Sheng Zhiyu was stunned for a moment but quickly regained his composure.
After all, Qi Fan also had the mission to gain favorability; it was only natural that they would think of the same thing.
Sheng Zhiyu didn’t think much of it and was about to look away, but he noticed the man’s gaze shift from his face to the bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Then, Qi Fan’s eyes darkened by a fraction.
“Is that Xiao Yu?” A soft, hesitant voice came from behind.
Sheng Zhiyu snapped back to reality. Turning his head, he first saw a cute baby face.
[Target appeared. He is the heartthrob protagonist of this instance, An Yu. His pheromone is cream, and his compatibility with you is 83%.]
An Yu was carrying a box of baking ingredients. Sheng Zhiyu leaned over to help him lift it.
Feeling the weight of the box, Sheng Zhiyu frowned slightly. “Aren’t you the shop owner? Why are you doing this kind of work?”
An Yu thought Sheng Zhiyu found it too heavy and hurried to take some of the weight back, but his movements were blocked by a bouquet of irises.
“It’s hard to carry things while holding flowers. Hold these for me.”
An Yu blushed belatedly, holding the flowers and following behind Sheng Zhiyu with small steps. “Are they for me? Thank you.”
The sliding glass door was heavy. With both hands occupied by the box, Sheng Zhiyu couldn’t open the door. He waited by the entrance for An Yu to help, planning to use the moment to act a bit weak and spoiled. However, just as he stepped onto the landing, the door was pushed open from the inside.
A man’s well-defined hand reached out in front of him, lifted the box, and stepped aside to let them in.
In the blink of an eye, Sheng Zhiyu’s hands were empty.
“Oh, Mr. Qi is here too?” An Yu, who had hurried to keep up, asked in surprise when he saw the person in front of them.
Hearing his reaction, Sheng Zhiyu tilted his head slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
“I went to receive a delivery half an hour ago. If you were coming, Mr. Qi, you could have told me in advance,” An Yu said, suddenly becoming restless. “My staff didn’t cause you any trouble, did they?”
Hearing this, Sheng Zhiyu looked back and realized the young employees in the shop were all staring intently at Qi Fan—which was natural, since in this instance, Qi Fan was a world-famous movie star.
He had the looks, the talent, and the seniority. At twenty-seven, he had swept almost every major international award.
That face would cause a stir anywhere, and now it had suddenly appeared in this remote dessert shop. They were so startled they didn’t even know if they should approach him.
Qi Fan first replied that there was no trouble, then his gaze naturally fell on Sheng Zhiyu. “Why is Xiao Yu here as well? Do you two know each other?”
This time it was An Yu’s turn to be dazed. He stared at the two of them blankly. “Huh?”
“My parents and Xiao Yu’s mother are old family friends, so we know each other. I even gave Xiao Yu a ride home this afternoon,” Qi Fan said, his dark eyes fixed on the fluffy purple head in front of him with a faint, ambiguous smile. “Since you were coming here too, why didn’t you tell me?”
Sheng Zhiyu, who had intended to act like a stranger, quickly returned the smile. “You didn’t tell me your destination was the same as mine either.”
An Yu finally understood. He hurriedly called a staff member to take the items from Qi Fan and invited the two of them to the same table on the second floor. “Please sit here first. I’ll go give instructions to the kitchen and be right back.”
Before leaving, An Yu leaned toward Sheng Zhiyu. “Xiao Yu, are you having the mango pancake, just like always?”
Sheng Zhiyu nodded.
An Yu then looked at Qi Fan.
Qi Fan said calmly, “Just coffee.”
Only then did An Yu rush downstairs.
It was close to closing time, and because of the special guests, a “Closed” sign had already been hung at the door. There were only two people on the entire second floor.
Sheng Zhiyu’s polite and docile expression vanished instantly. He rested his chin on one hand, looking downstairs with a bored gaze.
He looked distant, with a touch of cold elegance that didn’t quite match his current age.
“What, you really don’t want to see me?” The man’s deep voice came from across him, carrying a trace of a smile.
Sheng Zhiyu narrowed his eyes slowly. His long, thick eyelashes were like small fans; even blinking seemed dismissive. “Otherwise, did you think I really wanted to see you?”
“No, you don’t.”
The light masked the color of Qi Fan’s eyes, and his voice sounded very cold. “But when I see you alone with An Yu, I get unhappy. What should I do about that?”
As those words fell, Lin Weiyu was shocked into a daze.
What did that mean?
If Qi Fan, as a rival, was unhappy seeing Sheng Zhiyu gain favor with An Yu, he could understand that but “unhappy”?
Wasn’t that phrasing a bit too flirtatious?
In the previous instance, he had a faint feeling that Qi Fan was unusually focused on Sheng Zhiyu. According to the final mission logs, Qi Fan had even overstepped his authority for a main storyline that had nothing to do with him.
The more Lin Weiyu thought about it, the more it felt wrong. Just as he was about to sound the alarm, he heard Sheng Zhiyu reply, “You care that much? Then I’ll let you have him tonight?”
A deep smile spread in Qi Fan’s ink-like eyes, but his voice held a faint, low mockery. “In the last instance, the top performer for the ‘White Moonlight’ role didn’t treat me with such kindness. What… is this special treatment for a bed partner?”
During that slight pause, Sheng Zhiyu already guessed what he was going to say and quickly blocked Lin Weiyu’s senses.
He frowned at Qi Fan. His gaze wasn’t intense, but it held a cold sharpness.
However, Qi Fan merely rolled up his sleeve casually and slowly adjusted his watch.
“In this relationship between us, if there is a party who defines it, then naturally there is a party who uses their rights,” Qi Fan said. “Perhaps you don’t know me well, but as a bed partner, I consider myself quite troublesome.”
As if he had heard something funny, a cold smile bloomed in Sheng Zhiyu’s eyes. “Isn’t a bed partner someone you call when you want and dismiss when you’re done? For a partner you don’t care about, what rights are there to speak of?”
As expected, he was being difficult.
Qi Fan quietly looked at the frost-cold face in front of him and said casually, “After all, you praised my technique. Shouldn’t you give me some sweetness in return?”
Qi Fan lowered his voice for the second half of the sentence because he heard footsteps slowly approaching.
Sheng Zhiyu lazily lifted his eyelids to glance at him, smiling without a word.
He leaned against the back of his chair, intending to stand up to greet the arriving An Yu. But just as he moved, the man’s long leg stretched out from under the table.
It pressed against his calf firmly and aggressively, preventing him from standing up.
Sheng Zhiyu’s eyes turned cold.
“We can talk about other things slowly. But the most troublesome thing about me… is that I don’t separate work from my personal life. I like to bring my emotions to my job.”
Qi Fan shifted his gaze composedly and put on a smile for the approaching An Yu, but his words were directed at Sheng Zhiyu: “Young Master Sheng, please bear with me.”
Sheng Zhiyu paused as a plate of beautifully presented dessert was placed in front of him.
An Yu smiled at him before handing the coffee to Mr. Qi.
Perhaps to highlight the protagonist’s skill, his interactions with both Sheng Zhiyu and Qi Fan centered around desserts.
He met the former while preparing a celebration cake after a performance, and the latter while scouting locations for a commercial.
Both men were impressed by An Yu’s skill and attracted by his gentle, slow-paced personality.
Earlier, Qi Fan had already clarified their relationship. An Yu was like a little sun with no dark side; he naturally assumed they were on good terms and began chatting with them at the table.
“Even though the contract is signed… it’s my first time on this kind of show, and I’m a bit nervous.” An Yu looked at Sheng Zhiyu restlessly, wanting to get some advice.
Although this new dating show was for ordinary people, it was very effective for promotion. An Yu’s career was just starting, and he had seven or eight employees to feed. The shop’s location wasn’t great, so he desperately needed this kind of exposure.
He was interested the moment they approached him, and when he found out Sheng Zhiyu was also signing a contract, he didn’t hesitate anymore.
But An Yu had no idea that this “lucky break” was specifically arranged for him by Young Master Sheng.
“It’s okay. Most of these variety shows have a script,” Sheng Zhiyu said, biting a spoon while his clear, dark eyes looked at him. “The production team is quite nice; they won’t make things difficult for us.”
He used the word “us” casually, but it drew a clear line against the big movie star sitting opposite them.
“Mm,” Qi Fan replied neutrally. “The director is an acquaintance of mine. Out of professional duty, he might arrange some conflicts, but if you don’t want to participate, you can come to me.”
An Yu’s gaze lingered on Qi Fan, and only after a moment did he react slowly. “Mr. Qi is also going to be on this show?”
Qi Fan smiled. “My schedule happened to be free, so I went.”
An Yu was delighted. “That’s great! With someone I know there, we can look out for each other.”
Sheng Zhiyu sensed this topic was heading in a bad direction. A dating show was a playground for adults, not a friendly team-building activity. The phrase “looking out for each other” was inappropriate.
Furthermore, he and Qi Fan were love rivals.
So, Sheng Zhiyu toyed with his silver spoon, looked at An Yu with a smile, and rested his cheek on his palm. “But it’s a dating show. Looking out for each other might turn into a love triangle. Will Brother An Yu choose me in the end?”
An Yu clearly hadn’t thought that far and was stunned by the question.
Just as he was struggling with how to answer, he heard the man opposite them let out a slow, gentle laugh. “Are you taking it that seriously? Xiao Yu, if you’re afraid of being left out, how about I choose you then?”