Chen Miao was fired again. He looked up at the gloomy sky, which seemed on the verge of rain.
The air wasn’t too stifling yet, and he waited two and a half hours at the corner cake shop. Eventually, the owner came out of the kitchen—a Beta woman with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry, sir. One of my staff is out today, and I’ve been swamped. What can I help you with?”
The shop was small but always bustling. Chen Miao glanced at the cakes in the display case, scanning from the first row to the fifth, his eyes lingering on the price tags as if he were hesitating.
The owner, showing exceptional perceptiveness, seemed to catch on and then addressed the customer who had been waiting for quite some time. “Are you looking to order a birthday cake? If you’re in a hurry, I have one ready that a customer couldn’t pick up. I can sell it to you at a discount, sir.”
Chen Miao agreed right away. “Sure, can I see what it looks like?”
The owner smiled and said, “Of course.”
She brought out a cake about twelve inches in size and decorated with pearls. A beautiful little princess stood in the center, with blue frosting as the main color.
The princess’s layered dress covered most of the cake, her little chin raised as she looked elegant and noble.
The owner explained, “A regular customer originally ordered this for his daughter’s birthday.”
Chen Miao’s gaze lingered on the cake for a long moment. The owner thought he might ask about the price, but instead, after a brief hesitation, he asked, “Can the princess on top be changed to a prince?”
Chen Miao left the bakery with the cake. As he stepped out, the doorbell jingled, and a raindrop landed on his forehead.
He placed the cake back under the shop’s awning and stood in the increasingly heavy rain, letting it soak his clothes and hair.
The owner watched him from inside, puzzled by this strange customer. After a moment of hesitation, she came out and offered him an umbrella.
To her surprise, he declined and asked only to have the cake’s gift box replaced with a clear plastic cover, likely to protect it from the rain.
Chen Miao walked through the pouring rain, clutching the cake as he hurried to Lu Lianning’s house.
The downpour grew heavier, and by the time he reached the doorstep, he was soaked through. He rang the doorbell three times. Although the lights were on inside, no one came to the door.
After an hour of relentless doorbell ringing, Chen Miao remained persistent. Finally, Lu Lianning, unable to tolerate it any longer, flung the door open. His hair was tousled, giving the impression he had just gotten out of bed, yet even that did nothing to diminish his striking appearance.
Lu Lianning glanced at the drenched Chen Miao, then at the heavy rain. It seemed the worst of the downpour had only just begun.
He couldn’t help but sneer, “Trying to gain sympathy?”
Chen Miao’s intentions were seen through in an instant. He wiped the rain from his face with one hand and gripped the doorframe as if fearing that Lu Lianning might shut the door on him again.
“Lu-ge, I’m sorry…” He looked like a puppy thrown out by its owner on a rainy night, completely disheveled and not even daring to bark.
In the end, Lu Lianning let him in. Chen Miao placed the cake on the coffee table and said, “I brought you a cake. I was wrong yesterday.”
The mention of yesterday instantly reignited Lu Lianning’s anger. “Who the hell wants your lousy cake?! You think you can just brush me off with this?”
Chen Miao lowered his eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.
The more Lu Lianning spoke, the angrier he became. Already seething from being woken up in the middle of his sleep, Lu Lianning’s mind flashed back to how Chen Miao had continued to stay close to Ye He, fully aware of how much he detested him.
Glaring at Chen Miao, he snapped, “So you know you were wrong? You forgot my birthday and instead ran off to deliver some damn clothes to Ye He?”
“There were plenty of other staff around. Why did it have to be you?”
“Are you my assistant or his!?”
When Chen Miao stayed silent, Lu Lianning’s frustration boiled over. He grabbed a nearby ornament and smashed it at Chen Miao’s feet. “Are you fucking deaf, or have you gone mute!?”
Chen Miao was so startled that he jumped back. But Lu Lianning seemed oblivious to just how terrifying his own state was. Once the first object shattered, things quickly went downhill. He smashed everything in sight—the vase by the door, ornaments on the shelves, teacups, display cases, even the television…
Nothing was spared from Lu Lianning’s fury.
His eyes were bloodshot with rage as he scolded Chen Miao, feeling utterly betrayed by his ingratitude.
Chen Miao, practically plastered to the wall in fear, trembled as he stammered, “Stop smashing them… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Amidst the mess of shattered objects and the dust swirling in the air, Lu Lianning slowly approached Chen Miao, who was cornered against the wall.
Sometimes, fate revealed itself in subtle signs before fully taking hold. For example, tonight, despite Lu Lianning’s outburst that wrecked the entire living room, the cheap cake Chen Miao had brought remained untouched on the coffee table.
It was as if the violent storm had deliberately avoided it.
He pinned Chen Miao to the wall, leaning in close as he asked, “I hate Ye He so much. Did you cozy up to him just to get my attention?”
Chen Miao didn’t dare make a sound, terrified that if he said the wrong thing, Lu Lianning would treat him the same way he had treated everything in the room—smash him to pieces.
Instead, he whispered again, “I was wrong.”
Lu Lianning seemed to have vented enough anger, and his mood was now somewhat calmer. Although he still looked displeased, he had regained some of his composure.
He slowly reached under Chen Miao’s shirt, his hand gliding up to his waist. Compared to the Omegas he had touched before, Chen Miao’s waist wasn’t soft; instead, his muscles had a noticeable tension.
He was nervous.
Noticing this, Lu Lianning’s actions grew bolder. He pressed his knee between Chen Miao’s legs, letting his hand roam to his chest. “So, if you know you were wrong, shouldn’t you be punished?”
Chen Miao allowed him to continue, obediently standing still, his gaze fixed on Lu Lianning without blinking. When Lu Lianning glanced up, he could see his reflection in Chen Miao’s eyes.
Suddenly, Lu Lianning chuckled. “I forgot. This probably feels like a reward to you, doesn’t it?”
With that, he leaned in close to Chen Miao’s lips. Understanding his intent, Chen Miao tilted his face up to meet Lu Lianning’s kiss.
Just before their lips met, Chen Miao whispered, “Thank you, Lu-ge.”
Had Lu Lianning been less self-absorbed, he might have noticed that Chen Miao’s demeanor now was no different from the day when he’d handed him the thick down jacket and said, “Thank you, Lu-ge.”
There was no emotion in his voice—only a simple, polite expression of gratitude.
