Chapter 1: The Masked Boy at Midnight 4
"Your pastry shop is so weird, why do you open so late at night? And there are no customers at all!"
While Ryu was preparing dessert, I took the opportunity to ask Yin and Yue about the doubts in my heart.
"Earl Rose is not an ordinary pastry club. We are surrounded by a special magic barrier, and few people can see us normally. Alas, Xiao Wei Ya, why don't you mention me?" Yue held her chin and said with great regret.
"Opening at night is the tradition of Earl Rose, and it is also to avoid affecting the normal teaching of Xinggong during the day. Only those who are willing to wait patiently can encounter the real delicacy."
These gentle and calm words came from Yin, the pastry chef whom I like the most.
While pouring me a cup of fragrant black tea, he explained: "The existence of the West Pastry Club is not for profit, it has other special values and meanings. For Xinggong, its existence is very special."
"What's the meaning? Isn't it the legendary curse? Ah, Yin, don't scare me with your eyes. Anyway, when she walks out of here,... crackle..." Yin stuffed a macaron into Yue's mouth, forcing him to stop talking.
"I'm sorry, please don't take what he said seriously."
"Ah, haha, no! You worked hard!"
Liu and Yue are one cold and arrogant while the other is too lively. If they want to avoid scaring away all the customers, they can only rely on Yin to deal with them. He has a gentle personality, is polite to others, and can make delicious desserts. What will this perfect boy look like behind the mask?
Now that I think about it, I kind of regret choosing that cold-hearted Liu as dessert just to show my loyalty.
By the way, how's that guy's dessert going?
I ordered six or seven items in one go. Will that guy not be able to finish them until tomorrow morning?
I raised my head and shifted my gaze, only to find that he had come to me with the prepared dessert.
"If you dare to stay, I will make you pay."
"Don't worry, unless your cooking skills are terrible, there won't be any delicious food left by me!"
It is such an insult to say that a big eater would have leftover food!
“It’s better to do what you say.”
Liu gave me a cold look and placed the dessert on the table in front of me.
My eyes were instantly attracted by those exquisite desserts.
Soft orange vanilla lemon tarts, refreshing light green matcha tiramisu cakes, steaming almond apple pies with symmetrical patterns, fluffy chiffon cakes dotted with small strawberries, lustrous mango yogurt two-color puddings, cream puffs with fillings...
"You...are you really done?"
I blinked in disbelief and found that the desserts in front of me were real and not an illusion.
The tempting aroma kept entering my nose, arousing the appetite in my stomach.
"Ryu, you set another record! Oh, with this speed and this appearance, you're almost catching up with me!"
Yue jumped up from her seat and clapped her hands vigorously.
"Well done this time, Liu, Yue, let's treat this lovely customer tonight to dessert!"
Yin smiled and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the lights in the West Pastry Club turned from bright to dim. The candles on the table lit up a small flame, and a cross-shaped light was printed on the glass window behind the roses.
The melodious and lyrical blues music sounded, the lights and candlelight swayed together, and the roses on the table and in the corners exuded fragrance.
At this moment, I felt like I was in a Michelin restaurant in Paris.
Yin brought the polished silver knife and fork and the white porcelain plate to my hands; Yue turned around gracefully, picked up the snow-white napkin, shook it out, and then helped me tie it.
The tallest and most imposing boy was holding a glass kettle and slowly pouring a glass of water into a crystal wine glass.
“Before eating another dessert, drink a sip of water to dilute the taste of the original dessert.”
After he gave his instructions in a cold voice, he put the kettle away and stood aside with a stern face.
Well, although his temper was a little bad, it looked like that.
I held my breath, picked up the fork, and took a deep breath before starting.
"Okay, I'm going to start!"
I forked out a small piece of matcha tiramisu and put it into my mouth. Instantly, a cool and sweet taste flowed from the tip of my tongue into my stomach.
I felt as if I had come to a spring garden, with the refreshing spring breeze blowing on my face and the wet grass under my feet kissing my toes.
“So… so delicious!”
After the small piece of tiramisu completely melted on the tip of my tongue, I took a sip of water and couldn't wait to reach for the hot apple pie with my fork.
"Oh my god! Why is it so delicious?"
"Woohoo, this is the best apple pie I've ever had in my life..."
"too delicious!"
…
I couldn't wait to put the dessert into my mouth, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as I swallowed it.
The corners of Liu's tense mouth standing opposite me seemed to relax a little.
"Viya, eating too many sweets at night will cause indigestion, which is bad for your stomach. You don't have to force yourself!" Yin kindly reminded.
"No need to force yourself! No need to force yourself at all! Such a delicious dessert, I can eat it all with 20 more servings! Wow, this pudding is really delicious!"
After I answered, I couldn’t wait to indulge in the smooth taste of the two-color pudding.
At this time, Liu said coldly: "Yin, don't worry about her. Look at her appetite like a black hole. It's better to observe her reaction after eating dessert."
"Ryu, what magical effect do you think this dessert will have? The last time you made jelly, a customer was frozen in time for 20 minutes!"
"Yue, don't drag Liu into this mess with you." Yin frowned.
"Last time, the same recipe for almond apple pie had the effect of 'truth serum'."
"What kind of magical reaction will Tiramisu have? I'm so looking forward to it!"
"Please restrain yourself a little..."
"Oh, don't be afraid, she will lose her memory when she walks out of here anyway!"
…
After hearing the three people's conversation as if they were alone, as well as the talk of truth serum, experiments, and magic... I slowly realized that something was wrong.
From what they said, what special tricks did they do to the desserts I tasted?
“Pah—”
I put down my fork angrily.
Among the desserts in front of me, all the matcha tiramisu has been eaten, only a bottom of the pudding is left, the puffs are finished, one third of the chiffon cake is left, and only a small corner of the lemon tart is left.
"What's wrong? Classmate Wei Ya, is there any problem?"
As soon as Yin raised his hand, the music stopped.
"Oh no! Is there some magic going on?" Yue looked nervous and expectant.
"Humph, she must be unable to hold on any longer. That's why I hate people who are greedy and waste food the most..." The guy named Liu said sarcastically.
"I should be the one giving you this message back!"
I interrupted him, stood up, picked up the napkin and wiped the corners of my mouth.
"What do you mean?"
The warm yellow light shone on the dark golden mask, which shone and set off his delicate face.
"You're the one wasting food and disrespecting it, right?"
I walked up to him step by step, looked up at him.
"No matter what, food is meant to satisfy people's hearts and appetites. And you, just because of the little conflict between you and me, actually tampered with the dessert. I think you are not qualified to be a pastry chef at all!"
"I'm not qualified?"
The corners of Liu's mouth curled up slightly, and he laughed in anger, as if he exuded the dark aura of a great devil.
My intuition told me that the anger and danger level of the person in front of me had reached the highest level, and I should run away immediately. However, my love for food made me unwilling to just run away like this.
"Yes, it's you!" I pointed at the dessert on the table that I was reluctant to finish all at once and wanted to savor slowly. "I was amazed at your cooking skills, but I didn't expect you to use dessert to plot against me."
"I plotted against you? How ridiculous! What is there about you that is worthy of my plotting against you?"
"Who just said something about truth serum, some test, and watching my reaction? You treated me as if I didn't exist , and even said I would lose my memory! Oh my God, is your Earl's Rose Pastry Club such a black-hearted pastry shop?"
"Wait, Xiao Wei Ya, I'm not a bad person at all!"
"Student Wei Ya, you may have misunderstood."
"Is it a misunderstanding that you don't put weird things in desserts?"
Even with the gentlest tone, I get angry.
Yin opened his mouth in astonishment, seemingly having nothing to say.
One of my least favorite things in the world is the desecration of good food.
"Golden Mask—"
I turned back to look at Liu who was wearing the dark gold mask. His eyes were fixed on me, cold and sharp.
"If you hate me, you can deal with me directly, but please don't use delicious food and these innocent desserts to tease me."
He didn't say anything, but his eyes contained the calm before the storm.
I sensed that the atmosphere was not good, but I still plucked up my courage and raised my head higher.
"Otherwise, no matter how good your craft is, I will still look down on you."
After saying that, I picked up the small piece of chiffon cake left on the table and pressed it on the center of his mask with lightning speed.
"Those who disrespect dessert should be punished with dessert!"
The moment I finished shouting, time seemed to stop, until——
“Bang!”
Yue who was standing next to him accidentally tripped over a chair and he opened his mouth wide as if the sky was about to fall.
"Ryu, calm down!"
Yin next to me reacted very quickly, rushing over and grabbing Ryu who was about to approach me with his anger completely exploded.
"Let me go, Yin, I want to let this guy know..."
what do you know?
Anyway, I knew nothing. After saying that, I attacked the guy with the cake and quickly fled the scene.
"Damn it! Let me catch that girl back!"
"Calm down, Ryu..."
"Impulse is the devil, Liu, don't bother with her."
…
The sound behind was completely inaudible.
I kept running, running out of the glass villa, running out of the beautiful rose garden, and I didn't stop until I could no longer see any trace of the glass villa.
“Phew—how scary! That guy’s eyes look like he wants to kill me.”
I patted my chest with lingering fear, thinking back to my impulsive words and actions just now, and couldn't help feeling a little scared.
That guy's distorted face is still deeply engraved in my mind.
"That guy is so annoying! Why did he have to tamper with my favorite dessert? Oh, I ate so many of his desserts with added ingredients, will there be any side effects?"
When I think about this, I get worried.
I didn’t have time to complain about the black-hearted pastry chef at the Earl’s Rose Pastry Shop. I glanced at the back covered by the fog, turned around and hurried towards the student dormitory.
It was almost midnight and the Earl's Rose Pastry Shop had closed, and the scene inside the house was completely different.
"Haha, that 'dessert punishment' is so funny! I thought she was going to continue to make trouble with you, but she ran away immediately!"
Yue, Qian Yuefang, who was wearing a black rose mask, was lying on the sofa holding her belly with laughter.
“That daring girl, I will never let her go if I meet her again next time!” The beautiful young man with a dark gold mask, Liu - Xingye Liu, wiped the cake off the mask with a napkin, and then bent the fork left by Lin Weiya.
"Wait, Ryu, and Yue, you have forgotten the most important thing."
Jing Fengyin, the gentle and beautiful boy who had been thinking silently and wearing a silver-white phantom mask, reminded him.
"What's the matter?" they asked in unison.
"She finished her dessert here and we let her go without observing her reaction."
Jing Fengyin frowned tightly.
"This is not good! Is she going to have a seizure outside?"
"She deserves it!" Xing Yeliu responded coldly.
"No, Ryu. According to the rules of the Pastry Club, pastry chefs must be responsible for customers who eat the magical desserts they made. Try to approach her tomorrow and observe if she has any aftereffects."
Jing Fengyin explained solemnly.
"Anyway, Xiao Wei Ya won't remember you tomorrow, so it will be very convenient if you want to do anything to her..."
Qian Yuefang raised the corners of her mouth mischievously, revealing a charming smile.
Xing Yeliu was startled when he heard this, and looked thoughtful.
