Croissant

He had only spaced out for a moment and realized he was such a shameless pervert who got worked up by a pretty face. When he came back to himself, why had Shen Rui'an turned back into how he had been when they first met?

Su Tingbai felt somewhat uncomfortable. Why had Shen Rui'an suddenly become so distant toward him again?

Su Tingbai could not quite put a name to what he was feeling. He only felt like it was a little hard to breathe.

"This is a latte. I made it for you. Want to try it?" Su Tingbai adjusted his mood and asked gently.

He sounded so cold. Did he suddenly have a problem with him? Then again, he was just a sickly burden. It was only because Grandpa Su had insisted that Su Tingbai had taken on such a burden. Who could really like a burden? Shen Rui'an mocked himself inwardly.

His gaze dimmed. Holding the latte in both hands, he forced out a polite smile that would not seem rude. "Thank you."

So fake! Su Tingbai did not understand why Shen Rui'an had suddenly become like this again. He was not someone who kept his mouth shut, so he asked directly, "Are you in a bad mood?"

"No." Shen Rui'an turned his face away and lowered his lashes, refusing to look at Su Tingbai.

"Then why do you look so..." Su Tingbai could not find the right word. Was he supposed to say, why had Shen Rui'an suddenly become so cold toward him?

"So cold." Su Tingbai suddenly cupped his face in both hands. He found that Shen Rui'an's face was not even as big as his palm. It was fair, soft under his fingers, and thin—but not thin enough to look gaunt. There was still a little flesh on his cheeks, enough that they did not feel bony against his hand.

He gently turned Shen Rui'an's face toward him and made him meet his eyes. Looking at him seriously, he asked word by word, "Did I do something wrong? Tell me, and I'll fix it."

Shen Rui'an lowered his eyes and puffed out his cheeks, still a little angry. Though he did not know what exactly he was angry about, he was angry anyway, and Su Tingbai was still asking!

"I said no." There was not the slightest bit of credibility in his words.

Liar!

Su Tingbai frowned. "Liars are puppies!"

"Woof!"

That bark suddenly shattered the quiet atmosphere. The two of them looked toward the sound and saw that Baisui had somehow woken up and climbed to the third floor. The little dog was panting with his tongue hanging out, barking at them.

Three floors really were a bit too much for a puppy like Baisui. The stairs were rather tall, and no one knew how he had managed to climb up.

Dogs could not take elevators.

"The puppy's here." Shen Rui'an pressed his lips together, wanting to laugh but not daring to. Come on, he was still angry!

Wouldn't it be embarrassing if he laughed now?

Su Tingbai noticed that Shen Rui'an seemed to be in a much better mood, so he pressed his advantage. "Then why were you angry just now? Tell me, okay?"

Seeing Su Tingbai speak so humbly made Shen Rui'an wonder whether he had misunderstood him. His mouth was no longer quite as stubborn as before as he huffed, "You were mean to me just now, so I got angry."

Huh? A huge question mark appeared over Su Tingbai's head. When had he been mean to him?

Heaven above! He had only spaced out for a moment!

He hurriedly explained, "I wasn't being mean to you! I've been wronged!"

"Hmph! I saw it. I asked whether that latte was for me, and you didn't answer. Your expression was so fierce, so impatient!"

Cats were creatures that pushed their luck. Once they realized they were cherished by humans, they would proudly raise their chins, show off their noble claws, claim their humans' territory as their own, and patrol it with elegant cat steps.

Shen Rui'an was the same right now, spoiled and willful.

Su Tingbai did not realize that Shen Rui'an was getting increasingly brazen with him. Instead, he felt relieved that Shen Rui'an had graciously explained why he was angry.

"It wasn't like that. I was just distracted for a moment. I'm just the kind of person who..." Su Tingbai thought for a while before finally finding an excuse he had originally refused to acknowledge. "Grumpy Face Syndrome. Yes, that's it."

He looked at Shen Rui'an carefully, watching closely to see whether he was still angry. When he noticed that Shen Rui'an's expression had softened considerably, he somehow felt relieved. "Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Once Shen Rui'an learned that he had not done it on purpose, he huffed generously and stubbornly said, "I wasn't angry to begin with!"

Shen Rui'an could not resist sneaking another look at Su Tingbai. He found the man exceptionally handsome. He looked rather fierce whenever he did not smile, like some kind of villain, but with a smile in his eyes now, he instead looked like a silly, guileless big dog.

He was a little annoyed at himself for being so sensitive. Only then did he belatedly feel embarrassed, so he simply stopped looking at Su Tingbai, completely forgetting how intimate their actions had been just moments ago.

Su Tingbai had no other thoughts right now. He only wanted Shen Rui'an to be happier. He held up the croissant ingratiatingly. "I made this croissant. It has filling. Try it."

He had made salted egg yolk lava croissants. The salted egg yolks had been mashed finely and mixed with cream, white sugar, and other seasonings, so they did not taste only of salted egg yolk. There was also a hint of milkiness, giving them a mildly sweet and salty flavor that was not as cloying as pure sweetness.

"You're not allergic to eggs, right? Try some?" Su Tingbai picked up a croissant for him and asked cautiously.

Shen Rui'an huffed and glanced at him before nodding reservedly. He picked up the croissant and took a small bite. Since he had bitten into the horn and had not reached the egg yolk filling yet, all he tasted was the crisp, savory croissant with its milky fragrance.

It was delicious!

Shen Rui'an's heart was won over by Su Tingbai's croissant. His initially cautious taste turned into hearty bites. Opening his mouth wide, he took a big bite and finally tasted the egg yolk sauce. The sweet-and-salty molten filling elevated the croissant's plain, one-note flavor and added depth to it, making it impossible to stop eating.

"Try the coffee too." Su Tingbai picked up the latte and held it to Shen Rui'an's lips. Seeing Shen Rui'an's satisfied expression, his heart felt like a balloon filled with air, inexplicably content.

Shen Rui'an held the croissant, which was nearly half the size of his face, in both hands and did not want to put it down. So he tilted his head slightly, and Su Tingbai brought the latte closer to his mouth. Shen Rui'an parted his rosy lips, caught the straw between them, and took a small sip of coffee.

The rich coffee entered his mouth. It was not as bitter as Shen Rui'an had imagined; instead, it carried a faint milky fragrance. Thinking it tasted rather good, Shen Rui'an took another sip.

His peripheral vision swept over Su Tingbai's iced Americano. "Um, I want to try that too."

Su Tingbai immediately brought over the iced Americano. There was ice in it, and he thoughtfully reminded him, "It's very cold. Are you sure?"

To Shen Rui'an's ears, that was no different from refusing him. Whenever the Shen Household did not allow him to eat so-called junk food, they would also explain its dangers beforehand, making him reject it himself.

But his parents were not here right now. No one could control Shen Rui'an, so he pouted. "Of course I want some!"

Then he leaned over Su Tingbai's iced Americano and took a sip.

So bitter!!!

Shen Rui'an scrunched up his little face and swallowed it with difficulty, then said in utter disgust, "I don't like it! Take it back!"

How was that any different from drinking traditional medicine?

Shen Rui'an remembered those unbearably bitter herbal medicines. Looking at the iced Americano, he felt that it was not much different from them. Oh, except herbal medicine was hot, while this was cold.

Su Tingbai laughed and quickly handed him the latte. "Drink this. The one with milk tastes better."

Shen Rui'an did not refuse. He took a huge gulp, then bit into the croissant before finally suppressing the bitter taste.

The two of them had made up again.

Baisui looked at one, then the other. His little head could not make sense of the nonsense his two owners were saying, so he eagerly circled around their feet, his tiny tail wagging furiously.

Su Tingbai found Shen Rui'an so lovely he could practically eat him. He lifted his coffee and took a sip, then paused as his gaze fell on the cup.

Just now, Shen Xiaoyao seemed to have drunk from this spot...

Su Tingbai could not help licking his lips.