A Heart-fluttering Encounter on BTC Sugar Dating After the Comeback

Jason clutched a crumpled brown paper bag and stood before the glass doors of the office building. Morning light refracted coldly through the revolving doors as he stared at the A4 sheet of paper pasted on them. The words “liquidation notice” blurred before his eyes. From the elevator hall came the rumbling sound of the cleaning lady pushing her cart. He counted the steps as he descended, the click of his leather shoes against the marble echoing like his pounding heart.
 
That night, Jason lined up six cans of beer on the dining table, paired with a frozen pizza reheated in the microwave. On the TV, a financial news anchor talked about fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market. He gulped down the icy liquid, suddenly remembering a coworker’s mention of “virtual currency investments” during a department dinner before his job loss. Bathed in the blue moonlight, the beer bottles seemed to glow. On a whim, he opened his laptop and registered for his first cryptocurrency trading account.
 
Three months later, in the dead of night, Jason stared at the numbers flickering on his phone screen, his throat tightening. The zeros after his account balance outnumbered his total earnings from the past decade combined. The cold coffee in his cup reflected the exhaustion in his eyes. He closed all trading windows and absentmindedly scrolled through a dating app until a photo made him catch his breath—a girl wearing pearl studs, holding a cappuccino, her eyelashes shimmering through the steam like the morning mist he’d seen in Venice.
 
Nora’s profile read, “Art curator seeking someone who understands Chopin.” Jason stared at the blinking cursor in the chat box, typing and deleting his message three times before finally sending, “I heard the milk foam on a cappuccino has to be precisely 3 millimeters thick?” The moment he hit send, he realized he hadn’t felt this nervous over a message in ages.
 
At 2 a.m., his phone vibrated. Nora sent a photo of the latte art on her desk, a heart shape rimmed with cinnamon powder. “Professional verdict: You, an amateur, got it right,” she wrote. Their conversation flowed from coffee to opera, from cryptocurrencies to the Renaissance. Jason found himself secretly replying to her messages during meetings and poring over every photo on her social media late at night, admiring the way she beamed in front of Parisian museums.
 
For their first video call, Jason shaved and ironed his shirt collar to a perfect crisp. Nora’s voice came through the screen, carrying a faint scent of sandalwood. “You know, your eyes light up when you talk about Ethereum smart contracts,” she said. He felt his cheeks burn and reached for his coffee cup, only to hear her playful laugh. “Careful not to burn yourself, investment prodigy.”
 
They decided to meet in Central Park during cherry blossom season. Jason arrived half an hour early and paced by the fountain, crumpling the coffee bean package in his arms. A spring breeze carried the scent of cherry blossoms and, faintly, lilies of the valley. He looked up to see Nora walking towards him, her feet brushing against the carpet of pink and white petals. She wore a cream-colored knit dress that seemed to melt in the sunlight, her pearl studs catching the rays. The daisies in her hand bent slightly from how tightly she gripped them.
 
“For the man who discovered the coffee secret,” she said, thrusting the flowers into his arms. Their hands brushed, and both blushed deeply. In his haste, Jason tried to tuck a flower behind her ear but accidentally dislodged a strand of her hair, which fell gracefully onto her collarbone like a silvery thread.
 
As they strolled along the lake, Jason couldn’t help stealing glances at her profile. Nora regaled him with a story about an artist who insisted on covering an entire exhibition hall with moss, nearly attracting a colony of lost snails. Jason laughed until tears welled in his eyes. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind carried her silk scarf towards the water. Jason instinctively lunged forward, grabbing one end just as she did. Off-balance, they tumbled towards each other, and he instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist. His warm breath brushed the top of her head as she let out a soft, startled gasp.
 
Seated at an outdoor café, the waiter brought two espressos. Nora suddenly reached out, her fingertips hovering near his lips. “You’ve got some foam,” she said. Jason’s heart raced as he watched her wipe the foam off and smear it on the edge of her cup, drawing a lopsided heart. “You feel more… real in person,” she blurted out, her ears turning cherry red. “I mean… more vibrant.” She quickly took a sip of coffee, choking slightly. Jason handed her a napkin, his fingers grazing her warm cheek.
 
As the setting sun turned the lake into liquid gold, Jason walked her to the subway. At the top of the stairs, Nora turned, her eyes sparkling like stars. “Next time, I’ll take you to a secret exhibition. Only coffee and blockchain enthusiasts are allowed,” she said, pulling out a hand-drawn map stained with coffee rings. “Keep this safe.” As he took the map, her fingers curled gently around his palm, sending a shiver down his spine.
 
He watched her disappear into the crowd, only then noticing the coffee bean package in his hand was soaked with sweat. His phone buzzed with a new message: “Today’s coffee was way too sweet.” Under the soft glow of the streetlights, Jason typed back, “My bad. I added too much spring.” As he sent the message and looked up at the night sky, he realized that this unexpected rise to success was nothing compared to the preciousness of meeting someone who made his heart skip a beat.