Han Ruoruo: Isn't This... Not Good?

The flow of people on the street was even denser than when they had arrived. Sunlight beat straight down from overhead, warming the stone-paved road until it was slightly hot.

Han Ruoruo stood at the shop entrance, both hands holding a small bag of trial-version soundwave Soul Tools she had just bought, her fingers gently rubbing the paper bag's handles.

Her expression looked somewhat complicated beneath the sunlight...

It was not merely the happiness of shopping. There was also a subtle hesitation mixed in, as though she were making a decision but did not know how to bring it up.

"Teaching Assistant Lin." She finally spoke, her voice a little softer than usual and carrying a trace of tentative probing. "There's a café nearby. It's very quiet, and there aren't many people."

"You've been shopping with me all morning... Let me treat you to a cup of coffee."

Lin Ciyan turned his head toward her. The sunlight happened to fall across the side of her face, making the already gentle lines of her features seem even warmer.

Her lashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes. Her nose was straight and delicate, her lips lightly pursed, and the slight curve at the corners of her mouth carried both anticipation and nervousness.

The sunlight filtered into her pupils, turning them a soft light brown.

"Sure," he said.

The café was hidden in a small alley behind the shopping street. Its frontage was small, and when they pushed the door open, the brass bell hanging above it gave a crisp chime.

The lighting inside was dim, and the walls were covered in dark brown wood-grain wallpaper. A tiny candleholder sat lit on every table.

At this hour in the morning, only two or three customers were scattered through the shop, each quietly reading