Chapter 83 Playing Games with Me, Huh?

Chapter 83: Playing Tricks on Me, Huh?

That day, Qin Shuyi had encountered some issues at work and was feeling down.

Ling Jue had originally planned to take her out for a meal but swung by this cake shop she'd mentioned, known for its delicious 'blind box' cakes (where the specific cake inside is a surprise).

From the car to the shop, Qin Shuyi, tucked against him the entire way, remained completely dry, while the ends of Ling Jue's hair got wet from the slanting umbrella.

Qin Shuyi picked up a tissue to wipe his hair, saying dejectedly, "Forget it, my luck is terrible today. I definitely won't get the one I like."

Ling Jue, however, disagreed. "Isn't the whole point of a blind box that anything is possible? Besides, you have me, don't you?"

The first one turned out to be a rather ordinary honey mille-feuille.

Qin Shuyi's large, disappointed eyes gave Ling Jue a pitiful look.

Ling Jue chuckled softly and pinched her cheek. "Just wait."

In less than two minutes, he returned from the front counter.

Immediately after, the staff brought out a large pile of blind boxes.

Qin Shuyi was stunned. "Why did you buy so many?"

Ling Jue stated matter-of-factly, "To prove your luck isn't that bad."

Qin Shuyi: "..."

With his strategy of buying out the entire stock, it was indeed quite impossible for her luck to be bad.

Ling Jue said, "These were all randomly picked by them. I'm not sure if your favorite tiramisu is inside, so there's still an element of chance. Want to try again?"

Ling Jue also promised to cook for her personally if she got the tiramisu. Tempted, Qin Shuyi enthusiastically began opening the blind boxes.

Miraculously, it seemed she really wasn't as unlucky as she imagined. All the cakes had duplicates, except for the tiramisu, with only one rare piece.

The staff said it was the last one for the day.

The cake she drew herself seemed to taste sweeter than usual.

The only dilemma was the sheer number of cakes; they couldn't finish them in a month.

The weather was bad that day, and the shop was nearly empty. Even if they wanted to give them away to later patrons, there was no one to give them to.

Ling Jue scooped her up. "Let's go somewhere else."

The place Ling Jue took her to was another familiar spot—a nearby welfare home where Qin Shuyi had once volunteered.

After donating all those cakes and playing with the children at the welfare home for a while, the two went to the supermarket to buy groceries.

Coming out of the supermarket and getting into the car, Ling Jue asked her with a smile, "Happy now?"

Qin Shuyi nodded, her eyes curved into crescents.

After all that running around, she had long since pushed the annoying matters to the back of her mind.

"So easily pleased, getting so happy over just a little cake," he said, gently tapping her nose.

Others might need diamonds or luxury cars to be cheered up.

How could she be so easily satisfied?

Yet, Qin Shuyi grabbed his hand and took the opportunity to peck him on the cheek.

"It's not because of the cake that I'm happy~"

She smiled, her eyes curved, and gave their clasped hands a little shake. "It's because you're willing to put in the effort to cheer me up that I'm happy~"

Such candid and straightforward expression of her feelings, directly acknowledging those hidden little gestures and expressing gratitude, was an unfamiliar scene for Ling Jue. He was momentarily stunned, his ears turning red.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he said, "It wasn't that much effort."

It was just instinctive, wanting her to be happy.

But Qin Shuyi kept sweet-talking him, "If I could also eat the delicious food my boyfriend cooks, I'd be the happiest little girl in the whole wide world."

Ling Jue couldn't help but pinch her cheek again. "You were in a good mood all along and just tricked me into cooking, playing tricks on me, huh?"

Qin Shuyi giggled.

Ling Jue stared at her, then suddenly leaned in and bit her rosy lip, followed by a loud, smacking kiss.

He started the car, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Alright, let's go home and cook for the most, most, most spoiled little darling."

...

After that day, whenever Qin Shuyi was down, Ling Jue would go to the cake shop and buy many blind boxes.

Once, the owner threw in an extra one.

Regretfully, the owner told him that the next time he came, the shop might be gone.

Despite having excellent skills, the owner was not good at business. The shop was about to go under, and the owner planned to leave the expensive capital city and return to his hometown.

Ling Jue bought the shop and hired the owner at a high salary to continue making cakes. As for the shop's operations, he left the business side to professionals.

Within just a few months, the little shop that no one cared about was brought back to life and became a bit of a famous hidden gem online.

That was also how Chi Yu was able to find it when searching for good dessert shops.

Qin Shuyi's brief reverie ended; she quickly pulled herself out of the past.

"I've drawn many different ones, but the charm of a blind box lies in its unpredictability every time. Since it's your first try, why don't you do the honors?"

...

The atmosphere in the shop was pleasant. Chi Yu wasn't accustomed to this format, but with Qin Shuyi there, he was happy to give it a try.

Under the plane trees on the roadside outside, a black Maybach was parked. The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, looking at the back seat.

"Sir?"

He had suddenly told him to pull over by the roadside, saying he wanted to buy something from the dessert shop. But now he was making no move, so the driver reminded him, puzzled.

Ling Jue looked at the man and woman laughing and talking inside the floor-to-ceiling window, his deep eyes lowering their long lashes.

"Forget it, let's go."

His black suit pants wrinkled at the thigh where his fists were clenched. Outside the car, withered yellow leaves were swept up by the wind, swirling and drifting on the road.

The Maybach pulled away silently. Someone inside glanced up by chance and saw the ancient, silent plane trees.

...

Aman rested her chin in her hand, watching the seemingly perfect-looking couple, and sighed.

She remembered the tiramisu blind box that had been specially requested on that rainy day, and the handsome man who had quietly bought out all the remaining tiramisu, asking them not to serve any more that day.

So not every tale of deep affection gets an ending.

Why is it the outsider who feels more regret?

Chi Yu opened an exquisitely crafted fondant cake.

A smile curled at his lips. "Seems like today is pretty good."

He looked at Qin Shuyi. The sunlight streaming through the window cast a pure glow on the corners of her eyes and brows. "Every time I'm with you, my luck seems to be really good. And I also get to experience many new things."

Just like the first cake blind box he ever opened.

He took out two tickets. "So, as a thank you, I have a gift for you too."

Qin Shuyi took them, her eyes lighting up. "It's a lecture by Caitlin Doughty!"

A mortician, writer, and science popularizer who has promoted reform in the funeral industry and popularized the topic of "death acceptance"—one could also call her a "down-to-earth death educator."

She has traveled to over ten countries and regions, including Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico, personally visiting places like Colorado's open-air cremations, Indonesia's public burial chambers, Mexico's Day of the Dead, and Japan's Ruriden columbarium for bone ash offerings. She has also published related books.

Getting a gift she'd really wanted, her eyes sparkled brightly, just like when her cat, Princess, got her favorite cat food.

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