“No!”
Lin Yao suddenly sat up in bed, her heart still pounding violently, sweat covering her forehead.
It was just a dream.
But why did she have such a dream?
“What’s wrong?”
Huo Boyan, lying beside her, was awakened by the noise. He frowned and looked at her impatiently.
“It’s nothing, just a nightmare.”
It was still the middle of the night. Afraid of having another nightmare, Lin Yao didn’t dare go back to sleep and decided to go outside for some fresh air.
But as soon as she got out of bed, her wrist was grabbed. She turned around to see Huo Boyan staring at her.
“What are you doing?”
Lin Yao explained, “I don’t want to sleep anymore. I’m going outside to get some air.”
Huo Boyan asked, “Are you scared?”
Lin Yao didn’t answer, trying to break free from his grip, but he pulled her back onto the bed.
“If you’re scared, let’s do something to help you sleep.”
Before Lin Yao could react, he leaned down and kissed her.
……
“Hello, welcome! Feel free to take a look if you need anything.”
“I’d like to order a birthday cake.”
Due to the previous incident, business at the shop had been somewhat slow. No one had ordered a cake for several days.
Now that someone finally came to order a cake, Lin Yao immediately put all her energy into introducing the shop’s cakes to the young man in front of her.
Bu Zeyu looked troubled, staring at the cakes but hesitating to speak.
Seeing his silence, Lin Yao quickly understood that he thought the cakes were too expensive.
“If the price isn’t suitable, you can also take a look at these cakes. They offer better value for money.”
Lin Yao showed him the cakes she had made that morning. Since they were made earlier in the day and had been sitting for a while, they were relatively cheaper.
Bu Zeyu looked at the cakes in front of him, clutching the little money he had, and asked, “How much is it?”
“150 yuan.”
Lin Yao thought he would buy the cake, but upon hearing the price, the young man’s eyes dimmed.
“It’s too expensive, I can’t afford it… Do you have anything cheaper?”
“Even a smaller one would be fine…”
Bu Zeyu lowered his head in embarrassment, as he didn’t even have a hundred yuan on him.
Lin Yao was taken aback and asked, “This is currently the smallest one we have. Who are you buying it for?”
“Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday… I want to buy it for him…”
Bu Zeyu had been looking at cake shops in the area for several days, and only the cakes here were the cheapest, but he hadn’t expected them to still be so expensive.
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow was also Chen Dong’s birthday, but this time, Lin Yao wouldn’t be by his side.
“You can ask your mom to come and buy it tomorrow. That’s fine too.”
Lin Yao naively thought he just hadn’t brought enough money.
Bu Zeyu said, “I don’t have a mom, and I don’t have that much money… All the money went to my brother’s treatment.”
Lin Yao didn’t know what to say for a moment. Feeling sorry for him, she comforted him, “Don’t worry! Your brother will definitely get better!”
Bu Zeyu knew she was trying to comfort him. After hesitating for a long time, he finally pleaded, “Sister, could you make a small cake for me?”
“My brother is going into surgery tomorrow. I want him to be able to eat cake today. Please, sister, if I don’t have enough money, I can help you work every day!”
Seeing the plea in his eyes, Lin Yao couldn’t bear to refuse him. She asked, “How much money do you have on you right now?”
“Only fifty yuan.”
Bu Zeyu took the money from his pocket and showed it to her.
The fifty-yuan bill was crumpled and worn, clearly having been handled for a long time.
Lin Yao: “Where did you get this money?”
Bu Zeyu grew anxious: “I collected bottles for half a month and sold them! I didn’t steal it!”
Lin Yao knew he had misunderstood her meaning and quickly explained: “Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t think you stole it. Wait here for a moment.”
Soon, Lin Yao packed up the sample cake she had just shown her brother and handed it to him.
Bu Zeyu was delighted. He took the cake and looked at her gratefully. Just as he was about to hand her the money, he heard her say:
“I don’t want the money. Hurry and take it back to give to your brother!”
Knowing the young man’s situation, Lin Yao had no intention of taking his money, treating it as a good deed.
Unexpectedly, he grew even more anxious: “Why won’t you take it? Grandfather said we can’t accept things from others for no reason.”
After saying this, he tried to stuff the money into Lin Yao’s hand.
Knowing this was his only money, Lin Yao refused to take it. After thinking for a moment, she said: “I definitely won’t give it to you for free. How about this: come work part-time at my place on weekends when you’re not in school?”
“Part-time?”
“Yes, come work part-time and I’ll pay you wages. This cake can be considered your wages paid in advance, okay?”
This was the best solution Lin Yao could think of.
Bu Zeyu immediately agreed: “Yes, sister! Thank you, sister. I’ll definitely come.”
Inside the city hospital,
Chen Dong was lying on the hospital bed, with Grandfather resting beside him. That kid Bu Zeyu had no idea where he’d run off to.
“Brother! I’m back.”
Just as he finished the thought, he saw Bu Zeyu calling out to him while carrying a cake as he walked in.
“Brother! Look, I bought a cake! A sister sold it to me cheap!”
Bu Zeyu proudly showed off the cake to Chen Dong like a treasure, but Chen Dong froze, staring at the cake in a daze.
How could Chen Dong not recognize this packaging?
It was from Lin Yao’s shop.
Chen Dong often went to her shop to help during his breaks.
“Brother, what’s wrong?” Bu Zeyu called Chen Dong several times, but he didn’t respond.
Chen Dong snapped back to reality: “I’m fine. Was the sister who sold you the cake very pretty?”
Bu Zeyu nodded: “Yes, she’s very pretty! How did you know, brother?”
It was definitely Lin Yao.
I wonder how she’s been lately?
She must hate me to death now, after all I hurt her.
“I used to go there often to eat cake. The cakes she makes are delicious.”
Chen Dong had never told his family about him and Lin Yao. He originally planned to bring her home once he had saved enough money to propose to her.
But now, Chen Dong could never make that happen.
Bu Zeyu also didn’t dare mention going to work part-time at the sister’s place on weekends. He was afraid Chen Dong would blame himself and feel he was burdening the family.
Huo Corporation
“Mr. Huo, it seems business at the Madam’s shop isn’t very good. Today, only one boy went to buy a cake.”
Ever since that day, Huo Boyan had Qin Hao arrange for someone to keep an eye on Lin Yao’s situation.
No wonder her mood hasn’t been great these past few days. So this was the reason.
Huo Boyan: “From now on, order the company’s afternoon tea from her shop. Don’t let her know.”
Qin Hao immediately had someone go discuss the afternoon tea matter with Lin Yao, while pondering the situation in his heart.
Although Mr. Huo and Lin Yao are only pretending to be husband and wife for now, who knows if they might one day become a real couple?
He still needs to properly bring these two together.