Chapter 7: Coffee Ambush (and an Uninvited Audience)
1115 Words
Zhao Sera believed in many things: karma, the healing power of grapes, and the absolute necessity of forcing awkward people into coffee shops until romance happened.
Which was why, the very next morning, she stood in line at Café Étoile, bouncing on her heels like a caffeinated rabbit.
“Step one,” she whispered, glancing at her phone. “Bribe the barista. Step two: lure Zhao Ling with the promise of her favorite caramel macchiato. Step three: shove Lin Han into the same café and—bam! Love sparks. Genius.”
The system chimed in her head.
[Reminder: Subtlety.]
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s subtle.”
[You bribed the barista with concert tickets.]
“…Subtle enough.”
Sera’s plan unfolded perfectly. Zhao Ling arrived first, drawn by Sera’s carefully timed text: “Sis, emergency. I need emotional support. Meet me at Étoile. Bring your elegance.”
Ling sat gracefully at a corner table, scanning the menu with quiet suspicion. “Sera, what’s the emergency?”
“Existential crisis,” Sera said solemnly, sipping her iced latte. “Also, your eyeliner looks amazing.”
Ling narrowed her eyes. “You’re up to something.”
“Nooo,” Sera said, stretching the vowel like a suspicious child.
And then—on cue—Lin Han entered. Tall, sharp, carrying that aura of I hate small talk, don’t sit near me.
Sera waved furiously. “Lin Han! Over here! What a coincidence!”
He looked like he’d rather face a boardroom coup than this, but he came over. Ling straightened, mask of composure snapping into place.
Sera grinned, gesturing at the chair across from Ling. “Sit, sit! Look at this—two chairs, one table, destiny at work!”
Lin Han hesitated, but eventually sat. The tension was so thick you could butter bread with it.
Sera beamed. “Great! I’ll just… go grab some napkins.”
She darted away—and promptly crouched under the counter, peeking from behind a plant.
At the table, silence reigned.
Ling stirred her coffee delicately. Lin Han studied the latte art like it was a corporate merger.
Finally, Ling spoke. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I was nearby,” Lin Han replied stiffly.
“…Were you?”
“No.”
Silence again.
Sera facepalmed under the table. Are you kidding me?! That was your chance to banter! Say something flirty! Say anything!
Instead, Lin Han cleared his throat. “Your… caramel macchiato. It’s the same order as last year.”
Ling blinked. “You remembered?”
He nodded once, avoiding her gaze. “Of course.”
Ling’s hand paused over her cup. Her eyes softened, just slightly.
Sera bit her knuckle to keep from squealing. Yes! Progress! Emotional breakthrough! This is it!
And then—
“Miss Zhao.”
Sera froze. That voice wasn’t supposed to be here.
She turned slowly, dread pooling in her stomach.
And there he was. Jin Victor. Standing at the café entrance like a tall, immaculately dressed thundercloud.
❄️ Victor ❄️
From Victor’s point of view, the last 24 hours had been… irritating.
He had never cared for tabloids, but when his secretary showed him the headlines—his name splashed alongside Zhao Sera’s, her wide eyes frozen mid-blink—something inside him shifted.
Irritated. Possessive. Uneasy.
Victor was not a man given to impulsive thought. Yet every article, every whispered rumor only fueled the strange pull she had over him.
Zhao Sera. Foolish, loud, completely lacking subtlety.
And yet, impossible to ignore.
So when his driver mentioned she’d been spotted near Café Étoile, Victor found himself detouring. “Just a glance,” he told himself. “To confirm she hasn’t caused more trouble.”
Instead, he walked in on her crouching behind a potted plant, spying on her sister and Lin Han.
Unbelievable.
“Victor!” Sera squeaked, springing up like she’d been caught stealing cookies. “Fancy seeing you here. Haha. Ha.”
Half the café turned to stare.
Victor’s gaze dropped to the plant behind her. “Are you… hiding?”
“Of course not!” Sera scoffed, brushing leaves off her hair. “I was, uh, appreciating nature. Indoor gardening. Very soothing.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You’re meddling again.”
“I’m not meddling, I’m… facilitating destiny. Totally different.”
Before he could respond, Ling looked up. “Victor.”
Lin Han’s jaw tightened. The air between the three men (well, two men and one panicking grape enthusiast) crackled like a storm.
Victor inclined his head politely to Ling, then turned to Lin Han. “I see you’ve been… occupied.”
Lin Han’s eyes narrowed. “And you?”
“Just passing by.” Victor’s tone was neutral, but his gaze flicked back to Sera, sharp enough to pin her in place.
She flailed. “Okay, everyone chill! It’s just coffee! No need to make it sound like a corporate espionage scandal!”
But the damage was done. Ling rose gracefully. “I should return to the office.”
Lin Han stood too. “I’ll escort you.”
And just like that, the original leads walked out together—progress ruined by a human glacier cameo.
Sera collapsed back into her seat, groaning. “Why, universe, why? I had them right there!”
Victor sat across from her, uninvited. “Because your methods are foolish.”
Sera glared. “Excuse me? I had them bonding over coffee! They were so close! And then you barged in like a walking ice sculpture.”
He leaned back, calm and infuriatingly composed. “If their bond is so fragile, it was never real.”
“Wow.” She pointed a finger at him. “You’re officially banned from all future coffee ambushes.”
Victor’s lips twitched, almost a smile. “Try to stop me.”
Later that night, Sera flopped onto her bed, sulking.
The system chimed.
[Mission Progress: +10%.]
Sera bolted upright. “Wait. Plus ten?! But they left early! They barely talked!”
[Observation: Lin Han insisted on escorting Zhao Ling. Emotional concern registered.]
Sera gasped. “He likes her so much he turned into her Uber? That’s adorable!”
The system beeped in what she swore was exasperation.
Meanwhile, across the city, Victor stood by his office window, scrolling past yet another gossip post about him and Zhao Sera.
His assistant asked cautiously, “Shall I release a clarification, sir?”
Victor’s thumb hovered over the screen—her face staring back at him from the tabloids.
“…No.” His voice was cool, decisive.
The assistant blinked. “No?”
Victor’s eyes darkened, unreadable. “Let them talk.”
- Writer
