Bai Tao had never eaten such a delicious cream puff filling.
The dark chocolate cream melted the moment it touched her tongue, filling her mouth with a clean bitterness.
A sweet aftertaste only began to emerge after she swallowed.
She tried the blueberry jam next.
Perhaps because she’d just had the dark chocolate, it seemed overly sweet in comparison.
But either way, it was textbook-perfect deliciousness.
Bai Tao’s face was pure bliss.
“Senior Qi, this is incredible.”
“Why are you even taking a practical class for Western pastries when you’re this good?”
Qi Heting snapped out of his daze, set down the mixing bowl, and sat on a high stool.
“You flatter me.
I still have a long way to go.”
“Oh, right, Bai.
I forgot to ask earlier—how did your elective pre-registration go?”
Bai Tao shook her head.
“I was dropped.”
A flicker of some imperceptible emotion crossed Qi Heting’s golden eyes.
“Oh, I see…”
“Bai, are you disappointed?”
Bai Tao’s gaze drifted past Qi Heting, landing on the oven.
“Of course I am.”
“In that case,” Qi Heting shifted slightly to his right, blocking her view of the oven.
“Bai, what exactly are you disappointed about?”
He forced her to meet his gaze.
His gilded eyes seemed even paler in the sunlight.
Even his pupils weren’t jet-black, but a deep brown.
Bai Tao had to admit.
Qi Heting really was beautiful.
He was like an ethereal angel who’d stumbled into the mortal realm, so immaculate he didn’t have a single stain on him.
Appearance-wise, he was exactly her type.
Bai Tao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to cool her flushing cheeks.
“Well…
that I won’t get to eat the pastries.”
“And maybe…
just a tiny little bit…
it’s because Senior Qi is in the class.”
“I tend to stick with the people I know, you know?”
“Just bad luck, I guess.
I was filtered out.”
The smile on Qi Heting’s lips faltered slightly, as if he was lost in thought.
DING.
The oven’s timer went off.
Qi Heting put on his oven mitts, took out a stopwatch, and waited for exactly five more minutes before opening the door.
He pulled out the tray.
The cream puffs were plump and round, each a perfect bite-size, so uniform they looked like they had been copied and pasted.
Qi Heting hooked the hair tie from his wrist and casually tied back his long, shoulder-length hair, letting the ponytail drape over his right shoulder.
He put on a pair of gloves and filled a piping bag with the cream.
The simple act of filling the cream puffs with dark chocolate cream was a feast for the eyes.
He really was good enough to eat.
He placed each filled puff on a porcelain plate, his movements clean and swift.
Soon, he had built a small cream puff tower.
Bai Tao was itching to try one, but she didn’t know if she was allowed.
She could only prop her head in her hands and stare, her eyes wide with longing.
Qi Heting handed her a fork.
“Go ahead and eat them.
It’s fine.”
“Really?
All for me?” Bai Tao asked, feigning modesty, but her hand had already bypassed the fork and shot out to grab the puff from the very top of the tower.
“If you want to make Sen and Mu fight again, you can save one for them.”
Bai Tao pictured the scene and shook her head.
“No need for that.
I’ll happily take them all off your hands.”
“But, I meant to ask, shouldn’t I save some for you, Senior Qi?”
She glanced at the neatly stacked mixing bowls in the sink.
“After all the hard work you put in, aren’t you going to have a taste?”
Qi Heting’s hand, mid-squeeze, paused for half a second before a gentle smile returned to his lips.
“No, thank you.
I don’t really like sweets.” The pace of his piping didn’t slow; if anything, it sped up.
Bai Tao blinked, perplexed.
‘He doesn’t like eating desserts, but loves making them.’
‘That means an endless supply, with no one to fight me for them.’
‘What a find—a gentle, fully-automatic husband-type.’
‘I’m even more smitten.’
Qi Heting was quick.
Before Bai Tao had even finished a few, he brought over two more small plates, each with its own cream puff tower, and gently pushed them in front of her.
He turned away and selected a creamy, apricot-colored tea set from a cabinet.
As he set it on the counter, his eyes darted to the side, following the sound of movement to land on Bai Tao.
Her eating style was not at all ladylike.
Despite having a fork, she still chose to use her hands.
The little flaky puffs didn’t last three seconds in her hand before she popped them into her mouth.
A few crumbs lingered at the corner of her mouth.
He reached for the highest cabinet.
“Would black tea be alright?”
Bai Tao nodded.
“Anything’s fine with me.”
Qi Heting took a tin of Queen Anne black tea from the cabinet.
From brewing and straining the tea leaves to the final plating, every step was meticulous—he even adjusted the precise angle of the teacup.
The whole process was fluid and graceful.
The moment he set the tea down in front of her, Bai Tao immediately lifted the cup to her lips, trying to soothe her dry mouth.
SSS—”Tho hot.”
Qi Heting sat down and cradled his own cup, waiting for the tea to cool. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Of course it’s…”
Hot.
He lifted his gaze and saw Bai Tao with the tip of her tongue stuck out.
The pale pink had turned a flushed red from the heat.
But she quickly retracted it, hiding it between her lips.
All he could glimpse was the glint of silver.
Qi Heting snapped back to reality, his dazed expression reflected in the clear surface of the black tea.
‘For a moment there, he’d actually wanted to know if whatever was in her mouth would taste even better.’
‘He must be going crazy.’
Qi Heting took a sip of black tea.
As he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbed.
Over the next few minutes, Bai Tao demolished most of the two plates of cream puffs, leaving only two.
‘To be honest, they were delicious, but…’
‘But after eating so many, the dark chocolate puffs started to taste more and more bitter, while the blueberry ones seemed increasingly sweet.’
She stared at the two remaining dark chocolate puffs, and an idea suddenly struck her.
Qi Heting watched as Bai Tao suddenly stood up and hurried to the counter, searching for something.
He rested his cheek on his hand, his interest piqued.
He watched her pick up the piping bag, which still had a little blueberry jam, and aim the tip into the hole at the bottom of a puff.
She gave it a squeeze, making the pastry swell even more.
After popping it in her mouth and chewing for a moment, her eyes lit up as if she’d discovered a new world.
She then squeezed all the remaining blueberry jam into the final puff.
She was about to devour the last one when she paused, turning to meet his eyes.
“Senior Qi, want to try?”
“I discovered that the dark chocolate cream and blueberry jam taste even better when you mix them.”
Qi Heting’s lips curled into a smile, his eyes crinkling.
“No, thank you.
You…”
“Here.” Bai Tao had already hurried over to him, holding out the cream puff.
“I feel bad eating them all by myself.”
“This one isn’t too sweet.
You might like it.”
Qi Heting’s gaze fell, and for a long moment, he didn’t move.
Bai Tao gulped.
‘Doesn’t he know how precious it is for someone like her, who hoards her food, to offer up the very last bite!’
‘If it weren’t for her main quest, she wouldn’t have offered it!’
‘I’ll count to three.’
‘If he doesn’t eat it by then, I’m eating it myself.’
3.
2.
1.
“Okay, if you’re not gonna eat it…”
Her wrist was caught in a firm grip, held in place.
Qi Heting lowered his head, meeting her hand and taking a bite.
Like some kind of canine, he first touched the food with the tip of his tongue before biting down.
The moment he bit down, the sternocleidomastoid muscle along his jawline grew more distinct.
Her warm fingertips brushed against his lips.
‘They were soft.’
‘Like a jolt of electricity, it shot through his entire body.’