However, despite the tender gaze Yan Xiaopei cast at Yang Yi, he didn't catch on. He clapped his hands and walked straight toward the bar, his own little domain.
"Treating you to coffee? No problem at all!"
Xixi, who had been admiring her own reflection in the glass partition with a hint of smugness, quickly hopped off the sofa and followed her dad as he left.
With tens of thousands of amperes of electricity directed at empty space, Yan Xiaopei cast a slightly resentful glance at Yang Yi's retreating figure. She turned back to look at Yan Yingkai, who was staring at his own shoes, and reached out to take his hand.
However, the little cold-hearted boy, in a bad mood, dodged her hand, stiffening his neck as he walked ahead.
"Go play with your sister Xixi. As the big brother, you need to take care of her..." Yan Xiaopei didn't lose her temper but coaxed him in a gentle voice.
Xixi had already claimed her spot—the high stool closest to her dad at the bar! Though it was a bit tall, she nimbly climbed up; the little one had quite the athletic talent!
"I want some too!" Xixi looked at her dad with eager eyes.
Yang Yi gave an apologetic nod to Yan Xiaopei, who had sat down beside him, then said to Xixi, "You can't have coffee yet. Daddy will make you some milk!"
Xixi wasn't set on having coffee. She'd asked before, but after Yang Yi let her try a tiny sip, she never brought it up again!
That's because Yang Yi was too sneaky—he gave her a taste of the bitterest, most astringent espresso. He himself found it authentic, but to someone unaccustomed to coffee, it was more bitter than traditional Chinese medicine!
Poor little Xixi...
"Alright then!" Xixi wiggled her little bottom, finding the coziest position against the chair's backrest. "But Xixi wants to drink from a cup!"
She used to use a bottle, but Xixi felt she was all grown up now!
Yeah, just like that auntie, using a cup!
"Okay, okay, okay!" Yang Yi indulged his daughter completely.
"By the way, Xiao Kai, would you like some milk too?" Yang Yi asked without looking up, as he poured the milk powder.
Yan Yingkai was pouting, standing behind and kicking his mom's chair with his foot. Though not violently, he was clearly upset!
"Say thank you to Uncle Yang Yi." Yan Xiaopei pulled him forward, but Yan Yingkai turned his head away stubbornly.
Yang Yi worked quickly, bringing over two steaming cups of milk, each with a small silver spoon resting on top.
"They're a bit hot, Xixi, Xiao Kai, don't drink them too fast," Yang Yi said with a gentle smile.
With Yan Xiaopei watching over them, Yang Yi felt at ease and went back to making his coffee.
"Today, try the Yirgacheffe. It might suit a woman's palate better," Yang Yi said with a slight smile, placing the cup in front of Yan Xiaopei. "These coffee beans are hard to come by—what's available on the market isn't very authentic. Luckily, I found a decent supplier."
Before she even tasted the coffee, Yan Xiaopei caught a pure, fragrant aroma, reminiscent of the jasmine in her shop.
After a moment's hesitation, Yang Yi brought over the sugar bowl. He said, "For this coffee, it's best without sugar. Adding sugar actually affects your taste. But since you don't drink coffee often, you might find the bitterness hard to take, so feel free to adjust it to your liking."
"Thanks!" Yan Xiaopei smiled. "This Yirgacheffe you mentioned—I've never heard of it. What's its story?"
Oh, it has quite a story!
When it came to topics he was passionate about, Yang Yi's face lit up. "It's normal you haven't heard of Yirgacheffe. Most people only know cappuccino, latte, mocha..."
"What are those?" Yan Xiaopei asked curiously. "I've never heard of them either."
Oh, right—in this world, those terms didn't exist yet!
Yang Yi had to brush it off with a laugh. "Those are just different ways to drink coffee. But really, starting from the coffee beans themselves, there are many distinctions. People who study coffee pay attention to the bean varieties."
"The Yirgacheffe I mentioned is one type of coffee bean. It comes from a small town at an altitude of 1,800 to 2,000 meters in a large country in northeastern Africa!" Yang Yi explained.
"Africa has coffee?" Yan Xiaopei was surprised. "I thought coffee was all from South America."
Yang Yi was a bit speechless. "You mean North America, right? Cuba is in North America, or Central America." In this world, some country names were translated differently from his previous life.
Yan Xiaopei stuck out her tongue in embarrassment, looking quite playful.
"Actually, coffee originated a long time ago. It was first discovered in a region of that African country called Kaffa, which is how the name 'coffee' evolved," Yang Yi explained. "Coffee cultivation is global, mainly in Africa, Indonesia, and the Central and South America I mentioned earlier. Of course, Cuba's is the most famous!"
If Yang Yi kept going, he could talk about this topic all day. But it seemed Yan Xiaopei's mind was wandering—she wasn't really interested in coffee beans, her attention instead fixed on Yang Yi's chiseled face and strong arms.
"Drink it while it's hot!" Yang Yi noticed this and lost his enthusiasm, pointing at the coffee that had stopped steaming.
Yan Xiaopei added a lot of sugar; she really didn't like the bitterness of coffee.
She took an elegant sip, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
"How is it? Good, right?" Yang Yi chuckled.
"Delicious!" Yan Xiaopei praised sincerely. "The flavor has a kind of... how to put it, like a fruity wine feel."
"Yes, this coffee has a unique citrus and lemon fruit aroma," Yang Yi said. "Of course, I only did a medium roast to preserve its mild acidity. If I'd done a deep roast, the aroma would be even stronger."
But wasn't the appeal in that unique acidity?
As they chatted slowly, Yan Xiaopei finished a second cup. But she really had no interest in coffee's origins, so she gradually shifted the topic.
"Yang Yi, what made you suddenly think of braiding Xixi's hair today?" Yan Xiaopei asked curiously.
Yang Yi was washing the cups Xixi and Yan Yingkai had used for their milk. Without looking up, he answered casually, "Oh, her mom said I did a bad job and gave me a task."
The cup in Yan Xiaopei's hand jolted violently, though luckily she didn't spill the coffee. She set it down, forcing a strained smile. "I see."
"Xixi is so beautiful—her mom must be a real beauty too, right?" Yan Xiaopei's heart was bitter, but she pretended to be nonchalant.
Xixi, who had been staring wide-eyed at her brother Xiao Kai, immediately turned around and declared loudly, "My mommy is the prettiest!"
Yang Yi gave a faint smile. "Yeah, Xixi inherited more of her mom's genes. Luckily, she didn't turn out big and burly like me."
"But why haven't I ever seen your wife?" Yan Xiaopei felt the coffee she'd just drunk seemed to ferment, sourness rising, but she couldn't let it show. She forced herself to stay composed.
"My mommy is on a business trip!" Xixi answered for her dad.
The last bubble had burst...
"I see. If I get the chance, I'd like to meet her..." Yan Xiaopei sipped her coffee, finding it unusually bitter, as if all that sugar had been useless.
She couldn't hear what Yang Yi was saying anymore. She just wanted to leave as soon as possible, to escape far away and never come back.
As a woman hurt by infidelity before, Yan Xiaopei wanted to pursue her own love, not destroy someone else's happiness...
The earlier questions seemed to have answers now. No wonder he was indifferent—he already had someone in his heart.
(PS: Alright, the side character has taken her leave. Don't worry about her pushing the female lead aside. Though her role is over, the aftermath is still brewing. Stay tuned.)