We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

The word "what" was stuck in her throat, and Chen Qiuhe's mind went completely blank. Not only her, but Li Mubai and Xie Shu were also slightly stunned.

"You have a new Meileyao order, please process it promptly~"

The takeout printer next to the cashier mechanically announces the order and then slowly dispenses a new order.

"Qiuhe, what's written on the order?" A woman in her twenties asked from the kitchen. She quickly walked out, glanced at the order, and said, "A birthday cake. That'll take some work."

She snatched the order form, her gaze shifting to Li Mubai and Xie Shu standing in the shop, her tone tinged with doubt:

"What do your two younger siblings need?"

"I'd like one matcha double-layer mousse cake and one red velvet mousse cake," Xie Shu stepped forward to place her order.

"Okay, you can sit down first. We're out of matcha double-layer mousse cake, it needs to be made to order." The woman pointed to a spot by the window where several tables and chairs were placed.

"Qiuhe, help me make the mousse. I'm going to make a birthday cake." The woman turned her head to look at Chen Qiuhe beside her.

"Okay." Chen Qiuhe responded, as if she had received a pardon, and was about to hide in the kitchen with a sigh of relief.

"Then I'll have to trouble Qiuhe," Xie Shu suddenly said.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all." Chen Qiuhe turned her head, a smile that suggested she needed to appear natural even though her secret had been discovered.

"Hmm?" The woman glanced at Chen Qiuhe, who had run into the kitchen, then looked at Xie Shu and Li Mubai. "Are you Qiuhe's friends?"

"Yes, sister, you're also Qiuhe's classmate." Xie Shu was always gentle and polite to strangers.

"Oh~" The woman suddenly realized, then smiled and introduced herself, "I am Chen Qiuhe's cousin, Chen Yushan."

"Hello, Cousin Chen Yushan, my name is Xie Shu."

My name is Li Mubai.

"Xie Shu, Li Mubai, if you don't mind, I'll call you Xiao Shu and Xiao Bai. You can just call me cousin." Chen Yushan has a cheerful and generous personality, somewhat similar to Chen Qiuhe.

"Okay, cousin."

"Please have a seat, the mousse will be ready soon." Chen Yushan said before turning and going back to the kitchen.

Only then did Li Mubai calm down and take a closer look at the dessert shop. The shop was not large, about half the size of a classroom, but it was well-organized, with a display area, cashier area, dining area, and kitchen all in perfect order.

"What's wrong?" Xie Shu asked, watching Li Mubai across from him as he looked around the store.

"No, I'm just curious."

So... is this why Chen Qiuhe loves making desserts so much? Is she here to help her family, just like me?

A moment later, Chen Yushan came over carrying a tray:

"Xiao Shu and Xiao Bai, your cake is ready! How do you like our cooking? If you don't like it, please let us know."

"Uh... Cousin, we don't think we ordered any drinks." Li Mubai pointed to the two extra drinks on the table.

"These are two cups of lemon black tea, to help you cut through the richness of the cake. Consider it a little gift from your cousin."

"What should we do then..."

"Thank you, cousin." Before Li Mubai could finish speaking, Xie Shu had already thanked him frankly.

"You're welcome, you're welcome." Chen Yushan waved her hand with a smile. "You guys eat slowly first, I'll go and make the birthday cake with Qiuhe."

Xie Shu took a small sip of lemon black tea.

"It's quite delicious, not bitter or greasy." She looked at Li Mubai, who was watching her, and said, "I'll pay for the cake and the two drinks together later."

So that's what Xie Shu was planning... Li Mubai felt relieved and took a sip of his drink.

When he looked up again, Xie Shu had already scooped a small spoonful of matcha cake into her mouth, so she chose the green matcha mousse cake?

Li Mubai pulled the red velvet mousse in front of him.

Being with Xie Shu, he seemed to eat a lot of delicious food he had never imagined before. He would never have walked into a dessert shop and ordered a mousse cake before.

He scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth; it was cool and slightly sweet…

"Is red velvet delicious?" Xie Shu asked.

"fine."

Li Mubai's evaluations always fall into only two categories—"okay" and "not tasty".

"Li Mubai, do you still remember how you learned political philosophy?"

"Political philosophy?" Li Mubai looked at Xie Shu sitting opposite him, puzzled, not understanding why this was suddenly brought up now.

"Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth." She rested her cheek on her left hand, her right fingertips gently stroking the spoon handle. "So, I'd like to try your red velvet."

"what……"

Li Mubai paused, making sure he hadn't misheard. After a moment's hesitation, he turned the red velvet cake around so that the untouched side faced her.

"Try it, I'm not a fan of desserts."

Xie Shu bowed slightly, reaching for the cake, but the small spoon avoided the spot he had deliberately left, instead gently scooping a small spoonful directly from the spot he had just dug into.

Ah Zhe...

Li Mubai felt embarrassed. Luckily, Chen Qiuhe was hiding in the kitchen, otherwise he would have been in big trouble. Why was Xie Shu so calm?

Fortunately, he only took one bite, and the first spoonful was clean... but Xie Shu's wasn't clean...

"Hmm—" Xie Shu seemed to be savoring the moment, then pushed her matcha mousse in front of him, "You should try this too."

Would you like to try some?

After a moment's thought, Li Mubai wiped the small spoon clean with a tissue and scooped a spoonful from the spot where Xie Shu hadn't touched it.

"Is it good?" Xie Shu asked, looking at him.

"tasty."

For some reason, he found matcha to be more to his liking than red velvet.

"Here, have the matcha. I'll eat your red velvet." A hint of cunning flashed in Xie Shu's eyes as he chuckled softly.

……

"Xiao Shu, Xiao Bai, how are the desserts at our dessert shop?" Chen Yu-shan, as if she had just finished making a birthday cake, came out and sat down.

"It's great. The matcha has a slightly bitter tea aroma with a hint of fresh grass; the red velvet has a moist and soft texture, and is sweet but not cloying."

It turned out that she had misunderstood Xie Shu. She just wanted to give feedback on both types of cakes. If it were Li Mubai, who knew nothing about cakes, he probably would have only said the first three words.

"That's good. I was worried that my desserts weren't good enough, so not many people were willing to come," Chen Yushan said.

"Perhaps your dessert shop's decor is a bit monotonous. You could change the lighting in the dining area to warm yellow light, and use off-white or light apricot as the main color scheme..."

"So that's how it is!" Chen Yushan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

Unable to get a word in edgewise, Li Mubai could only look around. He then spotted Chen Qiuhe peeking out from the kitchen, but after a brief eye contact, she quickly withdrew.

"By the way, Xiaoshu and Xiaobai, I wanted to ask how Qiuhe is doing at school? She has never told us about her life at school."

Finally, it was Li Mubai's turn to say something, and he began:

"Chen Qiuhe is doing very well at school. She studies very hard and has made significant progress. She is now in the middle to upper range of her class."

"Mm." Xie Shu nodded gently in agreement. "Qiuhe and I are roommates. She often studies until very late before going to bed."

"Sigh." Chen Yushan sighed. "Speaking of which, she's unlucky to have been stuck with someone like her uncle, and her mother too."

"What happened at Qiuhe's house?" Xie Shu asked, looking puzzled.

Hmm? Li Mubai unconsciously hunched over.