13 – vol.1 Assorted Fruits
Wen Ruosui said evasively, “I just happened to make it today, so I brought it out…”
She felt a bit embarrassed, and her movements became awkward along with her thoughts.
Just as she placed the utensils beside Pei Zhixiu’s small plate and was about to withdraw her hand, she accidentally brushed against his hand resting on the table.
The back of his hand was slightly cool, and his faintly bluish-white knuckles inadvertently grazed her skin.
Instantly, it felt like an electric shock.
For a moment, she froze upon contact, her mind even going blank for a few seconds.
Wen Ruosui suppressed her racing heart, forcing herself to calm down, then lowered her eyes and whispered, “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” His voice was very soft.
As he said this, his face showed no expression.
The pristine white collar of his shirt inside his suit made his focused face appear even more composed. The brief skin contact hadn’t stirred any ripples in his demeanor.
Faced with his inscrutable nature, the emotions in her heart were inexplicably stirred again, difficult to soothe.
Wen Ruosui nervously picked up a napkin.
She placed two on Zhou Wensen’s side, while another napkin printed with chocolate lettering was left on top of the remaining stack and placed beside his hand.
After doing this, she felt somewhat embarrassed, not daring to meet his eyes. She lowered her gaze and said, “Please try them first. If you have any feedback, you can let me know.”
“Sure thing, Suisui,” Zhou Wensen blinked and said with a smile.
Pei Zhixiu placed his hand on the table, his well-defined fingers interlaced, and responded in a low voice, “Mm.”
Wen Ruosui picked up the tray and prepared to leave.
Just then, the tinkling of the wind chimes at the café entrance rang out again.
She turned to look and saw bustling figures outside—other customers had entered.
There seemed to be quite a few people.
Xiao Hui probably couldn’t handle it alone.
Suppressing the strange feelings in her heart, she composed her expression and said as calmly as possible to the two men:
“Please enjoy your food. I’ll go over there to attend to the other customers.”
Without waiting to see their reactions, she hurried away from the table.
Zhou Wensen watched her hurried back and shook his head with a smile.
He made a polite gesture and said:
“President Pei, come on, try the cakes here at Suisui’s place.”
Then he began to praise them: “I’m not exaggerating, but even someone like me who doesn’t have a sweet tooth finds these cakes perfectly sweet without being cloying, and the texture is absolutely exceptional.”
Amid Zhou Wensen’s praise, Pei Zhixiu finally picked up a small fork.
He said nothing, simply selecting a corner of the cake, placing it in his mouth to savor carefully, and then swallowing it slowly and deliberately.
Only then did he offer a sparing comment: “It’s indeed quite good.”
Sitting across from him, Zhou Wensen watched Pei Zhixiu’s elegant demeanor even while eating and thought to himself:
This is truly remarkable.
To actually get the big boss to take a bite.
He smiled and said, “As long as President Pei likes it, that’s all that matters…”
What Zhou Wensen didn’t know was that the assistant sitting at another table, who had been quietly observing the situation, was already secretly astonished.
First, he was surprised that his usually extremely time-conscious superior was willing to sit and wait in this suburban location.
Second, he was amazed that his superior, who was accustomed to frequenting prestigious and luxurious hotels and restaurants, had even entered such an unknown little café.San was someone who rarely ever ate desserts, yet today he had even touched that piece of cake. Normally, he would have refused outright.
Actually, today’s situation was quite unusual.
The boss was well aware that the other party’s project had issues, yet he pretended not to know. For the company, this project was far from being of critical importance. In his view, the projects from this company weren’t even fully compliant, making them unsuitable for collaboration.
As a rule, once the other party started delaying, due diligence should have been terminated.
But the boss was still pushing forward.
It was as if he was indulging in a playful game with them, a bit capricious.
The assistant was utterly baffled, unable to fathom his superior’s intentions. He could only silently take a sip of coffee and quietly remark to himself: This place may look small, but the coffee is surprisingly good.
As for Wen Ruosui on the other side.
She was currently busy attending to the customers who had just walked in.
A lively, energetic group of university students entered, mostly boys, bustling into the café noisily.
The boys had likely just finished playing basketball nearby. Dressed in sports shirts and shorts, they were drenched in sweat, their hair damp, looking both exhausted and thirsty.
They had probably come here to buy drinks and cool down.
She slipped behind the counter and asked the boys, “What would everyone like to order?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the boys’ vibrant voices filled the café, creating a lively commotion:
“Pretty lady, I’ll have a lemon sparkling water.” “I want an iced milkshake with a tiramisu cake.” “Another lemon sparkling water, please.” “I’ll have a mixed fruit tea, iced, large size.”…
Though the boys were boisterous, they were all very polite, speaking in courteous tones.
Young people of this age, just starting university, mostly had few worries beyond their studies. After playing basketball, their faces still carried pure, bright smiles.
And their joy was contagious.
Wen Ruosui really enjoyed interacting with young people like this.
She smiled warmly and said to them, “Alright, everyone, please wait a moment. Your orders will be ready soon.”
After taking their orders, Wen Ruosui threw herself into the busy task of preparing the drinks.
With so many beverages to make, she and Xiao Hui were kept running around in circles, unable to attend to anything else.
What’s more, these boys loved to chat.
One of them, leaning against the large dessert display case, called out to Wen Ruosui behind the counter, “Miss, did you make all the cakes in here?”
In truth, Wen Ruosui wasn’t much older than them, so she felt no generation gap when interacting with them.
She replied with a smile, “Yes, I made them all by hand.”
“They look really nice,” the boy said with a grin. “I was thinking of buying one for my girlfriend to try, but I’m worried it might not taste as good by the time I take it back.”
Wen Ruosui asked, “Is your girlfriend at school?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it should be fine. If you get a mousse cake, you can pack it with a few ice packs to keep it from melting.”
“I’m not sure which kind she’d like. Do you have any recommendations?”
“The cherry-filled, the vanilla butterfly, and the strawberry tart are all great choices. Girls tend to really like them,” Wen Ruosui said while shaking a cup. “If you still can’t decide, you could always take a photo and ask her.”
At this, the tall, muscular boy suddenly grew shy. “I wanted to give her a little surprise.””Got it, understood.” Wen Ruosui handed over the finished drink first. “Here’s your lemon sparkling water, hold onto it. As for the cake, I’ll get you a cherry-filled slice, and I’ll throw in a strawberry tart as well, how about that?”
Hearing this, the boy was indeed delighted.
He grinned cheerfully and said, “That’s great, thank you, sis.”
“You’re welcome.”
The feelings during student days are the purest.
Wen Ruosui privately wanted to give these student couples a little extra care.
Since the shop was about to close anyway, she might as well use these final moments to leave behind a few more beautiful wishes.