The elevator broke down, and she collided with him, clutching her hot milk tea. He smelled faintly of beer, but the first thing he did was pull out a piece of fruit candy. "Suck on this. It'll keep you awake." Only later did she learn that this man was Li Hedong, captain of Deyun Society's Second Troupe: steady as a rock when commanding the stage, a protective big brother offstage who secretly brought his teammates hot congee. More surprising still, the neighbor she always called "Brother Li"...
That elevator encounter was only the beginning. Li Hedong's key ring had the same little panda charm as Xie Jin's, and his phone wallpaper was a photo of the two of them with handwritten letters. Then Li Hedong stumbled upon the "Jin-Dong Theme Wall" in her milk tea shop, filled with fans' instant photos and recordings of Jin-Dong's iconic moments. On the back of one photo, someone had written: "Master Xie says this girl's milk tea is even better than the pear soup he used to make for his master."
He went from "picking up milk tea while I'm passing by" to "openly waiting around for her," from "my junior brother always says your milk tea is sweet" to "my master says your 'Cloud-Floss White' is lovely." The tenderness tucked inside a cup of milk tea gradually spread through the everyday warmth of the whole building. Xie Jin would show up with his birdcage to "inspect the place," pretend to complain that her milk tea was too sweet, then turn around and stuff a box of nougat into Li Hedong's hands. "For your partner. Don't tell him it came from your master." Li Hedong's ears turned red, but he folded the candy wrappers into little squares and tucked them into his wallet. "My master dotes on you. I dote on you even more."
There's no melodrama in this story, only cicadas chirping in the hutongs, condensation on milk tea cups, the clapper cracking on the crosstalk stage, and the "I'm super sweet" Li Hedong hides in "three sugars, no ice."
A sweet, never cloying everyday romance, a mutual devotion tucked inside a cup of milk tea. They're neighbors, teacher and student, and, more than anything, the destined "Dong-Chu."
