In Grandma’s house, there are two bedrooms. Jing Li and Grandma rest in the same bedroom, while Jing Ran rests in the bedroom he has been living in since childhood.

When Jing Li woke up, the sun had already risen, and the room was filled with sunlight. The streets outside were starting to get noisy, indicating that it wasn’t early anymore. Grandma wasn’t in the bedroom, so Jing Li walked out and checked the living room, but no one was there. Jing Li then went to Jing Ran’s bedroom, where the beddings and pillows were neatly stacked, but there was no one. Where could he have gone?

Jing Li didn’t have Jing Ran’s phone number, so she took her phone and sent him a WeChat message while walking towards the balcony.
Jasmine : [Where are you?]
^[1]Jasmine is her WeChat ID
After sending the message, Jing Li still hadn’t received a reply from Jing Ran. She leaned on the balcony railing and looked at the street. The shops on the street had already started opening, and there were many people coming and going. She looked down at the Xinrong Bakery downstairs and saw a long line of people waiting. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is it really that delicious? Such a long line!”

“Ding!” A WeChat message came in.

Jing Li opened it—
Ranran: [Come down to the bakery for breakfast.]

Could it be that he went down early in the morning to queue up and buy breakfast at the bakery?

Jing Li returned to her bedroom, changed out of her pajamas, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then went downstairs.
As soon as Jing Li emerged from the narrow staircase, she saw a crowd of people at the entrance of the bakery.

It’s really incredible!

“Ten pound of white sugar cake and five packs of flaky pastries,” an auntie placed an order with one of the staff members in the shop.

Jing Li didn’t see Jing Ran’s figure.

“Lili, awake already?” Grandma called out.

Jing Li turned around and noticed Grandma sitting at the cashier counter in the shop. It suddenly dawned on her that this bakery was their own.

Jing Li walked over and asked, “Grandma, where’s Ranran?”

Grandma replied, “Ranran is in the kitchen making pastries.”

Wow, the top student can even make pastries?

“Lili, let’s have breakfast first. Ranran made this white sugar cake in the morning.” There were two pieces of white sugar cake on the cashier counter, packed in transparent plastic bags, along with a cup of soy milk in a paper cup.

“Thank you.” Jing Li took the white sugar cake and started eating.

It was Jing Li’s first time eating this kind of Chinese-style snack. It was sweet, not greasy at all, and refreshing. She never expected that the top student had such excellent pastry-making skills.

At that moment, an old lady came to the cashier counter with a box of wife cakes^[2]A sweetheart cake or wife cake or marriage pie is a traditional Chinese cake with a thin crust of flaky pastry, made with a filling of winter melon, almond paste, and sesame, and spiced with five … Continue reading to pay. She glanced at the young girl next to Grandma and asked, “Ah Xin, is this your granddaughter? She’s so beautiful.”

Grandma smiled and introduced, “Oh, she’s not my granddaughter, she’s my granddaughter-in-law.”

Jing Li, upon hearing her grandmother’s introduction, couldn’t help but lower her head. Oh dear, it’s so embarrassing…

The old lady was surprised and said, “What granddaughter-in-law? Jing Ran got married? I still remember when Jing Ran used to play with cats in the store as a child, and now he’s already married. Time flies so fast.”

The old lady asked again, “By the way, is there going to be a wedding banquet? Remember to invite me and treat me to some wedding candies.”

Grandma was delighted and said, “Sure, sure. When we have the wedding banquet, I’ll give you an invitation and you can have a glass of wedding wine.”

Jing Li listened and felt her heart collapsing: ‘Grandma, please don’t say that. I don’t want to marry Jing Ran!!!’

After Jing Li had breakfast, Jing Ran happened to come out of the kitchen to get some fresh air and saw that Jing Li was already in the store.

Jing Ran asked, “Have you been here for a while?”

Jing Li looked at Jing Ran, dressed in the uniform of a white pastry chef, wearing a disposable transparent head cover, with his mushroom-like hairstyle underneath. She nodded and responded, “The white sugar cake you made is delicious.”

“I was just making wife cakes, they’re still baking in the oven. I’ll get one for you to try later.”

Jing Li pointed to the wife cakes on the counter and said, “Just get one from there for me, isn’t that easier?”

Why wait when there are ready-made ones?

“That was made by Uncle Mao, not me.”

“…Alright.”

The university genius is so persistent, let’s just wait.

Grandma suddenly stood up and said, “Lili, help Grandma collect the money. Grandma needs to go home to use the restroom.”

“Oh… okay…” Jing Li nodded.

Jing Ran spoke up, “Grandma, why don’t you ask sister Xiaohong to look after it for you? Lili’s math isn’t good.”

“…”

Jing Li’s inner voice shouted: ‘I’m just not good at Calculus, it doesn’t mean I can’t do basic arithmetic!’

‘Is being a top student impressive? Is being the top scorer on the college entrance exam impressive?’

‘It seems like it really is impressive!’

‘So frustrating!’

‘But I still have to keep smiling.’

Unknowingly, it was already noon. The number of customers in the bakery was decreasing, and the kitchen stopped making cakes.

Jing Ran changed out of the pastry chef uniform and put on his own sportswear before coming out of the kitchen. Grandma, seeing that there were fewer customers, asked Jing Li to keep an eye on things and went upstairs to cook.

Jing Ran walked to the cashier and sat next to Jing Li, asking, “Where do you want to go in the afternoon to have fun?”

“What is there to do?”

Jing Li has been in G City for three years. When she first came to G City, she didn’t know where to go and saw an article on Weibo titled “Top 10 must-visit attractions in G City.” Later, she visited two of the recommended attractions and regretted it. These recommended attractions were overcrowded with people. She didn’t dare to go to the third one.

Jing Ran asked, “There’s a pedestrian street ahead, do you want to go for a stroll?”

Jing Li thought for a moment and nodded.

Suddenly, a white cat appeared in the shop and stretched lazily in the middle of the store, saying, “Meow.”

“Xiao Xiaokang, come here!”

The white cat didn’t look at Jing Ran and walked away with an air of aloofness.

Jing Ran pouted and said, “You ungrateful fellow, just last week I bought imported cat food for you.”

Jing Li was amused by Jing Ran’s childishness and asked with a smile, “Is it your cat?”

“Well, it was my grandfather’s cat before he passed away.”

“Why is it called Xiao Xiaokang instead of just Xiao Kang?” Jing Li was puzzled by the extra “Xiao.”

Jing Ran explained, “My grandfather had a cat named Xiao Kang, but it passed away. So he adopted another one and named it Xiao Xiaokang.”

“Oh, so calling it Xiao Kang was a wish for everyone in the family to be healthy?”

“Xiao Kang has a surname.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. Your cat has a surname too? Is it called Jing Xiao Kang? Oh, wait, your grandfather’s surname is probably not Jing, right?”

“My grandfather’s surname is Li.”

“Li Xiao Kang?”

Jing Ran shook his head and said, “Xiao Kang’s surname is not Li, it’s Ben Xiao Kang.”

Ben… Xiao Kang? Is it teasing her for coming back from the United States? Is there even a surname “Ben”? Why not just say that it means running towards a well-off society? ^[3]奔小康(bènxiǎokāng) It can also be interpreted as “running towards a well-off society”

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Wife cake(Lau Po Bing)