Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
The Café of Worries: Kiss of Black and White
墨書 Inktalez
The night when Lin Xing decided to completely entrust himself to A was just as rainy and cold as the time he had once contemplated jumping off.
As he pushed open the café door, raindrops cascaded from his hair onto the floor. He felt as if he had just emerged from the water, his clothes clinging to his back, and with every step, water squelched out of his shoes. Yet the warmth surging in his chest made his fingertips tingle.
The initial pain and helplessness transformed into a smooth graduation, acceptance letters, and the late but ultimately present love from his parents… These things solidified his choice.
He chose to be taken away by this extraordinary existence, even if the road ahead was unknown—perhaps it led to hell, or perhaps to an absurd place where starlight never reached.
After all, this indifferent world had played a black-and-white film for him for eighteen years; raindrops were thick ink spots, flowers and grass were white, and even the so-called blue skies and clear waters were nothing but unbreakable black. Only on the road composed of black blocks and white spots did the light at the shop entrance stand out as an anomaly.
Orange, warm like melted honey, radiated a fuzzy glow through the rain curtain, even gilding the ink spots that passed in front of it.
As he opened the door, the aroma of coffee surged from the black-and-white space. His gaze fell upon a striking heat amidst the monotony—a person with long rose-red hair casually draped over their shoulder, leaning against the cold counter as they applied bright red lipstick to their soft lips.
“A.”
Lin Xing stepped through puddles, his leather shoes tapping out a hurried rhythm on the ground; each step felt like stepping on his own heart. The moment his fingertips brushed against the man’s warm, delicate skin, all emotions in his frozen mind collapsed like a house of cards.
He cupped that red amidst the black-and-white world, burying his uncontrollable trembling breaths into those soft lips that carried both coffee's aroma and bitterness. The unevenly applied lipstick blurred with rainwater under his inexperienced kiss, reminiscent of blood from their first meeting.
“Devour me.”
Lin Xing met those emerald eyes with reverence, like a devotee gazing upon a deity. Tears mingled with joy that burned against his skin melted into the cold rain.
---
After school, the campus was at its liveliest.
The liberated students waved their backpacks and roared as they left the iron forest that had confined them. As soon as they passed through the security-guarded passage, they could taste a fleeting yet boundless joy of freedom.
In this atmosphere of happiness, the restroom, filled with filth, felt particularly desolate. A few boys in uniforms stood outside the stalls, laughing and joking, while buckets of dirty water poured down from the gaps above the doors. The muffled cries from within only fueled their excitement, adding fuel to the fire of their delight.
Harsh words flowed freely, revealing the malice humans hold for one another at this very moment, even in a place known as the Knowledge Palace. In the shadows where light cannot reach, darkness and evil breed; regardless of age, anyone harboring ill intentions will eventually unleash them in secret.
The first lightning bolt of summer crashed down suddenly, illuminating the restroom for a brief moment. The boys tossed their buckets aside and laughed as they left, fearing that heavy rain might delay their joyful return home. In the aftermath of their chaos, only whimpers remained. As the rain began to pour heavily outside, the school fell silent like a coffin before a stall door finally creaked open.
Lin Xing was drenched, his hair matted with pieces of paper soaked in dirty water. The stench of decay made him look like a creature that had just crawled out of the mud. He had long lost track of where his backpack had been thrown; his phone had been dead for ages, and his abdomen throbbed painfully from being kicked.
Numbly, he walked out of the restroom and slowly stepped through the rain towards the school gate. Black rainwater splashed against the dark ground while the white buildings loomed like stone statues, coldly observing his miserable state. The wind carried their mocking laughter to his ears.
For other students, school dismissal was a release. For him, it was merely a transition from one prison to another—larger, emptier, and darker.
The spring nights arrived early; judging by the vehicles on the road, it was barely eight o'clock. Due to the torrential rain, hardly anyone was out; occasionally, someone rushed by with an umbrella but never stopped to glance at him.
The rain pelted down like ice cubes against his skin, its biting cold seeping through his pores into his bones. Lin Xing's hands and feet were numb from the chill; he didn’t even know how he was moving forward—only able to focus on the black ground beneath him as he walked step by step toward an unfamiliar direction.
He didn’t want to go home. He longed for a place devoid of pain and cold.
The town was small enough that it took just an hour and a half to drive from south to north. Yet it felt vast; a wide river separated him from school, requiring over two hours on foot to cross.
There was a silver lining to the rain—it washed away the grime from his body. Though he was soaked, he could still head toward his desired future with a semblance of cleanliness.
The river was wide, flowing continuously along the edge of the city. On the other side lay hills and roads leading to larger and more vibrant cities. He had been there before; his parents and older brother lived there. They loved towering buildings and bustling crowds.
He had never asked why he had been left behind. After all, someone who hadn’t received a single call in three months would only be seen as someone lacking money if they did ask. The monthly allowance and holiday bonuses sent regularly made Lin Xing feel like nothing more than a dog kept on a leash—just needing enough food and shelter to get by.
His brother was different. The places he wanted to go, the scenery he wished to see, and the things he desired were all meticulously prepared by their parents. The warmth of sharing meals three times a day, the cozy moments spent chatting together at night, and the ever-present smiles of their loving parents captured in his brother's lens.
Lin Xing thought he had long since let go of these memories, only wanting to live his own life. But fate was unwilling to grant him such peace. School, a place filled with countless blossoming flowers, harbored something far more terrifying than darkness.
Those around him could not stand his silence, his wealth, his solitude—everything about him was a target. Parent-less meetings, lonely arrivals at sports events, and weekends spent alone dining or shopping made him an easy victim.
These became reasons for his bullying; after all, those who bullied others had parents to defend them, while tormenting him came without any fear of repercussions.
At first, it was merely being bumped into while walking. Gradually, it escalated to shoving, being hit with books, having ink poured on him from benches, being cornered in dark alleys for extortion, and physical assaults... Now, he could be locked in a bathroom for half a day, treated like a transparent person in everyone's eyes.
The dirty water was foul and cold, but compared to his heart, it was nothing.
He had contemplated many ways to end his life—silent, lonely, or dramatically... Few seemed suitable. He feared pain from a knife and suffering from pills; after much thought, only the cold and rushing river seemed like the best place for him to find peace.
Today’s weather was terrible; heavy rain and wind battered him. He had deliberately left his money behind that afternoon only to be beaten up and kicked in the stomach three times. He skipped two classes that afternoon; he didn’t know if the teacher noticed or cared—he only knew that the rain felt like an enthusiastic applause bidding him farewell.
The path to the river was dark; the pure white streetlights failed to illuminate the world’s darkness or guide his way. There was no one on the road; it felt as if he were the only one left breathing in this world, with everything waiting for his death to complete its final cleansing of the outcast.
Lin Xing was sure he heard the sound of rushing water nearby; the rain made it even more turbulent, like piano keys being struck wildly or someone frolicking in a mountain stream, calling him to join in their distant adventures.
Sudden joy enveloped him at the thought of ending this dark and mundane life—it felt like a gift from God. He quickened his pace; even the raindrops became countless little spirits pushing him forward, encouraging him to walk boldly ahead.
But just as he reached an intersection near the river, something faint and unfamiliar appeared around the bend. It was a lamp hanging at the entrance of a shop, protected by a Copper Round Lamp Shade, flickering with a light that did not belong to white amidst the black rain.
Lin Xing did not recognize colors; having seen only black and white for sixteen years, he had encountered other colors only through words. The golden sun, red flags, blue oceans, green trees... All colors of the world were beyond his imagination.
Yet at this moment, he felt that the lamp before him was yellow—the golden sun described in books. He reached out to touch it; the bulb burned his fingers with a sizzling sound that made him wince in pain but also deepened his obsession.
Yes, the book mentioned that the sun has a temperature capable of burning a person to death...
Lin Xing felt a surge of happiness, glad that he could witness such wonderful things before his demise. Having lived a life in shades of black and white, he found guidance in the light, imagining that even in the river, he could see such a sun leading him to a world free of pain.
Retracting his hand, the flesh that had been burned was already beyond bleeding, the discolored skin still dark and unrecognizable in terms of the depth of the injury. Satisfied to have seen the light, he lowered his gaze and noticed a wooden sign illuminated by it, hand-painted with the name of a café—Worry Café.
Peering through the glass, he saw it was still open. As he observed the uniquely shaped tables and chairs, an inexplicable desire for the coffee inside surged within him. This craving quickly overshadowed his thoughts of ending his life, even forming a pact that compelled him to enter for coffee before making his final choice.
Espresso was bitter yet rich and warm; he had long mastered using the coffee machine at home.
Unable to resist the urge within him, Lin Xing gritted his teeth and pushed open the door, thinking that he still had a phone with battery left to use as collateral. Worst case, he could pay the owner tomorrow before he ended it all.
But at that moment, as he opened the door, Lin Xing froze in place, unable to regain his senses.
The gray concrete floor stretched beneath him, warm yellow light tubes overhead illuminated the space, and there was a silver stainless steel bar counter. Leaning against it while playing on his phone was a Long-haired Man who possessed what Lin Xing considered the most beautiful colors in the world.
Upon hearing Lin Xing's entrance, the man looked up. His beautiful eyes showed a moment of confusion but quickly transformed into a smile as gentle and warm as a breeze blowing in early summer. His voice was magnetic, carrying an air of comfort mixed with danger.
"You finally made it."
Comment 0 Comment Count