Chapter 014: Where is the White Rabbit?

Xia Chiyi couldn’t resist jumping onto Zhou Zhexiao’s back, giving him a forceful shake. Zhou Zhexiao’s powerful core strength allowed him to walk forward steadily even with Xia Chiyi hanging off him.

“Zhou Zhexiao, I couldn’t tell you were actually a master of life’s chicken soup for the soul!”

Zhou Zhexiao turned his face slightly. The tip of his nose was very close to Xia Chiyi’s cheek, almost brushing against the soft, fine fuzz on his skin.

“I thought you were the master of life’s chicken soup.”

“Huh?” Xia Chiyi looked bewildered.

Didn’t all my chicken soup fail? Du He only fell for your high-end, foreign-style routine.

Ye Chaoying stretched and announced loudly, “Let’s not waste time! Next target—Shuai Bei!”

They took a ride-hailing car to Ningchang City’s commercial center. As they passed a glittering office building, Ye Chaoying pointed at an abstract logo and said, “That photography studio is right here.”

“The staff won’t let us in, will they?”

“Of course we’re not going inside. Xia Chiyi, use your clever brain to think. What kind of shop near an office building is most popular with white-collar workers?”

“…A coffee shop?”

“Bingo!”

The car stopped in front of a coffee shop. The sign read “Flowery Coffee.”

The trio walked in and sat by the window.

It wasn’t lunch break yet, so the café was empty, making the three of them particularly conspicuous.

Ye Chaoying chose a window seat that offered a perfect view of people entering and leaving the office building.

Xia Chiyi was speechless. “Are we just waiting for a hare to crash into a tree stump? What if we sit here all day and Shuai Bei never shows up?”

It would be better to find Shuai Bei’s roommate; he’d get notified as soon as he returned to the dorm.

…If he even returns to the dorm.

“Trust my intel. He will definitely appear today,” Ye Chaoying vowed solemnly.

Xia Chiyi sighed to the heavens. “You should quit basketball; you have a brighter future as a paparazzo.”

Each of them ordered a coffee. Ye Chaoying ordered a mocha, Xia Chiyi ordered a White Rabbit latte, and they both looked at Zhou Zhexiao, who answered soullessly, “Iced Americano.”

Holding his phone, Xia Chiyi demonstrated to Zhou Zhexiao how to scan the code to place an order.

“Like this, open WeChat’s ‘Scan’, aim it at this QR code on the table.” Xia Chiyi glanced at Zhou Zhexiao to make sure he was paying attention.

Zhou Zhexiao nodded.

“The menu is up. See the plus sign?” Xia Chiyi glanced at Zhou Zhexiao again.

“Mn.”

“After adding it to the cart, click here to pay.”

Zhou Zhexiao nodded again, his slightly curled bangs swaying gently. Even though he had no expression, he was so obedient it made one want to ruffle his hair.

Ye Chaoying, chin in hand, watched this scene and asked suspiciously, “Zhou Zhexiao, are you this obedient when you play ball?”

“He’s extremely arrogant when he plays. Two days ago, he beat Gao Qing from the provincial team until his legs went soft and he fell to the ground, almost peeing himself!” Xia Chiyi said.

Ye Chaoying laughed. “I don’t believe you.”

Zhou Zhexiao: “Does it matter if you believe it or not?”

Ye Chaoying: “Alright, I’m the clown.”

Xia Chiyi handed his phone to Ye Chaoying. Ye Chaoying suddenly snapped back to reality. “You used my phone to teach him how to order?”

“Yeah, so I’m giving it back for you to enter the password.”

Ye Chaoying: “…”

I’m not just a clown; I’m a sucker.

A while later, their coffee was served.

Zhou Zhexiao tilted his head, looking at Xia Chiyi’s mug. It looked just like an ordinary latte.

“Where is the White Rabbit?”

“Huh?” Xia Chiyi was lifting the cup to drink, but couldn’t help laughing at Zhou Zhexiao’s question.

He held the cup up to Zhou Zhexiao’s face, a teasing look in his eyes. “Take a sip. Maybe you’ll find the White Rabbit in the latte.”

Zhou Zhexiao shook his head, his eyes signaling disbelief.

“You really won’t drink it? Then I’ll drink the White Rabbit.”

Only then did Zhou Zhexiao lean in, clasping Xia Chiyi’s wrist with one hand. The guy’s fingers were so long they completely encircled Xia Chiyi’s wrist bone.

With a bit of willfulness, he moved the other’s cup in front of himself and took a sip.

“How is it? Better than Iced Americano?”

“Where is the White Rabbit?” Zhou Zhexiao asked again.

Xia Chiyi laughed even more openly, leaning in to examine Zhou Zhexiao’s confused eyes. “This latte has the flavor of White Rabbit candy! Couldn’t you taste it? It’s more fragrant than regular milk flavor, gives your heart a sweet feeling.”

Zhou Zhexiao then remembered there seemed to be a milk candy brand in China called White Rabbit.

“So this is a milk candy flavored latte, unrelated to any colored rabbits.”

“Yeah.” Xia Chiyi nodded and took a big gulp.

He forgot that was the spot where Zhou Zhexiao had just drunk.

Zhou Zhexiao opened his mouth, intending to remind him, but what came out was: “High calories. You’ll need to run for at least twenty minutes to metabolize it.”

Xia Chiyi patted Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulder indifferently. “Brother, we’re only eighteen. Our metabolism is great.”

Zhou Zhexiao lowered his head and took a sip of his Iced Americano. As the cold liquid touched the tip of his tongue, a wave of bitterness rushed to his brain, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

Xia Chiyi noticed that brief moment, then took the Iced Americano from him and pushed his latte towards him.

“When I was in elementary school, I’d get depressed if I didn’t get 100 on exams, so I’d grab White Rabbit candy from the jar in my room. Later, I ruined my teeth, so my mom put a seal on my candy jar. Until Sheng Xingming passed away… I was curled up in my duvet crying, and my mom bought another jar of White Rabbit to comfort me…”

Mentioning Sheng Xingming, Xia Chiyi’s heart tightened, and he stopped talking.

“Did it work?”

“No.”

A bad exam score could be soothed with a piece of candy.

But when Sheng Xingming passed away, all the White Rabbit candy in the world couldn’t stop Xia Chiyi’s tears.

Zhou Zhexiao glanced at Xia Chiyi and poured some of the White Rabbit latte into his Iced Americano.

“This will do. Even the bitterest coffee has the sweetness of White Rabbit candy now,” Zhou Zhexiao said.

Even though the guy hadn’t mentioned Sheng Xingming, Xia Chiyi felt inexplicably comforted.

Ye Chaoying tapped his fingers on the table twice. “Hey, I’m still alive here. I’m right here, I’m not air. It’s clearly coffee for three, yet why am I so superfluous?”

“Order a Pistachio Starbucks and you won’t be superfluous,” Xia Chiyi said.

“Want a tiramisu and macarons to go with it?”

“Sure!”

“Hurry up and lie down to sleep; you’ll have everything in your dreams.” Ye Chaoying rolled his eyes dramatically.

Another half hour passed, and the coffee was finished. Zhou Zhexiao had taken Xia Chiyi’s phone and was very seriously playing Onet (tile-matching game).

“Zhou Zhexiao, I think you should buy a smartphone,” Xia Chiyi sincerely suggested.

Ye Chaoying nodded in agreement. “Yeah, transportation, shopping, takeout, entertainment… you can’t do without a smartphone.”

“Not buying,” Zhou Zhexiao replied.

“Huh? Why?”

“Takes up too much time.”

Xia Chiyi laughed. “So you’re afraid you can’t resist the temptation of a smartphone.”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“If I bought a smartphone too, even at close range, we wouldn’t look at each other while talking.”

Xia Chiyi was stunned, recalling the first rule in the Zhou Zhexiao Care Manual: Human connection is a crucial means of healing Zhou Zhexiao’s car accident PTSD.

Ye Chaoying wanted to persuade him further, but Xia Chiyi put an arm around Zhou Zhexiao’s shoulders and said, “It’s fine. We’re good bros; we can share a phone.”

“Then what if you start dating? Won’t you send WeChats? Won’t you talk on the phone for hours?” Ye Chaoying asked.

Xia Chiyi shrugged. “I’m not dating right now, am I?”

“What are you thinking? With a face and body like yours, don’t you know how many female students dream of you as their ideal crush!”

Xia Chiyi’s eyes went round. “Really? I didn’t know. How do you know?”

“Holy sh*t, do you need to check your ears at the hospital? In the high school league, couldn’t you hear all those people shouting your name?”

“Did they?”

Ye Chaoying was sure Xia Chiyi wasn’t pretending. That clear innocence was exasperating. He covered his face. “You should either marry basketball or spend your life with Zhou Zhexiao!”

Ten minutes later, amidst the sound effects of the tile-matching game, Xia Chiyi lay directly on the table, bored to sleep.

Just as the phone was about to run out of battery, the café door opened, and a tall boy with evenly distributed muscles walked in.

This guy had short silver hair, wore sunglasses, and had chiseled, sharp features. He was dressed in a loose hoodie with jingling accessories around his neck, looking cool and trendy.

He stood at the counter and said, “Large hot Americano.”

Ye Chaoying immediately nudged Xia Chiyi with his elbow. Xia Chiyi’s shoulder jerked, knocking the mug by his arm off the table. Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhexiao, who was playing on the phone next to him, effortlessly scooped it up, saving the mug.

What incredible athleticism and reaction speed!

“That’s Shuai Bei,” Ye Chaoying hinted in a very low voice.

Xia Chiyi thought Shuai Bei would completely ignore them and leave the café. To his surprise, the guy walked straight over, sat down opposite the three of them, leaned back, and swept a gaze over them that inexplicably excited Xia Chiyi.

This guy looked like he could fight! And in anime, silver-haired characters were never to be trifled with.

Xia Chiyi nudged Zhou Zhexiao, signaling him to put down the phone immediately.

Zhou Zhexiao rubbed the hair whorl on top of his head. Seeing Xia Chiyi’s bright eyes, he frowned slightly as the “Game Over” sound came from the phone.

Shuai Bei spoke up. “Cheng Qing said you might come looking for me, and he told me what you want to do. My answer is: impossible.”

Such a direct rejection.

“Why impossible? School leaders will be present at Friday’s match. This is a great chance for you to slap Ma Wenhua in the face! Let the leaders know you were treated unfairly. Last year, if…”

Before Ye Chaoying could finish, Shuai Bei took off his sunglasses and looked at the three of them as if they were idiots.

“You don’t actually think winning will get you on the starting lineup, do you? The school leaders won’t fire Ma Wenhua; they don’t want to offend the provincial team coach, Ma Hongming. I heard the vice principal’s son has no future in academics and plans to go the sports route, wanting to apprentice under Ma Hongming. Ma Wenhua is Ma Hongming’s cousin, so he won’t be replaced. As long as Ma Wenhua is the coach of Ningchang University for one day, he has eight hundred reasons to nail you to the bench during games. So, what if you win?”

After speaking, Shuai Bei grabbed his hot Americano and was about to get up when Zhou Zhexiao suddenly spoke.

“Then replace him.”