
Meng Xiaotian had originally intended to treat him, so naturally, he refused to let Lin Yiyang pay.
After a few brief exchanges, Lin Yiyang shifted the conversation to ask how long they were staying in Washington. Meng Xiaotian explained that Yin Guo couldn't stay away from New York for too long, so they had only booked one night and would leave the following afternoon. He asked Lin Yiyang when he would be back in the city, but Lin Yiyang wasn't sure.
His final reply was:
*Lin: We’ll meet again.*
In the end, Meng Xiaotian—ever the foodie—might have rejected Lin Yiyang’s offer to pay, but he couldn't stop thinking about that restaurant. The first thing he did upon reaching their room was try to book a table. Unfortunately, it was fully booked.
The two of them had a simple meal in the hotel restaurant. After dinner, she took Meng Xiaotian for a walk along the pedestrian path near the White House to take some photos before heading straight back to the hotel.
Because they had booked their New York lodging in such a rush, they’d been stuck with a single large bed. The siblings had slept fully clothed, one at the head and one at the foot of the bed—a miserable arrangement. Here in Washington, Yin Guo had made sure to request a room with two twin beds, finally allowing her to stretch out and sleep properly. After her shower, she couldn't wait to crawl under the covers.
"You should get up early tomorrow and check out the museums nearby. There are plenty of them."
Those were the last words Yin Guo spoke before falling asleep.
When she finally regained consciousness, she was nudged awake by the sunlight streaming onto her face.
The small dining table and desk in the room were cluttered with takeout boxes, likely from the night before, but her cousin was nowhere to be seen. Lying on the bed, she called out Meng Xiaotian’s name a few times, but there was no answer.
Yin Guo lazily hugged her quilt and sent him a WeChat message: *Where are you? A museum?*
*Tian Tian: In Georgetown.*
*Xiao Guo: By yourself?*
*Tian Tian: No, Lin-ge woke me up this morning and had a friend drive me here. He said if I don't get into NYU this year, I could give this school a try next year.*
*Xiao Guo: He’s really good to you.*
*Tian Tian: Yeah, he’s a great guy. Just wait, I’ll be back in a bit and bring you lunch from downstairs.*
Yin Guo rolled over and got out of bed.
That man seemed so cold on the surface, yet he was truly looking out for Meng Xiaotian.
Shuffling into the bathroom in her slippers, she pulled open a drawer to find a new toothbrush. Then she paused, shuffling back into the bedroom. She fished her phone out from under her pillow and sent a thank-you message to Lin Yiyang.
*Xiao Guo: Thank you for arranging for someone to take my brother to see the school.*
*Lin: Don't mention it.*
*Xiao Guo: [Happy face]*
*Lin: [Coffee]*
And that seemed to be the end of the conversation.
She leaned against the wall, lightly tapping the edge of her phone against the plaster. His curtness was a bit intimidating; she rarely met someone so brief with words. It seemed he got along much better with her cousin. *Whatever,* she thought, *don't overthink it. I’ve said my thanks.*
After that day, Yin Guo didn't speak to Lin Yiyang privately again.
She treated him as just another new friend her cousin had made in America, someone who had nothing to do with her.
Once they returned to New York, the hotel finally had vacancies. She quickly swapped their single large room for two smaller ones, stocked up on daily necessities, and officially began her short-term residency.
The last time she had visited, Zheng Yi had acted as her guide, following a standard tourist itinerary of all the major landmarks. This year, she had no desire to revisit those spots, so she let Meng Xiaotian explore on his own. With Google Maps in hand, he wasn't likely to get lost.
Every day from morning until noon, the two of them wandered around, mostly focusing on finding good food.
In the afternoons, they went their separate ways. After all, she had her competition duties and needed to stick to her training schedule.
On Saturday, Yin Guo woke up late.
Meng Xiaotian showed up right on time. While she was brushing her teeth, she asked indistinctly, "Where do you want to go today?"
"Somewhere 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 over there," Meng Xiaotian showed her a screenshot of a cafe. "I want to go to this one."
*Caffe Reggio.* For some reason, the name sounded familiar.
Going there was fine; they didn't have a fixed destination anyway.
"The bar we went to the day we arrived is also near there," Yin Guo realized she had forgotten to tell her brother.
"Really?" Her cousin had been so disoriented when they first arrived that he had no idea where that bar was.
"Yeah, I'll point it out when we pass by."
Yin Guo ran a comb through her hair and gathered it into a loose bun. That way, if it snowed, she could put on a hat without ruining her hair. Her mind drifted as she recalled the unique shops in that area, planning to take Meng Xiaotian on a thorough tour.
It wasn't until they reached the entrance of the cafe that she finally remembered why the name had stuck with her: the colors were striking.
With its bright green walls and awnings, it was hard to forget. At this hour, most of the outdoor seats were empty, save for two young people wrapped in down jackets chatting in the wind. Inside, however, it was bustling; peering through the glass, it looked almost entirely full.
"There probably aren't any seats," she said, glancing inside.
"It's fine," Meng Xiaotian gave a mysterious smile.
Yin Guo looked at him strangely. The place was packed, yet he looked so pleased.
"Lin-ge made a reservation."
*Lin Yiyang?*
She thought she was hearing things. "You invited him?"
"He invited me," her cousin said, pushing the door open. "He told me not to tell you in advance. He said if he could make it, we’d meet up; if not, we’d just have coffee on our own to avoid another missed connection."
Meng Xiaotian nudged Yin Guo’s back, ushering her into the cafe.
With a creak, the glass door closed behind her.
The walls were covered in decorations, and the air was filled with the hum of conversation. There were many patrons, but few Asian faces, making him easy to spot.
He was sitting in the corner of a dark red sofa, beneath a massive oil portrait.
He leaned against the wall, wearing a black hoodie, with his parka draped over the back of his chair. The table was small and he was tall, so he had one arm resting on the small circular cafe table while the other rested on his knee. It felt as though only half of his body was actually behind the table.
People are always most alert to their native tongue; he had heard the Chinese and knew they had arrived.
He looked up and met her eyes.
Could this be considered their second formal meeting?
Yin Guo instinctively paused two or three steps away from him.
They had exchanged many words via text, but face-to-face, he still felt like a stranger. His features and build were familiar, but those were just the initial impressions left from the bar. Seeing him in the daylight, he looked slightly different...
Lin Yiyang’s gaze remained fixed on her.
Under his watch, Yin Guo slowly approached the table, hung her backpack over the chair, and sat down after her cousin. The table was truly tiny.
He pushed a menu toward them. "See what you’d like."
"You order," she pushed it back. "You’re more familiar with this place. I’ve never been."
Lin Yiyang nodded without further protest. He ordered tiramisu and coffee for them and a panini for himself. Seeing him order something substantial to fill his stomach, it was clear he had rushed here without eating lunch.
After the order was placed, a brief silence fell between the three of them.
Fearing the conversation would turn as cold as their WeChat messages, Yin Guo lowered her head to look at her phone.
She scrolled through her Moments, then checked Weibo, and finally went back to clearing out her chat logs—essentially, just finding things to do. As she deleted messages, she came across her chat with Lin Yiyang.
The last exchange was from ten days ago; his final message had been that [Coffee] emoji.
She hadn't expected their next meeting to be over coffee as well.
Seeing that neither of them was speaking, Meng Xiaotian couldn't help but try to break the ice. "Let's talk, let's talk. Silence is so awkward."
And so, he began chatting with Lin Yiyang, moving from university majors to the history of the cafe. Lin Yiyang told him that the place was built in the early 20th century and had been a gathering spot for artists and writers for the past hundred years. It was quite possible that some literary giant had visited before they were famous—Hemingway, perhaps? Or maybe a few pages of *The Catcher in the Rye* had been penned right here. Places with history always carried a touch of legend, and the addition of famous names naturally made them more alluring.
Lin Yiyang spoke casually, without going into too much detail.
But as Yin Guo looked at the table before her, the surroundings, and the ornaments on the walls, his words gave the place a certain atmosphere.
When the coffee was served, a message from Zheng Yi arrived.
She asked Yin Guo where she was hanging out today. Hearing she was near NYU, Zheng Yi remembered some things she needed to buy. Since Yin Guo was already there, she figured Yin Guo could pick them up for her, saving her a trip.
Buying the items wasn't the problem; the problem was that she had forgotten the name of the shop.
Yin Guo had no choice but to ask him.
"A friend of mine said there’s a small shop around here that sells coffee beans," Yin Guo said, seeking help. "Many restaurants buy their beans there and even put the shop's name on their signs to attract customers. But the storefront is hard to find. Do you know it?"
Lin Yiyang thought for a moment and said, "I’ll take you there."
"No need. Just tell me the name, and I’ll search for it on the map. I’m sure I can find it."
"It’s on my way," Lin Yiyang replied.
Afraid of wasting his time, she downed the rest of her coffee in one go. "Then let's go."
Her intention was not to delay him, but she had been so obvious about it that it looked like she was racing to finish...
Lin Yiyang glanced at the empty coffee cup with a hint of amusement. His look seemed to say: *In such a hurry?*
That look, that expression, and that same smile... it was the same one from that first night, when she had been stirring her cocktail with a straw, watching the liquid swirl. Yin Guo instinctively tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, feeling quite self-conscious.
This brief, subtle exchange was completely missed by Meng Xiaotian.
As soon as he heard they were leaving, he quickly polished off his cake, gulped down two mouthfuls of coffee, and wiped his mouth clean with a napkin. By the time he looked at the other two, they had already stood up one after the other, putting on their coats in perfect, silent sync.
"You two are fast," Meng Xiaotian remarked.
Why did he suddenly feel like a third wheel?
***
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