The strawberry-topped cream puff was scooped up gently with a spoon.
Wen Yuzhi took a bite. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the soft red tip of his tongue slipped out from between his lips to lick away the cream that had stuck to the corner of his mouth.
And in the process, the lips brushed by that tongue inevitably became damp, the full, soft curve of his lower lip gleaming with a watery sheen.
Izeer sat across from the young man.
Between them was only a small round table. It was not large, only about an arm’s length wide.
Which also meant they were sitting very close together.
How close?
Close enough that from where he sat, he could see Wen Yuzhi part his lips and reveal glimpses of the tongue hidden inside.
Close enough that the moment he lifted his eyes, he would see the other person’s face—that exquisitely beautiful face with delicate features.
Ever since they entered the café, the surrounding glances cast toward them, whether intentional or not, had never stopped.
They were currently sitting inside a café by the street.
Originally, the shop had not been very crowded.
But after Wen Yuzhi sat by the window facing the street, business suddenly seemed to improve.
Customers continuously walked in. They ordered coffee or desserts, but their attention was not on the food in front of them. Instead, they secretly looked toward Wen Yuzhi.
Looked at that little beauty who was almost absurdly pretty.
Yet no matter how tempted they were, they only dared to watch from afar. None of them truly dared approach and strike up a conversation.
Because before they could get close to the little beauty, there were already tall bodyguards stationed nearby.
Their expressions were cold. The aura around them was sharp and imposing, filled with pressure. They were far too different from ordinary bodyguards, more like soldiers who had undergone military training.
One look was enough to know they were not people to provoke.
And under those circumstances, the fact that Izeer was qualified to sit across from Wen Yuzhi made him stand out especially sharply.
Countless jealous and envious gazes landed on him.
Those people desperately wanted to know what exactly was so attractive about this utterly ordinary-looking guy that he had been fortunate enough to earn a seat across from the little beauty.
Some of them even secretly thought that he looked dull and boring. Perhaps the little beauty would soon grow tired of him.
Yet despite being stared at by so many dissatisfied eyes, Izeer’s attention remained fixed on the young man across from him.
Everything else around him was unimportant.
Wen Yuzhi had already finished one cream puff. When he looked up, he realized that Izeer still seemed to be staring at him.
The young man blinked slowly.
“Is there something on my face?”
Izeer had originally intended to say no.
But when he thought of all the people inside the café watching them, the words changed at the last second for reasons even he did not understand.
His voice came out low and rough.
“There is...”
“Where?”
Wen Yuzhi wanted to look for a mirror, but Izeer had already stood up.
He leaned across most of the table and gently touched the young man’s cheek with his fingers.
That pale skin was soft, like cotton. With the slightest pressure, his fingertip sank faintly into it.
In the past, these hands had touched weapons more than anything else. His fingertips were rough with calluses left behind from years of holding guns.
This was the first time he had touched something so soft and delicate.
Compared to it, his own hands seemed unbearably rough.
Izeer had to tense his body. He restrained the strength in his hands as much as possible.
Wen Yuzhi was still waiting for him to remove whatever had gotten onto his face.
Completely unaware, the young man tilted up his delicate pale face, utterly oblivious that this intimate touch was only a clumsy excuse.
When the skin of his cheek was brushed by the callused fingertips, Wen Yuzhi shrank back slightly with sensitivity.
“It tickles...”
The young man mumbled softly, his lashes trembling as they lowered.
That single sentence snapped Izeer back to himself from the softness beneath his fingers.
Feeling the surrounding stares that seemed ready to pierce through him, Izeer pretended he had already wiped away whatever was on Wen Yuzhi’s face and calmly withdrew his hand.
“All done.”
When he spoke again, his low voice sounded faintly hoarse.
“Is it clean now?”
Wen Yuzhi touched his cheek. Without a mirror, he had no idea what was actually on his face and could only ask Izeer.
At the young man’s question, Izeer’s gaze naturally fell back onto his face.
His eyes paused where he had just touched him.
Izeer knew Wen Yuzhi’s skin was delicate. He had felt it from that brief contact.
But he had not expected that a simple touch would leave behind a faint mark.
A little redness bloomed against the pale, delicate skin, like a blush spreading across his cheek, making the already beautiful young man even more stunning.
Izeer’s thoughts became tangled.
“There’s nothing left. It’s clean now.”
Wen Yuzhi had no idea how complicated Izeer’s thoughts were at that moment.
He was still focused on the desserts.
Earlier he had already eaten the cake Izeer made, so he was not especially hungry anymore.
It was just...
Wen Yuzhi looked at the dessert in front of himself, then at the untouched slice of cake in front of Izeer.
Even though he had not finished his own yet, he had already started craving someone else’s food.
He stared at the beautifully colored mint chocolate cake and thought that he had not tried that flavor yet today...
Maybe... just one little bite?
Thinking this, Wen Yuzhi softened his tone and asked tentatively, “Can I try yours?”
Then, worried that Izeer might misunderstand, he hurriedly added, “I’ll use a clean fork. I absolutely won’t dirty your cake. I just want to taste what this flavor is like...”
If this had been among the Saint Clan, whenever Wen Yuzhi tried to pick at new food before finishing what was already in front of him, Mansendis and Mond would never indulge such a bad habit.
But sitting across from him now was Izeer.
Listening to Wen Yuzhi’s softened voice that sounded almost like he was acting spoiled...
Izeer fell silent for a moment.
In the end, he still could not resist.
“You can,” he said.
Now it was Wen Yuzhi’s turn to stand up.
The young man slowly leaned forward.
Closer.
Closer.
To the people around them, it looked exactly like Wen Yuzhi was leaning over to kiss Izeer.
“!!!!”
Their eyes nearly turned red with jealousy.
Yet only the Saint Clan royal guards standing nearby and Izeer himself knew that Wen Yuzhi had merely leaned over to taste the cake.
There was still distance between them.
They had not actually touched.
“This flavor is good too.”
Before he had even swallowed the cake, Wen Yuzhi was already praising it eagerly.
Through his slightly parted lips, the soft red tip of his tongue could still be seen curling around a bit of cream.
That narrow soft mouth...
The pale cream...
The faint wet sounds...
Expressionless, Izeer picked up the cup on the table and forced down a huge mouthful of iced coffee.
Seeing him drink so quickly, Wen Yuzhi hurriedly warned him, “Ah...! I don’t think you added sugar to that coffee!”
“...”
“It’s fine,” Izeer said calmly. “I prefer bitter things.”
...R-Really?
Wen Yuzhi looked at the pitch-black coffee in the cup and could not imagine how bitter coffee without milk or sugar must taste.
And yet Izeer had swallowed it all in one go.
As someone who only liked sweet things, Wen Yuzhi instantly felt deep admiration for him.
Meanwhile, Izeer had already ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) started eating the cake in front of him.
Perhaps by coincidence, the first place he ate from was exactly the gap where Wen Yuzhi had taken a bite earlier.
The palm-sized cake disappeared quickly.
They also did not stay in the café much longer.
Seeing the shop becoming more and more crowded—and that all those people had come because of Wen Yuzhi—Izeer suggested that since Wen Yuzhi had eaten enough, they should leave and free up the seats.
Wen Yuzhi had already fully satisfied his dessert cravings for the day, so naturally he had no objections.
After they came outside, Wen Yuzhi looked at the bustling street and turned to Izeer beside him.
“Where are we going next?”
“There’s a claw machine arcade nearby. Do you want to play?”
Wen Yuzhi answered without hesitation.
“Yes!”
When he was little, Wen Che and Madam Jilanya had taken him to play claw machines before too.
But those memories had become too distant, and he had forgotten most of the details.
He only remembered that Wen Che had won him the biggest plushie inside the machine.
Later, though, Wen Xingyan had ruined it.
Wen Yuzhi had cried miserably.
To be honest, the doll itself had been ordinary. The mall had only placed those claw machines there to attract customers.
Naturally, the quality had not been anything special. It could not compare to the custom dolls Wen Yuzhi owned.
But because Daddy had won it for him, and because they had gotten it while the whole family was out together, that doll carried special meaning to him.
So when Wen Xingyan destroyed it right in front of him, Wen Yuzhi had cried for a very long time.
Wen Che could only comfort him by saying that in the future, he would win every plushie in the entire mall for him.
But in the end, that promise was never fulfilled.
And now, years later, standing in front of claw machines once again, Wen Yuzhi immediately set his eyes on the largest plushie inside.
Coincidentally, it was also a rabbit plushie, one that looked very similar to the rabbit he had back then.
Wen Yuzhi could not help repeatedly glancing at it.
Those frequent looks were naturally noticed by Izeer, who had been paying attention to him the entire time.
“Do you like that one?” he asked.
Wen Yuzhi nodded softly.
“I want it.”
Izeer said nothing.
He left for a moment, and when he returned, he was carrying an entire bag full of game tokens.
He walked to the claw machine and inserted two tokens.
The first try failed.
Izeer did not look anxious at all. He inserted another two tokens.
This time, the mechanical claw immediately grabbed the rabbit Wen Yuzhi wanted.
In barely the blink of an eye, the plushie Wen Yuzhi had been longing for was already in front of him.
The young man blinked, still unable to believe it.
Only after he reached out and hugged the plushie tightly did Wen Yuzhi finally react.
“You got it just like that? Izeer, you’re amazing!”
Wen Yuzhi’s tone was full of pure praise.
He pressed his cheek against the plushie and looked over excitedly.
Izeer’s ears started heating up again from that gaze.
He coughed lightly in an unnatural way.
“It’s actually not that hard. You just need to know the trick... There are still plenty of tokens left in the bag. See if there’s anything else you like. We can win more.”
Wen Yuzhi tried several times himself afterward.
He failed every single time.
Meanwhile, Izeer succeeded every single time.
He had no choice but to admit that claw machines also required talent.
And unfortunately, he was someone who did not possess that talent.
So afterward, Wen Yuzhi simply pointed out which plushies he wanted, while Izeer was responsible for winning them.
They kept playing like that until all the tokens were gone.
By then, the Saint Clan royal guards were each carrying armfuls of fluffy plushies.
Meanwhile, Wen Yuzhi continued hugging that enormous rabbit plushie the entire time.
Izeer also held one.
The rabbits were a pair—one white and one black.
Wen Yuzhi held the white one.
Izeer held the black one.
When Izeer said he wanted the black rabbit, Wen Yuzhi, who already had countless plushies, generously gave it to him immediately.
Watching Wen Yuzhi hug the white rabbit with obvious affection, Izeer suddenly remembered what the King of Spades had said that morning.
“You dressed up like this to go on a date?”
When he saw Izeer carefully dressed and obviously preparing to go out, the King of Spades had immediately revealed a meaningful smile.
Izeer still remembered his own answer.
“I’m just going to meet someone.”
Just meeting someone, and you dressed that seriously?
Of course the King of Spades had not believed him.
And Izeer had not bothered explaining before leaving with the cake.
Only now, when Izeer thought back on everything they had done today—
Eating desserts together.
Shopping together.
Buying things together.
Winning plushies together...
All of those were things couples deeply in love did while dating...
Thinking of this, Izeer’s eyes darkened.
He pressed his lips together, but the sound of his heartbeat grew louder and louder.
At that exact moment, Wen Yuzhi, who had been walking ahead, suddenly turned around.
Seeing Izeer silently walking behind him, he simply reached out and grabbed his hand.
Looking at their joined hands, Izeer could not help falling into a brief daze.
For a moment, he truly felt as though they really were on a date.
However, the hand-holding did not last long.
Their relationship was still not that close.
Wen Yuzhi also did not know whether Izeer would mind such sudden physical contact.
So after pulling him forward, Wen Yuzhi quickly released his hand.
After that soft warmth disappeared, Izeer’s fingers unconsciously curled inward against his palm.
Nothing showed on his face.
But deep inside, an indescribable sense of loss rose uncontrollably within him.
