The Twilight Does Not Stain the Rose - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Osmanthus (II)

Clearly, the visitors did not come with good intentions.

Behind the counter, Zhou Xiaofeng was slightly startled but quickly composed himself: “It’s like this, sir—we are in a one-week soft opening phase, so our product categories are displayed across seven days, with a different selection every day.”

“Today’s featured seasonal product is the Osmanthus Latte, a special signature drink crafted by our barista. Perhaps you’d like to give it a try?”

The leader of the group was a short, stout man with a buzz cut that practically screamed “trouble.” Hearing this, he nodded, his voice loud and unrestrained: “Then give me a cup.”

There were three men in total. The two behind him were with him—both tall, thin, and also sporting buzz cuts.

The three of them sat at a table near the entrance and made no further moves. Zhuang Baiwei initially thought they were just ill-tempered, but then Jiang Muchen suddenly spoke: “There are people outside, too.”

As she spoke, she took out her phone and reached beneath the table. A moment later, she handed the device over.

On the screen was a video captured from a clever angle. It showed three more men outside the shop, peering inside from time to time and exchanging glances with the three men at the door as if waiting for a signal.

Zhuang Baiwei couldn’t understand the motivation behind their actions until she saw the face of the last man in the video—someone she had encountered a few times before.

Instantly, she understood what was happening.

She quickly opened her phone to message Auntie Wang, telling her not to come. Then, she confirmed with Zhou Xiaofeng that the surveillance was active and told her to act according to the situation and call the police if necessary.

Three Osmanthus Lattes were soon prepared and served. At that moment, the wind chimes chimed. The three men from outside entered the shop, preparing to order at the register.

Right then, the stout man at the door slammed his hand down, shouting angrily, “This tastes terrible! It’s sour like it’s spoiled! How is your food management handled?!”

He stood up abruptly and shouted to the three men who had just walked in: “Don’t order from them! The stuff is rotten! They’re defrauding customers!”

Zhuang Baiwei whispered to Jiang Muchen: “Don’t get involved. I’ll handle this.”

She stood up and walked over to the men, her expression calm and composed. “Sir, we guarantee there are no issues with the ingredients in our drinks. May I ask what exactly tastes wrong to you?”

Her appearance made the stout man pause for a second, as if he found her familiar, but he quickly remembered his mission. He tilted his chin up aggressively: “I already said your coffee tastes spoiled and rotten. Do I really need to describe what’s wrong with ‘rotten’?”

Zhuang Baiwei signaled to Zhou Xiaotong behind her. The latter stepped forward and took back the Osmanthus Latte the man had been drinking.

The latte in the cup was almost full; only a small piece of the osmanthus garnish was missing from the edge. It looked as though he had only taken a tiny sip.

Zhuang Baiwei smiled and gestured toward the coffee cup in her hand. “Sir, it looks like you only tried a tiny bit. Can you really taste something ‘wrong’ from just that?”

The moment she said this, the six men looked at each other. For a while, there was a surge of tension in the silence.

As the center of attention, the stout man suddenly grew desperate. He swiped his hand out, knocking the coffee cup from her hand, and then reached out to flip the table next to him.

Coffee splashed all over her, and the cup shattered on the floor. The scene turned into utter chaos.

Ignoring the coffee on her clothes, Zhuang Baiwei reached out to stop the man from flipping the table, but someone was faster—a pair of hands pressed down firmly on the tabletop.

The man tried twice, but he couldn’t flip it.

A pair of pale hands held the table down with a death grip. He let out a sharp roar and looked up: “Who is it?!”

He immediately recoiled two steps, startled by the sight of the pale woman dressed in all black.

Zhuang Baiwei quickly stepped in front of Jiang Muchen to shield her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Muchen’s trembling hands and lips; she looked as if she were profoundly terrified.

Yet even though she was scared, Jiang Muchen had still stood up.

A surge of anger rose in Zhuang Baiwei’s heart.

The smile faded from her face, and she looked coldly at the two groups of men. “Everyone, there are cameras in every blind spot of this shop.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaotong immediately pointed to the area above the register.

The crowd looked up and found the angle was perfect, capable of recording everything happening in the room. The red light on the camera blinked rhythmically, indicating it was functioning perfectly.

The stout man’s spirit instantly deflated. He looked panicked but still stubborn, refusing to back down. “I said your stuff has problems. I’m a consumer; what’s wrong with me defending my rights?”

“On the contrary, you’re threatening me with cameras. Are you the one with a guilty conscience?”

The three men who entered later hadn’t closed the door. The commotion inside the cafe was quite loud, and a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside—likely customers drawn by the news of the soft opening.

At the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.

“Weiwei!” Auntie Wang burst into the shop like a whirlwind, her face full of fury, clearly ready for a fight. “What’s going on? Who’s making trouble for you?”

The seven or eight middle-aged ladies behind her immediately shoved past the six men to form a protective circle around Zhuang Baiwei. Seeing the coffee stains on her, Auntie Wang yelled: “What do you think you’re doing? Do you think this young girl is an easy target? We’ll call the police!”

As the crowd outside grew, the stout man decided to go all in and shouted to the street: “This coffee shop uses dirty ingredients! It’s spoiled! It’s rotten! Nobody should come here!”

Meanwhile, Zhuang Baiwei lowered her head and whispered a few words to Auntie Wang. Auntie Wang’s eyes instantly locked onto a figure trying to sneak away outside. She slammed the table, lunged forward, and grabbed the man, shouting at the top of her lungs—

“You crazy person! Just because your own coffee shop’s business is failing, you get jealous of someone else’s new shop? Malicious competition—don’t you have a conscience?!”

Everyone’s eyes converged on that spot. Some residents of the Central District were old faces who had lived there for a long time, and they recognized the man instantly.

“That’s the owner of the coffee shop on the next street over!” someone shouted.

In an instant, the stout man inside lost his nerve. He signaled to the others, rescued the man from Auntie Wang’s grip, and they all scrambled away in disgrace.

“Don’t you run!” Auntie Wang tried to block them. “Weiwei! Call the police quickly!”

Zhuang Baiwei held Auntie Wang back and said softly, “This is the first day of our soft opening. There are so many people here; it wouldn’t look good to have the police come.”

Auntie Wang immediately stopped. Zhuang Baiwei then walked out of the shop, looked at the onlookers with a smile, and raised her voice: “Aunties, uncles—”

Her gaze fell upon a few young women, and she offered a bright, gentle smile: “And sisters.”

“Today is the first day of the soft opening for ‘Today is Good Coffee.’ I am very sorry for the commotion that disturbed everyone.”

“Even though we were slandered, I want to prove the safety of our food to everyone. Therefore, everything is free today. Everyone is welcome to come in and try it.”

“If you are willing to share your experience on WeChat Moments or any social media, you can come to the shop on our official opening day in a week and receive a free drink and a potted plant with your post record.”

She pointed to the “Today is Good Flowers” sign next door. “Besides the coffee shop, we also have a flower shop, a bookstore, and a tea house. The second floor, except for the private tea rooms, is open seating. You are all welcome to come and have tea, smell the flowers, and enjoy the river view in your spare time.”

She spoke calmly and clearly. Everyone present heard her. Curiosity and expectation appeared on many faces. Zhuang Baiwei stepped aside and extended her hand: “Welcome, everyone. Please come in.”

The cafe instantly became lively. Zhuang Baiwei arranged for Auntie Wang and her friends to sit down, then went to find Jiang Muchen.

Now that the farce was over, the other woman’s pale face and trembling hands still hadn’t improved. Zhuang Baiwei couldn’t help but think of the “brave girl pressing the table” from moments ago—it was both funny and touching.

However, it clearly wasn’t a good time for a long conversation. She could only see Jiang Muchen off. “Miss Jiang, thank you for your courage just now.”

The two walked to the riverbank outside the shop and stood face-to-face. It was only then that Zhuang Baiwei realized Jiang Muchen was slightly taller than her.

The autumn wind outside was bleak, making the terrified expression of the person before her seem even more fragile. She was suddenly curious—where did Jiang Muchen find the strength to hold down that table?

“I didn’t expect you to be so strong,” she smiled. “It was very cool.”

“But,” she tilted her head slightly, “if there’s a next time, don’t be so reckless. It was too dangerous.”

The hand at her side was still shaking. Jiang Muchen clenched her fist slightly to control the vibration.

She managed a weak smile and said softly: “Sorry, I won’t do it again.”

Jiang Muchen’s voice was light and soft. Her eyes were slightly downcast, like a child who had made a mistake.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang in Zhuang Baiwei’s heart—that familiar feeling of an “old acquaintance” rose up again. She forcibly suppressed the emotion, fearing that the next step would lead into an abyss.

“I…” Jiang Muchen suddenly spoke, then stopped, looking troubled and hesitant.

Zhuang Baiwei looked down and saw the phone in the other woman’s hand, taken out at some unknown point.

“Miss Jiang, I’m sorry you were startled today,” she smiled. “Go back and get some rest.”

Jiang Muchen stiffened, her tense shoulders slumping. She nodded. “Alright, Miss Zhuang. Goodbye.”

Her hands hung loosely at her sides as she turned and walked into a grove of red maples. Her black silhouette was stained with autumn light and deep red; though it should have been stark, it blended into the scene perfectly.

This was a day in late October—lonely and silent.

A faint bitterness rose in Zhuang Baiwei’s heart. For a moment, she stood there, lost in the sight.

The phone in her pocket vibrated. It was a message from Ms. Zhuang (her mother).

Ms. Zhuang: How is it going? Did you see Xiao Chen? Isn’t she super obedient and beautiful?

Zhuang Baiwei smiled and replied helplessly: Something happened at the shop, so we didn’t talk long. I let her go home first.

Not long after the message was sent, Ms. Zhuang’s call came through.

Zhuang Baiwei turned to lean against the river railing. On the opposite bank, sanitation workers were finishing their shift and leaving.

As soon as she answered, Ms. Zhuang’s roar burst through the screen: “What do you mean ‘something happened’? What do you mean you ‘let her go home first’?”

“Did you take the initiative to get her contact info? Xiao Chen is so introverted—if you don’t take the lead, how can there be a next step?”

Zhuang Baiwei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Ms. Zhuang, can you please be a bit more calm? I really can’t imagine how you managed the winery back then.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Zhuang Wenlan was very angry. “Don’t you like this type? And Xiao Chen is so much better than that someone!”

Zhuang Baiwei was completely helpless. She sighed and emphasized again: “Mom, I’ve told you many times, that person and I weren’t in that kind of relationship.”

Zhuang Wenlan was silent for a moment before saying: “Anyway, you and Xiao Chen need to meet a few more times. Don’t just let it end like this.”

“We’ll see,” Zhuang Baiwei lowered her head. The river reflected a slice of the azure sky. “I’m busy with the opening recently; I don’t have time.”

“You’re going to be the death of me!”

Zhuang Wenlan threw down that sentence and hung up. It seemed she really liked Jiang Muchen.

Zhuang Baiwei sighed softly, bending over to lean on the railing, feeling a mix of amusement and frustration.

From guessing her sexual orientation to accepting it, to arranging a blind date, to now urging her to build a relationship with the date—it had only taken Zhuang Wenlan a month.

But thinking about it now, what Zhuang Wenlan likely wanted more than anything was for her to open her heart again and accept new relationships, whether it be love or friendship.

But Jiang Muchen…

Two different yet similar faces swirled in her mind. Zhuang Baiwei felt a headache coming on, closed her eyes, and decided to skip the thought for now.

Support The Twilight Does Not Stain the Rose