Bu Zeyu arrived at Lin Yao’s shop very early on the weekend, even before she had arrived.
“Why are you here so early?”
Lin Yao had just reached the entrance when she saw someone sitting on the floor. As she approached, she recognized the young man from the other day.
Bu Zeyu: “I haven’t been here long.”
Fortunately, there was an extra person in the shop today, so she could at least relax a little. A company had ordered afternoon tea cakes from her these past two days.
After asking about Bu Zeyu’s situation, Lin Yao learned that he was only 18 years old.
His parents had passed away long ago, and he lived only with his older brother and grandfather. Now, his brother had been diagnosed with brain cancer, and all their money was being used for his treatment.
He had even dropped out of school, but neither he nor his grandfather dared to tell his brother about it.
There were far too many unfortunate people in this world. Lin Yao didn’t even know what to say to comfort him.
But Bu Zeyu remained optimistic: “My brother will definitely get better! He’s so smart—Heaven won’t let him leave so soon!”
Lin Yao followed his lead and comforted him: “Don’t worry! Your brother will definitely recover!”
“Does your family know you’re working part-time here?”
Bu Zeyu nodded and said, “I’ve told my grandfather. Don’t worry.”
Only then did Lin Yao feel at ease and began teaching him the tasks in the shop. Bu Zeyu was young and learned quickly, soon getting the hang of things.
At noon, the person who had ordered the afternoon tea came to pick up the cakes and brought Lin Yao some good news.
“Our boss said your pastries are excellent and wants to sign a one-year contract with you!”
Lin Yao exclaimed: “Really?”
“Yes, here’s the contract. Please sign it. As for payment, it will be settled monthly. See if it’s suitable?”
Assistant Li took out the documents prepared by Qin Hao that day and asked Lin Yao to sign.
That was more than suitable!
Lin Yao glanced through it and, finding no major issues, signed immediately. For her, this was a huge deal. With this contract, she no longer had to worry about going hungry.
After watching her sign, Assistant Li collected the documents and secretly sized up Lin Yao.
She couldn’t understand why Secretary Qin had asked her to order afternoon tea here. Could she be Secretary Qin’s lover?
The more Assistant Li thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
After all, this shop owner was so beautiful, and Secretary Qin didn’t have a girlfriend. It must be true. She had to go back and gossip about this!
Qin Hao handed the contract brought back by Assistant Li to Huo Boyan.
“Mr. Huo, this is the contract that Madam has already signed.”
Huo Boyan signed it without even looking.
A contract like this didn’t actually require Mr. Huo’s signature, but now that he had signed it, the finance department was smart enough… to understand what it meant.
Of course, Qin Hao only dared to think this secretly and didn’t dare say it out loud. He then remembered Mr. Huo’s schedule for the evening.
“Mr. Huo, tonight is Miss Su’s birthday. Only close acquaintances are invited. What time would be appropriate for you to arrive?”
Miss Su?
There was no one else but Su Yuqing.
Huo Boyan thought for a moment before saying, “I understand. Arriving at six o’clock will be fine. Prepare a gift.”
He then took out his phone and called Lin Yao.
“Hello? Boyan?”
Lin Yao’s voice soon came through the phone.
Huo Boyan: “Accompany me to a birthday banquet tonight.”
A birthday banquet?
Lin Yao: “Alright, then I’ll head back a bit earlier today.”
Huo Boyan: “You can go back now. Someone will be delivering a dress to the house soon. Go try it on.”
Hearing him say that, Lin Yao had no choice but to agree. After all, given how the afternoon was going, there probably wouldn’t be any more customers.
And she had to wear a dress?
It seemed today’s birthday banquet was quite important.
Lin Yao took out two hundred yuan and handed it to Bu Zeyu, telling him he could leave for the day.
Bu Zeyu panicked, not daring to take the money, thinking he had done something wrong and that Lin Yao was firing him.
“Sis, did I do something poorly? I can change, please don’t let me go.”
Only then did Lin Yao realize he had misunderstood. She immediately smiled and explained, “You’re overthinking it. You did a great job. This money is your wages for today. I have something to do, so I’m closing early.”
Bu Zeyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he still refused to take the money.
“I really can’t accept this money. You didn’t charge me for the cake before, so let this count as payment for the cake.”
Lin Yao didn’t say anything more, but she wanted to discuss something with Bu Zeyu.
Since Bu Zeyu wasn’t attending school anymore, and she happened to need help, she might as well have him work as an apprentice in the shop. The pay for an apprentice would be relatively low, but it would increase once he learned the ropes.
Lin Yao briefly explained the idea to Bu Zeyu, and to her surprise, he agreed without hesitation.
By the time Lin Yao returned home, the person delivering the dress had already been waiting for her at the door.
She tried it on and found it surprisingly well-fitted, as if the dress had been tailor-made for Lin Yao.
“You look absolutely stunning in this dress!”
“Your husband has excellent taste, choosing such a perfect dress for you.”
The person delivering the dress exclaimed loudly the moment they saw Lin Yao wearing it.
Lin Yao thought they were just saying empty compliments for the sake of the dress and didn’t take it seriously.
But the dress was actually chosen by Huo Boyan?
How did he know her size?
Aunt Li approached with a gift box in hand. When she saw Lin Yao, her reaction was the same as the dress deliverer’s.
“Madam, you look so beautiful in this dress! Absolutely gorgeous.”
Lin Yao smiled somewhat shyly.
Aunt Li then opened the gift box.
Inside was a white diamond jewelry necklace with a stone larger than a pigeon egg, adorned with pearls and other small diamonds. It sparkled brilliantly under the light.
Lin Yao stared at the necklace in amazement. She had seen it on television a few years ago.
It had been bought by a mysterious bidder for eighty million at an auction and had never resurfaced since.
She never expected it to appear in the Huo family now. It seemed Huo Boyan had been the one who bought it back then.
At the time, Lin Yao had thought spending eighty million on a necklace wasn’t worth it. But now, seeing it in person, she actually felt it was worth every penny!
Seeing Lin Yao’s wide-eyed expression, Aunt Li smiled and said, “The young master asked me to give this to you. He said you should wear it to the birthday banquet.”
What?
She was supposed to wear such an expensive necklace out?
Wasn’t he afraid she might lose it?
Aunt Li seemed to read Lin Yao’s thoughts and said with a smile, “Madam, the purpose of a necklace is to be worn out. Besides, you are the young master’s wife now.”
That was true.
She was Huo Boyan’s wife now. Attending a banquet, she couldn’t afford to embarrass him.
Lin Yao was about to put on the necklace when she heard a sound behind her. Thinking it was Aunt Li, she said without turning her head, “Aunt Li, could you help me? I can’t fasten it.”
The sound behind her seemed to pause for a moment before approaching. Only when the person drew near did she see from the mirror that it wasn’t Aunt Li at all.
It was Huo Boyan.