OSM Chapter 27: “And that thing… I’ll take it back, okay?”

He Zhiqiu could see through his obvious compliance, and his hand holding the cake froze on the table. For a moment, he couldn’t find the words to say.

Li Yuze didn’t continue on that topic. Instead, he took the slice of cake He Zhiqiu had cut for him and ate a few bites.

The cake was indeed small, only about six inches in diameter.

The black chocolate glaze wrapped around tiny crushed hazelnuts, and with each bite, it was a mix of bitter and sweet. But the cold weather had made the soft cake somewhat stiff, though it didn’t affect how it tasted to He Zhiqiu.

After finishing his cake, Li Yuze was preparing to leave. He Zhiqiu wanted to see him off but was declined, with Li Yuze mentioning that Meng Lin was waiting outside.

Not wanting to press further, He Zhiqiu packed the remaining half of the cake back into the box, tied the ribbon, and went to the yard to turn off the light.

The yard had no lights originally, but since they were filming a night scene, they had strung up a few wires and hung bulbs under the eaves. He Zhiqiu searched for a power strip under the light, about to turn off the electricity, when he noticed a string of addresses printed on the top of the cake box.

He recognized the address.

On the first day he arrived at the set, the bus had passed right by there. It was in the city center, far from the airport and about four to five hours away from the filming location.

Li Yuze had said he bought the cake on a whim? Then, after leaving the set today, did he go to the city center?

He Zhiqiu didn’t dwell on it. He changed clothes, turned off the lights, checked the other power switches, and returned to the hotel.

It was around 1 AM now, and most of the actors from the same crew had already gone to sleep.

The hotel lobby was empty, and the night-shift security guard was dozing off on the couch. The receptionist, in an effort to stay awake, had brewed a cup of coffee and was chatting on the phone with a friend.

“Guess who I saw today!” Her voice was soft and delicate, though she tried to suppress her excitement, it was still evident.

Her friend seemed to ask who it was.

She quickly replied, “It was Li Yuze! He came to visit Gao Kui’s set! I didn’t think he’d come to the hotel! But guess what? He stayed for quite a while, and even brought a small hazelnut-flavored cake from Lucky House!”

The receptionist’s voice grew more excited, talking animatedly with her friend. “How could it be for Gao Kui? It was so funny when Gao Kui came back after his shoot and saw him in the lobby. He thought Li Yuze was there to deliver the cake to him, but as soon as he reached out, Li Yuze hid it behind his back! Oh my god, that little detail was just too cute! I always thought he was super aloof!”

“And you can tell, he and Gao Kui really have a good relationship,” the receptionist continued, but before she could finish her sentence, she saw He Zhiqiu walking toward her, so she quickly hung up and said politely, “Good evening, sir. How may I assist you?”

He Zhiqiu, who had already turned toward the elevator, overheard their conversation and turned back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

The receptionist quickly apologized, “Did I disturb you?”

“No, it’s fine,” He Zhiqiu replied. “I was wondering, do you know around what time Li Yuze came to the hotel today?”

The receptionist asked, “Are you a fan of his?”

“Yes,” He Zhiqiu answered.

She smiled. “He came around 10 PM.”

He Zhiqiu then asked, “Do you know why he came? Was he here to pick something up?”

She shook her head. “No, he didn’t have any luggage, and he didn’t leave anything here.”

He Zhiqiu thanked her and, holding the cake box, thought for a moment before asking, “Do you often eat cakes from Lucky House?”

“No, not really,” the receptionist replied.

“Then why do you know their brand?” He Zhiqiu asked.

The receptionist blinked, her expression becoming a little guarded. She thought He Zhiqiu’s questions were odd and worried he might be digging for something.

He Zhiqiu quickly clarified, “Oh, don’t misunderstand. I just received a cake from there today and thought it was really good.”

The receptionist relaxed a bit. “Oh, I see. Actually, it’s not a particularly famous brand, but it’s well-known in the city. I don’t eat there often because their cakes are really hard to get. You have to book at least half a month in advance, and it’s even harder on holidays like Valentine’s Day or Qixi Festival.”

“Half a month in advance?” He Zhiqiu repeated, slightly surprised.

“Yeah,” the receptionist nodded. “And the owner’s not an easy person to deal with. No matter how much money you offer, even if it’s for relatives or friends, they don’t allow anyone to cut the line.”

He Zhiqiu stood still for a few seconds, processing this information. When the receptionist called out to him, he continued, “So, you mean, you can’t just buy a cake ‘on a whim’ from there?”

“No, you can’t. Unless you’ve pre-ordered,” she answered.

“Could you help me order a cab?” He asked.

“Huh?” The receptionist was still caught up in the conversation about cakes, and He Zhiqiu quickly switched topics. She hesitated before asking, “Where are you going?”

He glanced at the time, his voice anxious. “I need to go to the airport.”

The airport was quiet during the Spring Festival, with very few flights at this hour.

Meng Lin had just escorted Li Yuze to the VIP lounge and was now rummaging through his suitcase to fetch a thermos and pour hot water for tea.

This time, Xiao Yue had come along, and was now half-asleep, her eyes heavy with fatigue as she leaned against a chair by the door.

After pouring the hot water, Meng Lin nudged her shoulder to wake her up. Xiao Yue wiped her mouth sleepily and asked, “Really no day off tomorrow?”

Meng Lin replied, “No day off.”

Xiao Yue protested, “But we always had days off before. What’s going on this year?”

“I don’t know,” Meng Lin said.

Xiao Yue stretched, glancing through the brown glass behind her at Li Yuze, who was expressionless, leaning back on the couch, and fiddling with a rectangular remote control.

She tugged on Meng Lin’s sleeve, whispering, “Do you think our boss has been acting strange lately?”

Meng Lin nodded deeply, saying, “Very strange.”

Li Yuze used to have a bad temper, didn’t talk much, and always wore a gloomy face that was a bit intimidating.

But in the past few months, he, for some reason, became more approachable! Sometimes even joking with them? Joking aside, he sometimes even smiled at his phone?

Curiosity got the better of Meng Lin, and he tried asking Li Yuze who he was chatting with when he was in a good mood, but as soon as he asked, Li Yuze gave him a sharp glare, making him too scared to ask anything further.

However, driven by his curiosity, Meng Lin managed to sneak a peek at Li Yuze’s phone. There was nothing special on it—just a regular chat window, with typical, everyday conversation.

The other person had asked if he was busy.

He replied, “Just finished.”

And that was it, just a few words, sent hours earlier. The only thing notable was the name in the chat window—it was a name that Meng Lin found familiar: He Zhiqiu.

Meng Lin chewed on the name quietly for a few minutes before snapping his fingers and jumping up, saying, “I know who he is!”

“Who?” Xiao Yue asked, just as Li Yuze walked out of the lounge and headed straight for the elevator.

Before Meng Lin could explain, he rushed after him.

He had thought Li Yuze had some urgent matter to attend to, but instead, he stopped in the terminal lobby.

The lobby was almost empty, with only a few staff around, but Li Yuze’s presence still caught quite a few eyes.

After waiting for a while, Li Yuze took out his phone and dialed a number, asking, “Where are you?”

The other person seemed to be giving him his location. Meng Lin watched as Li Yuze turned a couple of times and then walked towards the escalator.

He followed closely, noticing that at the corner behind the escalator stood someone in a light gray coat.

He recognized him. It was He Zhiqiu, from Li Yuze’s class reunion.

So, this person… was him?

Meng Lin stretched his neck to get a better look but was startled by Li Yuze’s cold gaze, which made him take a step back.

Li Yuze didn’t bother with him and instead addressed He Zhiqiu, asking, “What are you doing here?”

He Zhiqiu, looking cold and flushed from the chill, was still holding the unfinished birthday cake box. He spoke softly, “I just wanted to come and see you off.”

Li Yuze calmly nodded, one hand in his pocket, the other still holding the remote.

He Zhiqiu saw the remote and paused for a moment, everything suddenly clicking into place. He wanted to laugh, wanted to cry, but he held it back and squinted, saying, “And that thing… I’ll take it back, okay?”

“Otherwise, the air conditioning in the lounge won’t work tomorrow.”