Chapter 7: The Cannon Fodder in a Dogblood Novel (7)
“A Little Sweet” had two floors.
From the outside, the decoration looked quite nice, exuding a petty-bourgeois sentiment.
Shen Tangqing pushed the door open and immediately saw Xiao Yu standing at the front counter making coffee.
He was wearing a fitted uniform, his back straight. His slightly lowered eyelids created deep shadows under his eyes, making that face look full of abstinent coldness.
Yet even so, two girls were sitting on the high stools at the bar, their gazes glued to him ardently.
Obviously, they were interested in him.
“Welcome—” A delicate-looking waiter immediately came forward to receive them.
“Sit on the first floor or the second?” Zhou Geng turned to ask Shen Tangqing.
“First floor works. That spot by the window.” Shen Tangqing withdrew his gaze and smiled at Zhou Geng, his eyes curving.
Xiao Yu, who was pouring latte art, suddenly looked up upon hearing the voice.
He saw Shen Tangqing’s back just in time.
His gaze fell on the hand Zhou Geng had naturally draped over Shen Tangqing’s shoulder, and a trace of imperceptible gloom flashed quickly across the depths of his eyes.
Shen Tangqing ordered a latte and added a serving of strawberry mousse.
Zhou Geng sat opposite him.
He was excitedly telling him amusing stories about his car racing trip last weekend.
Xiao Yu brought the coffee over and placed it gently on the table. His gaze swept over Shen Tangqing seemingly inadvertently.
Just as he was about to leave, Shen Tangqing suddenly called out to him.
“Xiao Yu.”
Xiao Yu paused in place. He didn’t speak, looking at Shen Tangqing with a calm expression.
Shen Tangqing raised an eyebrow. “Did you make this cup of coffee?”
Xiao Yu gave a hum of affirmation.
Normally, the waiter handled serving the coffee; he was only responsible for making it. But he wanted to see Shen Tangqing~
Shen Tangqing suddenly hooked his lips into a malicious smile. “I don’t like this latte art. Make me another one.”
Xiao Yu was silent for a moment. In his eyes, the current Shen Tangqing was just like an unreasonably demanding girlfriend.
Cute.
Spicy.
He bent down and took away the coffee in front of Shen Tangqing.
Zhou Geng watched his retreating figure, then his gaze fell back on Shen Tangqing.
“Tang Tang, did he offend you?”
Zhou Geng was just a bit thick-nerves, but he wasn’t stupid. Shen Tangqing was obviously picking a fight on purpose.
Shen Tangqing’s face returned to calmness as he explained, “Yeah, I don’t really like this person.”
Zhou Geng didn’t ask for the reason. After an “Oh,” he spoke lightly, “Then complain about him later. I’ll have his boss fire him.”
Shen Tangqing: “…”
“That’s not necessary. I don’t have any major feud with him, just wanted to tease him a bit.”
Shen Tangqing was merely maintaining his persona to “bully” Xiao Yu daily; he never intended to actually make him lose his part-time job.
“Alright then.”
…
Zhou Geng took a sip of coffee, but his gaze couldn’t move away from the way Shen Tangqing was eating the mousse.
Shen Tangqing scooped a piece of mousse with a small spoon and put it into his mouth.
Pink-white cream smudged the corner of his lips. He didn’t wipe it; instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly, and the tip of his tongue swept lightly across his lower lip, curling away that bit of cream.
It was clearly just ordinary eating, yet it inexplicably exuded a seductive allure. It made Zhou Geng’s heartbeat slow by half a beat, and even the hand holding the coffee paused.
Shen Tangqing noticed his gaze and lifted his eyelids to look at him. “What are you looking at me for?”
Zhou Geng looked away. He clearly just thought Shen Tangqing looked good eating cake, but faced with Shen Tangqing’s question, he felt inexplicably guilty.
“Oh, nothing. Just looking at that mousse of yours, it seems pretty tasty…”
Shen Tangqing narrowed his eyes, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
“It is pretty tasty. Do you want to order one to try?”
He loved sweets very much. Perhaps because when he was young, he couldn’t even eat a piece of cheap fruit candy. Desire without possession eventually became an obsession in his heart.
After growing up, he became very fond of eating sweet things.
Zhou Geng didn’t really like sweets, but looking at the mousse in front of Shen Tangqing, a thought of wanting to taste it suddenly arose.
He called the waiter and ordered a strawberry mousse.
But facts proved it wasn’t as delicious as he imagined.
…
Xiao Yu soon brought up another latte.
Shen Tangqing didn’t think of making things difficult for him again, not even giving Xiao Yu a glance.
Xiao Yu’s gaze fell obscurely on his lips for a second before he restrained himself and withdrew it.
Shen Tangqing had an elective class at two o’clock.
He didn’t stay with Zhou Geng for long, leaving after finishing just one cup of coffee.
Zhou Geng drove him to the teaching building, not forgetting to remind him,
“I’ll come pick you up on Friday, don’t forget!”
“Understood.” Shen Tangqing smiled and waved at him.
…
On the other side, Xiao Yu’s gaze fell on the small piece of strawberry mousse Shen Tangqing hadn’t finished.
Take it—
Don’t take it—
In the end, in the back kitchen, he quietly and carefully packed up that small piece of strawberry mousse.
Friday.
Shen Tangqing was waiting in the dorm for Zhou Geng to pick him up.
Instead, he got a call from Zhou Geng.
Something came up last minute and he couldn’t come, so he asked his brother, Zhou Shuli, to pick him up on his way.
About half an hour later, Shen Tangqing received a call from Zhou Shuli.
“Hello, this is Zhou Shuli.” The voice on the phone was somewhat low and deep, lacking warmth, as if quenched in cold frost.
After politely greeting him, Shen Tangqing hung up and went downstairs.
A black Cullinan was parked at the bottom of the dorm building.
The window rolled down, revealing half of Zhou Shuli’s cold, hard profile.
He was wearing a sharply tailored dark gray suit, the collar of his shirt buttoned meticulously.
His nose bridge was high, his lip line pulled straight, and even his eyes revealed a distant coldness—
But what attracted Shen Tangqing’s attention the most wasn’t his attire, but his right hand resting on the steering wheel, wearing a black glove. It was inexplicably strange.
Like a person hiding a secret, it aroused curiosity for no reason.
“Shen Tangqing?” Zhou Shuli looked up and swept his gaze over. Without lingering, he just lifted his chin toward the passenger seat. “Get in.”
Shen Tangqing was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t even given his name yet. “Brother Zhou knows me?”
“I don’t,” Zhou Shuli answered without any emotion. “Little Geng said the best-looking person is you.”
Coming from his mouth, there wasn’t a hint of teasing; it was like he was stating a report.
Shen Tangqing: Did I just get complimented?
He opened the car door and sat down. The seat was soft but didn’t dispel the coldness radiating from Zhou Shuli.
Inside the car, it was very quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner.
Zhou Shuli didn’t speak first. His left fingertips occasionally tapped lightly on his knee. The rhythm was slow but exuded an invisible pressure.
Shen Tangqing didn’t look for a topic either. He wasn’t a social butterfly to begin with.
Plus, Zhou Shuli was gay. Even if he was one of Xiao Yu’s future harem members and couldn’t possibly be interested in him, Shen Tangqing felt it was better to keep some distance.
He turned his head to watch the street scene passing outside the window. It wasn’t until the car drove into the villa district in the south of the city that Zhou Shuli spoke again, his voice still lacking warmth.
“Little Geng is being pestered by his friends to play cards. He can’t get away.”
“I know, he said so on the phone.”
Shen Tangqing turned and responded politely. His gaze couldn’t help but fall on Zhou Shuli’s hands again—
As if sensing his gaze, Zhou Shuli’s hand on the steering wheel paused. However, he didn’t explain, only adding faintly, “Almost there.”
About five or six minutes later, the car drove into the Zhou family’s garage.
After parking, Shen Tangqing unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car following Zhou Shuli.
The garage was still full of cold air.
Shen Tangqing clicked his tongue in his heart.
Worthy of a rich family. No wonder these CEOs wear suits all year round; they simply never feel the heat.
“Wait a moment.” Zhou Shuli suddenly stopped him.
Shen Tangqing stopped walking. “What’s wrong, Brother Zhou?”
“Your collar is crooked.”
After speaking, Zhou Shuli took two steps toward him. His gloved hand gently tugged at Shen Tangqing’s collar—
The touch of the fingertips through the leather had no warmth, yet it was unexpectedly light. He withdrew it before even touching the skin.
Shen Tangqing hadn’t expected him to fix his collar for him. He was stunned for a moment. By the time he came back to his senses, Zhou Shuli had already withdrawn his hand.
“Apologies, I have a bit of OCD. I hope you don’t mind.” His tone remained very cold.
So that’s it.
“It’s fine, thank you, Brother Zhou.” Shen Tangqing smiled politely at Zhou Shuli.
Zhou Shuli’s gaze paused on his face for a second before quickly retracting. He turned and led Shen Tangqing toward the elevator.
“Let’s go up. Little Geng is still waiting for you.”
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