Chapter 39: Extra

Chapter 39: Extra

On his birthday, Ye Tingtong found a way to reuse the cake batter in the kitchen and ended up making a few decent desserts.

Although he had trouble getting the sweetness and presentation right, he still earned praise from Shen Jin, this time earning an 8.5.

Boosted by Shen Jin's praise, Ye Tingtong grew more confident and began making desserts more often, his skills noticeably improving.

Once, on a Saturday, Ye Tingtong went to get Shen Jin from work and brought a tiramisu he’d spent the afternoon making. When he arrived at the office, he saw Yu Mo was there too.

He offered Yu Mo a taste of his little cake. Yu Mo, at first looking like he was about to be poisoned, was surprised when he tasted it: "Did you really make this?"

Aside from the looks, it wasn’t bad.

Ye Tingtong said proudly, "Of course, I’ll tell you when I open my shop."

He felt he truly had the potential.

Yu Mo, sneaking another bite when Ye Tingtong wasn’t looking, muttered, "Can you skip the chocolate next time? I prefer matcha."

"No," Ye Tingtong refused without hesitation, "I have to get Shen Jin’s favorite flavor right first."

Shen Jin didn’t really care for desserts, only chocolate ones barely caught his interest.

Yu Mo tsked, "This guy's taste is so random, just because he got a piece of chocolate once? He’s remembered it ever since."

Ye Tingtong asked, "What do you mean?"

Yu Mo was about to say something when Shen Jin came back. He shrugged, "Ask him yourself."

Ye Tingtong was about to ask, but when he saw Shen Jin's cold, deep eyes, he suddenly remembered something and froze.

After Yu Mo left and the office door closed, Shen Jin, just back from an emergency meeting, still looked a bit cold. However, the first thing he did was hug Ye Tingtong, leaning his chin on Ye Tingtong’s shoulder, his voice sounding tired and lazy, "What were you talking about?"

Ye Tingtong didn't answer but instead pulled him to sit on the sofa, "You must be tired, let me massage you."

Due to a sudden issue with a project, the entire team had been working overtime, including Shen Jin. After a whole day of meetings, even he couldn't help but feel exhausted.

Placing his index finger on Shen Jin's temple, Ye Tingtong watched as the man on the sofa gradually relaxed. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Did the Shen family have any connections with the Ye family before?"

Shen Jin still had his eyes closed, "My father wanted to expand his business and had some dealings with Ye Chengliang a few times."

Ye Tingtong paused his massage, "Then, did you go to the Ye family five years ago in winter?"

He suddenly noticed a similarity in their features.

Shen Jin slowly opened his eyes, clearly seeing the anxiety in Ye Tingtong's eyes, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Ye Tingtong pursed his lips, "Yu Mo told me you were once given chocolate."

This was originally a very ordinary thing; Shen Jin was excellent, and it was nothing unusual for someone to offer him chocolate. However, the tone Yu Mo used when mentioning this incident clearly indicated it wasn't that simple.

Coincidentally, he had also given someone chocolate once, just that one time.

Shen Jin looked at him for a while, then reached out and took Ye Tingtong's hand from his temple, "I know what you're trying to say."

"That person was me."

Ye Tingtong opened his mouth but didn't speak. He couldn't describe what he was feeling, only that fate had a funny way of working.

That winter, his mother fell ill and passed away. He sold the appliances he could part with in his rented room, selected a remote cemetery for his mother, and with the few coins he had left, took a bus to the address his mother had mentioned before she passed away.

It was a bitterly cold day, with snow falling steadily. The bus stop was quite a distance from the Ye family's residence. Ye Tingtong trudged through the snow for over an hour, and when he saw the magnificent gate of the Ye family, his excitement momentarily overshadowed his physical exhaustion.

He never imagined he would be a child of such a wealthy family.

However, after standing for two hours, waving at every passing car, yet being ignored, that excitement turned into despair.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, boldly declaring his identity. The security guard, who was about to chase him off, seemed indifferent, neither driving him away nor offering any assistance.

Every time a car passed, he would lower his hat, baring his face to the biting wind, trying to let those people see the resemblance between his face and that of the Ye family.

But no one paid any attention.

He was exhausted and starving, his hands and feet numb from the freezing snow, and could only pace back and forth, trying to stay warm.

Fortunately, he found a neatly wrapped chocolate on the ground, but he had only eaten that kind of gold coin-wrapped chocolate during the New Year, and couldn't make sense of the English on the packaging. After unwrapping it, he hesitated before taking a bite.

At that moment, a young man emerged from the Ye family's gate, standing outside waiting for something, just like him.

Ye Tingtong hesitated briefly, then approached, broke the chocolate in half, and offered it to the other man. He asked softly, "Would you like some?"

He only recalled the other man glancing at him, as if sizing him up, and just when he thought the other man would scornfully discard his offering, he ate it.

Reflecting on that moment, Ye Tingtong felt a twinge of guilt. "Actually, I wasn't sure if it was real chocolate; I was afraid it might be poisoned, so I gave it to you."

Shen Jin rubbed his temple in exasperation at the candid admission. "That never crossed my mind."

At that time, he had come out with his father to discuss business. His father and Ye Chengliang were exchanging hypocritical pleasantries at the gate. He wasn't as experienced then, and because of the sudden trip, his lunch was delayed, causing a slight stomach ache, so he came out to wait.

It was at this moment that Ye Tingtong handed him half a piece of chocolate.

When the conversation ended, looking at the hypocritically smiling Ye Chengliang in front of him, he casually mentioned, "There's someone from the Ye family outside, did they forget their keys? You should let them in."

Of course, the keys were just an excuse he made up on the spot; what he needed was to express his viewpoint.

Sure enough, later, sitting in his father's car, he saw through the window that Ye Tingtong was let into the Ye family.

Ye Tingtong smiled and sat next to Shen Jin, "At that time, I was so hungry and dizzy, I didn't see your face clearly, but you must have seen me, didn't you recognize me right away?"

Shen Jin didn't deny it, "You were easy to recognize."

A pitiful boy standing in the snow in thin clothes, with messy hair and a hoarse voice, but his eyes were clean and beautiful, brighter than the snow.

Ye Tingtong looked amazed, "Wow, should I have gone up and hugged your leg at that time?"

Shen Jin turned his head to look at him, "What do you think?"

"I think you would have kicked me away," Ye Tingtong answered his own question, "You didn't say a word to me at that time."

Shen Jin looked at the person coquettishly leaning towards him and smiled helplessly.

If the beautiful boy in the snow had asked him for help—

He seemed,

Still unable to refuse.