DLRC – Chapter 39 Uncle, Do You Want a Bite Too?

“Alright, I’ll head out now.” She turned back and reminded Chen Caiqian, “Could you please help tie up the garbage bag? I’ll throw it out later.”

“Sure.”

As she stepped out of the kitchen, Yu Hui climbed onto a little chair and happily dug into the mango crepe cake made by his mom. The moment Yu Wei walked out, she immediately spotted a mother and daughter pair browsing the dessert display. Judging by their similar looks and elegant outfits, Yu Wei guessed correctly that they were likely mother and daughter.

Especially the woman—standing next to Yu Wei, she could easily rival her beauty. Dressed in a light rose-colored long dress and white leather shoes, she carried an air of gentle elegance.

“Hello, would you like to buy something?” Yu Wei approached them with a smile.

The little girl was whispering excitedly to her mother, barely able to contain her joy as she stared at the delicate desserts in the display. When Yu Wei spoke, both of them turned around together, surprise evident in their eyes.

“Big sister, who are you? Is the boss here?” the little girl asked innocently.

Yu Wei chuckled. “I’m the boss.”

“Ah… you’re the boss?” The little girl looked about four or five years old, dressed in a light yellow short jacket. Just by looking at the material, one could tell it wasn’t cheap—probably from a wealthy family.

“Yes, I’m the boss. Little one, what dessert would you like to buy?” Yu Wei bent down and gently asked.

The girl looked at Yu Wei, then up at her mother, and finally asked, “Boss, are these all sweet cakes?”

“Yes, they’re all sweet cakes. Which one would you like?”

The girl stared into Yu Wei’s eyes, turned back to glance at her mom, and hesitated before saying, “I like that red one… how much is it?”

Even though kids don’t usually care about prices, it’s still their parents who have to pay, so asking the price was necessary.

Yu Wei replied, “That red one is a strawberry cake. Since today’s the grand opening, we’re having a promotion—half off. The small strawberry cakes are only fifty cents each.”

“Fifty cents…” the little girl murmured and looked up at her mom. “Mommy! The boss says the cake is only fifty cents, can I have one?”

Her mother smiled softly, glanced at the display, walked around the nearby counter a few times, and then pointed. “Please pack this one, this one, and… these few as well.”

A big spender indeed—she picked out desserts all priced over a dollar, including four of the little strawberry cakes her daughter wanted.

Yu Wei remained calm on the surface as she carefully packed the desserts with tongs and handed the bag to the woman.

“That’ll be eight yuan in total.”

The woman promptly counted out eight yuan from her small leather bag and left hand-in-hand with her daughter. A gray car was parked outside. Yu Wei watched them until they got in before turning her gaze away.

“Sister Yu Wei.”

Someone called from behind. Chen Caiqian came out of the kitchen with two garbage bags and waved goodbye. “I’m heading home now. I’ll throw out the trash for you. You should go home and rest early too.”

“Thank you. Be safe on the way.”

“Bye!”

“Bye-bye.”

Yu Wei was exhausted and eager to head home, but she still had ingredients to sort for tomorrow’s shop opening. She walked over to her son and gently ruffled his hair. “Is the crepe cake yummy?”

“Yummy!” Yu Hui’s eyes squinted in delight as he kicked his little legs happily, scooping the cake into his mouth with his small spoon, looking utterly content.

Yu Wei had only made two types of crepe cakes: strawberry and mango, two boxes each. Because they were expensive, they weren’t selling well—except the woman earlier had bought one of each flavor.

Thankfully, her own baby loved crepe cake, so she gave him a box to enjoy.

“You eat a little first to fill up your tummy. Dinner will be late tonight. Mommy needs to finish something—be good and watch the shop for me, okay?”

“Okay!” Yu Hui waved at her while continuing to keep watch at the door, ready to greet any customers.

Just as Yu Wei entered the kitchen and barely got started, Yu Hui’s sweet little voice rang out again.

“Mommy! Someone’s buying cake!”

Yu Wei pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed before heading out again.

Two men had come in—one in a suit standing with his back to her, looking into the display, and another in a shirt curiously scanning the dessert shop.

“Hello, would you like to buy something?” Yu Wei asked, her voice tired from the day.

The man in the shirt glanced at her. “Are you… the boss?”

Yu Wei: “…Yes.”

She was starting to wonder what kind of face she had. Why had so many people today questioned if she was the owner? Did she not look the part?

The man nodded slightly. About thirty seconds later, the suited man finally turned around—and Yu Wei immediately recognized him.

This was the same suited man who was drunk that night… and who had recently helped her retrieve her stolen purse!

To say she wasn’t surprised would be a lie. How many times had she run into this man since arriving in this world? Coincidence… or fate?

She composed herself quickly. “Would you like to buy something?” she asked again, hoping they’d choose quickly so she could finally go home.

The man’s leather shoes clicked crisply against the new wooden floor as he stepped closer to the display case. Yu Wei instinctively stepped back a little to give him space. He didn’t look at her, instead focusing directly on the central display.

“The desserts smell really good,” the shirted man commented, inhaling deeply.

Yu Wei quietly watched the two men select their desserts. Just as she was growing a little impatient, the suited man finally spoke.

“Special prices?”

His voice was cold but not nearly as distant as before. Yu Wei wasn’t sure if he remembered her.

“Yes,” she replied, “Today is the opening day of Yu’s Dessert Shop. Everything’s 50% off. Tomorrow, the promotion ends, so it’s a good day to buy.”

The man paused, lifted his eyes to Yu Wei, and repeated her words slowly: “Yu’s… Dessert Shop.”

“That’s right.” Yu Wei smiled politely, inwardly chanting: Please buy quickly, please buy quickly…

He didn’t seem to hear her mental pleas. Instead, he reached into the display to pick up a strawberry crepe, but Yu Wei quickly handed him a tray and tongs. “Please use the tongs. Just place anything you want to buy on the tray.”

Huo Mingwang paused, turned to look at her deeply, and then slowly took the tray.

As he moved from one display to the next, using the tongs to select almost every type of dessert, Yu Wei’s excitement grew.

A big spender for sure—he’s helping me clear inventory!

When he finally filled one tray, he handed it to her—then asked, “Can I get another tray?”

“Huh?” Yu Wei blinked and instinctively handed him another tray. In her haste, she accidentally bumped the tray into his chest.

“Sorry!”

Huo Mingwang said nothing and continued to select desserts. Many of the high-priced items that didn’t sell well were now ending up in his trays. At checkout, Yu Wei was practically glowing with joy.

“Huìhuì, make room for Mommy.”

Yu Hui quickly hopped down, still holding his half-eaten mango crepe, and looked up at the two tall men in awe.

Wow… so tall. Taller than Uncle. And more handsome too.

Yu Wei placed the trays on the counter. As the two trays lightly bumped together, a few stacked sponge cakes at the edge wobbled dangerously.

Yu Wei instinctively reached out to catch them. At the same time, Huo Mingwang also reached out. Their fingers touched briefly—his hand was large, warm, and steady.

Just as she tried to pull back, one cake began to fall—but Huo Mingwang quickly caught it mid-air with both hands.

“Whew—close one,” Yu Wei sighed.

She offered to replace it, but he declined. Instead, he turned and stuffed the squishy cake right into the shirted man’s mouth.

“Mm?” Chen Liang blinked, shocked.

“Boss…” he muttered, chewing reluctantly—only to realize… it was delicious. Moist, springy, subtly sweet, creamy, and nutty. Not bad at all.

While Chen Liang was lost in thought, Yu Wei had already started packing the rest. It took over ten paper boxes and bags due to the volume and delicacy of the items.

She showed him the total on a notepad: “With the discount, it’s 22.54 yuan.”

Huo Mingwang barely glanced at it before saying, “Chen Liang.”

“Huh? What is it, Boss?”

“Pay.”

“Oh.” Chen Liang pulled out a wallet full of large bills, counted out 30 yuan, and handed it to Yu Wei.

Yu Wei smiled, made the change, and Chen Liang picked up the desserts.

“You’re really going to eat all this?” he muttered, arms full.

“You can have them,” Huo Mingwang said casually.

Chen Liang nearly tripped. “?! Seriously?!”

Yu Wei’s hand trembled. Big spender!

Though they were thinking different things, both were equally shocked and thrilled.

Only little Yu Hui was still blissfully unaware, happily eating cake. Three trips were needed to carry it all out, and during the second trip, Yu Wei helped carry a few boxes. Outside the gray car, she spotted the mother-daughter pair from earlier sitting inside.

Wait… they came together? Why didn’t they just come in together?

Back inside, Huo Mingwang was sitting near the counter, watching Yu Hui eat cake one spoonful at a time.

Yu Hui sensed his gaze and looked up.

The uncle was staring at his cake…

“Uncle, do you want a bite too?” Yu Hui offered sweetly, holding up his half-eaten mango crepe.

Huo Mingwang blinked, surprised.

“You see, this is my favorite! It has mangoes. Have you had mango before? Mommy says they’re tropical fruits, and we don’t have them around here.”

For some reason, the boy was unusually chatty toward Huo Mingwang, speaking with pride—whether about remembering his mom’s words or just being lucky enough to eat mango, who knew?

Just as Huo Mingwang hesitated to respond, the sound of footsteps approached.

“Huìhuì, are you done? Hurry and finish, then wash your hands. We’re going home.”

“Okay, Mommy! I’m almost done!”

Yu Hui quickly scooped another bite, pure joy on his little face.

Chen Liang came forward. “Boss, everything’s in the car. Ready to go?”

“Mhm.”

Huo Mingwang stood and looked at Yu Hui, but his gaze inevitably drifted back to the petite figure of Yu Wei.

Before leaving, Chen Liang glanced at Yu Hui and casually asked, “Hey, little guy, what are you eating?”

Yu Hui blinked and glanced at the handsome uncle, then confidently declared, “Crepe cake!”

He stared straight at Huo Mingwang with clear, curious eyes.

I don’t know him… but I kind of want to get closer to him.

Chen Liang, puzzled, muttered, “Crepe? Isn’t that just cake? Never heard of a cake with a thousand layers—only shoes with thousand-layer soles.”

Huo Mingwang: “……”

Yu Wei: “……”

Yu Hui: This uncle is kinda dumb…

“Let’s go,” Huo Mingwang said flatly, ending the awkwardness.

In the car, the mother and daughter sat in the back. Chen Liang drove, and Huo Mingwang stared blankly out the window.

Chen Liang eventually asked, “Boss, are those desserts really for me?”

There was a long pause before Huo Mingwang answered softly, “Mhm.”

Chen Liang didn’t like sweets, but his girlfriend did. These would make a great gift.

After dropping the mother and daughter off, he drove Huo Mingwang to the office. As he unloaded the desserts, Huo Mingwang appeared beside him.

“That one’s for me.”

“Huh?” Chen Liang blinked and handed over the whole bag, unsure which he meant.

Huo Mingwang ignored the rest, pulled out a single box of strawberry crepe cake, and walked into the building.

Chen Liang stood there confused. So… he does like sweets? Then why give me everything else?!