“Lu, Mr. Lu.”

Xia Liyang smiled awkwardly, standing up in embarrassment, pointing at the turtle’s head poking out of the pond and stammering, “I just wanted to call it for dinner…”

“And then you took the liberty of giving it a name?” Lu Huaicheng squinted slightly, his dark gaze locking onto her clear, slightly flushed face.

“‘Wangba’ is a scientific name, I didn’t just make it up.” Xia Liyang lowered her head, the brim of her hood hiding her guilty eyes.

“Wangba refers to a soft-shelled turtle, while this is a tortoise,” Lu Huaicheng scoffed, his tone casual. “Miss Xia, you can’t possibly be this confused; I think you’re implying something else.”

Xia Liyang felt her thoughts exposed and took a deep breath, hurriedly shaking her head and urgently denying, “Mr. Lu! How could I call you that? I’m so… so…”

“So what?” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

“So in admiration of you,” Xia Liyang forced herself to find a fitting phrase, her long wet lashes fluttering as she tried to look at him with sincerity.

“Oh.” Lu Huaicheng paused slightly, his tone mild. “I thought you secretly resented me.”

Xia Liyang, feeling a chill of sweat on her back, forced a smile, “Mr. Lu, you’re overthinking it. You’ve helped me so much, how could I ever be resentful?”

“So, you don’t dare to be resentful.” His smile deepened a little, and his gaze lingered on her.

Xia Liyang felt her heart skip a beat at his scrutiny, her expression growing increasingly flustered. “I… um… that’s not what I meant… it was just a slip of the tongue!”

Her eyelashes fluttered anxiously, her bright eyes reflecting his tall, imposing figure.

Her slender, pale fingers were nervously intertwined in front of her, and the light rain dampened the tip of her small nose, while her hair stuck to her increasingly red cheeks.

Lu Huaicheng’s dark eyes narrowed slightly. After a few seconds of silence, he tilted the umbrella slightly over her head, creating a dry space for her.

Then his voice softened a bit, sounding pleasant as he said, “If you have any dissatisfaction, just say it directly.”

Xia Liyang was taken aback by his change of attitude, wondering if he was trying to trap her.

She nervously bit her lip, carefully considering, “Well, there’s no dissatisfaction, just a little bit of unhappiness.”

“Is it because I’m buying gifts for other girls?” he raised an eyebrow.

“…Yes.” Xia Liyang replied vaguely, suddenly realizing he seemed to want to see her express dissatisfaction about this.

It was like he was testing whether she would be jealous of him.

Understanding this, Xia Liyang immediately adjusted her expression, lowering her eyes in a feigned pout, “When you asked for my help choosing, I was struggling to make a gift for you, so at that moment, I was really sad.”

“Why didn’t you say you were sad?” His black eyes stared at her without blinking, the depths of them unreadable.

“How could I say it? I can’t dictate who you interact with,” Xia Liyang puffed her cheeks, her tone playful yet serious.

Lu Huaicheng scrutinized her for a few seconds before letting out a low chuckle, “If you had asked a few more questions, you wouldn’t be angry like a pufferfish right now.”

“…”

She had seen some teaching tips suggesting that girls puffing their cheeks was cute, so she tried it out.

And now he called her a pufferfish?!!!

Xia Liyang awkwardly exhaled, her ears slightly red as she turned her face away and muttered, “How could I dare to ask?”

“Not daring to do this and that, am I some kind of terrifying monster?” Lu Huaicheng glanced at her with amusement.

Not a terrifying monster.

But a devil.

Xia Liyang thought to herself, then spoke softly, “I mainly fear making you mad and risking getting fired.”

“You haven’t made any mistakes at work; why would I fire you?”

“I didn’t make any mistakes at first either, but you didn’t need me on Saturday,” Xia Liyang pouted, her bright eyes filled with a hint of mischief.

“…” Lu Huaicheng was slightly taken aback, then smiled warmly and said, “Alright, you’re starting to bring up old grievances.”

“No, no, I’m just expressing my worries,” Xia Liyang quickly shook her head.

“Your sense of crisis is quite strong,” Lu Huaicheng said in a half-mocking tone.

“Well, considering you have so many girls around you, who knows how far things have progressed with them?” Xia Liyang lightly pursed her lips, casting him a resentful glance.

“After bringing up old grievances, now you’re starting to spread rumors about me?” Lu Huaicheng chuckled softly in disbelief.

With slender fingers, he pulled a delicate box from his suit pocket and handed it to her.

“A little gift for you. Hopefully, it can calm your wild imagination.”

Xia Liyang was momentarily stunned, glancing down at the logo on the box.

It was from the luxury jewelry brand where he had asked her to help pick something the other day.

Huh? What’s going on?

Did he casually buy her a small gift too?

Feeling confused, Xia Liyang looked up at him and hesitantly asked, “Is this…?”

“The necklace you picked,” Lu Huaicheng replied casually.

“You said it was for another girl, right?” Xia Liyang was even more puzzled.

“Aren’t you a girl?” he asked with a soft laugh.

“…” Xia Liyang was at a loss for words, staring blankly at the box in his hand, not daring to take it.

She couldn’t figure out why he suddenly gave her such an expensive gift.

This kind of high-end jewelry was something she would carefully consider before buying.

And he was just giving it to her so nonchalantly?

Seeing her hesitate, Lu Huaicheng frowned slightly. “What, don’t you like what you picked out yourself?”

“It’s not that…” Xia Liyang nervously bit her lip, carefully choosing her words. “I just think this necklace must be expensive. It doesn’t seem like a casual gift.”

“Whether it’s expensive is defined by the one giving it. To me, this necklace is just a casual gift.”

Lu Huaicheng paused, then smirked. “Or were you hoping I’d give it to you as a token of affection?”

“…I wasn’t thinking that,” Xia Liyang stiffened, feeling awkward.

With his words, if she didn’t accept it, she’d seem ungrateful and presumptuous.

“Thank you for the gift,” Xia Liyang said as she lowered her gaze and accepted the box, feeling a mix of emotions.

“Let’s go inside,” Lu Huaicheng said, his tone indifferent as his expression softened.

Clutching the box in her hands, Xia Liyang felt a residual warmth from his touch, making her feel uneasy.

After all, compared to his lavish gift, the birthday present she had prepared for him seemed too modest and half-hearted.

If she had known the necklace was for her, she wouldn’t have picked the most expensive one!

And she definitely would have finished knitting that scarf…

So after they returned inside, instead of getting the gift bag hidden in the corner, Xia Liyang washed her hands and headed to the kitchen island to start preparing the cake.

At least the cake looked complex enough that it might show him her effort and care.

Maybe it would offset any dissatisfaction he might have with her gift.

As she was mixing the flour, eggs, and milk, she heard Lu Huaicheng coming down the stairs, having changed out of his business attire.

Xia Liyang glanced up.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, with soft pants fitting his long legs.

His youthful, handsome face and smooth eyebrows made him look much younger—like an approachable senior from a neighboring department.

With his hands casually tucked into his pockets, he gave her a nonchalant glance.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly lowered her eyes, focusing on the mixing.

Lu Huaicheng’s dark eyes lingered on her lowered face for a moment, then he walked over to her side.

“How long will the cake take to finish?”

“Uh…” Xia Liyang paused her mixing, nervously lifting her face to give him the safest estimate. “At least two hours.”

“That long?” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow.

“The cake base alone takes an hour to bake, plus the time to prepare the ingredients and decorate it afterward. Two hours is actually fast, especially since you chose a complicated cake…” Xia Liyang quickly tried to show off her effort.

“Then let’s make a simpler one. Otherwise, it’ll delay dinner,” Lu Huaicheng said, glancing at his watch.

“…” Xia Liyang’s mouth twitched, thinking about how she’d wasted the week practicing that complicated cake for nothing!

And a simple cake paired with a half-finished, poorly made scarf?

She felt like cursing herself on his behalf.

She forced a smile and said, “But I’ve already memorized the recipe for this one. If we switch, I might not do as well… Unless, Mr. Lu, if you’re not too busy, could you help me a little during the final decoration? That way, we can finish faster.”

“How can I help?” Lu Huaicheng raised an eyebrow.

“Just pipe little shell shapes along the edges,” Xia Liyang showed him a picture on her phone. “It’s simple. Someone as smart as you will definitely get it on the first try.”

“Not sure about that. I don’t have much talent for this,” Lu Huaicheng smiled, but didn’t reject her suggestion.

Xia Liyang’s mood brightened instantly. “No problem, I’ll teach you!”

However, when the cake base was ready, and Lu Huaicheng held the piping bag with his elegant fingers but squeezed out an unidentifiable blob of cream, Xia Liyang immediately regretted her words.

Even her first attempt at home wasn’t this bad!

And he hadn’t followed a single one of her instructions!

Seeing Xia Liyang’s expression, Lu Huaicheng’s lips subtly curved as he innocently said, “I told you I wasn’t good at this. Just watching you isn’t enough for me to grasp the technique.”

“How about I guide you step by step?” Xia Liyang glanced at him helplessly.

“Sure,” Lu Huaicheng nodded slightly.

So Xia Liyang moved closer to him, bending over and placing her soft hand over his warm one.

“Like this, gently squeeze outwards while slowly pressing down…”

Her long eyelashes lowered, and the fresh citrus-like scent wafted towards him.

A loose strand of her hair brushed against the exposed skin of his arm, the cool, smooth touch entangling his heartbeat like a spider’s thread.

Lu Huaicheng held his breath for a moment, his Adam’s apple moving.

Xia Liyang, fully focused on teaching, didn’t notice the subtle change in his expression.

Only after they finished a shell-shaped decoration did she glance at him.

And suddenly, she met his gaze, which had an inexplicable warmth to it.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly withdrew her hand, straightening up and putting some distance between them. “Did you learn it this time?” she asked.

“Yes,” Lu Huaicheng lowered his gaze and immediately squeezed out a perfect shell.

It was so perfect that she doubted whether he had been pretending not to know earlier just to give her an excuse to get closer.

Realizing this a little late, Xia Liyang regretted not taking advantage of the moment—she had even held his hand, but didn’t use the opportunity at all!

This could have counted as their second time holding hands!

Feeling regretful, Xia Liyang squeezed the piping bag, deciding to create a new opportunity herself.

She stole a glance at the man with his low brows, now skillfully decorating the cake with shells on the side. Clearing her throat slightly, she said, “Mr. Lu.”

“Hmm?” Lu Huaicheng raised his eyes slightly, glancing at her.

“Would you like to challenge yourself with something harder and try making waves?” She blinked, pointing at the wave decoration she had just finished on top of the cake.

“Are you trying to make me do the entire cake myself?” Lu Huaicheng’s lips curved slightly, his tone light.

“That’s not what I meant…” Xia Liyang faltered, biting her lip awkwardly. “I just thought, um, I could teach you again, step by step.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Huaicheng’s smile widened, and he teased her, “Are you enjoying being a teacher?”

“No,” Xia Liyang muttered, lowering her head in embarrassment, “The point is to guide you step by step.”

“What?” Lu Huaicheng’s eyes gleamed with amusement, and he raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t hear you clearly.”

“If you didn’t hear, just forget it.”

Seeing that he didn’t seem to be deliberately giving her a chance to get close again, contrary to her earlier suspicion, Xia Liyang didn’t dare to repeat herself. She lowered her head even more and pretended nothing had happened, returning to decorating the cake.

Lu Huaicheng’s dark eyes lingered on her for a few seconds before he laughed softly, his voice gentle. “Then I’ll trouble Teacher Xia to guide me again, step by step.”

Xia Liyang hesitated for a moment and then raised her face.

The man across from her had a calm smile, and his dark eyes reflected the warm light overhead, like melting spring water.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed like he emphasized the words “step by step” in response to her earlier point.