Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 130 - 127 Old Cai

Yan Yan returned to Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

She had a class on Wednesday morning, and if she had stuck to her original plan, she would have had a day to rest. But now, as soon as Bao Bao picked her up, he had to rush her off to school to catch up on her graduation design.

"Finally decided to come back, huh?" Bao Bao thought Yan Yan was late because Qi Yi had returned to China and not because she hadn’t planned to come back on time.

"I had no choice, my dear Bao Bao is still waiting for me in Melbourne," Yan Yan didn’t plan to explain in detail why she was a day later than originally planned.

That’s because once she explained she actually made a trip to Shenzhen, she would have to explain the reason. Then, she’d have to spend a whole day talking about all the bizarre things that Jiao had done before, and to clarify Zhifei’s unconventional thought processes.

Yan Yan was a bit pressed for time today.

"Don’t give me that, as if you’re not planning to abandon me and sneak off to Europe for a bit of fun," Bao Bao directly called out Yan Yan’s facade.

"Who told you I’m going to Europe for some fun? As a taken flower like me, if I were to have an affair, I’d have to go to America," Yan Yan retorted against Bao Bao’s claim.

"An affair is an affair, no matter which continent it’s on," Bao Bao continued to banter with Yan Yan.

Both Yan Yan and Meina were very worried about Bao Bao. At first, Meina was inseparable from her, and after Meina left, Yan Yan kept a very close watch on Bao Bao.

Before Yan Yan left for China, Bao Bao had already complained for a while that it felt like being in a detention center.

After Yan Yan returned this time, she felt that Bao Bao, left unsupervised, was still in an okay state. So, in the future, she could consider giving Bao Bao a bit more "freedom."

"How’s the new shop setup coming along? Is everything ready for the opening ceremony tomorrow?" Bao Bao’s coffee shop in China Town was opening tomorrow.

The new coffee shop also had a kitchen.

Apart from coffee, it had a full menu starting from Brunch.

This new shop was originally scheduled to open last month.

Previously, for immigration purposes, Bao Bao was looking for investment projects in Melbourne. He just happened to come across a coffee shop for sale and bought it outright—Bao Bao’s choice was purely a coincidence.

Before opening the first coffee shop, Bao Bao hardly ever drank coffee. It was only after opening the shop that he started to learn about coffee, and he became a certified barista with the SCAE (Speciality Coffee Association of Europe).

Bao Bao had a natural talent for making coffee and was full of creativity. It didn’t take long for him to become one of Melbourne’s most sought-after baristas.

Most baristas begin working with coffee beans after they’ve been processed for roasting.

But now, Bao Bao could handle every stage of coffee preparation, from bean selection to washing, sun-drying, roasting, grinding, and both machine and manual operations. In short, he was truly a master of coffee.

Washing and sun-drying are processes that must be done immediately after coffee beans are harvested, and are usually only carried out by the farmers who grow the coffee.

Without going to the origin, it’s simply impossible to understand the processes of washing and drying.

So, Bao Bao was really dedicated to making coffee his profession.

Bao Bao had won several barista competitions in Melbourne and was planning to participate in the World Barista Championships (WBC) next year.

"Almost there. After your class, come straight to the shop. I need your designer’s eye to see if we need to add any decorative paintings or anything," Bao Bao dropped Yan Yan off at school and then headed straight to the shop.

.........

When Yan Yan got to school, she first had her class, then she went to the studio to rush her design work. By the time Yan Yan arrived at Bao Bao’s shop, it was almost five in the afternoon.

She was a little taken aback upon arrival.

Bao Bao’s shop hadn’t even officially opened yet, but it was already a bit overcrowded.

And they were all stunningly beautiful women. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Occasionally a few good-looking guys would come close, but on a closer look, they were also pretty girls.

If Yan Yan had come as a customer, she probably wouldn’t have found a place to sit.

Yan Yan hadn’t spotted Bao Bao among the crowd at the café until she stepped into the kitchen and found him there, taking his ease.

As Yan Yan came in, Bao Bao was instructing the pastry chef and barista on what to do.

"You haven’t opened yet, have you? What’s going on outside?" Yan Yan was a bit out of the loop.

"I have no idea either. Yesterday, a young girl asked me if the café was hiring part-time baristas. I told her we wouldn’t open until tomorrow and that we would see then. Somehow, that turned into the scene we have now." Bao Bao was as clueless as to what had happened.

"Which girl?" Yan Yan asked Bao Bao.

"The one outside in the purple dress." After Bao Bao said this, he went on to check the quality of the new batch of coffee beans that had come in for the new shop.

"Then you keep busy, I’ll go out and take a look for you." Yan Yan didn’t have a particularly deep understanding of coffee.

When it came to coffee, Yan Yan could only appreciate it as a drink; beyond that, she was pretty much clueless.

Yan Yan planned to find some time for Bao Bao to give her a thorough run-down.

"You continue with your work, I’ll go see what’s happening outside." After speaking, Yan Yan headed out to find the girl in the purple dress Bao Bao had mentioned.

When Yan Yan returned to the front of the shop, she initially didn’t see anyone in a purple dress, so she approached a beautiful woman to ask why they had come over before the café had opened for the day.

Yan Yan learned from the woman that someone had posted photos and messages in Melbourne’s Chinese lesbian community online, saying a single, handsome T was opening a café and inviting everyone to support the opening.

At that moment, the girl in the purple dress came into Yan Yan’s line of sight.

Yan Yan rarely disliked someone, but she really didn’t take a liking to this girl.

A girl who hadn’t even graduated from middle school had been persistently begging Shen Xi to recognize her as a sister. Yan Yan had seen this girl once at Bao Bao’s previous café and had found the girl’s behavior quite odd.

However, Shen Xi was quite nice to the girl. When Bao Bao’s first café had just opened, Shen Xi thought the girl was looking for a part-time job at the café.

Although Chinese students must be at least 16 years old to obtain a work permit in Australia and can work a maximum of 20 hours a week, it’s quite common for local middle and high school students with Australian citizenship to work, starting from the age of 13.

Yan Yan remembered that Shen Xi had even treated the girl to a meal.

Later on, the girl seemed to have moved and went to a farther away high school, so she didn’t visit Bao Bao’s previous café as often.

It turned out she wasn’t interested in becoming Shen Xi’s sister but had other intentions.

But it was all too obvious.

She hadn’t considered Bao Bao’s feelings at all.

Bao Bao had no plans to start a new relationship, and a crowd like this, so eager to show up, would only remind Bao Bao of the fact that she was still reluctant to face Shen Xi’s departure.

While Yan Yan was displeased with the girl, she was also surprised at the number of beautiful women who had shown up.

Is being a lesbian really so commonplace now? Yan Yan found it a bit hard to believe.

Could it be that kids nowadays are treating it as a trend?

But regardless of the reason, Yan Yan’s decision remained the same; she disapproved of the girl’s actions and was determined to send her packing.

"The café isn’t open yet today, and it’s inconvenient to receive everyone. You are welcome to come and support us after we officially open tomorrow." Yan Yan issued the eviction notice.

"Buster hasn’t said it’s inconvenient. Who are you, Old Cai, to say it is?" The girl in the purple dress, who had been some distance from where Yan Yan was standing, retorted directly upon hearing Yan Yan’s announcement.

Yan Yan was momentarily at a loss as she looked at the girl, nearly speechless for a second.

Old Cai?

Even though Yan Yan was just about to graduate with her master’s degree, she was still not quite 22 years old. Was she already being called "Old Cai"?