Chapter Text
The bustle of the café finally managed to divert his attention from his work. The strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the surrounding area. Today, the café seemed more packed than usual. A swarm of students was moving in and out of the place to grab a cup of coffee to get through the day. Even though the wooden partition tried to provide a resemblance of privacy, Yingxing could easily peek over it to observe the café's interior.
Unlike most, he always found a sense of peace in the presence of background noise. Growing up in a household with the tinkering sounds of tools used by his grandpa for crafting, he found the ambient noise to be grounding. After a quick glance around to satisfy his curiosity, he refocused on the work in his hand. The next time Yingxing was pulled out of his thoughts was when a question was asked in the softest voice possible, “Excuse me, can I take the seat across from you?”
The only way Yingxing could describe the person in question is ethereal. Midnight black hair framed a face with a refined, sharp jawline and subtle, defined cheekbones, contributing to an elegant and almost angular profile. Emerald green eyes that held the shifting, luminous quality of sunlight breaking upon a deep sea surface. Beautiful, handsome, charming, name it, Yingxing had the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. But the person currently standing in front of him outweighed every such description.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you, but unfortunately, there are no more seats left.” Breaking out of the trance he had unknowingly fallen into, he simply nodded as an answer. The other person took the seat in front of him without another word, laying down books, notes, and a cup of Longjing tea.
Several questions flooded Yingxing’s mind. It’s true he has always been of a reserved nature and prefers his own company rather than others’ but he has never been left dumbfounded and unable to answer, no matter how short his replies are most of the time. It is also very uncommon for random people to approach him, no matter how desperate, given the way he was currently dressed. Clad in black with a beanie and a mask, he looked more like a shady criminal than an upstanding member of society. Nothing to complain about, though, as it helps him avoid unwanted attention. Unfortunately, he had no way to hide his distinctive crimson eyes; wearing sunglasses inside the café would only attract more attention, something he would very much like to avoid. He can only hope that his ‘new’ neighbour doesn’t notice him too much.
His internal monologue was cut short by a quiet sigh coming next to him. A quick glance revealed a tired, exhausted university student, hunched over his work, balancing his head on one hand while the other fidgets with a pen. It seemed like the other was going to a battle with his assignment, the questions on the paper being his most formidable enemies. Yingxing had no idea what compelled him to speak, maybe it’s pity or nostalgia of going through a similar phase a few years prior.
“ You are using the wrong equation.” Jade met crimson once again, as if asking him to repeat himself.
“The question you are struggling with is written in such a manner that the information given in the first half is utterly useless, and is there just to confuse and waste your time. The real question lies in the second half.”
“ On top of that, you are using the formula of parallax that has nothing to do with resolution. Rather, it is used to find the distance of an object if the parallax angle is given. Parallax angle is the apparent shift in a body’s position observed from two different positions. Here”
Yingxing extended his hand to point out the specific wording in the other’s assignment, a page filled with scribbles after multiple failed attempts at solving.
“It is stated that it’s a ‘binary system’, and the problem is asking you to find the minimum angular separation, not angle suspended, so that you can see them distinguishably. Hence, you have to use ‘Rayleigh’s Criterion’ equation. Do you know that?”
When Yingxing looked towards the raven-haired boy, he could clearly see that the other had absorbed his words, like a dry patch of land getting its first downpour. Jade eyes filled with determination, the boy nodded his head and went back to fight his war, just this time with correct weapons in his hand.
Yingxing lowered his mask to take a sip of his black coffee, now relatively colder than his preferred temperature. He distinctively remembers his own university days filled with deadlines after deadlines, project completion, assignment submission, countless sleepless nights, those were some of his most stressful days. He looked back towards the boy sitting in front of him, too absorbed in his work and just hopes his university days are a little kinder to him than they were to Yingxing.
As if noticing Yingxing’s gaze on him, the raven-haired boy looked up with a small, barely noticeable smile on his face. When Yingxing lowered his gaze, he saw the correct solution staring right back at him. It looks like his ‘disciple’ won the war at last. Unbeknownst to Yingxing, a similar smile graced his face, betraying the pride he was feeling in himself.
“If you don’t mind, can you help me with the other problems too?” Yingxing saw a tinge of pink dusting on his neighbour’s cheek as he asked for Yingxing’s help. The colour only deepen as he continues onwards, “My professor, he would talk about every other useless thing in the class except for the course work.”
Noticing the panicked state of the other, Yingxing decided to lend his ‘expertise’. Even though his background wasn’t in theoretical physics, he still dabbled in it from time to time back in his days. At least those theories are better than reading these contracts to make sure no foul play is present. After reviewing three of them for the past two hours, he could feel a headache slowly cheeping up to him.
“Go ahead, which topics are you struggling in ?” Yingxing turned off his devices, his full focus on the boy asking for his help.
“ Oh! Thank you. Can you just briefly explain to me the principle behind black body radiation?”
Nodding his head, Yingxing tried to recall what he studied a few years prior,” It’s a concept that is used to find the temperature of a body based on the wavelength of the light it emits. The lesser the wavelength is, the higher its temperature is.” Mind filled with various theories and hypothesis that try to understand the rules that govern the universe, neither of them kept track of the passage of time. Only when the ringing of Yingxing’s phone could be heard did they break out of their collective stupor. Seeing the name of the caller, Yingxing picked up the call without any hesitation or excuse.
“Xiao Ying, why haven’t you called me in the last few days? Do you know how worried me and your father have been? I know you are busy with the upcoming projects, but you need to take care of yourself too.”
“I am sorry, Ma. Once I finish tying up these last few loose ends, I will go visit you both. Is that alright?”
“Yingxing, you might think you’re all grown up now, but remember you will always be my baby first. You don’t have to ask for permission to visit us. Rather, you should come visit us more often, your grandpa and Yunli visited us last weekend, and she was asking for you. She was ….”
The soft rustling of papers made Yingxing look towards his neighbour, who was in the process of standing up, trying to be as silent as possible. With a guilty smile, the boy simply nodded at and walked away. Gaze fixed on the back of the boy’s head, his eyes followed him till he walked out of the café’s front door. Yingxing let his gaze roam back to the clock hanging on one of the walls, more than an hour passed since they had started discussing. This was the first time he didn’t realise how much time had passed without his knowledge. The other time he gets so lost is when he’s in his workshop fixated on completing his project before the idea gets lost somewhere in his mind.
“Yingxing ? Yingxing ? Can you hear me ?” his mother’s voice could still be heard from his phone, bringing him back to the present.
“ Sorry, ma, I just got lost in thought.” he apologized, feeling bad for ignoring her.
“It’s okay Ying’er. Take care of yourself and come visit us once you are free. We both love you.”
“ Love you too, Ma.” When the disconnected tone could be heard, he lowered his phone. Talking with her always brings a sort of peace and safety. He relished in the feeling a bit longer, only for the momentary peace to be stripped away from him when he saw his reflection staring back at him from his phone’s now black screen. He didn’t even realise that he had never pulled his mask back up.
He can only hope, even if the possibility is infinitesimal, that the boy was a sheltered one and didn’t recognise him. After all, he likes this café due to its homely ambience and wouldn’t have minded visiting again. But, as everyone knows, nothing in life goes as planned.