Wei's alarm buzzed at six in the morning. She smacked it off with a groan, sat up in bed, and blinked at her tiny room. Sunlight crept in through the narrow window of her apartment. The little pots on her windowsill were already catching the light- her mint plant reaching happily, while the poor basil looked like it had given up on life.
"Don't you dare die on me," Wei muttered, leaning over to poke at its soil. "I don't have the money to keep replacing you."
Her voice filled the silence. It was always quiet now, too quiet since the breakup. There was no one else to nag her about oversleeping or steal the last dumpling from her fridge. She sighed, walked barefoot across the creaky floor, and glanced at the wall above her desk.
There, taped up sketches stared back at her: warm glowing cafés, handwritten menu ideas, doodles of steaming cups with flowers floating inside. At the center, in messy handwriting, she'd scrawled: Wei's Teahouse.
"One day," she whispered, almost like a promise to herself.
After a quick wash and a messy bun, she tugged on her café uniform and stepped out into the narrow alley. Her neighbor, Auntie Zhang, was already sweeping her doorstep.
"Off to work again, Xiao Wei?" The old woman called out with a knowing smile.
"Hmmm. Gotta make money somehow," Wei answered, unlocking her bike.
"Don't forget to eat breakfast! You're too thin," Aunt Zhang clucked, eyeing her.
"If you keep feeding me your dumplings, maybe I'll put on weight." She smiled as she sat on the bike.
Aunt Zhang chuckled, resting her broom against the wall.
"Oh! That's the plan! A girl your age should be round cheeked and full of energy, not running around all day." She wagged a finger playfully. "Next time, I'll make you meat!"
Wei laughed, shaking her head.
"You're going to spoil me."
"Someone has to." Aunt Zhang said with a smile.
"Alright, Aunt Zhang. Thank you. But I need to leave now. I'm getting late." Wei pushed off on her bike with a smile.
She glanced back once to see Aunt Zhang waving after her, broom in hand, before disappearing into the lively streets of Sanlitun.
The cars were honking, food stalls sizzling with jianbing and soy milk, office workers rushing past. Wei locked up her bike outside Lotus & Steam, tied her apron tight, and pushed through the café door.
Her coworker, Rui, was already fiddling with the espresso machine.
"Finally! I thought you overslept again."
Wei rolled her eyes.
"It's 7:30 in the morning, Rui. Normal people would still be in bed."
"Lucky for us, we're not normal," he said dryly, handing her a rag to wipe down the counter.
The bell above the door jingled as the first wave of customers walked in.
"Good morning! One oat latte, no foam," A young woman said, dropping her phone back into her designer bag.
"Coming right up," Wei replied with her best customer friendly smile.
She scribbled the order and started steaming the milk.
Another voice piped up behind.
"Two iced matcha lattes, extra sweet!" A pair of students giggled, tapping at their phones as they ordered.
Rui leaned closer to Wei and whispered, "Bet you they'll take selfies with the cups."
Wei smirked.
"Better make the matcha look photogenic, then."
By mid-morning, the café buzzed with chatter and the smell of roasted beans. Wei moved easily through it all, but inside, a small ache lingered. She missed having someone to share this with- the silly stories, the long tired walks home, even just complaining about customers. The breakup had left her lonelier than she wanted to admit.
Still, she shook the thought away as she wiped down the counter. Every shift, every tip, every smile she gave, it was all one step closer to her own teahouse, and that dream was enough to keep her going.
By the time the afternoon rush faded, Wei's feet were aching. She leaned against the counter, sipping the last of a lukewarm latte she'd made for herself. Rui stretched his arms overhead.
"Another day, another ten thousand coffees," he muttered.
"Don't exaggerate. It was at least eleven thousand," Wei replied with a tired grin.
He smirked, then noticed her slipping her apron into her bag instead of hanging it up.
"You're not heading straight home?"
Wei shook her head.
"Got a delivery shift tonight. Easy money."
"You're crazy," Rui said, wiping down the machine. "You work too much."
"Dreams don't pay for themselves." She answered lightly, though the weight behind the words pressed against her chest.
As dusk settled, Wei wheeled her bike out into the streets again. The city looked different now from the morning. The office workers were replaced by couples strolling hand-in-hand, neon lights flickering on above noodle shops and karaoke bars. Street vendors shouted out their specials, the smell of grilling skewers and frying dumplings filled the humid air.
She bought a jianbing from a cart, folding it in half as she balanced it on her bike's handle.
"Dinner on the go." She muttered, taking a bite.
The crunch and heat took away some of her tiredness. Her phone buzzed with the delivery app's next order. She squinted at the address.
"All the way near to this old temple?" She said aloud. "Who's ordering takeout from out there?"
The payout was higher than usual, though. She tapped accept and started pedaling. The ride grew quieter the farther she went, the city lights fading behind her. Her tires rattled over uneven stone paths as she passed older neighborhoods, until finally, the looming silhouette of an abandoned temple came into view. The wooden gates were half rotted, vines crawling up the walls.Wei slowed, frowning.
"This can't be right." She double checked her phone, the glowing map stubbornly pointing her to the temple.
"Great. Either it is someone's idea of a prank, or I'm about to get murdered." She muttered, but curiosity tugged at her anyway.
She pushed her bike to the side and stepped toward the gate. A faint whisper carried on the wind, so soft she thought at first it was her imagination. Her skin prickled. She hesitated at the doorway, the delivery bag heavy at her side.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
There was no answer, just the creak of wood, the faint smell of incense long extinguished. She swallowed hard, but stepped in anyway. Wei's sneakers crunched over broken stone as she stepped into the courtyard. The temple looked long abandoned. The roof tiles were missing, wooden beams were sagging, weeds were curling through the cracks of the stone floor. The faint whispers grew clearer, almost like voices carried on the night wind.
Her skin prickled.
"This is creepy." She muttered, clutching the delivery bag like it could protect her.
Inside, the air was colder. Moonlight slipped through the collapsed roof, casting silver across the dusty hall. At the center stood a stone pedestal, and on it was glowing jade amulet, pulsing faintly as if it had a heartbeat.
Wei blinked. She walked closer drawn in. Just as she leaned over for a better look, a sudden gust of wind swept through the hall. The pedestal rocked. Wei flinched, stumbled, and bumped straight into it.The amulet tumbled, hit the stone floor, and shattered with a sharp crack.
A blast of dark energy exploded outward. Wei was thrown back against the wall, dust raining down from the ceiling. When the smoke cleared, a figure stood where the amulet had been.
It was towering and ethereal. His long black hair whipped in the unseen wind, and his sharp features seemed carved from shadow and fire. His eyes burned like smoldering coals.
Wei's breath caught.
"Oh… oh no."
The figure clutched his chest, his voice rumbling like thunder.
"You…" His glare pinned her in place, fury rolling off him in waves. "You broke it!"
Wei's heart hammered. She scrambled backward on the floor, her palms scraping stone.
"I…I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"
The demon lord roared, his body flickering with streaks of crimson energy.
"Foolish mortal! Do you know what you've done?"
He lunged, shadows trailing from his hands like claws. Wei screamed, blindly groping for anything to defend herself. Her fingers closed around a shard of the broken amulet, still glowing faintly warm. Without thinking, she swung it at him.
The shard flared with sudden light. The demon lord's body jolted, his aura collapsing inward as if torn apart. He gasped, staggered, and let out a strangled cry before falling hard to his knees.
The blazing figure dimmed. His fiery aura shrank and flickered out, leaving behind a man who was still striking, with sharp cheekbones and long dark hair, but now a vulnerable human.
Wei froze, chest heaving. The shard still pulsed in her trembling hand. A faint warmth crawled up her arm, seeping into her skin, but she didn't notice it. The temple fell silent again, except for the shallow sound of his breathing.
The man shifted, his expression dazed. His lips parted, a whisper escaping.
"Who… am I?"
Wei's mind went blank with panic. What was she supposed to say? A stranger had just exploded out of an amulet! And before she could stop herself, the words tumbled out:
"You're… my boyfriend! Don't you remember?"
The man's dark lashes fluttered. His coal colored eyes softened with confusion and then, to her shock, he nodded faintly, a thread of fate knotted under neon skies and the gaze of temple guardians.
"…Your… boyfriend." He repeated, as if trying the words on his tongue.
Wei swallowed hard, her hand still clutching the glowing shard. The last thing she heard before the night swallowed them was the faintest whisper in the wind, almost like laughter.