“Are you sure you can eat it all?” Shen Yi eyed at the next set of dishes that his wife ordered after finishing his dumplings.
“I haven’t eaten enough before we left home,” Lu Feiran replied as he slurped his noodles loudly.
Shen Yi gave him a pointed look but didn’t say anything. It would be best if he stayed away from him and his food, or else his wife would take her anger out on him back at home.
Seeing how Lu Feiran enjoyed the dishes, the stall owner happily gave him another plate of dumplings.
“I haven’t seen you before. You’re new to this place?”
The old woman had been selling at this night market for over ten years now. It wouldn’t be possible for her to forget Lu Feiran or Shen Yi for their outstanding looks if they’d been here before.
Lu Feiran grunted softly. He wasn’t really a new patron in this area. He’d been here before as Lu Xinyi when Yuan Jin brought her here for a quick lunch years ago.
“We are,” Shen Yi answered for them.
“Ah, then maybe you can try the new cafe my niece recently opened? It’s new, but the desserts they offer are popular in this lane.”
“Really?” That caught Lu Feiran’s undivided attention. Desserts? He needed to try those sweets!
“Yes.” The old woman’s smile widened at his eagerness. “Her name is An Liuqin. Her shop is located at the end of this road.”
“We better check that place later.” Lu Feiran waggled his brows towards Shen Yi.
“You better make sure you won’t complain about stomach ache later.” He glared back.
“You worry too much.”
Shen Yi waited for Lu Feiran to finish his meal before paying their tab. They left and were greeted by a huge crowd of passersby waiting for their turn to eat.
Shen Yi held Lu Feiran’s arm and pushed their way into the crowd until they reached the end of the road.
The shop the old woman told them was going through the usual dinner hour rush, but it seemed the young woman greeting the customers was already used to it by now. Her shop was called ‘Steamy Beans Coffee’, and it was still considered new as it was opened three months ago.
When the two men entered her shop, the buzz inside the cafe stopped as her patrons stared at the two unabashed. Some young teenagers blushed when Lu Feiran smiled their way.
“I like to order one Sesame Balls with Red-Bean Filling, two Egg Custard Tarts, two Almond Jelly with Fruit, and two Earl Grey Tea please,” Lu Feiran ordered. He grinned at Shen Yi, knowing that he would once again pay for it.
Ah, the perks of having a rich husband! Lu Xinyi reveled at the thought of desserts she could freely eat whenever she went out with Shen Yi.
Shen Yi hummed as he looked over the selection. He noticed some familiar desserts listed on the menu and wondered if his wife noticed it. Somehow, he doubted that she did. She was so excited over the desserts to notice it.
An Liuqin, the shop owner patiently waited as he looked. Meanwhile, her mother set down some orders ready for pick up by some customers. In the corner of her eye, she saw Shen Yi leaning to Lu Feiran and pointed over the menu.
Lu Feiran’s face changed from excitement to confusion. Did they find something wrong with the menu? An Liuqin thought.
“I’ll have Swiss Roll with Whipped Cream Filling,” Shen Yi finally said.
“Okay, and is that all of them?” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Shen Yi nodded and watched the woman leave to prepare their orders.
“Xinxin, are you sure you don’t find it suspicious? Some of your father’s desserts are listed on their menu,” he asked when An Liuqin was nowhere in sight.
“This couldn’t be.” Lu Feiran bit his thumb. “What if it’s just a coincidence? Their tastes might be different.”
There was no way someone would be able to copy Lu Sibai’s recipe. The books were already in their possession. So how come some of her father’s desserts were being sold here? Aside from her, only Tian Lingyu was able to recreate their father’s dishes. Unless, of course, someone had managed to read their father’s recipe books…
Lu Feiran cupped his chin and thought deeply. Did Gong Yijun reproduce the recipe books when they were in his possession? He hoped not. He and Tian Lingyu would surely find a way to destroy it.
An Liuqin came back and served their orders. Lu Feiran took in the appearance of each dessert before taking his fork giving Egg Custard Tart a taste. His jaws hardened and placed back his fork on the plate with a loud clunk.
An Liuqin was startled. She couldn’t understand why this handsome man suddenly changed his mood after seeing their menu. She could roughly guess that it had something to do with it, or else why would the sunny mood he had earlier disappear as soon as his eyes scanned the menu for the second time?
“Sir, is there something the matter? Is there something wrong with our desserts?” She held her tray tighter against her chest.
They hadn’t received any complaints so far, and Lu Feiran was the first one who wasn’t pleased after taking the first bite of his pastry.
Lu Feiran didn’t say a word. His tongue was still dissecting the flavors he tasted from the custard tart. Although the ingredients and the steps used in making the tart were the same as Lu Sibai’s, the Egg Custard Tart was subpar compared to the original.
“Miss, your desserts are strangely familiar to me. Even the techniques used to prepare it were strangely the same. May I know the name of your pastry chef?” he tilted his head and regarded An Liuqin.
An Liuqin looked around them, relieved that most of their customers had finished their pastries and left one by one. Her mother was already starting to close their shop for the night. She chewed her lower lip which made Lu Feiran and Shen Yi aware of her nervousness.
Why would she be nervous if she hadn’t done anything wrong?
“Sir…” An Liuqin hesitated.
“The surname is Lu, Miss An,” Lu Feiran corrected her.
“Mr. Lu, the truth is… we aren’t the ones who made this menu. You see, my mom is a good baker; but she couldn’t come up with any original pastries. I met this injured man three months ago and helped him. In return, he helped our family open up this small cafe with this menu and the recipe he passed to us.” The young woman lowered her head in shame.
Shen Yi’s eyes turned into slits as he heard An Liuqin’s explanation. Three months ago… there’s only one man beside him and Tian Lingyu who’d seen Lu Sibai’s recipe books.
Could it be that man was still alive and had survived that night?
“Where is this man? Where we could find him?” He heard Lu Feiran asked.
As if answering his question, the door of the cafe opened. A young boy called An Liuqin’s name while pushing a wheelchair with a man sitting on it.
“Jiejie! We’re back! We bought you some smoothies!” The boy grinned widely to An Liuqin.
“You!”
Upon seeing the man sitting in the wheelchair, Lu Feiran suddenly stood up, making his wooden chair fall to the floor with a loud thud. Even Shen Yi was surprised to see this man again. He’d really thought he died that night.
