Time slipped by quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the golden month of October. Jiangcheng Media University wasn't filled with the fragrance of fruits, but it had its share of falling petals. The crisp autumn wind scattered a brilliant golden carpet across the ground, stirring romantic thoughts in many students' hearts.
This season, some confessed their love, some fell in love, and some experienced heartbreak, but none of that concerned Yang Yi. All Yang Yi knew was that this was a great season for photography!
Taking advantage of a certain weekend, he eagerly picked up his DSLR camera, letting Xixi step on the crunchy fallen leaves as he took many portrait shots with beautiful depth of field on Jiangchuan's scenic campus paths.
Although it wasn't a film camera, and he couldn't set up a darkroom to develop the photos himself, Yang Yi still spent a considerable sum on a large printer, using professional photo paper to print out these digital-format pictures.
Ever since Ding Xiang took over the coffee shop, Yang Yi had more time for these little hobbies. Not only did he continue printing palm-sized glossy photos for the family album, but he now also dabbled in high-end large-format prints.
Using professional matte photo paper, the prints, though still in color, had a noticeable graininess that gave them a strong artistic feel.
This photo paper was expensive, so Yang Yi only printed a few of the best shots. He framed them with custom solid wood frames and clear glass, either placing them on his desk with stands or hanging them on the walls at home.
He specially picked his favorite—a shot of Xixi looking up against a golden backdrop of fallen leaves, a little startled by a small animal hopping in a nearby tree. Her adorable profile had been captured by her father. He placed this photo downstairs in the coffee shop, on a shelf next to his reserved booth.
When a familiar customer asked about it, Yang Yi couldn't help but proudly tell them, "That's my daughter. I took the photo myself. Yeah, it was on that little slope at Jiangchuan..."
The coffee shop's business gradually settled into a stable period.
After all, due to its location and the fact that coffee was still a novelty for most Chinese students, people might try it once, but few were willing to spend dozens of yuan every day on an expensive cup of freshly brewed coffee.
Let alone the new product the coffee shop had just launched: baked cupcakes.
Inspired by Yang Yi, Ding Xiang had abandoned the complicated processes of making pudding and mille-crepe cakes, instead focusing on developing a variety of cupcakes that were simple and convenient to make.
Cupcakes could be prepared by mixing all the ingredients at once, pouring the batter into multiple paper cups, and baking them together in the oven. After cooling, all that was needed was to pipe on some cream and top with strawberry slices or other fruits.
However, even though the introduction of cupcakes brought a slight increase in the coffee shop's revenue, the number of customers didn't grow, which left Ding Xiang a little disheartened.
It wasn't that the cupcakes didn't sell out. Every evening, Guo Ziyi, that foodie, would eagerly come by and buy all the leftover cupcakes for his late-night snack. Ding Xiang couldn't refuse even if she wanted to!
But the issue wasn't cupcake sales; Ding Xiang wanted to boost the coffee shop's popularity further!
Yang Yi didn't interfere or comfort Ding Xiang. He observed everything but let her figure things out on her own.
Whether the coffee shop did well or not didn't matter much to Yang Yi. What interested him was watching Ding Xiang's growth and transformation.
It was like an anthropology professor studying a group of macaques—handing an opportunity to a girl who had once struggled to make ends meet, who had to hustle for every meal, and whose eyes carried a hint of inferiority when interacting with others. What kind of miracle would she create?
Yang Yi didn't know, but he felt that watching from the sidelines like an observer would be quite fascinating.
So, when Ding Xiang came to him dejectedly and said, "Every customer who comes in, I know them all. I can even call them by name. It's been a whole week without a single new face showing up..."
Yang Yi just smiled and said nothing.
In the past week, there had actually been new customers. Just yesterday, two people had come in. To Ding Xiang, they were new, but to Yang Yi and the coffee shop, they were old customers... Ding Xiang didn't count them.
Qianli Chuanshu!
Those two had come to say goodbye.
Lu Xiaoshu and Miao Chuan had applied to suspend their studies at the school and were preparing to head to Xiangnan to report to the entertainment agency they had signed with.
But for some reason, on the day before they left, they thought of Yang Yi, the coffee shop owner they had only met once.
They brought their guitars and the little pocket money they had left, ordered the most expensive coffee and Ding Xiang's new cupcakes.
"Boss, we came this time to thank you. Thank you for encouraging us back when we were still uncertain about the path we had chosen, and for your guidance on our songs," Lu Xiaoshu spoke first, with Miao Chuan nodding beside him.
"You're too kind!" Yang Yi didn't think he was as important as they made him out to be. He waved his hand with a smile and said, "Back then, hadn't you already earned your first income through commercial performances? The truth is, you were just lacking confidence in your appearance, but deep down, hadn't you already made up your mind to walk this path? My words were just the icing on the cake."
Lu Xiaoshu and Miao Chuan knew that Yang Yi didn't care much about money, and they couldn't repay him financially without cheapening the gesture.
So, this time, they brought their revised signature song, "I Miss Her in the Northern Winter," wanting to sing it for Yang Yi.
"This is the revised version. Thanks to your guidance, we were able to use this song to impress a talent scout and get the chance to become artists. Before we leave, we wanted to sing it for you, so you can hear how the melody has become purer after your advice..."
Lu Xiaoshu and Miao Chuan didn't know that Yang Yi had already heard their song at the freshman welcome party. But Yang Yi didn't point it out; he just gestured for them to go ahead.
"I'm lost in the northern winter, wandering through the boundless wilderness, watching the wild geese fly away in rows, missing her... that face that will never return..." Lu Xiaoshu's clear, desolate voice blended with Miao Chuan's harmonies, echoing softly through the coffee shop.
At that moment, there were only a few customers in the shop. The empty space seemed to have its own surround sound, and their unplugged performance felt like it was recorded in a studio. Even Ding Xiang couldn't help but pause her work with the pour-over kettle to listen.
"Don't ask me when I'll cross the mountains and plains to come to your side... because that day... is today..."
Similar to "College Days," the outro was a simple melodic loop, the sound gradually fading until the last pluck of the guitar string stopped.
Qianli Chuanshu left, just like their song said, crossing mountains and rivers to go to another place, beginning their new musical journey.
Yang Yi wasn't optimistic about them suspending their studies to join an agency, nor about their prospects of diving straight into the music and entertainment industry without much experience. But he didn't offer any advice, since they had already signed contracts and were full of ambition.
Their first meeting was an acquaintance; the second might already count as friendship.
So, best of luck to you, friends!