Reason?
Would wanting to escape this place count as a reason? But she couldn’t just say that to Lin Sheng, she couldn’t tell her that she simply didn’t want to wear the chains anymore.
“I…”
When facing Lin Sheng, Yu Keqing was even less courageous than Xiaobao. Xiaobao wasn’t afraid of Lin Sheng at all, yet she herself was terrified to death.
She was someone who had seen Lin Sheng’s true face. That woman was beautiful, enchanting, and brimming with charm, but she was also dangerous and ruthless.
Even so, Yu Keqing still wanted to fight for herself. Or perhaps, she was testing the waters, testing just how far Lin Sheng’s minefield extended. She wanted to see if she would be blown to pieces in an instant, or if, by some chance she wasn’t, she could slowly crawl out of the minefield with Xiaobao and regain her freedom.
“I want to find something to do. Xiaobao has to go to school, and you… you are very busy too. If I stay home by myself, I’ll start overthinking things. Aside from Man’er, I don’t have any other friends in City A. Baking is the only thing I’m good at. Seeing the dough slowly puff up in the oven gives me a sense of achievement, and it makes me… very happy.”
She wasn’t lying, these were her genuine thoughts.
Lin Sheng stared at her fixedly, pondering for a moment before asking, “Doing that will make you happy?”
“Yes.”
“I can open a shop like that for you. Or you can just bake at home. If you think the kitchen here is too small to work in, we can move to another house.”
Yu Keqing pinched her own fingers as the color began to drain from her face, inch by inch. She bit her lip so hard that the scab looked like it was about to rip open again.
Lin Sheng frowned, pressing her finger against Yu Keqing’s lips to rescue the poor thing from her teeth. Her heart softened, and she relented. “Since you want to go so badly, then go. Just don’t overexert yourself.”
Startled, Yu Keqing forgot to breathe. She looked up blankly at Lin Sheng. She agreed? Lin Sheng actually agreed? Am I not dreaming?
The warmth radiating from her lips reminded her that this was not a dream, yet she still found it hard to believe. How had Lin Sheng become so easy to talk to? Were there other conditions attached?
Conditions?
She suddenly recalled the things Lin Sheng had dragged her into doing during this past period, and her expression changed instantly.
Though her heart remained anxious for a long time, Lin Sheng didn’t take any further action. That evening, she even agreed to let Yu Keqing sleep with Xiaobao.
“Just for tonight. It won’t be allowed tomorrow,” Lin Sheng said, kissing her reluctantly.
Yu Keqing nodded haphazardly. As long as she could escape the scent of roses, even if only for a brief night, she would be happy.
Without having to stay up in trepidation inside Lin Sheng’s arms, Yu Keqing slept exceptionally well that night. When she woke up in the morning, her complexion was rosy. She hadn’t noticed it herself, but when Auntie Fang brought breakfast over, she noticed it and said with a smile, “Madam looks so well today, your face is much rosier.”
Yu Keqing subconsciously touched her own cheek, while Xiaobao, sitting across from her, nodded vigorously. Mom is extra pretty today!
Lin Sheng, who had spent the night alone in an empty room, had originally been in a foul mood. But as she came down from the second floor and heard Auntie Fang’s words, her gaze landed on Yu Keqing’s face. Noticing that Yu Keqing’s complexion had indeed improved a lot, her mood took a turn for the better.
She looked up at Auntie Fang standing nearby, a faint smile gracing the corners of her lips. “You’ve worked hard these past few days.”
There was an underlying meaning to this sentence. Very soon, Auntie Fang received a text notification from Lin Sheng’s personal assistant stating that her salary had been tripled.
After Xiaobao went to school, Yu Keqing tried to contact Wen Man to tell her that she could come over to work. Wen Man was thrilled for her over the phone.
“Really?! Lin Sheng actually agreed? That’s fantastic! I’ll come over to pick you up in a bit and take you around a few of the shops in City A first. Right now, even though the bakers in my shops all have professional experience, they aren’t quite hitting the mark with our signature breads. I want to ask you to give them some professional training. And these are just the shops in City A, there are over a dozen branches in other cities, and we’ll open even more in the future. You’re so talented at baking, it shouldn’t go to waste.”
Wen Man’s words shot out like a rapid-fire cannon. She had always been a fast talker, full of her own ideas, and once she decided to do something, she would relentlessly pursue that direction.
Wen Man was a driven person, possessing a vibrant vitality that made it seem as if she never got tired and never feared failure. Her family wasn’t particularly wealthy, and her parents had divorced early on to form their own separate families, eventually moving overseas with their new partners. Wen Man hadn’t seen them in many years, but she never wallowed in self-pity because of it.
Yu Keqing listened to her quietly, feeling both envious and full of longing. Wen Man often said that Yu Keqing carried a sense of peacefulness that made people want to draw close to her. But how could Yu Keqing not envy Wen Man’s boldness and courage? She knew she could never become someone like Wen Man in this lifetime, things that weren’t born in one’s bones couldn’t just grow out of thin air. She only hoped that in her next life, she could be tougher and more courageous.
“Can I really do it?” She didn’t have much confidence in herself. If she botched it, wouldn’t she just cause trouble for Wen Man?
“Why wouldn’t you be able to? Of course you can,” Wen Man encouraged her.
Yu Keqing recovered a bit of her confidence. “Then… should I give it a try?”
“That’s the spirit! Keqing, you need to have some faith in yourself. You’re much better than a lot of people.”
“Thank you, Man’er. Thank you for always encouraging and helping me like this.”
Wen Man laughed on the other end. “Why are you being so polite with me? Just wait there, I’m coming over to pick you up right now.”
Hanging up the phone, Yu Keqing stood at the study door, hesitating for a long time before she finally dared to knock.
Lin Sheng hadn’t gone to the company today; she was handling work in her study, and the abrupt knocking interrupted an ongoing video conference.
The vice president who was reporting his work felt as if he were holding a grenade that could detonate at any moment. He was scared out of his wits, his voice cutting off instantly. The other executives on the call shared a tragic sense of ‘we are definitely dead today.’ They knew very well how much Lin Sheng loathed having her meetings interrupted, and they secretly wondered who in the Chairman’s household lacked the situational awareness to knock on the door at a time like this!
Lin Sheng didn’t terminate the meeting. She merely looked toward the door and told the person knocking to come in, her voice calm and unreadable.
A few seconds later, the person who knocked presumably walked up to the desk. The executives couldn’t see who it was, but they heard Chairman Lin ask.
“What’s wrong?”
Huh?! Not only was she not angry, but she was actually inquiring so patiently. The vice presidents on the call instantly perked up their ears, eager for some gossip.
Perhaps because a noise canceling filter was active, the other party’s voice came through faint and broken, making it impossible to hear clearly.
“Man’er said she’s coming to pick me up in a bit to show me around the shop.”
Yu Keqing gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Even her voice carried a tremor of unease, like a little rabbit cautiously poking its head out but terrified of being startled.
Surprisingly, Lin Sheng didn’t object this time either. She simply nodded and said, “I understand. I still have half an hour left on this end.”
Yu Keqing looked up, confused.
Lin Sheng explained, “The meeting will end in half an hour. I’ll accompany you. I don’t feel at ease letting you go out by yourself.”
The study fell utterly silent, save for the faint hum of the air purification system and the rapid quickening of Yu Keqing’s heartbeat.
It had taken so much for her to finally get a chance to go out, she didn’t want Lin Sheng by her side. She said anxiously, “N-No… there’s no need to trouble yourself. I’ll be with Man’er. I’ll just have a look and come right back. It won’t take too long. You should focus on your work.”
“Since it won’t take too long, why won’t you let me accompany you?” Lin Sheng tapped her fingers on the desk.
Those few thud-thud sounds didn’t just strike Yu Keqing’s heart; they practically pounded against the skulls of the vice presidents listening in on the call.
Yu Keqing opened her mouth to explain, but her vocal cords seemed glued shut by sheer terror, rendering her unable to make a sound. The atmosphere grew oppressive to the extreme, everyone terrified that Lin Sheng might suddenly fly into a rage.
Lin Sheng waited quietly for a few seconds before standing up and walking over to Yu Keqing. Looking down at her, she lifted Yu Keqing’s lowered head and gently smoothed out her furrowed brows with her fingers.
“Go if you want to. I’ll have the driver take you there, so there’s no need for Man’er to come pick you up. Come home right after you finish looking around. Don’t eat random things outside, those places use poor ingredients and their hygiene isn’t up to standard. Your stomach is weak right now, so you need to be extra careful. Do you understand? If you don’t listen, I won’t allow you to go out in the future.”
Lin Sheng’s voice was so gentle it didn’t even sound like it was coming from her. It was entirely uncharacteristic.
Under her gentle touch, Yu Keqing nodded.
The smile in Lin Sheng’s eyes deepened. Releasing her, she said, “Go change your clothes. Wear that off-white dress, and pair it with the mint-green knit cardigan on the outside. You look good in that color. The dress and cardigan are on the third row of the wardrobe.”
“…I understand,” Yu Keqing murmured in response. Turning around, she walked out of the study, her footsteps significantly lighter than when she had entered.
As the study door closed, Lin Sheng sat back down and signaled for the meeting to continue. The vice presidents finally snapped back to reality from their daze. Under the immense pressure, the meeting didn’t even take half an hour, it wrapped up highly efficiently within ten minutes.
Closing her laptop, Lin Sheng stood by the window and watched Yu Keqing step out of the front doors in her new clothes. The driver was already waiting at the entrance.
Watching her figure get into the car, Lin Sheng pulled out her phone and dialed a number. “Arrange for people to follow her. Do not let her leave your line of sight, and report any situation to me immediately. Send me every single detail about Wen Man’er’s shop. Also, look into Jiang Shuang’s itinerary, do not let her cross paths with Jiang Shuang.”
Meanwhile, sitting in the car and watching the scenery slowly recede outside the window, Yu Keqing took a deep breath as her tense emotions finally began to unwind.
She lowered the car window slightly to let the breeze drift in. The wind brushed gently against her face, bringing a hint of coolness that swept away the haze weighing heavily on her heart. She closed her eyes to savor this rare taste of freedom.
The driver kept his focus at a maximum level while occasionally stealing glances at her through the rearview mirror.
An inconspicuous black sedan followed behind them, maintaining a steady, moderate distance as they drove from the mid-level luxury villa area into the bustling city streets. The buildings on both sides of the road gradually grew denser, and the pedestrians and vehicles woven together formed a picture of busy urban life.
The car eventually pulled up in front of a warmly decorated bakery. The driver politely opened the door for her.
Yu Keqing stepped out of the vehicle and looked up at the name written on the storefront sign. Soft Hearted Sweetness Bakery.
Inside the shop, a rich aroma of baking bread hung in the air. Several employees in uniforms were busy preparing the day’s products.
Wen Man had arrived ahead of time. Seeing her standing at the entrance, she immediately ran out to pull her inside, saying gleefully, “Come with me, let me show you around!”
Wen Man’s enthusiasm was like a wildfire that no one could refuse.
As Yu Keqing stepped further into the shop, the baking scent grew even more concentrated. She looked around curiously. Customers were picking out items, and the cashier was busy working with a lowered head.
“It’s such a big shop, and there are so many people,” she whispered in awe, her eyes reflecting a touch of envy.
Wen Man introduced the place in detail, explaining that this was the main branch. It had the largest area and was the very first shop she had opened. “Right now, a lot of people are copying a few of our signature products, but they just can’t duplicate the essence. None of theirs taste as good as ours.”
Wen Man also shared the situation of each branch and the current problems the team was facing. At the core of it, they lacked innovation. The bakers in the shop had tried to develop new items, but the public response had been mediocre.
The few types of bread and pastries Yu Keqing used to make for her were a perfect ten out of ten in both appearance and taste. The imitations made by others always lacked something.
Yu Keqing listened intently, occasionally offering a few of her own ideas with a tone that carried a long-lost trace of confidence. It was a wonderful feeling, as if she were finally reclaiming a piece of herself that had been missing for a very long time.
Seeing the light, confident smile on her face, Wen Man felt deeply comforted. She grabbed Yu Keqing’s hand and said, “This is great, Keqing. It’s so wonderful that you can come back. With you joining us, the Soft Hearted Sweetness brand will definitely grow bigger and bigger. Do you remember that year we were watching the stars on the rooftop? A shooting star flashed by, and you made a wish saying you wanted to open a bakery in the future. See? Your wish has come true!”
Yu Keqing smiled serenely, her entire demeanor soft and gentle as she genuinely praised Wen Man. “Man’er, you’re really amazing to turn this shop into a franchise. You’re the type of person who can achieve whatever you set your mind to.”
Wen Man acted modest. “Oh, stop it, let’s keep a low profile. While I managed to set up the shops, more than half of the credit goes to you. If you hadn’t created such delicious bread and pastries, what would I have used to open a shop anyway? There are so many bakeries nowadays; the competition is brutal.”
“I was just messing around back then, it wasn’t anything special.”
“That wasn’t just messing around, that was talent. I’ve hired so many bakers, even some from abroad, and none of them can replicate your flavor. They can only copy about seventy to eighty percent of it. And just that seventy to eighty percent is enough to make business this good! Just think about it, if you join us, how explosive will our business get? We’ll definitely make a fortune! So, Keqing, I am sincerely inviting you to join. I’m not joking.”
Wen Man suddenly turned serious. Aside from business, she truly wanted to help her friend. As for this marriage between Keqing and Lin Sheng, it was currently just Lin Sheng unilaterally forcing it to continue. Keqing wanted out, but Lin Sheng refused to let her go. Keqing’s personality was simply too soft; if Wen Man didn’t help her, Keqing would truly be swallowed alive by Lin Sheng.
Wen Man’s gaze swept past the glass window, faintly catching the silhouette of a black sedan parked across the street.
Her heart sank abruptly, and her footsteps ground to a halt.
Noticing her sudden change, Yu Keqing asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
We were talking so well, why did she suddenly stop?
She followed Wen Man’s gaze outside, but aside from the pedestrians and passing cars, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.
Wen Man’s expression looked a bit strained as she forced a smile. “It’s nothing. Let’s go, I’ll take you to look at the back.”
She had wondered why Lin Sheng would suddenly be willing to let Keqing out alone. As it turned out, she had sent people to tail her. This so-called gift of freedom was nothing more than another form of control.
Did Keqing even know about these things?