DLRC – Chapter 78 Tarta Pastry Is His Favorite

Huo Mingwang first dropped off Sun Aiying downstairs at her apartment. As she got out of the car, she was still holding a paper box, which originally contained four egg cakes. She had already eaten two and said she wanted to save the last two for Uncle Chen.

He got out of the car along with the little one. Seeing this, Sun Aiying thought Uncle Huo wanted to go home with her, so she excitedly tugged at his coat and dashed upstairs.

Huo Mingwang, being pulled by his coat, had a helpless expression on his face. To an outsider, it might have looked like Sun Aiying was dragging him in against his will—but really, if he didn’t want to go, who could force him?

The little girl originally wanted to go up and see if her mom was home, but when she passed by the dessert shop, the familiar scent wafting out made her stop in her tracks.

She couldn’t resist and suddenly turned a corner, dragging Huo Mingwang straight into the shop. As they approached the counter, Aiying’s sharp eyes spotted a backpack left on the cashier’s counter—it was Yu Hui’s new backpack!

That meant they must already be home.

So she started shouting loudly: “Yu Hui! Yu Hui, I’m back from school!”

Once she stepped into the dessert shop, Sun Aiying let go of Huo Mingwang’s coat and gleefully ran to the cashier. She had expected to see Yu Hui lying on the counter drawing, but no one was there—not even Auntie Yu Hui.

“That’s strange,” Aiying mumbled, scratching her head and walking into the kitchen with her little backpack. Still no one.

She looked up at Huo Mingwang. “Uncle Huo, do you know where Yu Hui and his mom went?”

How would Huo Mingwang know? They didn’t come together.

He shook his head to indicate he didn’t know, but soon, a soft and sweet little voice came from within the house.

“Mama, is that bicycle ours now?”

“My silly baby, Mama paid for it, so of course it’s ours!”

“Then Mama can ride the bicycle to pick me up every day!”

“That’s right. From now on, we don’t need to walk anymore. It’ll save us energy.”

As they spoke, the mother and son came out from the backyard. Just as the words left their lips, they suddenly saw two people standing in front of them.

“Ah!” Yu Wei jumped in surprise, clutching her chest.

“Aiying? What are you doing here?”

At this time of day, shouldn’t she be going home? Did she come to the shop to buy snacks?

Huo Mingwang saw the surprised look on Yu Wei’s face and suddenly smiled. It was the first time Yu Wei had seen such an obvious smile on his face. He was already handsome—with sharp brows and starry eyes, always carrying a calm demeanor. Now, with that smile, even his normally stern features seemed to soften.

“Auntie Yu Wei! I came to see you!” Sun Aiying bounced over and grabbed Yu Hui’s hand.

“Yu Hui, I’m back from school! When did you get home? How did you get back faster than Uncle Huo’s car?”

She had been picked up from the school gate and brought straight home by car. Yu Hui and his mom had walked—how could they have beaten her home? It was baffling.

But Yu Hui proudly raised his chin, pulled out a little panda from his pocket, then walked to the cashier and hung it on his new backpack.

The little guy was extremely proud. “My mama bought a new bicycle!”

Sun Aiying covered her mouth in disbelief. “Wow! No way! Your mom is amazing—she can afford a car?!”

Though she was only five and a half, she knew that cars were expensive—ordinary families couldn’t just go out and buy one.

At the neighborhood kindergarten, she was the only one who had ever ridden in a car. Even the teachers and the principal didn’t have one! Yu Hui’s mom was incredible!

She blinked in astonishment and turned to find Yu Wei, only to see Uncle Huo talking to her.

“My mom bought a bicycle, not a car,” Yu Hui clarified.

“A bicycle?” Aiying repeated. “Ohh, that makes sense. So it’s a bicycle. Can you show me?”

She was curious.

Yu Hui was a little tempted. His mom’s new bicycle was really pretty—he had kind of wanted to show it to Aiying anyway.

Not just Aiying—he also wanted to show it off to Brother Gaigai and Sister Huahua over the weekend!

“Um… I’ll go ask Mama.”

The little guy ran over with a pitter-patter and tugged at Yu Wei’s sleeve. “Mama, Sister Aiying wants to see our bike.”

“Aiying wants to see our bike?” Yu Wei turned her gaze from Huo Mingwang and looked down at her son.

Yu Hui nodded obediently.

Yu Wei smiled. “If she wants to see it, let her. Go show her.”

The little guy ran back over and took Sun Aiying to the backyard to see his mom’s new bicycle.

The backyard was just one door away from the shop, so their little exclamations of wonder were easily heard. Yu Wei found it funny. When she looked up again, she happened to meet the man’s gaze. Feeling awkward, she turned away and led him to a table.

“Why don’t you sit for a while? Or… would you like to buy some cake or snacks?” With the big boss right here, it wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t buy anything.

Sure enough, Huo Mingwang seemed to be in a good mood. He pointed to a box of tarta pastry in the glass display nearby. That cookie was something Yu Wei had learned to make from a silly online friend who shared the recipe in a community forum.

Because of the complex preparation and delicious taste, she priced it pretty high—almost rivaling Yu Hui’s favorite mille-feuille cake!

Well, actually, ever since the tarta pastries turned out successfully, Yu Hui’s favorite had officially switched to them! And whenever Yu Wei had a new product, the first person to taste-test was always her adorable son.

Yu Wei walked over and took out the box of tarta pastries, handing it to Huo Mingwang. His fingers were long and slender, and when their fingertips brushed unintentionally, Yu Wei quickly withdrew her hand.

He remained composed and calmly opened the box.

“How much?” he asked.

Yu Wei cleared her throat. “Three yuan eighty.”

Huo Mingwang casually pulled out his familiar leather wallet from his pocket. As luck would have it, he had some small bills. He counted the money and handed it to Yu Wei.

This time, Yu Wei was careful and didn’t touch him again. Huo Mingwang sat down and started tasting the tarta pastries while Yu Wei returned to the counter to sort the money. She planned to take her son home around 4:30.

It’s winter, after all. Warm homes with wives and kids by the fire—that’s the dream.

Even if that saying didn’t quite apply to her, the meaning still held.

A few minutes later, someone entered through the door.

“Old Huo?”

It had been a long time since Liu Xuehua had shown up, but now she stepped into Yu Wei’s dessert shop. When she saw Huo Mingwang sitting there eating cookies, she was visibly surprised. “You? What are you doing here?”

At that moment, Sun Aiying and Yu Hui came out from the backyard. Seeing her mother, Aiying excitedly ran over and answered before anyone could say a word, “Uncle Huo picked me up from kindergarten!”

Liu Xuehua’s gaze lingered between Yu Wei and the unusually present Huo Mingwang for quite some time before she finally nodded in realization. She had originally wanted to ask if he wasn’t busy lately, but looking at this scene—busy? No way. Clearly, he had more pressing personal matters.

“Yingying, what were you and Yu Hui playing just now?”

“Mom! Yu Hui’s mom bought a bicycle! He just took me to go see it!”

Sun Aiying happily clung to Liu Xuehua’s arm and smiled sweetly. “Mom, I didn’t see you all day today!”

“Well, now you’re seeing me,” Liu Xuehua chuckled, poking her forehead. “Are you hungry?”

Sun Aiying stuck out her tongue. She didn’t dare tell her mom that she’d just had Uncle Chen’s cake, so she shook her head solemnly and thought for a moment before replying, “Not hungry.”

“Not hungry even this late?” Liu Xuehua clearly suspected something, her gaze drifting over to the man still sitting comfortably, munching on his cookie. The man looked so satisfied that she gave him an extra glance.

As expected—he’s got a thing for Yu Wei. How many times has she caught him here already?

“Actually, I’m a little hungry…” Aiying fought back her cravings and avoided looking at Uncle Huo, but though her eyes averted, the sound of those crisp bites echoed clearly in her ears.

She couldn’t take it anymore!

Finally, Liu Xuehua came to her rescue. “Alright, go say goodbye to Auntie Yu Wei and come upstairs with me.”

Sun Aiying quickly turned around and waved enthusiastically at the mother and son. “Bye, Auntie Yu Wei! Bye, Yu Hui!”

“Okay, bye Aiying~”

“Bye, Sister Yingying!”

After the mother and daughter left, Huo Mingwang remained in his seat, still eating. That box of tarta might be expensive, but it was also substantial—he had only eaten half so far.

And the satisfied look on his face unexpectedly mirrored Yu Hui’s usual expression when he was pleased.

Yu Wei glanced at him a couple more times without realizing it. Huo Mingwang, whose peripheral vision had been on her the whole time, felt even more pleased upon catching her watching him.

She had intended to tell him the shop was about to close, but seeing how content he looked, she bit her tongue and headed into the kitchen to tidy up.

She was only gone for about five minutes, but by the time she returned, the store was empty—only her obedient son remained, flipping through a book. Seeing Yu Wei come out, he shouted excitedly, “Mom! Can we go home now?”

Yu Wei walked over and playfully pinched his soft cheeks. Her hands were met with delicate smoothness, but for some reason, the image of Huo Mingwang kept surfacing in her mind, as if he somehow overlapped with her son.

She really was losing it. Maybe it was just that she had been seeing Huo Mingwang too often lately that now, even looking at her son reminded her of him.

Honestly, that man was a walking disaster. Rich? Fine. But did he also have to have that devilishly charming face? Tch.

She asked her son, “Packed up? If you’re ready, let’s go.”

Yu Hui had been ready. He shoved his book into his backpack in one go—time to leave!

Yu Wei went to the backyard to get the bike. Her little boy beat her to it, running excitedly to open the door and then running again to stand beside the bicycle. “Mom! Let’s ride home!”

Seeing her son’s enthusiasm made it all worthwhile—even if it was freezing cold outside, the bike had been worth every penny.

As the mother and son exited the shop laughing and chatting, pushing the bike, their idle neighbor Zhao Shufang gave her a knowing look.

“Heading back?”

“Mm, going home.”

“Auntie Zhao, goodbye! I’m going home to eat with Mom!” Yu Hui waved sweetly.

Yu Wei had already stopped the bike and looked down at him. “Can you get on by yourself?”

Yu Hui looked at the back seat and shook his head honestly. “Mom, the seat’s too high. I can’t get up.”

Yu Wei had just been teasing—of course she knew her little boy couldn’t reach it. “Sigh, guess Mommy has to pick up her little short legs again.”

Once seated, the boy burst into giggles a moment later. After Yu Wei carefully steadied the bike so they wouldn’t topple over, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gently bumped his head against her back.

“Mom, I’m not a shortie! I drink milk every day! I’m gonna grow tall real fast!”

Yu Wei stifled a laugh, her voice carried away by the wind. “That’s right, our Huihui drinks milk every day. Mommy won’t call you ‘short legs’ anymore.”

The road home was filled with their laughter. Winter’s chill blasted against Yu Wei, making it hard to even speak properly.

The biting wind nearly scraped a layer of skin off her face. Thankfully, her son was sitting behind her, mostly shielded from the cold.

The air was damp and heavy, with more clouds gathering overhead. Seeing the thick sky, Yu Wei subconsciously picked up her speed.

Yu Hui was exhilarated. His cheek rested against his mother’s soft back as he watched the scenery rush by—it was all so new and exciting. He couldn’t help but shout, “Mom! You’re going so fast!”

“Is it too cold?” The wind was strong. Yu Wei reminded herself she needed to buy gloves soon.

There were so many places to spend money these days. She really wished the rewards shop would list a general store next time—how convenient would that be?

“I’m not cold, Mom! Not at all!” His mom was shielding him, after all. Even though the wind made his hands sting a little, he didn’t mind.

He was too excited. He loved the feeling of flying forward on the bike—it was thrilling. It cleared his mind, and stirred something dormant inside his heart.

“Mom, go faster!”

“Mom’s not an ox cart, you know! I can’t go any faster!”

Their voices were carried by the wind, catching the attention of passersby who kept turning their heads. Yu Hui’s crisp childish voice kept urging his mother to go faster, and Yu Wei, laughing helplessly, pedaled even harder.

Finally, they reached home.

“Alright, be careful and hold the seat steady while Mommy gets off.”

Yu Wei parked the bike. Her son was still seated, so she had to get off first, set the bike down properly, and then carry him down.

“Once you drink more milk and grow those legs longer, you’ll be able to get off by yourself. It’s dangerous if Mommy keeps lifting you all the time—what if the bike tips over like it did earlier outside the school?”

“Okay.” Though he agreed, Yu Hui suddenly thought—what if I never grow tall? Then Mommy could keep holding him like this forever…

Before they could go upstairs, they spotted Song Xia not far away, carrying a full basket of groceries. When she saw Yu Wei, she greeted her warmly, “Yu Wei!”

Yu Wei turned. “Sister Song.”

“Just got back?” Song Xia smiled.

Yu Wei returned the smile. “Yeah, just picked up my son. How about you? Buying groceries this late?”

“No, I went this morning. But my husband came back today—he’s not busy at the factory for once and said he’d be staying home for a few days. I only found out last minute, so I made another trip to the market.”

Song Xia’s round face was full of joy—clearly, it had been a while since she’d had a proper meal with her husband.

They had chatted before, and Yu Wei had heard that her husband worked in a state-owned office job. He was always so busy that he’d often be away for ten days or even half a month. Now that he was finally back, of course she’d want to cook a nice meal.

“That’s great. Now that your husband’s home, you can cook up a feast.”

Knowing Yu Wei was teasing her for her usual frugal meals, Song Xia laughed and gave her a playful pat.

Yu Hui stood off to the side, patiently waiting for his mom to finish chatting, shivering as the cold seeped through the seams of his clothes.

Yu Wei gave him a glance. “Sister Song, go on ahead. I still need to carry the bike in.”

These days, bikes were valuable property. You couldn’t just leave them lying around, or they’d get stolen in no time.

Most people kept theirs indoors. If not, they found a secure spot. Yu Wei’s living room was spacious, and she even had a mostly empty balcony. She planned to move the bike there.

Only now did Song Xia notice the bike. “Oh wow, you bought a bike!”

“Yeah, just got it today.”

“Nice! My husband only got ours a couple years ago. You’re doing well—already bought one!” Her tone was just a genuine observation, no hidden jealousy, and Yu Wei knew that.

She smiled without saying much more, took a breath, bent down—and picked up the bike in one go, slinging it over her shoulder.