[There was cake too! Someone spotted it!]
[Oh my god, now I've really seen everything...]
That bit of gossip made business at the café explode at noon.
Especially sales of the cream cake squares.
After a busy day, Yan Heqing finished work and headed home. The sky was already dark by early evening. Beside him, Lu Group headquarters towered, imposing and brightly lit. Its top floor overlooked the entire city center, seeming to hide among the pitch-black clouds, impossibly out of reach.
Yan Heqing looked away.
He could not be sure of Lu Lin's attitude toward him, but at least it was not too bad, and he had left quite an impression.
Otherwise, Lu Lin would not have come to the café and bought a cream cake he did not like.
In the original novel, Lin Fengzhi first kissed Lu Muchi on Lu Lin's birthday. Lin Fengzhi had made a strawberry cream cake tower himself and dressed as a deliveryman to take his heartfelt gift to Lu Group.
The result-
The receptionist smiled politely. "Sorry, President Lu doesn't know this Mr. Lin."
Lin Fengzhi pushed up the brim of his cap, his voice urgent. "No, I know... Mr. Lin really does know President Lu. Could you call again to check? This is a birthday present from Mr. Lin for President Lu!"
The receptionist gave him an apologetic smile. "We've already checked with the secretarial office. President Lu really doesn't know him. Please leave."
Biting his lower lip, Lin Fengzhi suddenly ducked his head and charged inside. Just as he reached the elevators, several security guards rushed over, stopped him, and hauled him out of Lu Group.
Lin Fengzhi was furious. "I'm going in! Let go of me!"
The guards dumped him outside the entrance and warned him, "Cause any more trouble and we'll call the police."
Of course Lin Fengzhi was not going to listen. He had made this strawberry cream tower especially for Lu Lin, and he had to deliver it. He was about to charge in again when someone caught his arm. "My uncle doesn't eat cream cake. Don't waste your effort."
At that familiar voice, Lin Fengzhi froze. He turned and met Lu Muchi's gaze, his face flushing scarlet as he began to stammer. "Y-you, how did you..."
Lu Muchi looked worse than if he were crying. "I'm not lying. In all my life, I've never seen my uncle eat cream cake."
Hearing this, Lin Fengzhi no longer cared that Lu Muchi knew about his
secret crush
. He angrily knocked Lu Muchi's hand away. "Just because he didn't eat it before doesn't mean he won't grow to love it. Once he's tried it, he'll definitely like it!"
Lu Muchi stared at him. "Are you talking about the cake, or yourself?"
Lin Fengzhi's face reddened further. He puffed out his cheeks and refused to answer in his anger.
Lu Muchi's anger surged. He snatched the strawberry tower away. "Fine, I'll deliver it for you." He pulled Lin Fengzhi into Lu Group.
With Lu Muchi there, no one stopped them this time.
They took the elevator straight to the top floor. Lu Muchi said coolly, "Stay behind me, and don't say a word."
With Lu Lin just moments away, Lin Fengzhi's heart pounded. He nodded obediently. "Got it."
Seeing him like this, Lu Muchi nearly went mad with jealousy. Ignoring the secretary's greeting, he walked to the president's office and knocked. "Uncle, it's me."
"Come in."
At the sound of Lu Lin's voice, Lin Fengzhi's legs began to weaken. He especially loved Lu Lin's voice, deep and magnetic. I want to hear Lu Lin say my name so badly! Lin Fengzhi thought, his face flushed.
They pushed open the door and entered a spacious, simply furnished office.
Lu Lin was working at his desk, typing without looking up. "What is it?"
Lu Muchi stepped forward and set down the strawberry tower, forcing a smile. "Uncle, it's your birthday today. You're not going home or having a birthday party. How dull is that? I made you a cream cake."
Lin Fengzhi quietly raised his eyes, stealing a glance at the unsmiling man nearby.
Seeing Lu Lin's blade-sharp jawline, he began swooning again.
He's so handsome from every angle!
"If you've got nothing to do, go visit your father." Lu Lin did not look at the strawberry tower.
Lu Muchi had known what would happen. "I made it myself..." He glanced at Lin Fengzhi out of the corner of his eye. "Uncle, do me a favor and have a few bites."
Lu Lin pressed the intercom. "Come in."
The secretary entered at once. "What can I do for you?"
"The cake is for afternoon tea." Lu Lin kept his eyes on the document. "Take it away and share it."
Lin Fengzhi went cold all over. His eyes followed the secretary as he watched helplessly as the strawberry tower he had spent a whole day making with love was carried away.
That night, Lin Fengzhi drank himself into a stupor, mistook Lu Muchi for Lu Lin, and kissed him passionately for half an hour. They even nearly got carried away and ended up in bed.
Snow began drifting down again, mixed with icy rain. Yan Heqing calmly opened his umbrella and walked toward the subway station.
At that moment, hidden away on Lu Group's top floor, Lu Lin heard the rain and turned to look toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A dark, murky expanse lay outside. It was pitch-black.
Lu Lin looked away and glanced to the left of his computer, where a cream cake square waited quietly.
He recalled the conversation he had overheard while passing the break room at noon.
"The cake squares are just okay, but one of the servers is so handsome! If he weren't so young, I'd definitely go for him!"
"Yes, yes, the tall, beautiful one with fair skin! Ah, what a fresh, radiant beauty. If I had money, I'd marry him and put him on a pedestal at home! Keep him all to myself to admire!"
"Not me. I like fresh meat. But when I asked for his WeChat, that young cutie turned me down! Boo-hoo, what's wrong with dating an older woman? An older woman knows how to pamper you..."
Lu Lin picked up the cream cake square. After sitting there all day, the cream had sagged a little. He opened the box and scooped up a spoonful.
He put it in his mouth. A faint cream flavor lingered on his tongue, not as fragrant or sweet as yesterday.
Eighteen. Very young indeed.
On Friday morning, Yan Heqing went for a haircut. It had been so long since his last one that his hair had grown a little long.
He did not have it styled, only trimmed a few centimeters shorter.
The shop was by the entrance to his residential complex. The owner was a middle-aged woman whose smile made her look especially prosperous. A wash, cut, and blow-dry cost only ten yuan. She said with a smile, "I've run this shop for over thirty years, and this is the first time I've seen such a nicely shaped head. Were you born with it, or did your parents shape it by positioning you while you slept?"
Accepting QR-code payments incurred fees, so the owner had not enabled them and took cash only. Yan Heqing pulled a fifty-yuan note from his pocket and handed it over. "I'm not sure either."
The owner put it away and lowered her head to find his change. "Ask your parents when you get home. I'd like to help my granddaughter sleep her way to a pretty, round head too."