Chapter Thirty-Four: A Day and Night's Journey (Part 2)

  "Huh? You're so decisive! I thought you'd be worried about your dessert shop and wouldn't budge even if you were dying, and was thinking of how to kidnap you away!"

  I hummed softly and said with satisfaction: "Now that there are so many people helping in the store, it's not excessive for this pillar to take a few days off and relax."

  "Haha, alright then, it's settled. We'll gather at your place the day after tomorrow. Also, don't forget to tell Xiao Qiao to get prepared."

  I was stunned for a moment: "Is Xiao Qiao going too?"

  "What a waste, such a fun thing, why didn't Xiao Qiao go?"

  "But he has to leave our store..."

  "Alright, stop nagging. You really treat him like an ordinary employee, huh? If you're capable, then give him a salary. If not, then even if Xiao Qiao doesn't come to work every day, you don't have the right to comment..."

  As I heard this, I seemed to see Xiao Yu on the other end of the phone rolling her eyes at me fiercely, and then suddenly bursting out laughing: "...Besides, we're so close with him, such a great opportunity, of course we have to play together!"

  I paused for a moment: "Got it, I'll tell him."

  "This is good, okay, I still need to call A-Qian, tonight I won't come over to your place, that's it, bye!"

  "Alright, goodbye."

  Just put the phone back in his pocket, a low voice suddenly sounded beside him: "It's really should go out to relax, unfortunately your activity I'm not eligible to participate, what a pity."

  I was startled and exclaimed: "You're still here? I thought you went out for dinner?"

  Yan Tao smiled: "You just didn't finish saying how to make that dessert."

  "You're so obsessed, you're not here to steal our secrets from somewhere else, are you?" I joked. "Alright, go eat first, that's not urgent. Later, I'll demonstrate it myself and it will be easier for you to learn."

  He hesitated and looked at me: "Aren't you going to eat?"

  "Well, I think I'll make some further improvements on the 'One Green in a Thousand Miles' I did before."

  "Alright... I'll wait for you then."

  I turned my head in surprise, and on Yan Tao's rugged wheat-colored face, a suspicious red cloud appeared again. I clicked my tongue in my heart, this boy who is so easily shy is really comparable to Lu Zikuan.

  I opened the refrigerator door with one hand and said with a smile, "Yan Tao, it's not that I think you're in the way here, but have you forgotten that your meals are all time-limited?"

  He was stunned for a moment, accompanied by a sentence "Yao Yao, see you later". His figure turned into a gust of wind with fluttering clothes and quickly disappeared in front of me.

  I continued rummaging through the fridge with a carefree attitude, when suddenly a chill ran down my spine.

  What did he just call me?

  The next day, Cheng Qiao came to work early and greeted me with a cheerful hello as soon as he saw me. I had intended to ask him about the other day when I saw him avoiding me like a cat, wondering if it was because I said he was my person. But after thinking about it again, I decided to let it go. The enthusiasm of the store employees had finally dissipated, and Cheng Qiao had also returned to his lively and lovely state, so let's just turn the page on that matter.

  Sitting in the kitchen and talking to Cheng Qiao about going to Xiao Yu's aunt's house tomorrow. Yan Tao came over with a smile: "Yao Yao."

  I stretched out my hand and casually wiggled my fingers in response.

  "Yao Yao? Shouldn't you be calling her boss's wife?" Cheng Qiao stared at Yan Tao in surprise.

  "Yes, but last night Yayao told me to be less reserved in front of her and more casual, so I've been calling her that since then." Yan Tao smiled appropriately.

  Qiao turned her head slowly and looked at me, with a hint of moisture in her clear eyes that seemed to ask "Is what he said true?"

  I smiled wryly: "That's what I said..."

  But the boss just asked you to be less stiff, dear, didn't ask you to change your form of address, dear. I still want you to call me boss, dear. On the surface, I'm calm and collected, but inside, I'm cursing nonstop. Now that things have come to this point, if I were to suddenly ask him to change his form of address again, it would make me, the boss, seem petty and lacking in dignity. So all I can do is swallow my pride and accept it.

  "Yao Yao, I have some good news to tell you. On my way back last night, I also bought the materials and tried it out. Now I can make that 'Ruby' dish." Yan Tao bent down to look at me.

  I immediately threw away other emotions and laughed with pride: "Really? So it seems you also have a talent for making desserts."

  "It's all thanks to you, if it weren't for your patience in guiding me last night. I'm sure I wouldn't even know how to wrap the powder now."

  "You're too modest, if you were really stupid, no matter how well I taught, it would be useless."

  "Why don't I make a batch of 'Ruby' at noon, and you can help me taste it to see if there's anything that needs improvement. When I eat it myself, I feel like the chestnuts are a bit soft."

  "Alright, I'll definitely tell the truth, absolutely no consideration for your face."

  "That's great, thank you for your fairness and selflessness, Yaoyao. I'll take this out first, see you later."

  "Alright, good job."

  After waving goodbye to Yan Tao, I still had a smile on my face that hadn't come back yet, so when I saw Cheng Qiao's expression, my face immediately stiffened at an eerie angle.

  "What's wrong? You suddenly put on a resentful husband face, it really looks... very... " I endured for a moment, and finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, "...very comical, Xiao Qiao you're so cute."

  Qiao didn't say a word, but puffed out her cheeks and pursed her lips as if she could hang an oil bottle from them.

  I coughed twice, stopped laughing, thought for a moment, and suddenly realized, "Are you wondering why Yan Tao just talked to me but ignored you, this beautiful young man?" Seeing Cheng Qiao's wide eyes, I laughed and patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, don't worry, he's just not familiar with you yet, after a while you'll become good... no, good brothers."

  Cheng Qiao took a deep breath and covered her forehead, saying: "A Yao, I was only gone for one day, just one day, you...you actually..."

  "What's wrong?" I stared at him inexplicably.

  He sighed: "A Yao, aren't you afraid of blood? How can you still teach him to make 'Ruby'?"

  "'Ruby' is also bright red, but the color is quite different from blood. I got a bit dizzy after looking at it for a while, but generally speaking, it's fine. Don't you remember? The first dessert you asked me to make was 'Ruby', wasn't it?"

  "Oh, I see." Cheng Qiao nodded and said with a smile, "Then when you taught him to make 'Ruby', Lan Jie and the others..."

  I laughed before he finished speaking: "Of course, we'll do it after work. Yesterday, because you didn't come, the guests all left quite early, so I let them go back first. At that time, there were only me and Yan Tao in the kitchen."

  He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly hammered his forehead with his hand several times, looking very regretful: "From now on, whoever finds me will not be absent from work again. If this happens a few more times, all my previous efforts may be wasted."

  I thought he was having a fit of responsibility, and couldn't help but comfort him gently: "Xiao Qiao, it's okay, you can go play whenever you want to, or rest whenever you feel like it. Your status here is the most special, and your body is also the freest."

  He pressed his lips together and looked at me, shaking his head after a while: "I'll have to keep a closer eye on you from now on."

  "What are you staring at?" I was still in a daze, when Cheng Qiao took another tray of desserts and walked out, her tall back disappearing from view.

  After getting up, I originally planned to continue making some desserts. However, when I thought about tomorrow's schedule, Ah Qian and the others still haven't told me what to buy. While pondering whether to go to the supermarket to buy some dry goods first, I received a text message from Ah Qian listing various flavors of pudding popsicles and other easy-to-carry desserts, specifying that I had to make them myself.

  I was stunned for a moment, and then cursed out loud. It turned out that they had long been determined to take advantage of me as free labor.

  The next day when everyone gathered, unexpectedly, there were three cars parked outside, and Ayan and Kotori were standing outside the first car waving at me.

  "I was shocked: 'How many people went this time?'"

  I highly suspect that all the fruits in Xiaoyu's house are not enough for our group of people to sweep away.

  Xiaoyu took the dessert from my hand, smiled and said: "And also my dad's friend, don't worry, my aunt's fruit trees are planted all over a mountain." She then looked at Cheng Qiao, "Cheng Qiao, you sit with us too."

  Chang Qiao nodded, her eyes curved in a happy smile, seemingly also yearning for that pure and natural organic green vegetables and fruits.

  When Xiaoyu handed those bags of desserts to the people in the other two cars, through an open window in the middle car, I vaguely saw a round little head in the back seat, and after seeing me, it seemed to dodge down.

  Looks like it's a shy kid, I'm guessing, and indeed, it's a family with kids...

  After waving hello to Mo's dad and Mo's mom who was sitting in another car, we got into Xiaoyu's car, then I immediately realized that the seating arrangement was a bit improper.

  Why is it that except for Mo Dad who's driving, the only big man isn't sitting in the passenger seat, but instead sits behind us? And why do I have to be sandwiched between Ah Qian and Cheng Jiao? Even though there's a lot of space in this five-seater car, isn't this arrangement very inconvenient?

  I discontentedly protested to Xiao Yu, but she just waved her hand indifferently: "I'm used to sitting in the passenger seat of our family car, how can I make such a big sacrifice for you? Don't be too naive, little sister, or one day you'll be eaten up and won't even have bones left to cry with."

  After finishing, Zhang Kuang didn't care about her dad anymore and burst into three loud laughs. Then she began to express the excitement in her heart with her high-pitched and bright singing voice: "In that distant place, there is a good fruit forest. We walked through its territory, ate our fill and still had some left over. They are purely natural and uncontaminated, just waiting for us to pick the freshest ones..."

  I: “……”

  Cheng Qiao: "......"

  A Sha: “......”