Sweet Heart in Honeyed Desire Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Exhibition — Lin Che, Prince of Baking, the new rising star of the gourmet industry!
Tang Mi was busy working overtime for the next two days. To ensure that there was a constant supply of pastries in the restaurant, she made extra preparations in advance.
The head chef, worried that she would be overwhelmed with the amount of work, had even asked a colleague to help her out.
On the day of the exhibition, Tang Mi arrived at the restaurant well before 8 oclock. As soon as she put on her uniform, a delivery girl came in with a box of fruit and looked over at her. "Heres your fresh fruit."
"Ah, thanks!"
"No problem; good luck with the exhibition today."
"I will!" Tang Mi took the heavy box of fruits and used a few of them to decorate the cakes for its final few touches. She also kept a few of the leftover fruit in case of an emergency at the exhibition.
When she finished, employees from the head office had also arrived. There was slight traffic on the roads, but they luckily werent short on time. Once they arrived at the centre, she found that the booth and the control panel had already been set up. To one side were two of Yu Zhis employees, who were making final adjustments.
In the midst of the crowd was a girl with short hair and black-rimmed gla.s.ses. When she noticed them, she excitedly rushed over and inquired, "h.e.l.lo, you must be Tang Mi, right? I am Lu Yu of the Publicity Department; just call me Xiao Yu."
Tang Mi politely greeted her back. Lu Yu smiled as she said, "I heard from Luo Da Zhu that your cakes were super delicious. I can finally feast my eyes on them today! Haha." She walked over to Tang Mis booth. "Is it okay to display them like this? If there is anything you need, then please make your request. I shall be your humble servant for the entirety of today."
Tang Mi laughed. "Take the cakes out first; once I cut them, you can help me place them into the display case."
"Okay!" Lu Yu quickly got to work. Tang Mi grabbed her tools and ingredients before placing them onto the table one by one. Since pastry chefs had to display their cake decorating skills, she had also prepared a few plain cakes and mousse beforehand.
After she finished placing all the cakes in the display case, Lu Yu took a photo with her phone. Tang Mi was decorating some cakes to one side when Lu Yu secretly took a photo of her. She then posted it onto Yu Zhis blogging site after editing it with BlueV.
『#Bakery exhibition# #sweet dream# Beautiful pastries and a beautiful pastry chef, has your heart been moved? 』
Luo Hao saw the post after refreshing his weibo and chuckled slightly. He handed his phone over to Yu Yi. "Theyre almost ready over there; do you want to take a look?"
Yu Yi glanced over at the phone screen. In the photo, Tang Mis head was lowered as she piped flowers onto a cake. She had a soft and slender figure, her long, fine lashes shielding her eyes from view and revealing only a pair of beautiful curves.
Yu Yi averted his gaze and stated, "Well go after the morning meeting ends."
Luo Hao subtly hooked his lower lip and took his phone back.
The bakery exhibition opened at 10:00AM sharp, attracting a ma.s.s of food lovers. Many appliance stores also saw this as an opportunity to promote all kinds of baking equipment.
Lu Yu hung around for a bit before she could no longer sit still. She went over to Tang Mi, smiling as she said, "Im going to walk around; Ill be back soon."
Tang Mi nodded. Even though there were quite a few customers buying their cakes, she decided she could still handle it on her own.
"Remember to leave me a slice of mango mousse. Ill come back and eat it!" She winked with excitement, making sure to remind Tang Mi before she left.
"I will, but if it gets sold out, I can just make more."
After she heard Tang Mis word of promise, she happily skipped away. Just when Tang Mi had wanted to rest, a nicely dressed high school boy rushed over to her. "h.e.l.lo, are you the pastry chef from 『Sweet Dream』?"
"Yes," Tang Mi answered.
The boy enthusiastically pointed at himself. "My elder sister also works at 『Sweet Dream』! Her name is Yu Xiao Xiao!"
Tang Mi blinked in surprise. "Youre Supervisor Yus little brother?"
"Yep, Im Yu Sa Sa!"
Tang Mi. "&h.e.l.lip;"
There was nothing wrong with Supervisor Yus name on its own, but paired with her little brothers name&h.e.l.lip; Tang Mi felt she could never look at Supervisor Yus name the same way ever again.
The young man in front of her didnt notice anything weird. Walking towards the display case, his eyes lit up. "Your cakes are very beautiful. Id like a mocha cake and an opera cake—Oh, and Id also like this fruit cake cup."
"Okay." Tang Mi retrieved the cakes from the case and placed it onto his plate before giving him a small almond pancake for free.
"Thank you!" Student Yu Sa Sa happily carried his plate over to the dining area after paying. Tang Mi stared at his diligent and happy self and couldnt help but sigh. Oh, youth.
Speaking of which, she had also been in high school when she first fell in love with baking. It was also the reason why she joined the baking society during university&h.e.l.lip;
Her brows twitched; she didnt continue her train of thought.
After a short while, Lu Yu had come back. In her hands, she held a piece of tiramisu cake. "Tang Mi, can you guess who I just saw? Oh, have a taste of his cake."
She handed the plate over. Tang Mi picked up the silver spoon and cut into the cake before placing it in her mouth.
The coffee, chocolate, biscuit, and cheese layers unfolded in her mouth. Tang Mis pupils dilated. "Is it from Lin Che?"
She just realised that she could actually recognise and say this name very easily.
Lu Yus eyes were shining as she said, "Youre amazing! You know who it is from just one bite!"
Tang Mi smiled. "I was just casually guessing."
Lu Yu pointed to the crowd opposite. "Lin Che is just over there. A lot of reporters are trying to interview him." She imitated the voice of a reporter and said, "Lin Che, Prince of Baking, the new rising star of the gourmet industry!"
Tang Mi laughed without saying a word. Yu Lin continued, "Yet this is undermining our CEO Yu. If he came, those reporters would be sticking all over him."
Just as she said this, the crowd of people suddenly changed their movements. There was a particularly conspicuous white chefs hat in the midst of that crowd. Lu Yu squinted at it for a bit before then grabbing Tang Mis hand and whispering, "Why does it seem like theyre heading towards our direction?"
Tang Mi frowned a little. She then saw a tall figure emerge from the crowd. He wore a pure white chefs uniform, a clean smile gracing his face.
Once he caught sight of Tang Mi, it was as if the shimmery rays of the sun coalesced onto one spot.
"It really is you." He stood still for a moment before walking up to Tang Mi. "Earlier, I had inadvertently eaten a cake and felt that there was something quite familiar about it."
Tang Mi stared at him without saying a word. She always knew that shed be able to see him again, just not this suddenly.
The reporters on the side couldnt help but ask, "Mr. Lin, do you know each other?"
Lin Che turned his head over to the reporters and laughed, "This is my junior from university. She was also once a member of the baking society. Who wouldve known shed be such a successful and well-known pastry chef now."
The reporters attentions shifted over to Tang Mi. When they realised that she was a pastry chef from Yu Zhis restaurant, they all eagerly asked whether or not CEO Yu would be visiting.
This was Lu Yus time to rise and shine.
As an elite specialist in marketing, she smoothly embraced the questions and talked endlessly. How could she miss all these free advertising opportunities that was sent to her doorstep?
With Lu Yu capturing all of the reporters attentions on one side, Lin Che was able to chat to Tang Mi. "So youre working at Yu Zhis? Is this at their newly opened restaurant?"
"Mhmm." Tang Mi flatly responded.
Lin Che continued asking, "When did you come back?"
"Recently."
Lin Che felt that she didnt want to talk with him, so he examined her cakes. "Your cakes are very pretty and taste amazing. Just as I had said a long time ago, you really have talent."
"Thank you."
Lin Ches smile finally slipped a bit. He tilted his body over to look at Tang Mi. As he pondered over what to say, a female voice called out from the side, "Ah, Che, how did you end up over here?"
Tang Mis brows raised a little. In her mind, she told herself that she shouldve burnt some incense before coming out today. She turned her head towards the direction of the voice; just as she had thought, it was He Si Qis face.
He Si Qi was also wearing a chefs uniform, light makeup accentuating her face. She seemed to have matured since university. Feeling a gaze on her, she turned to look at Tang Mi, her mouth falling open in surprise. It was as if she had only just realised Tang Mi was there. "Tang Mi, what are you also doing here? What a coincidence."
Tang Mi lightly smiled. "Yes, its truly a coincidence."
He Si Qi studied the uniform she was wearing before smiling at her. "youre at Yu Zhis? Thats not too bad, Yu Zhi is quite a big company. Unlike Ah Che and I, just running our little restaurant."
A long string of jaded laughter swept through Tang Mi's mind. She kept thinking of how she wanted to throw cream cake at He Si Qis face like how she did for Director He. For some reason, she suddenly recalled that conversation about her plagiarism and Yu Yis words. A fire flared up within her again, but she tamped it down.
He Si Qi walked up to her and handed over a business card. "This is the address of our bakery; come by when you have time."
Tang Mi accepted the card. She laughed lightly and said, "Is Director He your older brother or uncle?"
He Si Qis facial expression quickly changed. Lin Ches raised his brows and asked. "What Director He?"
He Si Qi hastily answered, "I dont know. Tang Mi, you must have the wrong person."
She didnt hang around for Tang Mi to speak and just pulled Lin Che away. "Ah Che, there are still a lot of guests over there. Lets not be delayed."
Lin Che turned his head to meet Tang Mis eyes and sent a crooked smile her way
Just like he did countless times back in university.
Tang Mis heart suddenly bursted with a lot of mixed feelings. During university, she had enjoyed Lin Ches smile the most. It was so pure and refreshing, like the warmth from the suns ray.
Now, however, she no longer felt the warmth from this smile. Without dimples, could it still be a real smile?
She pursed her lips and shoved the business card into her bag.
Yu Yi stood at the entrance of the centre for a moment before turning away.
Luo Hao followed him and asked, "CEO Yu, youre not going in?"
Yu Yi answered, "No, there are too many reporters."
Luo Haos eyes flashed. "I didnt get to tell you before, but the lady who stood next to Lin Che just then is called He Si Qi. Shes the person who said Tang Mi had plagiarised her during university." He paused for a short moment. "He Jia Shu is her uncle."
Yu Yi pondered for a moment before commanding, "Send He Jia Shu a dismissal letter; we have no need for such people in our company."
The author has something to say:
First release~
The second release will be around 11 pm; I will announce it on Weibo. For those who cant make it, please come find it in the morning, mwah!
Thank you to these sponsors~
(* ￣3)(ε￣ *)