Rebirth of the Fashion King

The revolving door of the café was pushed open from the outside.

Liu Yifei stood at the door, the hem of her floral dress fluttering in the wind. She quickly reached out to hold it down (it was a bit short) and then walked inside.

The first floor was already about 80% full.

Things were already quite different from when Li Xun started.

The long table by the window was occupied by a group of students from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Each of them had a book open in front of them, but no one was reading. A boy wearing round-framed glasses was talking about Descartes' deconstructionism, making big gestures that almost knocked over the coffee cup of the girl next to him.

On the right, in the booth area, sat a middle-aged couple with American accents. The husband was reading a newspaper, while the wife was studying a Paris Metro map, tracing the lines on Line 2 with her finger.

A man in a dark gray suit sat on a high stool by the bar, his tie hanging loosely around his neck. He raised his espresso cup to his lips, his eyes fixed on the small TV hanging above the bar, which was showing a preview of the Tour de France, with footage of last year's finish line.

Liu Yifei stood on the first floor for about five seconds.

Her gaze swept from left to right, then back from right to left.

Li Xun is not there.

She took a deep breath.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle."

Alan emerged from behind the bar, carrying a tray with a cup of cream coffee and a croissant on it.

He followed Liu Yifei's gaze and glanced down to the first floor, then looked at her face.

An Asian woman, in her early twenties, who came alone.

Standing at the entrance on the first floor, I didn't immediately look for a seat, but instead looked at the people.

Alan placed the tray on the bar, said "Enjoy your meal" to the uncle watching the Tour de France, and then began to speak.

Are you looking for someone?

Alain's English had a slight French accent, but it was very clear. He had worked at Café de Flore for five years and could tell from the first second a customer stood at the door whether they needed a seat, a menu, or were looking for someone.

"Um."

"Who are you looking for?"

Alan asked another question, this time his gaze lingered on Liu Yifei's face for a moment.

Then he remembered.

a few days ago.

Jack told him something.

That day, Alan was off duty, and Jack was on duty. The next morning, when Alan came to work, Jack was wiping glasses behind the bar and started by saying something like, "I have something to tell you":

"Yesterday Rhine brought an Asian girl to have coffee. She was very pretty, with long hair. She sat in his usual spot on the second floor, and the two of them chatted for a long time."

Alan was pouring coffee beans into the machine when he casually asked, "Girlfriend?"

Jack shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it, but it's probably not just a regular friend, because he even took her upstairs for coffee. You know, the probability of him taking a girl upstairs for coffee is about the same as the probability of him making a mistake in his blueprint."

  

Alan put down the bag of coffee beans and gave Jack a serious look: "Asian?"

"That's right, they sounded like they were speaking Chinese."

……

Now, as Alan looked at the beautiful young Asian woman standing at the door, Jack's description in his mind matched up frame by frame.

Are you looking for Rhine?

Liu Yifei turned to look at Alan, a hint of surprise on her face. She hadn't expected the other woman to directly mention Li Xun's name.

"Yes, I'm looking for Rhine," she quickly nodded and said.

"What is your surname?"

"Liu, Crystal Liu."

"Ms. Liu," Alan nodded and tilted his head slightly towards the stairs.

"He's on the second floor, in his usual spot. He comes here regularly on Wednesdays when he's not busy."

Liu Yifei felt her heart skip a beat.

exist!

He really is there.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, her voice a little softer than before.

Alan stepped aside, making way for her to reach the stairs.

Liu Yifei walked towards the stairwell, and when she reached the corner of the stairs, a voice came from the bar on the first floor.

"Looking for Rhine?"

The one speaking was the uncle who was watching the Tour de France.

"The girl from Rhine."

"Not the one I brought last time."

How did you know?

"The style is different from last time. Wait until she goes upstairs to see."

"Bullshit, this is the one! Little Rhine's spring has arrived? Hahaha..."

Liu Yifei didn't hear the whole thing; she had already blushed and walked up the stairs.

The wooden stairs creaked deeply beneath her feet. There was a mirror at the corner of the stairs, and Liu Yifei quickly glanced at herself in it.

His complexion is normal.

Breathing is normal.

She continued walking uphill.

The second floor is much quieter than the first floor.

There was no television, no students discussing Deshida, and no American tourists studying the subway map.

There are about ten tables on the second floor. The four tables by the window are for two people, the two tables in the middle are for four people, and the booths against the wall can seat six people.

……

Then Liu Yifei saw Li Xun.

He was at the second table on the right side of the second floor, near the window.

It was a two-seater table, but he was the only one there.

He kept his head down, his right hand moving the pencil across the sketchbook, while his left index and middle fingers held the end of the pencil, ready to switch hands at any moment.

On the table in front of him was a half-finished glass of sparkling water and a cup of espresso.

Liu Yifei stood at the top of the stairs, looking at him.

He hasn't found her yet.

He was completely absorbed in the paper.

The sound of the pencil on the paper is very soft.

Liu Yifei stood at the top of the stairs and looked for about ten seconds.

Her heart was still beating, but her breathing had stabilized.

found it.

She took a soft breath and then walked over.

Her shoes made a softer sound on the wooden floor than on the stairs. She walked slowly and with small steps, trying not to make too much noise from the soles of her shoes.

She stopped when she reached Li Xun's table.

Li Xun still did not look up.

His pencil stopped at the end of an arc, he held it up to his eyes to check the length of the lead, and then continued drawing.

Liu Yifei did not call him.

She took her shoulder bag off her shoulder, gently placed it on the corner of the table, and then pulled out the chair opposite her.

The chair legs made a very slight scraping sound on the floor.

Li Xun's pencil stopped.

First he saw a pair of flat ballet flats, then a pair of long, fair legs, then the hem of a floral dress in a very light color, and then a pair of hands resting on the edge of a table...

Li Xun raised his head.

Liu Yifei is sitting down.

Her hair wasn't tied up today; it was loose over her shoulders, and her face looked like it had been carefully made up.

After she sat down, she met Li Xun's gaze.

Liu Yifei did not speak immediately.

Li Xun did not speak immediately.

The two stared at each other for about two seconds.

Then Liu Yifei smiled, her lips curving upwards and her eyes following suit.

"What are you drawing?" she asked.

Her voice was soft, blending into the quiet of the second floor.

Li Xun placed the pencil next to his sketchbook.

Accessories.

"What accessories?"

"Jewelry, necklaces, rings, brooches."

Liu Yifei glanced down at his sketchbook.

The paper contained a sketch of a ring, an octagonal gemstone, a double-ring structure, and miniature diamonds arranged along the band. Next to it was written a line of very small words: ETERNAL.

"Eternal." She looked at the words and read them aloud.

"Um."

"Is that the name of the series?"

"Let's call it this for now."

"nice."

After Liu Yifei finished speaking, she looked away from her sketchbook and looked at Li Xun again.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I came?"

Li Xun picked up the now-cold espresso, glanced at the film of grease at the bottom of the cup, and then put it down.

"How did you know I was at the Flower Goddess Temple?"

"You said last time that you would come to the Flower Goddess if you had time every Wednesday afternoon."

"I remember saying I wouldn't come if something came up."

"So I'm here now." Liu Yifei smiled.

"What if?"

Li Xun looked at her.

What time did you arrive?

"It just arrived."

"Didn't you wait?"

"I didn't wait. I asked downstairs, and the waiter said I was upstairs, so I came up."

After Liu Yifei finished speaking, she put her elbows on the table, crossed her hands, and rested her chin on the back of her hands.

"Actually, I was already prepared for you not to be here."

"and then?"

"Then I'll just wander around the neighborhood, read some books, and wait until six o'clock in the afternoon to see if you'll show up."

"You seem to have my phone number."

Li Xun leaned back in his chair, his left hand resting beside his sketchbook.

"What do you need me for?"

Liu Yifei was stumped by his question.

She paused for a moment, then realized that she really hadn't figured out the answer to that question.

What do you want with Li Xun?

It's nothing.

I just wanted to come.

I woke up on Wednesday morning, thinking that he might be painting on the second floor of Café de Flore, so I changed a few clothes, went out, took a taxi, walked to Boulevard Saint-Germain, pushed open the revolving door, and went upstairs.

I just want to see him.

But she couldn't answer that way.

"Can't I contact you if there's nothing wrong?" she said.

As soon as she said those words, she immediately realized she had been too impulsive, but it was too late to take them back.

"Okay," Li Xun said.

When he said those two words, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but Liu Yifei noticed it.

"You're working," Liu Yifei glanced at his sketchbook, "Would I disturb you?"

"You're already seated."

"I can change to another table, or go downstairs."

"Need not."

Li Xun picked up a pencil, but didn't continue drawing immediately. He closed his sketchbook and put it aside.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked.

"You're treating?"

"Um."

Cappuccino.

Li Xun stood up and walked towards the stairwell. He walked very lightly, and his footsteps made almost no sound on the floor.

Liu Yifei watched him walk to the top of the stairs and shout something downstairs. She didn't quite catch it, but she heard the word "cappuccino."

Then Li Xun walked back and sat down again.

"You seem to know the staff here very well," Liu Yifei said.

"Alan, you've been working here for quite a while."

"Does he know you?"

"He comes almost every Wednesday. We got to know each other even though we didn't know each other before. I even helped him achieve financial freedom. During the 2006 World Cup, he actually believed me and bet on France to lose. Then he filled a sack with money."

"Wow, that's amazing, hahaha..." Liu Yifei couldn't hold back anymore after being stuffed with money in a sack. He found that Li Xun's way of speaking could be quite amusing at times.

"Hmm, besides you, who else comes regularly on Wednesdays?"

"A few regulars: the uncle downstairs who watches the Tour de France, Claude, the publishing editor, Jean-Pierre, the retired professor, the guy in the beret, and a few fans. They come every Wednesday; they call us the 'Wednesday Gang.'"

"Are you a core member?"

"Who said that?"

"I feel..."

Li Xun did not deny it.

"When I was downstairs talking about looking for you, they were all looking at me," Liu Yifei said.

"They like to stir up trouble."

Why?

"Too much money, too much free time."

Liu Yifei laughed, this time making a sound, though not loud, but still a bit abrupt on the quiet second floor.

Those who were nearby glanced up at her, then lowered their heads again to continue typing.

"Should I lower my voice?" Liu Yifei asked in a low voice.

"No need," Li Xun shook his head and said.

"The second floor is never completely quiet."

"That waiter downstairs, he just asked me directly if I was looking for Rhine. How did he know?"

"You've been here before."

"Last time?"

I brought you here a few days ago.

"Wasn't it this person that day?"

"They chat when they change shifts."

Liu Yifei suddenly realized.

"So when he saw you downstairs, he remembered what Jack had said and guessed it," Li Xun said.

Alan came up carrying a tray.

He placed the cappuccino in front of Liu Yifei, and the milk foam on the rim of the cup formed a tulip shape.

Then they gave Li Xun a new cup of espresso and took away the one that had gone cold.

"Thank you, Alain," Li Xun said.

"No need to be so polite, Rhine," Alan said.

Before turning to leave, Alan glanced at Liu Yifei, then at Li Xun, and then her lips twitched slightly. Without saying anything, she walked away.

"He seems to be smiling," Liu Yifei said.

"The French are very nosy, and this is my business. It's the first time I've seen a young woman with me at Café de Flore."

Liu Yifei picked up her cappuccino and took a sip. The milk foam was very smooth, and the coffee was at the perfect temperature—not too hot, not too cold.

She put the cup down, a little milk foam on her lips, which she licked off with the tip of her tongue.

"What were you drawing just now? Can I see it?"

Li Xun took the sketchbook, turned to the page he had just drawn, and handed it to her.

Liu Yifei took it, holding the sketchbook in both hands, looking at it from the front, from the side, and then from a slightly farther distance.

The sketch of the ring features an octagonal gemstone, a double-ring structure, and miniature diamonds arranged along the band, with the words "ETERNAL" written next to it.

"Is this octagonal shape the cap of Chanel N°5?" she asked.

"right."

"A double-ring structure?"

"Yes, the metal ring between the cap and the bottle body, you seem to have done your homework."

"Just a little bit, hehe. And I really like jewelry and perfume. By the way, can this rotate?"

"Can."

Liu Yifei looked up at him.

"You said last time that you weren't a jewelry designer."

"Not now."

"But this..."

"Accessories, accessories derived from the ready-to-wear collection."

"Does a women's fashion designer need to design their own accessories?"

"This series needs it, and I need it too."

Liu Yifei turned to the previous page of her sketchbook.

The sketch of the brooch features a band composed of three parallel lines, with an arc that wraps around the top and a teardrop-shaped diamond hanging down from the bottom of the arc. Next to it, there are dashed lines depicting a hinge structure, with the swing range marked as ±5 degrees.

She liked looking at these manuscripts, especially those drawn by Li Xun.

……

Liu Yifei closed the sketchbook and returned it to Li Xun.

"Do you always ignore everyone when you're drawing?"

"More or less."

"So, did I break your rule today?"

"I had just finished drawing a part when you sat down."

"So I didn't bother you."

"no."

"That's good." Liu Yifei picked up her cappuccino and took another sip.