Xia Liyang bit her lip slightly, lowering her gaze once again. “You don’t have to call me Teacher Xia. After all, you’re still a guest professor at our school.”

“You’ve never attended one of my lectures, so why does that matter?” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow.

“…”

Xia Liyang’s movements stilled for a moment.

It was precisely because she had attended his class that she felt uncomfortable when he called her “Teacher Xia.”

But of course, she couldn’t let him know that.

“It’s not a big deal, I just think I’m still a beginner and don’t deserve that title,” Xia Liyang laughed awkwardly, quickly changing the subject. “Now, you can switch to this blue icing.”

Lu Huaicheng’s deep eyes lingered on her for a moment before he lowered his gaze and took the piping bag from her.

“Then, you can do it like this…” Xia Liyang carefully lifted her pale wrist, her cool hand once again covering his warm hand. “Press down… lift up… turn a little…”

Maybe it was because this wave design was harder than the shell, or perhaps it was because her thoughts were no longer entirely focused on teaching, but Xia Liyang suddenly felt much more nervous this time. Her hand holding his slender fingers trembled slightly, causing the wave to come out uneven.

“Your technique doesn’t seem too great either,” Lu Huaicheng smirked, lowering his gaze to look at her with a meaningful expression.

“…Well, this is harder, and it’s my first time making it,” Xia Liyang said, embarrassed. Trying to stay composed, she added, “And the wave is uneven because you weren’t squeezing hard enough. You should apply a bit more pressure.”

“Oh.” Lu Huaicheng paused for a moment, his tone playful. “You didn’t squeeze my hand firmly, so I thought I was supposed to squeeze gently.”

Xia Liyang choked on her words, barely holding on to her composure. “You’ll get the feel for it. After all, I could break off your door handle, and I don’t want to hurt you by squeezing too hard…”

Lu Huaicheng was momentarily stunned.

Then his eyes softened, and he laughed. “Miss Xia, you’re really considerate.”

“…”

Feeling mocked, Xia Liyang’s ears reddened, and she lightly gripped his hand to cover her embarrassment. “Alright, let me guide you through one more time. Remember to apply more pressure.”

“Okay,” Lu Huaicheng said, suppressing his smile. His tall figure leaned closer, tightening his long fingers as he whispered near her ear, “Like this?”

He had a broad and imposing physique, creating a sense of overwhelming pressure, almost enveloping her in a private space.

The warm breath that followed softly brushed against the back of her ear.

Xia Liyang’s heart skipped a heavy beat, and the tips of her ears instantly turned red.

Her hand, which was holding his, trembled slightly.

This small movement caused the direction of the piping bag to shift, and blue frosting suddenly splattered onto Lu Huaicheng’s light-colored pants.

The air froze for a moment.

Xia Liyang’s nerves tensed, and she quickly let go of his hand, hastily pulling out two napkins.

“Sorry, Mr. Lu! I didn’t mean to…”

While apologizing, she crouched down in embarrassment and began anxiously wiping the frosting off his pants.

However, the frosting was hard to remove, and the location was rather awkward.

It was almost near his inner thigh.

In her panic, Xia Liyang didn’t have time to think, only wanting to clean it up as quickly as possible.

Her soft fingers, through the thin cotton and linen fabric, transmitted an indescribable sensation to the skin of his thigh.

It was slightly itchy, with a gentle prickling.

Her rubbing back and forth teased his nerves.

Lu Huaicheng’s muscles instinctively tensed a bit, his Adam’s apple bobbing as a few traces of restraint flashed through his eyes.

His large hand swiftly grabbed her slender wrist, stopping her movements.

“There’s no need to wipe it.” His deep voice was slightly hoarse, as if he was suppressing some emotion that was about to overflow.

The pressure of his slightly calloused fingers was a bit heavy, and the warmth burned.

Xia Liyang’s breath hitched, thinking he was on the verge of anger, which made her feel even more anxious.

She didn’t dare to look up at him, her long eyelashes drooping as she blushed and continuously apologized, “I’m really sorry, Mr. Lu… I can take responsibility for cleaning it…”

“No need.” Lu Huaicheng glanced down at her panicked expression, his restrained voice returning to a gentler tone, “I’ll go upstairs and change.”

“Okay… I’m sorry…” Xia Liyang pressed her lips together nervously.

It wasn’t until he casually released her wrist and turned to leave that her tightly wound nerves gradually relaxed. She peeked at Lu Huaicheng as he ascended the stairs.

He had a tall, upright figure, and although his handsome face still appeared calm and composed, the slight furrow in his brow and the quick strides of his long legs seemed to hint at some agitation.

So, was he mad at her or not…

She couldn’t help but feel that someone like him might keep a mental tally of all her mistakes and bring them up later.

And when she had frantically tried to wipe his pants earlier, she seemed to have touched something hard.

At the time, she didn’t think much of it, assuming it was probably the keys in his pocket.

But now that she had calmed down, who would put keys in their house pants?

Especially since his house had a password lock.

What she touched couldn’t have been…

Xia Liyang held her breath, her face heating up to her ears in an instant.

Stop it.

She couldn’t let her thoughts run wild any longer.

The most important thing now was to finish the birthday cake to make him happy.

That way, even if he was mad, she’d still have a chance to make it up to him.

Xia Liyang steadied her emotions, picked up the piping bag he had left behind, and quickly got back to finishing the cake.

It took a while before Lu Huaicheng returned downstairs in a pair of loose, dark-colored pants, his expression calm.

Sensing his approach, Xia Liyang still didn’t dare meet his gaze directly.

She pretended to focus on squeezing the frosting bag, carefully writing “Mr. Lu, Happy Birthday” on the final chocolate plaque.

When his tall figure cast a shadow over her, just as she finished the last stroke of the message, she couldn’t ignore him any longer.

She sheepishly lifted her face and forced a sweet smile, “Mr. Lu, you’ve changed.”

“Yeah.” Lu Huaicheng responded indifferently, glancing at the cake she had completed.

Although it wasn’t as delicate as the ones sold in bakeries, both the waves on top and the slightly crooked seaweed on the sides had an inexplicable charm.

Just like the feeling she gave him.

“You can give me the dirty pants when I leave later, I’ll do my best to clean them,” Xia Liyang said carefully.

“No need.” He paused for a moment, then looked at her with a half-smile. “Otherwise, someone will end up complaining to me again.”

“When did I…” Xia Liyang opened her mouth to argue but remembered that when she had returned his pajamas last time, she had indeed pretended to be pitiful, saying she had washed them several times by hand.

Blushing, she awkwardly stopped talking and changed the subject, “So, I’ve finished the cake. What do you think?”

Lu Huaicheng glanced at the cake again and chuckled, “It’s better than your attempt at piping roses in coffee. At least I can tell it’s supposed to be the ocean.”

“…Is that a compliment?” Xia Liyang blinked, her long lashes fluttering, her eyes glistening with a hint of watery grievance.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Lu Huaicheng raised his eyebrows, the smile reaching his eyes. “How would you like me to compliment you?”

“Something more direct,” she said softly, pursing her lips. “Like ‘it’s great’ or ‘amazing’.”

“Alright, it’s great.” He responded playfully, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Don’t you want to take a photo to remember it?” She blinked innocently, her eyes clear and lively. “I can take a picture of you with the cake!”

Lu Huaicheng stared at her quietly for a few seconds, then smiled and said, “If we’re taking a picture, let’s do it together.”

“Together? How?” Xia Liyang was taken aback.

“Like this.” He casually placed one long arm around her slim shoulders and opened his phone’s camera with the other hand, framing both of them and the cake in the shot.

His palm was warm, and through her thin chiffon short sleeves, it burned her cool skin.

She accidentally leaned into his chest, her nose filled with his faint, refreshing scent.

Xia Liyang straightened her back slightly, but before she could react, his long fingers had already pressed the camera button.

“Done.” He lazily let go of her shoulder and turned off the phone screen.

“……”

Xia Liyang, who was still in a daze, had no idea how she looked in the photo.

But she figured her unmanaged facial expression probably didn’t look good.

She tugged lightly at Lu Huaicheng’s sleeve as he pocketed his phone. “Wait… Can you at least let me see the picture? I wasn’t ready when you took it.”

“It’s just a keepsake, no one else will see it. What are you worried about?” Lu Huaicheng glanced at her slender fingers tugging at him, raised an eyebrow slightly, and responded with a faint question.

“Still, I don’t want an ugly photo of me on your phone.” Xia Liyang pouted, her long, thick lashes lifted, revealing a pair of watery eyes, trying to act cute.

“Don’t worry, it’s not ugly.” The curve of Lu Huaicheng’s lips spread a bit, but he still had no intention of showing her. His slender fingers relaxed, and the phone slid into his pocket.

Tch, what’s so secret about a photo?

So stingy.

Xia Liyang silently complained in her heart and let go of his sleeve in frustration.

She consoled herself: ugly or not, it didn’t matter, she didn’t really like him anyway.

There was no need to care about how she looked in his phone.

“By the way, how old are you turning? I’ll help you light the candles and make a wish.” Xia Liyang perked up again.

“Twenty-eight.” Lu Huaicheng paused slightly. “No need for candles. I don’t have a lighter at home.”

“You can light them on the gas stove!” She blinked and smiled. “But I didn’t expect you to only be three years older than me.”

“Oh? Do I look old?” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not!”

Xia Liyang almost tripped over her words and quickly shook her head, awkwardly explaining, “It’s just that you have such a mature and steady aura. I was complimenting you!”

“Ah.” Lu Huaicheng smiled ambiguously, his dark eyes still gazing at her quietly.

Xia Liyang’s heart skipped a few beats for no reason. She quickly picked up a candle. “I’ll go light this at the stove.”

Lu Huaicheng moved his lips, wanting to say there was no need for such a ceremonial gesture.

But she had already darted off like a little rabbit.

Forget it, no need to dampen her spirits.

Lu Huaicheng turned his head and glanced at the intricately designed cake on the kitchen island counter.

The layers of waves overlapped, gradually merging with the sea in his memory.

That was probably the last truly carefree and happy time he had experienced.

That’s why he had subconsciously chosen the Midsummer Night’s Ocean theme from the many cake options she sent him.

It wasn’t to deliberately make things difficult for her.

Lu Huaicheng lowered his gaze, pulled out his phone, and reopened the selfie they had just taken.

Her slightly flushed face was tilted up, and while her expression was a bit dazed, it wasn’t ugly at all.

In fact, her wide, round eyes gave her a bit of an adorable and innocent look.

But as for himself in the photo, he wasn’t even looking at the camera.

His eyes were downcast, with an unnoticed curve at the corner of his lips.

It was a simple yet deep gaze, directed solely at her.