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PM Chapter 49

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最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶

Chapter 49

The bar demolished its exterior, removed its signboard, and started renovation.

  Every morning, aside from watching the ducks swim and catch fish, Linglan developed a new hobby: watching the workers across the street as they work tirelessly.

  At first, she just played along for fun. After all, which part of wood, cement, and glass would be more interesting to look at than a quacking, spot-billed duck?

  However, a young woman showed her an illustration book one day that featured a variety of red flowers, fruits, and vegetables, including roses, strawberries, cherries, peaches, and tomatoes. When the young woman asked which one she liked best, she tapped the red strawberry, and the next day, a red strawberry appeared out of the blue on the empty signboard across the street.

  Linglan was so happy that she thought she was a magical little artist, and the store that was being fixed up was her canvas.

The young woman returns to see her not long after that, this time carrying another illustration book.

  After what she had learned from the first time, she eagerly pointed one by one at the silver and gold stars, coneflowers, and the black-and-white musical notes and excitedly awaited the next day.

As predicted, these little details appeared on the store’s wall after just one night.

She’s having so much fun.

  Linglan has a sparkle in her eye, and the very first thing she does when she wakes up is check to see what new things have been added to her “canvas.”

On a daily basis, her “canvas” look different.

  Out of nowhere, Zheng Feiluan assembled a multi-stranded construction crew that was remarkably efficient, pushing the progress bar forward by a significant margin every day. For instance, on the first day of construction, the store still had small windows, old walls, and long awnings, but on the second day, the entire wall had been demolished and rebuilt with clear floor-to-ceiling glass.

  The place is bathed in sunlight, which glows like freshly cut gold leaf. The workers crouched at the window, carving and shaping lots of huge stacks of light-wood-grained floorboards, which they then put together into the form of an artistic herringbone.

  Not only were they highly efficient, but the construction crew was also unbelievably quiet, causing little disruption to the neighbors.

  He An saw Zheng Feiluan escort the designer to oversee the project. They were greeted at the same time by the owners of the printing shop and embroidery store next door. One was more respectful than the other, and both said they were willing to offer help if they had any problems, as if they hadn’t recently fought over the renovation six months ago. He An’s doubts were immediately put to rest after seeing the construction crew rush to the printing shop to repair a bench and the embroidery store to patch a tile. The polite designer went the extra mile, even giving business cards and VIP passes to the two business owners.

He An crossed paths with Zheng Feiluan on the bridge one day and asked, “Why are you renovating so fast?”

Zheng Feiluan smiled and said, “I’m catching up to open on a special day.”

That day was December 18th.

He An lowered his eyes, counted the days in his head, and the significance of the “special day” became crystal clear. He then looked at the little flower-like Linglan in his arms and softly said, “Hmm.”

  At 11:30 every afternoon, Zheng Feiluan would make a routine visit to the inn to ask He An for an additional day. Aside from dropping off his ID at the front desk, he also gives some serious thought to his actions before asking He An, “Were you satisfied with my work yesterday?”

 

“…I am.”

 

He An’s voice was a little softer than usual.

He quickly selected room 207 on the calendar sheet, ticked the box for tomorrow, and pushed Zheng Feiluan’s ID card back, “All set.”

“Thanks.”

Zheng Feiluan grabbed his ID, turned around, and left the small lobby.

  Holding his chin, He An looked behind him as he walked away, and he fell into an awkward moment of self-questioning: the word “satisfaction” sounded to him like a subtle type of discipline every time he used it. Slowly but surely, he would come to accept that Zheng Feiluan was indeed a satisfying alpha. He may appear “dissatisfied” with him, but in reality, he sees absolutely no flaws.

Zheng Feiluan is so clever.

He An thought that the Young Master Zheng, who had been following him around and insisted on taking him back to Yuanjiang, would take advantage of him once he saw the chance and would stay with him at all times to woo him—but Zheng Feiluan proved him wrong.

Absolutely wrong.

  He appeared to be a completely different person. He doesn’t bother except for the minute every day when he comes over to ask to extend his stay. When they cross paths on the street, he usually just nods and smiles; unless He An starts talking, he stays silent the whole time. The most unusual thing Zheng Feiluan has done so far was to stand on the terrace of the second floor and watch all afternoon as Linglan napped in the swing cradle with Liubailiu in her arms.

 

Loving someone can mean showing restraint.

And restraint speaks more than being persistent.

 

  Zheng Feiluan kept his behavior under strict control and avoided He An’s anxiety line. Even when He An offered to stay with him for a week, he kindly turned him down.

“Our deal was only for one day at a time, and I’m worried that if you give me more than that, I won’t have enough discipline in the future.”

He smiled and thanked He An for his considerate offer.

What to do now?

Zheng Feiluan is impenetrable, and He An is utterly helpless.

  When Zheng Feiluan bought the place, he asked He An a question: What do you want the bar to turn into?

He An never replied that time, but he knew the answer in his heart.

  The Olive Inn’s kitchen was too small and basic to prepare three meals a day, even for his family, and couldn’t accommodate the guests. The nearest restaurant was two blocks away, so he wanted to open a pastry shop—nothing big or fancy, just serving affordable hot drinks, cakes, and breads—so that they could all find something to eat.

  Many guests will call before making a reservation to ask if there is any delicious food in the area. He An is not willing to use vague words such as “there are restaurants within walking distance” to assure them, because when they hear the truth, their reservation usually falls through.

Despite this, He An couldn’t tell Zheng Feiluan: I want a pastry shop.

The store didn’t belong to him, and he had no right to take advantage of Zheng Feiluan for his own wants.

During that time, he repeatedly resisted and refused to respond. Zheng Feiluan then stopped probing the subject and instead smiled confidently, “Then let me try to figure out what the right answer is.”

Could he make the right guess?

  He anxiously chewed on his fingertips, thinking that the answer shouldn’t come too easily. However, an undeniable inner voice told him: Of course he’s figured it out. After all, no one knows what you want better than him.

  Ten days had gone by in the blink of an eye, and the store across the street underwent a renovation that was finished more than halfway through. It also amazingly slowly matched the image He An was picturing in his mind:

The interior has massive floor-to-ceiling windows that allow lots of natural light, matched with inviting red brick walls. The flooring shows a herringbone wood pattern, with small round wooden tables and a stylish, long bar providing functional seats. Cozy gray fabric sofas and oak bookshelves that reach the ceiling add to the vibe. The set up also includes local crafts and plants that represent the spirit of culture… And lastly, endless rows of multi-tiered pastry cabinets.

  A few days before the opening, He An saw an elderly gentleman with a white beard, a prominent nose, sunken eye sockets, and a kind smile. The man was dressed in a clean chef’s uniform and was giving directions to the staff at the new shop.

  The older gentleman’s name was David, a renowned Michelin chef with over a decade of experience working in Jiusheng. This time, Zheng Feiluan invited him to take on the leadership role based on their personal friendship. He personally prepared a Chinese-style glutinous rice milk cake and sent it to Olive Inn as an introduction gift. He An took a spoon to scoop out a tiny bit and went ahead to feed Linglan with it. The little girl drooled over her bib while eating, and from then on, she went to check out the other side of the street, holding the glass door open and poking her head to look inside.

  If Zheng Feiluan comes out, she will twist her butt, stumble, run back to this side of the bridge, and jump into He An’s arms to hide.

  If it were Grandpa David who came out and offered her a spoonful of glutinous rice milk cake, she would eat it in one bite with a satisfied “Mmm” and then pretend like nothing happened and slowly walk back, holding onto the railing, looking very well-behaved, and not showing any trace of guilt.

  He An couldn’t take any action with her, so he reached out his hand to clean the milk spots from the corners of her mouth and carried her in his arms.

Alas, she had gained weight indeed.

  On December 25th, the shop across the street finally opened its doors to the public after undergoing renovations for a span of half a month. It has a lovely name: The Red Berry Pastry House.

The logo features Linglan’s favorite red strawberry, which matches the green shade of Olive Inn.

On top of that, this day marks Linglan’s first birthday as well.

  In the center of the pastry house, there was a massive nine-tiered cake decorated with white Lily of the Valley flowers at the top, surrounded by turquoise leaves arranged in an elegant fashion, going down to each layer from the top. Grandpa David stood proudly next to the cake, like a confident artist enjoying his fine work of art.

  The guests who came to the pastry house were unaware that the cake was actually a birthday cake and thought that it was meant to celebrate the shop’s grand opening. The only people that were surprised as they walked through the door were He An, Cheng Xiu, and Dai Xiao.

“Holy crap. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…” Cheng Xiu ran over and counted up one layer at a time, “This, this is so sincere!”

He admired the creative cake and walked around it twice.

Dai Xiao snickered next to him and crossed his arms, “You have a shallow sense of sincerity.”

Cheng Xiu froze in place, “I…”

Oh, for Pete’s sake!

I only praised the cake for its elegance and creativity, and I didn’t even mention Zheng Feiluan’s recent good deeds. So how is that shallow?

Confronted with the harsh criticism, Cheng Xiu angrily changed his words, “Fine, you’re deep, and I’m shallow. This cake is so boring. Happy now?”

Stomp——

Behind him, where he couldn’t see, white light flashed brightly as David slowly lifted the knife and cake spatula.

Then Dai Xiao said, “…Idiot.”

  Cheng Xiu gave David a big smile, but before he could explain what he meant by “boring,” David grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the pastry house.

  Linglan sat on He An’s arm, her small hand resting on He An’s neck, and glanced confusedly at the door, wondering why her alpha and beta dads were fighting again: Can’t they just get along and be two good friends for a day?

But quickly enough, a pleasant smell caught her attention, and she turned her head back.

Grandpa David had a kind look in his eyes and winked at her: Would you like to steal a piece?

Linglan understood, then smiled and blinked her eyes at him: Yes, please.

  He gently scraped the cake knife across the topmost layer, took a chestnut-sized Lily of the Valley fondant flower, placed it on a paper plate, and handed it to the birthday girl. The birthday girl had no idea what a birthday was and was overjoyed because she thought she was the only one allowed to eat them in the crowded shop.

  Just a few steps away was the pastry house’s bar. He An glanced over and noticed one of the baristas, who stood out with his tall physique. He was surprised, but then he couldn’t help but chuckle.

  He saw Zheng Feiluan wearing a white shirt, tied with a crimson apron, and a long metal name tag on his chest, just like a typical uniform for a store employee. He also had a stuffed red strawberry toy dangling from his apron pocket, probably a mascot of some sort.

When He An brought Linglan over, Zheng Feiluan was busy with his head down and a flower pot in his hand.

  He has small lips, black eyebrows, and exceptionally strong features. People don’t find it easy to get along with him because of how he looks. He can even be called fierce when he is serious. After putting on a barista uniform and controlling his pheromones, he seems much more approachable.

He An tried not to laugh and greeted him in a pleasant way.

“Congratulations on your grand opening.”

  Zheng Feiluan stopped what he was doing and looked up. When he saw them coming, he stepped out of the bar right away and politely brought in a high chair with a backrest, armrests, and soft padding just for Linglan. He An was going to simply offer his congrats and leave, but with the chairs already set up, it would have been a hassle to say no. So he had to help Linglan into the kid’s chair and take a seat himself.

  The pastry shop smells faintly of roasted wheat and coffee, which is warm and sweet but a little bitter, drowning out the alpha hormones. Linglan wrinkled her nose and sniffed, and when she didn’t smell anything she didn’t like, she held the small paper plate calmly and started to dip her fingers in the cake and eat it.

Zheng Feiluan laughed and said, “She has eaten nearly all of David’s signature desserts lately.”

“Well, she gained a lot of weight.” He An lectured, “No matter how amazing David’s desserts are, she still needs to learn self-control. She only has a few teeth, and she cries out for dessert all day long. They’re going to fall out before they’re fully grown, and… it’s unhealthy for her.”

“I understand.” Zheng Feiluan pulled a box of chocolates from the cupboard, opened its lid, and said, “I’ll talk to David later.”

“Okay.” He An nodded.

  They didn’t really have anything to chat about, and after a while of sitting there, seeing that the shop was filling up, almost to its limit, and Linglan’s snacks was in her tummy, He An wanted to get up and say goodbye.

But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, a hot drink was placed in front of him.

  A mug with a black cat design, steaming with fragrant hot cocoa topped with a thick layer of warm milk froth. In the middle of the froth, a small heart-shaped piece of chocolate can be seen floating and melting—just like the alpha’s softening heart.

✕✕✕


Translated and edited by janemoyu (12/12/23)

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