Denver took the girls back to Stanley and Meili’s place, after they were all done eating. They walked together in the cold morning, chatting and disturbing the neighborhoods they walked through as they did.

When they got there, Denver looked at Meili as her friends, Pearl and Evelina, got back inside.

«Meili. Can I have your number?»

He asked that out of nowhere. And he was surprised when she agreed, his eyes widening a bit as he took in the sight of her slight blush and pretty smile. He was trying hard to not let his thoughts consume him, she was probably blushing because of the cold and smiling to be nice. But the idea that he made her blush did boost his ego.

After he noted her number, he let her go and immediately messaged her, asking if she would like to hangout, sometime. To which she replied that she would love to. And as he went back to his place, his mind was full of thoughts of how it would go, what she would wear, how she would look. He did not doubt that she would look absolutely gorgeous, but he was still curious.

He shook away the thoughts quickly, realizing that he was thinking like that about the sister of his friend. And, after all, it was just a hangout.

He finally got home. He opened the front door of his small studio, and entered, closing it behind him. Then, he went to his bedroom, quickly changed, and laid down on the mattress of his bed, pulling the covers on top of him. The exhaustion, the soft sheets and the comfortable mattress and pillows, it was enough to make him fall asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, he woke up to a message from Meili. “Hello, loser. Wanna hangout today?”

The message made him smile. He almost immediately answered it, saying that yes, he wanted to hangout.

He then got up and started his day, he stretched first, then took a shower, and dressed up, putting on a simple gray hoodie, and black oversized jeans with his old black Converse shoes. He then had breakfast, a quick one, full of protein, with eggs and fruits. He even did his skincare, which he used to hate doing back to when his mother was forcing him, but now loved. He loved taking a few minutes every morning to take care of himself.

He was having a slow morning, like he loved to. After all, he did not have practice or any classes to attend.

Later that day, he joined Meili at her place.

He was completely in awe, seeing how she looked that day, with her white shorts and her tight white top, her clean white shoes and her milky skin. She looked so fragile, with her soft makeup and her clean, long hair down, falling on her shoulders and back.

He was speechless for a minute. She looked so pretty, and for some reason, attractive at the same time.

He mentally slapped himself at the thought. She was his friend's sister, after all. But he had to admit that she looked really good. She was… pretty. Beautiful, even.

«Hey, Meili…»

He said, trying to sound like he was not just thinking about how pretty she was.

«Did you sleep well?»

She nodded in response, approaching him.

«I did. How about you?»

He nodded too.

«So… there's a new café, near my place. Wanna go there? I've been wanting to go there.»

The conversation felt way more… basic, than the one they had during the night.

But she agreed.

«I have heard of it. Apparently, the coffee there is really good.»

So they went there.

He couldn't get his gaze away from her as they walked together, he was completely lost in his thoughts, but still tried to make the conversation interesting, at least more than the small talk they were just having.

«By the way… why did you want my number?» she asked him.

He was a bit surprised, he did not expect this question. At all.

«Well, I… I think you're pretty. But after spending time with you, Pearl and Evelina… I have to admit, you seem to be nice. Really nice, actually. And interesting. I guess I wanted a chance to get to know you better.»

She smiled as she heard his answer, and nodded slowly.

They got to the café, and Denver offered to pay for Meili. She agreed, a bit embarrassed, admitting that she forgot her wallet at her place.

They were sharing a moment together, and the small talk was finally over. They talked for a while, enjoying a good coffee…

«You’re from Shanghai? Meili asked, a bit surprised. So, you can speak Mandarin?»

He nodded in response.

«Yes. I still speak it with my parents. But I’m not good at writing it, because we moved to America soon after I learned how to write. And, well, now I’m better at English. It's honestly easier, especially since I've been living here for… ten years, I think.
- Did you speak English before you moved to America?»

He shook his head.

«It was a bit hard, at first. But I got used to it.
That's actually really cool…
- I still go to China every year to see my family and celebrate the Lunar New Year. Sometimes, I go see them for the Moon Festival, too!»

Their conversation was nice. They were getting to know each other, and it went way better than Denver would have imagined.

«This is really nice… I would love to travel. I never left California… some day, I'll do a big road trip in the whole United States, and even go visit a lot of countries. Maybe even China!»

She said that as a fact, and Denver couldn't help but to chuckle softly, finding it adorable.

«What country would you want to go to first? he asked, a bit curious about her statement.
- I want to go to France. I heard that Paris isn't the best, but I still want to go there and see a lot of pretty places!»

He nodded again. He was enjoying getting to know her.

In his mind, she was adorable.