After spending more than half a month in M City, Manager Liu finally met Jeff at Ding Ding's company.
It was a coincidence, really.
A nearby dessert shop had introduced a cherry blossom cake, delicate and exquisite, and every time Manager Liu passed by, he could see a long line outside.
He had no interest in joining the crowd, but once, when he went to Ding Ding's company to ask for news, he must have carried some of that sweet scent with him, drawing repeated looks from the boy serving tea and water.
Manager Liu had a son who had grown into a little terror, but at three or five, he had been truly endearing, with perfectly round eyes just like this boy's.
Boss Ding really has it good, having such a well-behaved child who will never grow up, Manager Liu thought.
So the next day, Manager Liu got up early, joined the line at the dessert shop, and timed his delivery for the end of the lunch break.
When he arrived, Bai Congming was coming out of Ding Ding's office, bleary-eyed. He paused at the sight of him, then blinked and prepared to wash his hands and make tea.
Manager Liu stopped him.
"H-hello, little fellow. I'm not here to see your boss today. I came to bring you cake."
Bai Congming twitched his nose, catching a trace of dust beneath the cake's sweetness, very faint and weak.
"Cake?" Bai Congming took a step back. "Little Bai doesn't want it."
Brother Ding had said he couldn't just take things from other people.
Quite a few people had been visiting the company lately. Besides customers, suppliers and small factories had also begun coming to seek partnerships.
Perhaps they could tell that the little boy at the company was close