Yin Yue stood in front of the employee bathroom mirror, gripping the edge of the sink like he was about to deliver a TED Talk instead of a love confession.
He cleared his throat.
"Liang Yu," he said solemnly to his reflection, "I've been thinking. You're emotionally challenging and unreasonably attractive, and I'd like to make terrible life choices with you."
Pause.
"Too chaotic," he muttered. "Try again."
He straightened, adopted his best customer service smile, and tried, "Hi, would you like a free cappuccino and my emotional availability?"
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
😬 No.
📉 Flirt Efficiency: 0.6/10
💬 Suggested Opening: 'I like you. Please date me. I will make you coffee forever.'
🎉 Bonus: Includes Domesticity DLC
Yin Yue groaned and turned off the light, then turned it back on. "Alright. I can do this. I'm a grown man. I make foam flowers for a living. I can confess my feelings like a functional adult."
Yin Yue sliding into the back of the café, where Jiang Mei was restocking cookie jars with way too much glee.
"I need your help," he said.
She turned. Eyes sparkled. "Confessing?"
He blinked. "How did you—"
"You've been in emotional heat for fews day," she replied. "So what's the plan?"
"Tonight. After close. I'll make him a special cappuccino and tell him I like him before I die of subtlety embarrassment."
Jiang Mei clapped like an overexcited fairy godmother. "YES. FINALLY. Do you want candles? String lights? A Spotify playlist?"
"I want you to not narrate it in real time."
"Too late."
> 💡 SYSTEM 520:
💖 Confession Flag Raised
📅 Countdown Started: 8 Hours
💬 Mood Forecast: Cinnamon, Heart Palpitations, and Froth
Back behind the counter, Yin Yue prepped a new design for cappuccino art: a symmetrical heart with tiny wings. Cute. Personal. Subtle.
Not too much.
Just enough.
He set the custom cup aside, wiped his hands on his apron, and whispered, "Okay. I can do this. I am calm. I am prepared. I am terrifyingly sincere."
And for the first time in days, he smiled.
Lunch rush.
The café buzzed with noise—cups clinking, machines hissing, orders firing off like a caffeine-fueled military operation. Amid the chaos, Yin Yue tucked his special cappuccino, the one with the delicate heart-and-wings latte art, on the side of the counter with a sticky note that said:
> Do not serve. Emotional landmine. For LY only.
Unfortunately, Kevin the Intern was not emotionally literate.
"Oh, someone left a drink!" Kevin called brightly, grabbing the untouched cup. "Order for… Lee?"
Before Yin Yue could stop him, Kevin handed it off to her.
The Flirty Regular.
The one with the cat eyeliner, silver nails, and a tendency to call every male barista "sweetheart."
"Ohhh," she said, turning the cup in her hands. "Is this for me? How cute!"
Yin Yue's soul left his body.
Liang Yu, wiping down the counter near the espresso machine, looked up.
Saw the cup.
Saw the heart.
Saw her wink.
And blinked.
Just once.
No reaction.
But definitely a shift.
He set his rag down.
Didn't speak.
Didn't look at Yin Yue.
Just returned to wiping like the surface had personally wronged him.
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
⚠️ EMOTIONAL CATASTROPHE DETECTED
💘 ML Affection: Stable. Mood: Unknown.
🎯 Host Status: In Crisis
💬 Suggested Response: Scream? Cry? Tackle the customer?
Yin Yue launched himself toward the pickup area. "Sorry! That cup's...uh...not yours. I mean..it is. But it's not. There's been a froth-related mix-up."
Flirty Regular giggled. "You mean this wasn't a subtle love message?"
"I mean...technically, yes, but it's not for you."
"Oh, honey. That's okay. I get them all the time."
She walked off, humming.
Yin Yue turned to Kevin. "You gave her the wrong cup."
Kevin blinked. "There was a note…"
"There was a STICKY NOTE OF ON IT."
Kevin shrank into the fridge.
Yin Yue turned back to Liang Yu, who was still polishing the counter with mechanical precision.
"You saw that, didn't you?" he asked.
Liang Yu didn't look at him.
"Doesn't matter," he said.
"Yes, it does."
"No," Liang Yu replied. "It was just a cup."
Yin Yue's stomach twisted. "It wasn't."
Still, Liang Yu didn't look up.
And that hurt more than if he had.
The milk frother hissed like it sensed drama.
Yin Yue stood in front of it shoulders tense, lips pressed thin, emotions boiling worse than the espresso shot he'd just pulled.
Across from him, Liang Yu continued his silent war with a carton of oat milk, his posture so calm it made Yin Yue want to throw something. Preferably the milk.
"Why are you being weird?" Yin Yue finally snapped.
Liang Yu glanced up. "I'm not."
"You're not talking."
"I never talk."
"You're not looking at me."
"I'm looking at the milk."
"You're avoiding me."
Liang Yu placed the milk down. "What do you want me to say?"
"That the heart wasn't for her," Yin Yue blurted. "It was for you."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
⚠️ EMERGENCY CONFESSION ACCIDENTALLY DEPLOYED
💘 AFFECTION +5
🫠 HOST STATUS: HYPERVENTILATING NEAR STEAM
Liang Yu blinked. "I know."
Yin Yue stared. "You.. what?"
"I saw the sticky note."
"Then why are you acting like I confessed to someone else?!"
Liang Yu leaned against the counter still calm and composed.
And very, very quiet.
"I didn't know if you meant it," he said finally.
Yin Yue's voice rose. "You didn't know if I meant it? I made you a cappuccino with latte art. That's basically a proposal in our café language!"
Liang Yu didn't move.
"I was going to give it to you after close," Yin Yue said. "I had a whole thing planned. Words. Feelings. Possibly eye contact. And you...you just... try to denied it"
"I thought you changed your mind," Liang Yu said quietly.
Yin Yue blinked.
"What?"
"I saw her take it. Saw you panic. And I thought maybe it wasn't for me after all."
"You idiot," Yin Yue whispered.
"You're the one confessing with milk foam."
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TIED MY APRON LIKE A MAN WITH EMOTIONAL INTENT."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
📢 Confession Exchange Confirmed
💘 ML AFFECTION: 95/100
🎯 Emotional Proximity: HIGH
🫠 Host Readiness: Low
🍶 Milk Temperature: Irrelevant
They stared at each other.
Frother hissing behind them.
Steam curling in the air.
Then Yin Yue exhaled. "I like you."
"I know," Liang Yu said.
Yin Yue narrowed his eyes. "Say it back."
"Say please."
"You are impossible."
"And you're mine."
Yin Yue shut up.
Immediately.
Liang Yu didn't smile.
But he didn't need to.
The café was still and silent, the lights low. Customers gone. Dishes done. Just the two of them left in the soft, familiar hush of closing time.
Yin Yue stood at the espresso machine with hands that didn't shake much. He steamed the milk gently, carefully. Poured the foam slowly.
A soft heart. Two delicate wings. The same design as before but this time, no mix-ups and no panic.
Just him.
And the drink meant only for one person.
He placed the cup on a saucer. Wiped a fleck of cinnamon off the rim. Then carried it across the counter where Liang Yu sat and waiting.
Yin Yue set the cup down in front of him.
Liang Yu looked at it. Then at him.
Yin Yue exhaled. "I like you."
Liang Yu didn't speak.
Yin Yue continued, voice low. Unsteady but honest.
"I like your stupid quiet. I like the way you say my name when you're mad. I like that you don't talk much but somehow still say everything. I like that you ruin my emotional stability every time you adjust my apron."
He swallowed.
"I like you, not in a maybe way. In a 'I want to wake up to your alarm clock' kind of way. In a 'please stop staring at my mouth and just use it' kind of way."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
🫠 HOST HAS ACHIEVED EMOTIONAL MATURITY
💘 ML AFFECTION +10
💬 WARNING: KISS MAY BE IMMINENT
📈 ROMANCE STATUS: TRUE CONFESSION COMPLETE
Liang Yu picked up the cup.
Took a sip.
Set it down.
Then looked up at Yin Yue, expression unreadable until the smallest, softest smile appeared.
"You still put too much cinnamon," he said.
Yin Yue blinked. "That's it?"
Liang Yu stood up. Stepped around the counter.
Stopped in front of him.
"It's a yes," he said simply.
Then reached up.
And brushed a finger against the corner of Yin Yue's mouth.
"You had foam."
Yin Yue swallowed. "Was that your excuse to touch me?"
"I don't need excuses."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💥 AFFECTION SCORE: 100/100
💘 ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Cinnamon-Scented Confession"
🎉 KISS WINDOW: OPEN
Yin Yue whispered, "Then what are you waiting fo—"
Liang Yu didn't wait this time.
No pause. No dramatic tension. Just the subtle shift forward and the soft, inevitable press of lips to lips.
Warm and certain.
Yin Yue's hands twitched at his sides before instinct took over and he gripped Liang Yu's shirt, pulling him closer, like one kiss might not be enough. (It wasn't.)
The café was silent except for the hum of the fridge and the distant clink of cooling metal.
The kiss was slow, sweet and a little awkward.
They knocked noses. Then teeth.
And then laughed into it, breathless and stupid.
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💘 KISS CONFIRMED
🎯 Host Heart Rate: 142 bpm
☕ Emotional Flavor Profile: Cinnamon, Milk Foam, Mutual Longing
💥 WARNING: Stability at maximum. Happiness imminent.
Yin Yue smiled against Liang Yu's mouth. "You took long enough."
"You kept running."
"You kept not stopping me."
Liang Yu brushed his thumb across Yin Yue's cheek.
"I'm stopping you now."
Yin Yue was about to respond when his elbow hit the counter and the cappuccino tipped.
Milk. Foam. Cinnamon.
All over the floor.
All over both of them.
They jumped apart.
Yin Yue shrieked. "My emotional masterpiece!"
Liang Yu calmly grabbed a towel.
"You kissed me so hard we destroyed the coffee," Yin Yue said, horrified. "That was symbolic."
"You'll make another."
"That one had feelings in it!"
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
☕ Cappuccino of Destiny: Deceased
🫠 Host Status: Mildly Unhinged
💬 ML Status: Deeply Smug
The front door creaked open.
Jiang Mei walked in, saw the mess, the position, the red faces and screamed.
"I KNEW IT," she shouted, pulling out her phone. "You're so lucky I wore eyeliner today. I'm filming this!"
Yin Yue pointed. "Out. You're banned."
"You can't ban me, I work here."
"I will call HR."
"We are HR."
Liang Yu calmly handed Yin Yue another towel. "You're still dripping."
"I'm emotionally fragile," Yin Yue muttered, mopping his shirt. "I need cuddling and possible dessert."
Liang Yu leaned in again. "You'll get both."
And just like that they kissed again.
No more spills. Just warmth and cinnamon smell floating around them.