Early Saturday morning.
Without the pressure of schoolwork, Ye Li should have been able to sleep in.
Yet, as usual, he got up early and made himself a simple breakfast.
After all, sleep was something he could take or leave.
And there was one more thing...
Ye Li was out of money. He needed to find work and earn some.
Looking at the empty refrigerator and his shriveled wallet,
after cursing a certain cabbage head a thousand times, Ye Li pushed open the apartment door.
After changing buses several times, Ye Li finally arrived at his destination,
which was also his workplace for the day: a cafe called Cat Tail.
As he pushed open the cafe door, he was greeted by a pink-haired girl wearing cat ears.
"Welcome, custome... Huh? It's Ye Li."
The moment she saw that it was Ye Li, the pink-haired girl immediately dropped her professional smile.
"You're late today~ Watch out, or I'll tell Marguerite!"
Seeing the mischievous grin on the pink-haired girl's face, Ye Li, unwilling to have his pay docked, decisively used his tried-and-true tactic:
"Diona, I know you're the best. You're going to be a world-famous coffee master someday, after all. You wouldn't make things difficult for an ordinary person like me, someone with no talent for coffee, right?"
Watching Diona's face turn bright red, Ye Li delivered the finishing blow:
"Oh, right. I heard you've been developing several new coffees lately. I can be your taste tester~"
Seeing Ye Li's sincere expression, Diona felt warmth spread through her heart.
Not for any other reason, but because the coffee she made tasted far too awful.
For some reason, any coffee Diona brewed would inexplicably develop a hint of alcohol.
Yet she clearly hadn't used any alcohol or alcohol-containing ingredients in the brewing process.
As a result, not a single person in the entire Cat Tail Cafe was willing to drink Diona's coffee.
This left coffee-loving Diona deeply discouraged.
Of course, some people might wonder.
Would any cafe keep an employee who couldn't make coffee?
Marguerite, the owner, had this to say: "What can I do? She's just too cute~"
Then Ye Li appeared, and under the astonished gazes of everyone in the shop, calmly finished Diona's coffee.
Just as the others cautiously asked Ye Li what he thought,
Ye Li slowly set down his cup, smiled, and said, "I could taste the care in this coffee."
Thinking of that, Diona's face reddened even more. She stammered,
"W-What? Don't think you can use that kind of method to...
Fine. Since you... want to drink it so badly, I'll reluctantly agree~"
With that, Diona skipped away from the scene, leaving Ye Li standing there with a silent smile.
Because of this, the cafe staff treated Ye Li astonishingly well. They all saw him as an exceptionally gentle person.
After all, in their eyes, Diona's coffee was comparable to a weapon capable of slaying gods!
As for Ye Li himself, he felt they were making a fuss over nothing.
It was just a cup of coffee. He had seen things far more terrifying than this!
As night approached, Ye Li finished his work for the day.
Just as he was about to head to the changing room to change clothes, he noticed a "little tail" following him from not far behind.
Seeing a certain pink-haired girl hiding around the corner, Ye Li smiled and walked over.
Meanwhile, Diona was still agonizing over what excuse she should use to invite Ye Li to taste her new coffee.
Although Ye Li had already said that morning that he could be her taste tester, Diona still found it hard to ask.
After all, who knew whether he had merely been polite?
Just as Diona hesitated, a voice sounded above her head.
"Diona, so you were here."
Faced with Ye Li suddenly appearing beside her, Diona jumped up like a startled cat with its fur standing on end.
"Meow~!"
Seeing Diona's flushed face, Ye Li stopped teasing her and got straight to the point.
"Diona, I'm a little thirsty after working all day. Could I trouble you to make me a cup of coffee?"
The moment she heard someone was willing to let her make coffee for them, Diona's eyes brightened considerably.
But then she suddenly remembered that this person had just embarrassed her.
So Diona deliberately turned her head away haughtily. "Hmph~ I'm very busy too, okay? How could I possibly have time to make coffee for you..."
Diona's words nearly made the male employee wiping the tables beside them laugh out loud.
Very busy?
Did her idea of being very busy mean spending the entire day as the cafe's mascot while accepting snacks from young ladies?
As far as he could tell, he didn't know whether Diona was busy, but she was definitely full.
Meanwhile, perhaps remembering that Ye Li was the only person in the entire Cat Tail Tavern willing to taste her coffee, Diona hurriedly added,
"O-Of course, if you absolutely insist on drinking it, it's not like I can't..."
"I knew Diona was the kindest and cutest. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to make coffee for me." Ye Li clasped his hands together and smiled.
"You!" Diona's face instantly turned red. She quickly spun around and headed toward the counter. "Just wait, it'll be ready soon!"
Ye Li watched the pink-haired catgirl standing on tiptoe atop a chair, diligently making coffee, his face full of indulgent affection.
Even he didn't know why he felt this way about Diona.
Perhaps... she reminded him of another interesting little cat?
Ye Li thought.
In this peaceful era, had that little cat fulfilled her wish...
Did she have enough sunlight to bask in, and enough time to take naps?
Ye Li bid farewell to his coworkers at the cafe and set off for home.
While waiting for the bus, Ye Li also took the time to buy a discounted boxed meal from a nearby convenience store.
Ye Li did not really care about the taste, because he could not taste it anyway. The main thing was that it was cheap.
After enduring the evening rush hour on the bus, Ye Li finally returned home.
Honestly, he did not know whether it was because his body had yet to recover or for some other reason.
A single rush-hour bus ride had left Ye Li physically and mentally exhausted, to the point where it felt even harder to deal with than a Herrscher.
Then Ye Li mocked himself for being too delicate.
After all, compared to Honkai, which could take his life at any moment, rush hour was practically child's play.
Looking at the steaming food on his table and the beautiful urban night view outside the window,
Ye Li felt that everything would head in a better direction, except...
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Ye Li: I have an 8 a.m. class!
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