In the oven, the soufflé in the baking dish rose rapidly under the intense heat, soon puffing past the rim like a mushroom sprouting after rain. Its golden, soft top spread out in a fluffy, inviting bloom.

The sweet aroma began to waft through the air, lifting the mood of everyone around.

Luna, holding her sticky rice ball, peeked eagerly into the oven, her ex-boyfriend completely forgotten. “Yao Yao, this soufflé is so different from the ones I’ve had before. Those trendy shops make theirs on a griddle. Why did you bake yours in a dish?”

Jin Yaotiao paused for a moment before realizing what Luna meant.

She put on her oven mitts and explained, “You’re talking about soufflé pancakes. This is the traditional version. It requires more precise heat control, and the taste is slightly different.”

Luna nodded as though she understood, stepping back to let her friend take the lead.

After a moment’s thought, she asked, “By the way, what’s up with Shen Qiming? I thought you broke up. Why does he still hang around you like before?”

Jin Yaotiao raised an eyebrow. “When have I ever been ‘hanging around’ with him?”

Luna, barely able to resist biting into her soft, creamy rice ball, mumbled, “You two are always together. Ever since school, every time I saw him, he was with you.”

Jin Yaotiao paused as she opened the oven, then chuckled. “Is your memory failing you?”

Luna looked confused. Was it?

She didn’t interact with Shen Qiming much outside of school, and she decided not to dwell on her friend’s comment.

She grinned and teased, “Whatever. But if those socialites like Hu Wanyue knew their dream guy got dumped by you, they’d probably be so mad their fillers would shift!”

Just as she finished, Luna’s phone rang.

Seeing Hu Wanyue’s name on the screen, her eyes widened.

“My big mouth…”

“Luna, darling!” Hu Wanyue’s anxious tone spilled through the line. “I heard Yaotiao’s dad got into some trouble. Do you know what’s going on? Is she okay?”

The schadenfreude in her voice practically leaked through the phone.

Luna, the ditzy beauty, instantly shifted her demeanor.

Her wide eyes sparkled with mischief like a startled ragdoll cat as she eagerly replied, “Oh, sweetie, thanks for your concern! Uncle Jin just caught a little cold. The rumors are so overblown! Yaotiao is doing great—she’s right here making soufflés for me!”

Hu Wanyue, who had just read speculation online that the chairman of Mingde Group might have suddenly passed away: “…”

Luna cooed sweetly, twisting in delight. “Honey, it’s such a shame you’re not here. Yaotiao’s soufflés smell divine. If only you could join us!”

After hanging up, Luna immediately cursed at her phone, “That big fake cow! Serves you right for your botched eye surgery and your allergic reaction to skin boosters!”

Jin Yaotiao: “…”

In the kitchen, the young apprentice chef stared in stunned silence. Even Master Tu, who had been busy with his work, froze, his expression unreadable.

Is this… the true face of women?

Clearing her throat, Jin Yaotiao pulled the soufflé out of the oven. The rich aroma elicited a satisfied hum from Luna, who instantly reverted to her sweet and charming demeanor.

“Come on, everyone, try some,” Jin Yaotiao invited.

Master Tu hesitated but finally stepped forward.

The moment the soufflé melted on his tongue, his initial trepidation dissolved.

Compared to the rich, comforting flavor of the sticky rice balls, this dessert was delicate and sophisticated, with a warmth that seemed to transport him to the clouds.

Luna was equally stunned. “This… this is even better than the one I waited three days to try! I thought that was the best soufflé I’d ever had!”

She quickly added, “I really need to go on a diet… I have to diet…”

Master Tu looked utterly baffled, like a ginger root freshly pulled from the ground.

Having already devoured three large sticky rice balls and now halfway through her second bowl of soufflé, with a third likely on the way, this was how young women dieted these days?

—

Meanwhile, Hu Wanyue refreshed her social media feed and saw Luna’s latest post. A photo of the golden soufflé sat fat and proud, its fluffy top peeking over the rim of the dish.

The image seemed to radiate softness through the screen.

@lunanana: “It’s so delicious! My bestie is basically a goddess!”

Grinding her teeth, Hu Wanyue replied: “Darling, eating desserts this late at night will make you gain weight!”

In less than a minute, Luna’s response arrived.

@lunanana: “Hehe, desserts this good? Zero calories for me~”

Hu Wanyue stared at the reply and the photo for a solid five seconds before crying as she went to make herself a cup of instant noodles.

As she ate, staring at the photo, she felt the bitterness creep in.

Why is my life so miserable?

At the same time, a video started going viral on the internet.

By the time Jin Yaotiao found out, the video had already garnered immense attention.

It was shot from a hidden angle among the crowd, and the location was the Mingde Hall.

In the footage, she stepped out of a black car with a cold expression, swiftly walking through the crowd toward the elevator.

Behind her, the shareholders of Mingde followed closely, almost trembling in silence.

In the shaky footage, someone could be heard whispering in amazement, “Her Highness has summoned the shareholders for a meeting… Oh my god!”

The comments section was filled with astonishment:

“Who is this? Is this the set of some upcoming idol drama? Why is a beautiful lady acting in a CEO-style highlight moment?!”

Someone replied below:

“Who told you it’s a drama? This is Mingde’s boss’s only daughter, okay?”

“Holy crap, is this the legendary ‘delicate young lady’ of Mingde? What I’m seeing is clearly an alpha!”

“Even the blurry footage can’t hide her beauty… Mueller, rich, gorgeous, and commanding. I’m ready to let her mark me.”

“Just the other day, I read on Zhihu that the chairman of Mingde is about to pass away, leaving his daughter to fight on her own. Something about a shareholder war and a power struggle among the elders, making it sound like the company is about to change hands. I actually believed it at the time… Damn, turns out his daughter walks the shareholders like dogs.”

“You believe Zhihu? Mingde’s chairman isn’t dead; there was just news that he went in for a minor surgery.”

“Damn, got fooled by a pretentious know-it-all. Classic Zhihu—sharing your freshly made-up stories.”

Wang Sheng, her junior assistant, watched the video as it continued to rack up views. Worried, he asked Jin Yaotiao, “Director Jin… does this matter? Should we contact someone to take it down?”

After a brief moment of thought, Jin Yaotiao shook her head. “Let it be.”

She was just about to stir things up; someone offering free publicity for her company was nothing but a bonus.

---

At Jingmao’s top floor, Jiang Sen finished watching the video with a click of his tongue and went to report to Shen Qiming.

Shen Qiming’s gaze lingered on the phone screen Jiang Sen showed him. After the short video ended, he said calmly, “I’ve already seen it.”

Jiang Sen asked, “Should we contact someone to take it down? The comments are full of people fangirling over your Yaotiao!”

Shen Qiming shook his head. “No need.”

Jiang Sen was shocked and pointed at the comments. “You don’t mind this?”

Shen Qiming pressed his lips together, his eyes darkening as he looked at the top comments that read, “I’m in!” and “Marry me, goddess!” After a few seconds, he replied in a low voice, “I asked her. She said it’s useful.”

“Wow, if it were me, I wouldn’t allow my wife to be so public. Brother Shen, you’re way too easygoing!” Jiang Sen said.

Frowning slightly, Shen Qiming sent a list of promotional collaborators his assistant had prepared to Jin Yaotiao’s email and said, “She told me she wants to focus on work for now.”

Jiang Sen, puzzled, asked, “Brother Shen, you can totally afford to take care of your wife. Why make her work?”

Shen Qiming didn’t respond.

Instead, his mind drifted back to the hospital, recalling the moment when Jin Yaotiao had told him that all she wanted was to work well.

And then, even further back.

It was the day of Jin Yaotiao’s graduation ceremony. He had been there.

Jin Yaotiao, in her bachelor’s gown, squeezed her way through the crowd with great effort to stand before him. She was slender and petite, her head lowered, her voice barely audible as she asked—

“Shen Qiming, will you marry me?”

At the time, he lowered his gaze and could only see the black tassels hanging from her cap.

He said, “Okay.”

Whether it was marriage or work.

Whatever you want to do, it’s okay with me.

In the spacious kitchen of the Research and Development Department, Jin Yaojiao received a phone call. The person who had been tailing Jin Laosan’s house reported that they had followed him to Cheng’s family’s residence. Jin Laosan had fallen ill after the shareholder meeting and, on this trip to Cheng’s house, seemed to be in a fit of anger, clearly intending to settle a score.

Jin Yaojiao sneered.

She had suspected that the Cheng family was behind this incident, so she didn’t wait for the final outcome and had already begun her retaliation.