21 - The Twenty-First Flavor

Translator: tarararawr

She didn’t know how long they kissed for.

It went from a light peck to an invasion and entanglement.

Xian Bei was numb and didn’t have any strength from the kisses. Her arms had become soft and were resting around Chen Zhuo’s neck.

When the man let her go, Xian Bei’s eyes were already full of water and her entire face was blushing.

With the tip of their noses against each other, she faintly gasped for a while. Xian Bei only realized after the fact that she had just……just been kissed.

Ah!

She instantly withdrew her hand and buried her face into her chest. She curled up like a cooked shrimp ball.

She was too scared and embarrassed to look at the man in front of her. She was sensitive to her surroundings and his line of sight must have fallen to her head.

The heart was throbbing and twitching. It was like the water in the room came to her body and filled her breath.

“Xiao Xian Bei.”

Chen Zhuo called her.

Xian Bei’s face was burning intensely. She nodded, but didn’t look back.

“Xiao Shanbei 1 .”

He was still calling her name, and the voice seemed to be smiling.

Xian Bei nodded.

“Xian Bei.”

“……”

Chen Zhuo called her by a different name. It was if he were playing with an object that he loved too much to put down, but he played with it between his lips and teeth.

Xian Bei was called by him with a dry mouth 2 . She kept swallowing saliva and was too stunned to have the courage to look up.

Chen Zhuo stopped speaking and sat next to her.

The man’s legs were very long and stretched out. His shoes could easily reach the floor, while Xian Bei’s two little white feet continued to hang there.

They sat there silently. There was only the sound of the moving water in the whole room.

After a while, Chen Zhuo gently sighed. He reached out to pull the girl’s cramped little hand that had been hiding for most of the time.

Without waiting for her to react, he made their hands intertwine and put her hand between his palms in front of him. You can say that our relationship’s process is too strong, but in the end the strength that is wrapped around it is very gentle and soft.

In these terrible circumstances, Chen Zhuo developed a strong sense of gratitude.

Because at this moment, it was so beautiful. Everything was so beautiful and he was thankful for it.

There were no crackling sparks everywhere, but only the softness of the moonlight on the surface of the water.

“The floor……what are we going to do……?”

For a while, a small and weak voice filled with worry could not help but come out.

“Shh,” he said seriously, but then continued with nonsense. “Let’s look at the sea.”

What kind of answer is that? Xian Bei could not resist the corners of her mouth from starting to rise, and then quickly closed it.

Yet, happiness was this thing that would still flow out from the corners of the eyes even if the lips were tightly pursed.

Oh , she replied in her heart. Now, she was looking at the sea. She looked at it for a while, looked at it for a long time, and then looked at it all night. Nothing else mattered.

——

A month later, the “Rainbow” series was successfully launched.

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The style was unique and cute; and the drinks tasted sweet, but not greasy. It was not an accident that it had brought in excellent sales.

[Zhong Yi] didn’t take the initiative to do any online marketing, but customers very quickly gathered the seven cups together and posted a set of pictures on Weibo to express their love for it.

The hearts of these young ladies were filled with happiness for the drink on Weibo. The pictures were forwarded more than 10,000 times. The [Zhong Yi]’s popularity soared, and there were even some foreign tourists coming over to line up in order to buy a drink from the series.

A female netizen did not forget to comment “this shop’s boss is also very handsome” and conveniently added a picture that she sneakily took.

This comment exposed Chen Zhuo and it received more than 30,000 likes. His attractiveness naturally came when the wind and waves were at the fiercest 3 .

As a result, [Zhong Yi]’s official blog sucked up a lot of “boss’s mother fans” out of thin air. Every day when the fans did not see a post, they aggrievedly shouted on Weibo:

“I have exploded. Aaahhh. This is simply the milk tea Joe Odagiri 4 .”

“My hubby’s gaze makes me electrified to death.”

“If you look at this face and drink milk tea every day, it doesn’t matter if you gain 200 jin 5 .”

“Don’t ask the boss if he is single. His girlfriend is me.”

……

Assistant store manager Zhou was in charge of the shop’s Weibo and he had a big headache. He had to endure the attack of the pink bubbles and heart symbols invading every day.

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Chen Zhuo didn’t care about this.

On a certain afternoon, Chen Zhuo was working on new products at the back of the house.

Assistant store manager Zhou, who was browsing on Weibo, had a look of “I can’t bear to look at it and I am not envious, jealous, nor hateful at all” while he was swiping through all of the confession messages and love-struck comments. Then, he turned to Chen Zhuo.

“The food blogger that came to interview you published an article. It’s a special column article called “Who Says the Milk Tea Craft Does Not Have Heart?” that has been released. Do you want me to reblog it?”

“Yes.” The man who carefully poured ice into the cup did not look back.

“But……” Assistant store manager frowned and was a little hesitant. “……will it affect……”

“Reblog it.” These words decided the world.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Zhou QIngshu raised his cell phone and honestly reblogged it.

——

On that same day, Xian Bei was also secretly scrolling through [Zhong Yi]’s official blog.

The popularity of her boyfriend’s shop soared, and she was happy for him from the bottom of her heart. But…….

So many beautiful and cheerful young ladies on Weibo came to express their love every day. They spoke so generously and adorably that she couldn’t help but like and appreciate that person……

If you compare yourself, then will you feel that your universe is super boring?

She browsed Weibo for a while with her mouth bulging and lips pouting angrily.

She put her phone away and forced herself to concentrate on drawing, mhm, drawing!

Three seconds later, the cell phone rang. The cell phone she specifically put away was suddenly calling attention to itself. Xian Bei flew to grab the cell phone and her eyes shined as she fixed her attention on it——

Hey……

There’s a reblogged headline article.

Xian Bei clicked on it and read each word carefully.

The author’s writing style was excellent. There were many descriptions and opinions about [Zhong Yi] and its drinks that said what was in her mind.

She scrolled through the entire article. Xian Bei could not help but sigh with regret. I really admire people who can express themselves with words.

Xian Bei continued scrolling and found that there was an interview below the article……

It was about that man…… how did he respond……

She read through each question and answer as she patiently scrolled through the interview. Xian Bei held her face up and the look on it was a foolish smile.

It’s him.

This is him.

Her boyfriend was so amazing. He was a craftsman who had created so many beautiful drinks.

Towards the end, the author asked the question:

Have you ever thought about the popularity of the “Rainbows” series?

Chen Zhuo’s answer was very calm and confident: I have thought about it.

The author: I am very curious. Does this self-confidence come from your experience accumulated over the years?

Xian Bei was stunned with what she read next, and it was difficult to look away from it.

It was because the man’s delightful answer appeared very clearly on the white background in black words: No, it’s because I have a good wife (smiles).

tarararawr’s rararamblings: If I was a netizen trying to compare Chen Zhuo to an actor, then I would choose Yoo Yeon-seok in Mr. Sunshine. 😉

Footnotes

小扇贝(xiǎoshànbèi) – Little scallop 口干舌燥 (kǒugānshézào) – idiom for talk too much 风口浪尖 (fēngkǒulàngjiān) – metaphor for where the fighting is very dangerous and the consequences are uncertain. Joe Odagiri is a Japanese actor. The netizen is probably referring to the “Odagiri effect”. It is named after him because he starred in one of the Kamen Rider shows that is usually aimed at kids, but became popular with women and young mothers. A jin is 500 g.