Cake

The Valentine’s Day chocolate-giving tradition ended in this strange atmosphere of mixed joy and sorrow.

After a brief outburst of emotion, Larkspur quickly composed herself, regaining her usual composure, and silently continued working on the Material Realm from the sofa.

However, just when she thought that today's activities were over and that there would be nothing more to do, she found that Lin Xiaolu and her group were still quite busy, running around near the counter.

Are you cleaning the chocolate-making equipment? But if it's just cleaning, why does it take so long?

Slightly curious, when Bai Jingxuan, one of the three, left the table and passed by the sofa, Larkspur specifically asked, "What are you all going to do next?"

Bai Jingxuan hesitated for a moment when she was called, but seeing that it was Larkspur asking her, she quickly put her hesitation aside and honestly replied, "We're making a cake."

"Cake?"

This answer slightly surprised Larkspur: "You even bought a cake-making kit?"

"Yes, I originally planned to finish making the chocolate this afternoon and then make the cake as well, but it turned out to be much more complicated than I expected."

Bai Jingxuan also showed a hint of fatigue. "So when you came back, Mom, we were still watching videos and figuring out how to do it."

Perhaps because Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang weren't looking this way, Bai Jingxuan immediately called out "Mom." This feeling of doing things behind the other two's backs made Larkspur feel a little strange, but she didn't pay too much attention to it. Instead, she accepted Bai Jingxuan's address as usual and continued to ask:

"Then why did you make this cake today? If you're tired, why don't you rest now and make it tomorrow?"

In her opinion, the reason the three younger girls decided to make a cake was simply because they had bought chocolate-making tools and ingredients, which sparked their passion for handicrafts, and they wanted to challenge themselves with more difficult desserts. Fangting Squad had done this before, so it wasn't surprising.

"It'll be too late tomorrow, that won't work."

However, Bai Jingxuan shook her head and gave a reply that made Larkspur's heart skip a beat, "We need to make the cake today and take it to Xiao Lu's father for his birthday."

"... Huh?" The sudden shock left Larkspur speechless, and she could only express her confusion through sounds.

Then, in an instant, she realized that if what Bai Jingxuan said was true, she seemed to be in a very bad situation.

It's not surprising that these girls know my birthday. After all, I mentioned it to Bai Jingxuan before as Lin Yun. Lin Xiaolu, as my daughter, should theoretically know as well. As for Xia Liang, given her ability to gather information, it was only a matter of time before she found out from the other two.

"Is today his birthday? That's quite a coincidence."

Trying to keep herself calm, Larkspur thought for a moment and asked in a slightly stiff tone, "How do you plan to celebrate his birthday?"

"Sister Xiao Lu said she'd make a cake first and video chat with her dad, then send the cake back to the Material Realm."

Bai Jingxuan didn't notice the imperceptible change in Larkspur's expression and replied naturally, "She already discussed it with the shop assistant yesterday."

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."

Larkspur seemed a little uneasy, glancing at Lin Xiaolu while continuing to feign a relaxed demeanor, "So, will you have time to make the cake today?"

"Hmm... it should be soon, right?"

Bai Jingxuan blinked a couple of times, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I almost forgot, Sister Xiaoliang asked me to come over here to get her phone."

Thinking of this, Bai Jingxuan lowered her head and began searching for Xia Liang's so-called cell phone on the low table next to the sofa.

But Larkspur knew there was no cell phone here at all; after all, she had been sitting there for half a day, and there was clearly nothing on the table next to her.

She couldn't help but look up at the desk, where Xia Liang was busy working with Lin Xiaolu. Xia Liang seemed to notice Larkspur's gaze, so she looked up and winked at Larkspur from a distance.

The Larkspur couldn't help but sigh.

Now she understood everything.

Without a doubt, as the only one among the three juniors who knew about her identity, Xia Liang must have been well aware that things would develop into this situation after learning it was her birthday and that Lin Xiaolu had even planned to make a special birthday cake.

The reason she used such a lame excuse to get Bai Jingxuan to sit on the sofa was because both of them knew that Bai Jingxuan was a good girl and generally wouldn't lie. So, as long as Larkspur asked any question, Bai Jingxuan would definitely ignore Lin Xiaolu's opinion and directly say, "They're making a cake."

In this way, Xia Liang completed her message to herself and also made herself aware of her current situation.

So, what should I be doing now?

After a moment's thought, the Larkspur quickly came to a conclusion: no matter what, she absolutely could not stay here any longer.

"Xiao Xuan."

Having figured this out, she first pretended to answer a phone call, then put on a serious expression and looked at Bai Jingxuan: "I have something to take care of, I might have to go out again, remember to get some rest."

"Oh... um?"

Lifting her head from beside the low table, Bai Jingxuan looked at Larkspur with some confusion. "Going out? It's already so late."

"There's nothing I can do, someone messaged me about something urgent."

Standing up straight from the sofa, Larkspur patted Bai Jingxuan's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as possible."

With that, she left the rest area and headed towards the outside of the viewing room. On the way, she naturally passed by the counter and saw the cake in front of Lin Xiaolu, which was more than half finished.

"Excuse me, something urgent comes up, I have to go out for a bit."

She looked as if something had really gone wrong at work, and said calmly to Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang, "If you're tired, remember to get some rest."

"Huh? Going out now?"

Lin Xiaolu, who had been focused on preparing the cake, couldn't help but look at Larkspur and ask almost the same question as Bai Jingxuan. However, her considerations were different from Bai Jingxuan's. She subconsciously looked at her cake. "Well, this..."

"I heard you're planning to celebrate your father's birthday, right?"

Larkspur nodded, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her. "I think it's great, keep it up, he should be happy."

"Um, um, thank you?"

With a somewhat subtle expression, Lin Xiaolu accepted Larkspur's blessing and pursed her lips. "Um, Larkspur, are you going to take care of something urgent? Like... our cake will be ready soon, why don't you stay a little longer and join us..."

"Feel sorry."

Larkspur put on a slightly regretful expression. "I also think what you did was very meaningful, but I really have something urgent to attend to right now. I'll send him a private message with my blessings later."

Having said that, she gave Lin Xiaolu no chance to try and persuade her to stay, and walked straight towards the door.

After leaving the observation room and walking a distance further, her pace quickened and quickened until finally she was practically running, as if she were fleeing.