Dessert café.
Pei Zhiheng and Li Jie sat face to face, with two servings of banana chocolate parfait on the table.
The shop was decorated sweet and fresh, mainly in soft cloud purple and cute pink tones. The air carried a faint scent of freshly baked bread, which was actually a special bakery aroma scent the shop owner got. It wasn’t cloying and made the taste buds tingle.
“Bai Shuijin will be here soon, so be more enthusiastic, take the initiative to greet him, and coax him.”
“If Bai Shuijin tries to feed you, you open your mouth. However pigs open their mouths, you open yours that way. Just close your eyes and eat.”
Pei Zhiheng’s expression grew darker as he listened. He had standard facial features and a bright, handsome look, but it leaned toward a roguish charm. He wore a pullover hoodie, light blue jeans below, and limited-edition sneakers on his feet.
From his expression, you could tell he was in a bad mood at the moment. He didn’t even want to say a word.
Li Jie looked at Pei Zhiheng’s gloomy face and said, “Don’t forget, we’re still counting on Bai Shuijin to get the original documents from Wang Huanxiu.”
As the saying goes, you can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing the child.
If Pei Zhiheng could just sell a bit of charm and get Bai Shuijin to steal those documents, it would be a win-win trade. A pie straight from heaven.
Li Jie kept persuading Pei Zhiheng. He was sure of it, if Pei Zhiheng so much as opened his mouth, Bai Shuijin would break his own head if it meant getting the job done for him.
Everyone in their circle knew Bai Shuijin, this country bumpkin, liked Pei Zhiheng to the point of losing all reason and turning against even family.
Ever since falling in love with Pei Zhiheng at first sight during a banquet, that one-sided little flame of his had never gone out, and he has been chasing after Pei Zhiheng’s shadow every day.
Pei Zhiheng, Li Jie, and Bai Shuijin were all twenty years old, and they were all college students from the same university. Although Pei Zhiheng was a rich second-generation heir, he insisted on living in the dorms unless there was a special situation and he never pulled strings due to his background. Even when starting his own company, he refused help from home.
All this made Bai Shuijin fascinated.
Before getting married, Bai Shuijin had stayed in the dorms too. Coincidentally, they were in the same building, and even more coincidentally, they were in the same department with nearly identical class schedules. With that kind of environment, it was a perfect setup for Bai Shuijin to cling to Pei Zhiheng every day.
But all of that had been Bai Shuijin’s one-sided wishful thinking. Though he liked Pei Zhiheng wholeheartedly, Pei Zhiheng had absolutely no feelings for Bai Shuijin, in fact, he could even say he found him annoying and beneath him.
From the first time he met Bai Shuijin, he thought he was unbearably tacky.
He was short-sighted, had never seen the world, and was extremely vulgar in his words and deeds. If it weren’t for the upcoming negotiations on the gaming project and Wang Huanxiu suddenly jumping into the fray, he would never sit here.
“Don’t forget, Bai Shuijin married Wang Huanxiu for your sake.”
“I never told him to marry,” Pei Zhiheng’s eyes became sharp, “Don’t try to guilt-trip me with that.”
He hated being manipulated more than anything.
Li Jie shrank his neck back. Although Bai Shuijin’s decision to marry Wang Huanxiu for Pei Zhiheng was one-sided, weren’t they the ones who will reap the benefits? How could Pei Zhiheng be so blind to the situation?
A month ago, they had started talks with a gaming company and had submitted their best design proposal. But just as negotiations were about to close, Wang Huanxiu suddenly swooped in. Even though he hadn’t submitted a proposal yet, his capabilities and financial strength were obvious, and working with him was clearly more attractive than working with a newly established student startup.
But how could they let go of such a prime project. They hoped to use this to double the company’s valuation. Their best option was to plant someone inside Wang Huanxiu’s company to gather intel.
Coincidentally, Old Master Wang had started pressuring Wang Huanxiu to get married early and settle down.
Li Jie thought this was a great opportunity. Normally, even a fly couldn’t get into Wang Huanxiu’s company. If they missed this chance, there wouldn’t be another. So the group began to discuss things with Bai Shuijin. Bai Shuijin also thought it wasn’t a bad idea. They hit it off instantly, and once the marriage was successful, he’d steal the original documents.
Bai Shuijin was bold, shameless, and direct in his actions. He ran to the Wang family mansion and declared he wanted to marry Wang Huanxiu with great fanfare. Even when the security guards kicked him out, he shouted that he and Wang Huanxiu were already together and urged him to hurry up and marry him. He even photoshopped pictures of the two of them together.
Every step he took was suffocatingly bold. Everyone thought Wang Huanxiu would ignore him, but to their surprise, he actually married him.
But after Bai Shuijin married Wang Huanxiu, there was no further news about him stealing the documents. He even ignored their calls, and it wasn’t until today that they finally got in touch.
“Can’t you just set aside your pride? He’s about to arrive. Don’t forget to coax him. If you coax him a little, he’ll definitely do whatever you say.”
The more Pei Zhiheng thought about it, the more disgusted he felt, he even felt nauseated. Him, coax Bai Shuijin? Keep dreaming.
Just then, the bell above the dessert café door chimed.
A crisp, ethereal “ding-ling-ling” rang out, accompanied by a soft, polite voice.
“Hello, I’m looking for someone.”
A head of half-exposed, dazzlingly colorful hair gleamed under the sunlight. The winter chill had turned his nose bright red, and his cheeks had bloomed with a soft pink like a white peach. The pink rested faintly on his fair skin. Because of the cold, he’d wrapped a scarf around his head, tucking in his delicate chin. His hair had turned fluffy and messy, his eyes sparkled with moisture and light, and his tender red lips opened and closed as he spoke.
The café only hired servers with good looks, and even if they didn’t have the face, they had the height.
The girls were 1.75 meters and above in heels, the boys were at least 1.80. Bai Shuijin, who was 1.76 meters tall, looked like a little collectible figurine at the door. He was holding a big plastic bag in his hand, which contained his twenty packs of spicy sticks and a box of milk.
Pei Zhiheng wasn’t in the mood to listen to Li Jie’s rambling. His thoughts were wandering, and he glanced toward the entrance.
There stood a short little guy with a scarf wrapped around his head, talking to the server. The next moment, the server stretched out a hand and pointed in their direction.
Pei Zhiheng frowned, and then the little winter melon in a scarf turned to look at him, and a small, confused face crashed into Pei Zhiheng’s field of vision.
“…”
Pei Zhiheng stared at the person by the door, stunned, and his eyes unconsciously scanned the other party’s face. He had a perky nose and cherry lips, and the scarf around his head gave his face an unexpectedly subtle sense of atmosphere the moment it was revealed.
As he looked at the other person, the other person was also looking at him.
Pei Zhiheng swallowed subconsciously. His back, which had been leaning lazily against the sofa now straightened slightly without him realizing it.
The next second, the other party strode toward them still carrying that bag, and his eyes like a little deer kept giving him probing glances.
It was like he was asking something, and was eagerly hoping to be given an answer.
Pei Zhiheng’s hand, resting by his side, twitched slightly. Judging from the look, the other person was probably coming over to ask for his WeChat.
Pei Zhiheng had good looks, a good family background, and money. He was a popular figure at school. Many people had come to ask for his WeChat, so he was already used to those expectant and admiring stares.
Usually, he didn’t give it out, as no one had ever caught his eye. But now, his fingers brushed against the phone in the pocket of his hoodie.
He was in a very good mood today. If the other party asked, he might be generous enough to give it.
In just a few steps, the little guy in the scarf reached their table.
The first thing he said was, “What did you call me here for?”
Li Jie’s face was filled with question marks, and his expression was completely confused. “You’ve got the wrong person, we’re waiting for someone.”
“Yeah, aren’t you waiting for me?”
Pei Zhiheng’s hand holding his phone paused. ‘This voice… Bai Shuijin?’
Li Jie’s eyes went wide, staring at the person in front of him, who looked absolutely nothing like the Bai Shuijin he remembered. “You’re Bai Shuijin?!”
Bai Shuijin put the plastic bag full of spicy sticks and milk down on the table. “That’s right, it’s me.”
He took off the scarf around his head, and a few strands of hair stood up from static electricity, making him look like a disheveled little puppy.
Bai Shuijin eyed the two banana chocolate parfaits on the table with a hint of longing. He turned his head and waved to the server to order one for himself, too.
He’d never had this kind of dessert before. Another day, another new experience.
Bai Shuijin looked at the two people, matching their faces to the ones in his memory. The one on the right was Li Jie, the protagonist’s good brother from “Business Wars”, and the one on the left was the main protagonist himself, Pei Zhiheng.
Looking at Li Jie’s eyes that were about to pop out, Bai Shuijin muttered, “Are your eyes sick?”
Li Jie: “?”
Bai Shuijin: “Otherwise, why do you look so stunned like a dumb dog.”
Li Jie: “…”
In the past, Bai Shuijin would never have dared to describe Li Jie like that. After all, he wanted to curry favor with them and integrate into the circle, so he would usually only say nice things.
But now, Li Jie couldn’t even voice his dissatisfaction. He needed something from him.
He clapped his hands with a forced laugh. “You really know how to use idioms.”
Bai Shuijin lowered his head shyly. Maybe only pearls were as genuine as his genuity.
Seeing Bai Shuijin standing there blankly, he guessed he must be wondering where to sit. Although he seemed to be hesitating, he was sure that he would sit next to Pei Zhiheng.
This whole act was just for show.
Pei Zhiheng thought so too. He shifted inward slightly, pretending to be helpless, thinking he’d let the other party sit next to him this time. But in the very next second, Bai Shuijin sat down beside Li Jie.
His movement halted.
“…”
Very quickly, Bai Shuijin’s parfait was served. He took off his coat and scarf. He was wearing a beige knitted sweater which was not thick, and the loose neckline complemented the lines of his neck. The fingers holding the long spoon were smooth and fair.
On top of the parfait was a small mountain of whipped cream, with two chocolate sticks poking out from the side. Around the rim were fresh fruits, and on top sat a plump, red strawberry.
Bai Shuijin licked his lips and stared at the strawberry. They looked delicious.
Pei Zhiheng couldn’t take his eyes off Bai Shuijin. Normally, he wore weird, heavy makeup and spoke so vulgarly, but today he seemed like a completely different person. It was as if he was reborn after getting married.
Bai Shuijin used the long spoon to scoop the strawberry off the top, mixing it with the cream.
Pei Zhiheng mentally prepared himself.
In the past, Bai Shuijin seemed to have a feeding fetish. He always tried to feed him and the first bite of whatever he ate would be handed to Pei Zhiheng. He found it disgusting and never once took a bite.
But things were different now. He needed Bai Shuijin to steal the original documents from Wang Huanxiu.
He reasoned it out in his mind. Before Bai Shuijin arrived, Li Jie had told him that if Bai Shuijin tried to feed him, he should open his mouth like a pig.
So Pei Zhiheng opened his mouth like a pig. And in the next second, Bai Shuijin spun the strawberry and shoved it into his own mouth.
Pei Zhiheng: “…”
Looking at Pei Zhiheng open his mouth, Bai Shuijin: ?
What is he doing? Why is he opening his mouth so wide?
