Work Text:
As soon as the clock strikes 11 and the doorbell jingles, Chu Wanning squares his shoulders.
Like clockwork, on the dot every single day, a tall man with a dimpled smile comes sidling up to the bakery’s counter.
Chu Wanning steels himself. “Welcome to Sisheng Bakery, may I have your order?”
The man — Mo Ran, also known as the bakery’s loyal customer and Chu Wanning’s daily annoyance — innocently blinks. “Sorry?”
Chu Wanning takes a deep breath, counting backwards from ten before repeating himself. “What can I get you?”
He gestures to the rows of pastries on the display shelf. As if you don’t know the menu like the back of your hand!
Mo Ran’s lips form an ‘O’ as his gaze sweeps from the pastries to Chu Wanning. Then, just as Chu Wanning expects, he props his elbow up against the counter and with lowered eyelashes, he says in a low voice, “You, Manager Chu.”
“…” A muscle in Chu Wanning’s jaw twitches. “Mo-xiansheng…”
Mo Ran flashes him a megawatt smile. “Aaaand also, a croissant, please!”
Chu Wanning nods, stepping away from the counter before grabbing a pair of tongs and a takeaway box. Then, thinking of what can be the furthest away from a croissant, he places a cream cheese bun and lotus crisps inside, before sliding it across the counter for Mo Ran’s inspection.
“Your order,” he says with a deadpan expression. He gives Mo Ran a frosty glance, as if challenging him to say anything.
“Manager Chu…” Then Mo Ran beams. “This is fantastic! How did you know I was hungry?”
“… 46 yuan,” Chu Wanning says through gritted teeth. Yet another failure — !
With one hand lifting his phone to the barcode scanner and another already reaching for a lotus crisp, Mo Ran continues chatting to Chu Wanning. “Wow! Manager Chu, this tastes good!”
“... I will pass your compliments to the baker.”
“No, it’s because of your magical touch! I bet it’s only so great because of the love and care you put into picking these out. Say, this is really good!” Mo Ran holds out the half-eaten lotus crisp. “Wanna take a bite?”
In the end, after failing to chase Mo Ran away from the counter (“You don’t have many customers today! I am helping the feng shui of your business by standing here!”), Mo Ran happily ate his wrong order and animatedly chatted to Chu Wanning the whole time.
The moment he finishes eating, he leans against the display shelf in what Chu Wanning can only describe as a sensual pose.
He wiggles his eyebrows at Chu Wanning. “So, Manager Chu, what time does your shift end? How about we get out of here and put some buns in—”
“Mo-xiansheng, ” Chu Wanning says icily, glaring at him. Back when he was still working in an office, his coworkers and project partners used to cower at the sight of his glare, interns whispering about how stern and scary the infamous Chu Wanning is.
Mo Ran doesn’t cower. Instead, his eyes start twinkling at the sight, that monster, and his smile only widens. “Manager Chu, have I ever told you that you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen?”
“… Mo-xiansheng,” Chu Wanning says, ignoring the bullshit that Mo Ran sprouted. “You left a print on the glass.”
Mo Ran steps away from the display shelf. “Oh, oops! Say, don’t you think this boring glass looks better with the shape of me?”
Chu Wanning ignores him again. “I’m going to trouble you to either clean it, or leave the bakery.”
“What is a bit of cleaning? Pass me the rag.” Mo Ran rolls up his sleeves, revealing his unfairly toned arms. Chu Wanning reminds himself to not look.
Chu Wanning slides the perfectly functional rag out of Mo Ran’s reach. “No rag. Looks like you can’t clean.”
“No rag? No problem! I have my ways.” Mo Ran reaches for the hem of his shirt, and begins taking it off.
“!!!” Chu Wanning nearly passes out. He stares at Mo Ran in stunned silence, staring at his exposed abs and the way his muscles ripple with Mo Ran’s movements. The customers are giggling and whispering, also staring at Mo Ran with red faces and anticipation. Chu Wanning swears that some of them have their phones out and ready.
Mo Ran has nearly taken off his shirt when Chu Wanning’s brain comes online again. Immediately, he explodes. “What are you doing?!”
Mo Ran pauses, his arms poised and shirt halfway up his chest. “Getting something to clean the display with?”
Chu Wanning tries to not stare at his chest. His fingers curl around the edge of the counter, and if he grips it any harder, it’ll crack.
Maybe I’ll be finally fired, he thinks deliriously. And then I can escape from this hell.
“Stop it!” Chu Wanning protests. “I— You— You—!”
“I?” Mo Ran helpfully prompts.
“Stop taking off your shirt!”
“Does Manager Chu mean that I can stay?” Thankfully, thankfully, Mo Ran lowers his shirt. Chu Wanning tries to calm his racing heartbeat, and the crowd that gathered to watch the spectacle, disperses with disappointed looks on their faces.
“… Don’t obstruct the front. Go to the staff corner,” Chu Wanning orders, pointing to a counter hangover at the corner meant for staff to take their breaks at.
Mo Ran’s eyes light up. “Manager Chu, you’re the best!”
Chu Wanning glowers at him for a second longer before turning away. “Leave in an hour.”
“Of course,” Mo Ran says solemnly, before obediently going to the staff corner. Every time Chu Wanning glances over or passes by, Mo Ran would beam at him and chat, offering encouraging words or passing commentary.
He ends up staying till closing time, and Chu Wanning couldn’t find it in himself to mind.
The thing is, Chu Wanning didn’t start off intentionally giving Mo Ran the wrong order. The first time has been a complete accident.
It had been a quiet Tuesday the first time Mo Ran had visited the bakery, and Chu Wanning had been mindlessly standing behind the counter and waiting for lunch break to come. The doorbell jingled, and in came a new customer Chu Wanning had never seen before — tall, deep purple-black eyes, faint dimples that made him look like he was perpetually smiling, toned arms that were accentuated in his tight black shirt.
Chu Wanning’s breathing hitched.
The bakery is not unpopular. Chu Wanning has met his fair share of attractive customers, and he is a professional. He doesn’t go around having fleeting flights of fancy whenever he sees attractive young men entering the bakery.
Reining in his inappropriate thoughts and taking another deep breath, Chu Wanning had asked for the customer’s order.
“Can I get almond pastries to go, please?” The customer had beamed at him, flashing his dimples as he pointed at the display glass, his arm flexing from the movement.
Chu Wanning’s brain had short-circuited. His hands were almost shaking when he got the takeaway box, and in his mind fog, he had grabbed a serving of Osmanthus cake instead. He had only realised his mistake after he slid the box towards the unfairly attractive customer for inspection.
But before he could quickly apologise and pull the box back, the customer grinned. “Perfect.”
Then, he glanced up and looked Chu Wanning in the eye. “Just like you.”
Since then, Mo Ran became a regular — coming in every day at 11 to drape himself all over the counter as he… he… flirts with Chu Wanning, chatting with him, asking him questions, and distracting him from work.
Mo Ran is already unfairly handsome — coupled with his winsome personality and breathtaking smile, he is absolutely bad for Chu Wanning’s heart.
And so, he had started intentionally giving Mo Ran the wrong order every time, trying to chase Mo Ran away with his bad service.
But Mo Ran is not deterred. Every single day, without fail, he will thank Chu Wanning for the wrong order and hang around the bakery for hours, despite Chu Wanning’s icy glares and snappish attitude.
“Mo-xiansheng,” Chu Wanning says. “If you keep staying in the premises for hours, I will have no choice but to chase you out.”
“Why!” Mo Ran protests. “I’m not harassing anyone!”
He props his elbow on the countertop, leaning his chin on the back of his palm before saying in a husky voice, “Unless Manager Chu is into that?”
“…” Chu Wanning throws a balled-up receipt at Mo Ran. “You’re obstructing other customers.”
Mo Ran catches it easily, laughing. “But I’m the most important customer of yours! I’m a VSP!”
“Do you mean VI—”
“Very Sexy Person.” Mo Ran tosses the receipt in the air, catching it before it lands, and flashes his dimples. “Don’t you agree?”
“… Scram!”
Mo Ran, however, does not scram. He goes to the staff corner (which he has taken to going there and staying for hours ever since the first time) and lounges, cheerfully smiling at Chu Wanning every time Chu Wanning glances his way. Chu Wanning pointedly avoids looking in Mo Ran’s direction.
“Manager Chu~” Mo Ran whines.
Chu Wanning, in the middle of cleaning the display glass, cleans it harder.
“Manager Chu~ Pay attention to me…. Manager Chu…. Manager Chu, won’t you pay attention to little old m—”
“Stop calling me that,” Chu Wanning snaps, tossing the rag down. He fixes Mo Ran with a glare, and Mo Ran’s only sits up straighter with a grin on his face. “… Call me Chu Wanning. Customers might mistake you for a staff if you keep calling me manager.”
“That’s not so bad, isn’t it? Imagine me working here, getting to see you for eight hours a day.”
“You—”
“Right, Wanning?”
Chu Wanning freezes. At the moment, he very much wanted a hole to open up beneath his feet for him to fall into, or for lightning to strike him dead.
Wanning. Wanning. The way his name just rolls off Mo Ran’s tongue sends a tingle running down his spine. He balls his hands into fists.
You lecherous old man, he berates himself. Getting all weak in the knees because the man he thinks is attractive had called him by his name, just like a frivolous teenager!
“Wanning, Wanning?” Mo Ran leans over the counter, getting close to his face.
At some point when he had been lost in his thoughts, Mo Ran had got up and wandered over, calling for him.
Chu Wanning immediately snaps out of his panic and shrinks back. “What do you want?”
Not even batting an eye, Mo Ran only grins before saying, “I said, let’s go on a date together.”
…
…
What?!
A million and one thoughts race through Chu Wanning’s head, and he feels as if he is going to spontaneously combust into literal flames any time. He tries to avert his gaze, but Mo Ran is all up his personal space, and all he can see is Mo Ran.
“... No,” Chu Wanning finally manages to blurt out. His tone comes out harsher than he intends, and even he flinched at his cold rejection.
But Mo Ran takes it in stride.
He only smiles gently, hopping back to his seat. “I’ll win you over yet, Wanning. I’ll ask you again and again!”
After quickly excusing himself, Chu Wanning heads to the back of the store. Once he is finally alone, he takes a deep breath. His heart is pounding against his ribcage, blood roaring in his ears, and he runs Mo Ran’s request for a date on repeat in his head.
… The thing is — Chu Wanning does think Mo Ran is very handsome, and very good company to have around. Above all, for some reason, Mo Ran isn’t intimidated by him. If anyone else is in his shoes, they would naturally accept the date. Maybe, the date will end well, and they can even start a relationship together!
That is: if it’s anyone else in his shoes. But this is Chu Wanning — bad-tempered, no meaningful relationships in his life whatsoever, ugly, and working as a clerk near his thirties. Mo Ran is young, well-adjusted, well-off enough to spend hours every day in a bakery hanging around Chu Wanning, and devastatingly good-looking. He can have his pick of anyone that visits or works at Sisheng Bakery, so why him?
It is probably a joke, Chu Wanning tells himself. A way for him to pass time, and have a laugh. He’ll get bored and move on soon enough.
There is no way that someone like Mo Ran would ever be interested in someone like Chu Wanning.
The ‘soon enough’ doesn’t come soon. In fact, it doesn’t show any sign of coming at all.
“Manager Chu Wanning,” Mo Ran says, all but throwing himself against the display glass as he strikes yet another sensual pose. “Coffee, tea, or me?”
… Mo Ran, who is either very free or has a very warped sense of humour, continues his daily harassment and teasing. Chu Wanning, in return, continues giving him the wrong order — much more outrageously than before.
This doesn’t turn Mo Ran away. But rather—
“Wanning, did you know that going on a date with me is a… piece of cake?”
“Manager Chu, I… knead you now.”
“My dearest manager, you butter be kidding me because it’s a sin that we’re not putting these buns in the oven.”
Chu Wanning’s eye twitches. “… The last one doesn’t even make sense.”
—Chu Wanning giving him the wrong order only makes Mo Ran flirt more, ramping up the compliments and ‘pick up lines’ he fires at Chu Wanning, frequently chatting with him and asking questions about him. In between the questions, Mo Ran also slips in asking for a date, but Chu Wanning always manages to catch it before he accidentally says yes.
Today is no exception to Mo Ran’s antics. Chu Wanning suppresses the natural instinct to roll his eyes, and gives Mo Ran an unimpressed gaze. “… I’m the one working here, not you. I should be asking for your order.”
“Oh, my apologies,” Mo Ran says, looking not apologetic at all. “Then alright, for my order today, I’ll get you.”
“…” Chu Wanning’s fingers inch towards one of those disposable cutlery they have on hand.
“And a cup of coffee, hand brewed by the lovely Wanning, of course!”
As a passive-aggressive FUCK YOU, Chu Wanning tosses a packet of almond cookies that Mo Ran did not order over the counter to him. Then he turns away from the counter, bustling around with the cups and hot water, before returning back with a cup of instant coffee.
“Wait!” Mo Ran cries when Chu Wanning slides the cup over. “What is this?!”
“… Coffee that you ordered?” He should be grateful Chu Wanning actually followed his order for once!
“It’s instant? ” Mo Ran looks into the cup like it was personally responsible for annihilating his entire family. “Wanning, I never knew you hated me so much, to the extent of giving me instant coffee — !”
“I don’t hate you,” Chu Wanning says, affronted by the thought. Mo Ran brightens up immediately, until Chu Wanning asks, “And what’s wrong with instant coffee?”
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong??” Mo Ran throws his hands up in disbelief. “EVERYTHING! Where are the coffee beans! The extensive menu so the customer can flirt with the barista while pouring over the options! The coffee handbrewed with love in a paper cup! The barista writing their number on the paper cup for the very sexy customer they’re eyeing!!”
At the rate Mo Ran is going, Chu Wanning won’t be surprised to see him collapse and start frothing at the mouth.
An unwanted thought suddenly blooms in his head. Mo Ran is very cute like this. He quickly squashes the thought and quickly says, “Mo-xiansheng. In case you have forgotten — this is Sisheng Bakery. We are not a coffee shop.”
Mo Ran looks as if he is losing his mind. “Why can’t bakeries have good coffeemakers?!”
Chu Wanning raises an eyebrow. He is secretly enjoying this way more than he should. “… Because the boss of Sisheng Bakery has not decided to invest in coffeemakers?” He crosses his arms. “Unless you can somehow force the CEO to decide to expand our beverage menu, I’m afraid you have to stick with your instant coffee.”
Mo Ran pauses. A strange look creeps on his face. Then, without breaking eye contact, he says, “Oh, just you wait, Wanning. I have a feeling you start serving fancy coffeemaker coffee real soon.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Chu Wanning says drily.
A week later, he gets a visit from the district supervisor.
“Hey, Xiao Chu!” The supervisor cheerily greets as she walks in.
“Supervisor Luo,” Chu Wanning returns the greeting. “What brings you here today?”
“Ah, you’ll never guess this, but our CEO decided to expand our menu to include all kinds of coffee and tea! From tomorrow, all branches in the south district will have a coffeemaker. Now, come over, let me show you the menu…”
If Chu Wanning was any lesser of a man, he would have died on the spot.
The next day, Mo Ran enters and saunters to the counter with a smug expression.
“One macchiato, please, barista.”
Chu Wanning glowers at him, moodily jabbing the option at the coffeemaker.
Over the din as the coffee brews away, Mo Ran shouts, “And don’t forget to write your number on the cup! Give your number to your sexy customer!”
Chu Wanning pointedly does not write his number on those stupid paper cups sent along with the coffeemaker.
Mo Ran pouts.
He starts adding another step to his daily routine — he orders some pastry (which Chu Wanning will still serve wrongly), ‘flirts’ with Chu Wanning, and then badgers Chu Wanning to write his number on his cup of coffee.
“Wanning, isn’t it a crime to not use this beautiful paper cup?”
“Manager Chu, I’m your loyal VSP? Shouldn’t you decorate my order with a string of digits?”
“I would like to speak to your manager — my order isn’t complete! It doesn’t have the number of the barista!”
Chu Wanning just about had enough.
“ I am not the barista!” Chu Wanning explodes one day. He slams Mo Ran’s order on the counter, shoving it to him while glaring balefully.
“Of course not, Manager Chu, you’re— Wait, is that…?! Wanning… is that really your number?! Are you giving it to—to me??”
“Scram!!” Chu Wanning flees into the storeroom at the back, unable to look at Mo Ran grinning at his cup of coffee. There, right beside the logo is Chu Wanning’s number — scribbled on by Chu Wanning himself.
That very night, Chu Wanning receives a message from Mo Ran.
‘hi, manager chu!!’ He adds a husky sticker behind it, one with hearts appearing beside it. ‘i hope u missed me as much as i miss u’
‘You saw me less than four hours ago.’ Despite sending that somewhat cold reply, Chu Wanning feels a smile tugging at the corner of his lips looking at the crying husky stickers Mo Ran sent.
‘oh btw nice pfp!! it cant capture ur beauty irl but it comes close’ Mo Ran attaches a winking sticker after.
Chu Wanning frowns, clicking into his profile page. Then he sees the profile picture — a photo of him in business wear, back from his corporate days. Even though he has left and worked at Sisheng Bakery for years, people don’t usually text him, and so he didn’t even realise that his profile picture is still there.
Chu Wanning leans back against his bedframe with a soft sigh. Seeing the photo brings back memories, and not all of them are pleasant.
See, back then, he used to be an executive in the big Wubei Holdings. He was a rising star, meeting sales targets daily and set to be part of the CEO’s team in a few years.
But he grew tired of that life — mindlessly grinding, slaving away, working hard to meet sales targets for corporate profit. One day, while he was doing overtime, he stared at his reflection from the blue glow of his laptop and something triggered in his head. The work he was doing wasn’t meaningful, and he didn’t want to die just helping an already rich company become richer.
Against his father’s expectations and wishes, he tended his resignation, moved into a smaller apartment back in his childhood district — and went back to work in the chain-owned bakery he used to work part-time at when he was a student.
He can’t say for certain that what he is doing is meaningful, but at least, it felt… simpler.
And the smiles he sees customers have when they bite into their favourite pastries made him feel happier.
He deletes the profile picture. Not a minute later, Mo Ran texts him again.
‘HEEEYYY why did u delete it?? :((((’
He ends his message with three more crying distressed huskies.
Chu Wanning hesitates, typing and retyping his reply until finally sending: 'It’s from my past. I don’t want to think about it.’
Chu Wanning places his phone down, staring at their chat, his heart rate accelerating at the message he sent and thinking of how Mo Ran would take it. Would he ask for details? Would he think otherwise of Chu Wanning? Would he ask, find out the ugly truth, and look down on Chu Wanning?
The chat indicated that Mo Ran is typing. Mo Ran is taking so long to reply that Chu Wanning is just about ready to have a cardiac arrest.
Then his message comes.
‘ahhh well I for one am glad u left ur past. because without that we wouldn’t have met :)’
Chu Wanning stares at the message. He might have gotten a little misty-eyed, and suddenly, Mo Ran sends him a photograph — this time, Chu Wanning really gets a little misty-eyed.
‘[image attached]
to new beginnings!!’
The photograph is of Chu Wanning working at the bakery, hard at work while customers before him are smiling. Mo Ran must have secretly snapped the photo during one of the times he’d lounged at the staff corner.
Chu Wanning sends a reply. ‘Thank you.’
That night, Chu Wanning sets the photo Mo Ran took as his new profile picture.
One day, an incident occurs.
Chu Wanning had been in the middle of chatting with Auntie Ling, the bakery’s cleaning lady, and setting up the display shelf when the doors burst open, shattering the peace of the tranquil morning. A man red in the face and reeking distinctively of alcohol comes barrelling in, leaning heavily against the counter as he makes his order.
Because his speech was slurred together, Chu Wanning doesn’t catch what he says and asks for him to repeat himself.
Then the man scowls, taking his card out and waving it in Chu Wanning’s face. “I s-said … ! B… Baguette… and black coffee! Now!”
The cleaning lady pulls a face behind the man’s back, tutting while catching Chu Wanning’s eye. Chu Wanning minutely shakes his head, trying to convey through his eyes that he’s got it under control. After all, he has had his fair share of difficult co-workers and work partners during his time in Wushan Corps — one drunkard is nothing.
He serves the man the black coffee first before placing his baguette into the oven to heat it up. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the man taking a mouthful of his coffee, grimacing, before spitting into one of the plants they keep inside the bakery.
A muscle in Chu Wanning’s jaw jumps. He resists the urge to yank the baguette out of the oven and use it to cobble the drunkard — only because Auntie Ling is still there cleaning. He is not going to make a scene in front of her.
“Sir…” Auntie Ling says. She sets the mop to a side and shakes her head, disapproval all over her face. “You shouldn’t have done that. What if the plants die?”
“Da… Da fuck do I give for s-s-some plants??”
She tuts. “Youngsters these days…”
“Oi, you hag, did I ask for yer input, you s-stupid lowly cleaning—"
“Excuse me.” In a flash, Chu Wanning steps around the counter and strides over to them, putting himself in front of Auntie Ling as he gives his most intimidating glare to the man. “I have to ask you to kindly leave the premises right now.”
“Wha the f—”
“And, please do not speak to our staff like this, sir.”
The man explodes.
“W-Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you know who I am?!” A vein is bulging on the man’s forehead, and Chu Wanning feels Auntie Ling tugging at the back of his shirt, telling him to drop it.
Chu Wanning is not going to drop it. “I am the manager of this branch. And I am going to ask you to apologise to Madam Ling at once.”
“You little!!” The man roars, his face reddening from both alcohol and anger. He glares at Chu Wanning, breathing heavily, before raising his hand to slap him.
It is as if time slows down. Auntie Ling screams. Chu Wanning sees the hand coming his way. He braces himself and steels for the impact.
But it never comes.
Cautiously, he opens his eyes — only to see a familiar face.
Mo Ran stands behind the man, seizing him by the wrist and stopping him. Backlit by the sunlight streaming through the front window with a menacing expression on his face, this Mo Ran is hardly someone Chu Wanning recognises.
The Mo Ran he sees and knows is one always smiling, happy, and making jokes. The Mo Ran he sees now has his eyes sharpened in a cold glare, his lips pressed in a straight line, and gripping the drunkard so tightly that the tips of his fingers are white. It’s all Mo Ran, but the difference between them is like day and night.
The drunkard is wailing in pain, begging Mo Ran to let go, and Chu Wanning swears he hears a cracking sound.
He immediately jumps into action. “Mo Ran, let go.”
Mo Ran doesn’t let go. He continues as if he didn’t hear Chu Wanning. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Ah, ah, ahahahahah , old pal, lao da, I w-was wrong I waswrong, please l-l-let go I’m going to die I’mgoingtodie—”
If anything, Mo Ran only tightens his grip on the man’s wrist. The man howls, sounding just about ready to keel over.
“Mo Ran,” Chu Wanning says. His tone takes on a pleading edge. “Let go. I’m fine.”
Unthinkingly, he reaches forward and touches Mo Ran’s arm. It was a feather-light, fleeting touch, lasting no more than a single second — but Mo Ran jolts, and something in his expression shifts.
“You’re okay?” He looks at Chu Wanning while speaking softly, as if Chu Wanning is a skittish cat he is trying not to spook.
Chu Wanning nods. Mo Ran opens his mouth, but before he can speak, the drunkard is thanking him profusely, practically on his knees.
Mo Ran’s upper lip curls up in a sneer. “Get the fuck out, now, before I call the cops.”
“HahahahaHAHAHA of course ofcourse, I’m going now, nownownow—”
There is a burst of action, jingling chimes, slamming doors — and finally, the peace is restored back at Sisheng Bakery. A strange sort of atmosphere descends upon them.
Then Mo Ran speaks. “Whew!” he says in an exaggerated voice, comically wiping his brow. “Wow, that was so scary!”
It effectively cuts the tension in the bakery. Auntie Ling immediately starts fussing over Mo Ran, telling him all about that horrible no good man, how rude he was to both her and Chu Wanning — and does Xiao Mo know that punk spat in one of the plants??
“Oh, what?” Mo Ran widens his eyes. “Did he really?”
“Really!!” Auntie Ling nods furiously. She grabs both of Mo Ran’s hands. “Oh, Xiao Mo, you came just in the nick of time!”
“I did,” Mo Ran says, nodding solemnly. “But I’m glad you guys are safe. How about this, Auntie Ling — why don’t you go home for the day? I’ll clean the rest of the place for you!”
She protests against that.
“Please, Auntie Ling, the bakery is already squeaking clean! Besides…” he winks. “Let me spend more private time with my crush, hmm?”
“Aiyo!” Auntie Ling squeals, swatting Mo Ran on the arm. “You cheeky boy!”
“Haha, Auntie Ling, you’re embarrassing me~”
Finally, she collects all her things, winking at Chu Wanning before pumping her fist in a gesture of good luck at Mo Ran. Mo Ran returns the gesture, giving her a salute and watching her exit with a smile.
The moment she leaves the bakery, his face drops. He looks uncharacteristically sullen, and seeing him like this makes Chu Wanning’s heart constrict painfully.
“Are… are you alright?”
“Hmm?” At the sound of his voice, Mo Ran seems to shake himself out of it. He glances over in Chu Wanning’s direction with a small smile. “Yeah, I’m good. Sorry you had to see that, Wanning.”
Chu Wanning is about to say in confusion that it’s fine, it’s not like Mo Ran did anything wrong when Mo Ran lets out a little self-deprecating laugh. “… But I can’t hate people throwing their weight around just because they got some money.”
Mo Ran rubs at his wrist, looking away from Chu Wanning and fixing his eyes in the middle distance as he gets lost in his own thoughts. “Did you know, Manager Chu? I was poor once, and back then my mom had to work a lot of odd jobs to make ends meet. Singing, cleaning, delivery; she’s done it all. And people were rude to her a lot.”
Chu Wanning’s breathing hitches. In the face of Mo Ran sharing an obviously difficult part of his past with him, Chu Wanning yearns to say and do something. But he has never been good with knowing what to say or do, especially not when he needs to. Not for the first time, he curses his inadequacies.
Mo Ran continues his reminiscence. “So, when I see people being rude to others, especially those in the service line, I just get so… so mad! I think about how my mom suffered back then, and how I couldn’t do a thing…”
He furrows his brows, as if transported back in time and forced to relive those bad memories. Chu Wanning’s heart lurches. Once again, without conscious thought, he steps forward and lays his hand on Mo Ran’s arm.
This time, ignoring the wild pounding of his heart and every cell of his body telling him to flee, Chu Wanning leaves his hand there. It is a simple, small gesture — but he hopes it is enough to convey what he cannot express.
And somehow, it works. Mo Ran jolts, looking at Chu Wanning’s hand on his arm — before he breaks into a beam. At the sight of his kind eyes, bright smile, and deep-set dimples, Chu Wanning inexplicably feels flustered. He retracts his arm as if he touched iron, and quickly jumps away from Mo Ran and hurries back behind the counter, muttering something about getting Mo Ran a drink.
Just before he turns on the coffeemaker, Chu Wanning pauses. “… Your mom must be proud of the man you are now.”
Then he ducks his head back behind the machine, his heart pounding a mile a minute, while Mo Ran shoots him the brightest smile he has ever seen.
(For good measure, he still gives Mo Ran the wrong order.)
Over time, apart from simply hanging around the bakery, Mo Ran starts doing small odd tasks. From watering the plants, to wiping down the display shelf, to sweeping the floor… and simply helping Chu Wanning.
Chu Wanning appreciates it. But he also distinctively wonders if he’s taking advantage of a customer.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mo Ran says, as if somehow reading his thoughts. He sets the broom aside, leaning against the counter with his hand propping up his face. “Can’t I just want to spend time with Manager Chu? And besides, you can always treat me to more coffee. We can even share a cup!”
He gives Chu Wanning a boyish grin, flashing his dimples, and Chu Wanning feels yet another inexplicable stab of shyness.
To hide his shyness, he loudly clears his throat. “I prefer tea over coffee.” Before Mo Ran can even say his stupid coffee and tea line, he quickly adds, “Boba tea.”
Mo Ran’s expression grows pensive.
The next day, before Mo Ran drops by, Chu Wanning receives a food delivery — boba tea, the sugar level at his preferred 120%, with a novelty: coffee-flavoured popping pearls.
‘ Coffee, tea, and me ;) ’ is the note printed on the receipt. Chu Wanning rolls his eyes. Stupid Mo Ran.
But he cannot hide the small smile that spreads on his lips when he pokes the straw in and takes a sip. The milk tea is sweet and has a light floral taste, just to his tastes. His small smile grows wider.
Cautiously, he sucks up one of the pearls and rolls it along his tongue. The pearl pops, and a burst of coffee spreads on his taste buds. Chu Wanning is pleasantly surprised by how good it tastes, and eagerly drinks another mouthful of both the tea and pearl.
The boba tea is actually really good. The more Chu Wanning drinks, the more he likes it. But all too soon, he finishes most of the tea, leaving behind only the boba pearls. He ends up playing with the pearls, taking advantage of the quiet morning at the bakery to roll the pearls between his tongue and teeth, before popping it to release the burst of coffee flavour in his mouth.
While he is rolling three pearls along his tongue at once, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration, he suddenly feels the back of his neck prickling. He immediately freezes. Slowly, he turns in the direction of the front door — where Mo Ran is standing.
Standing and watching Chu Wanning play with boba pearls in his mouth like some kind of… some kind of… C-grade p-p-porn star!!
Chu Wanning nearly chokes. “Wh-When did you get here?!”
“A… just a while ago,” Mo Ran says thickly.
And then Chu Wanning really chokes — the delicate skin of the boba pearls burst, and the sudden burst of coffee down his throat catches Chu Wanning off-guard. He starts coughing, and the coffee syrup begins dripping from his chin to his neck, and down his collar.
Chu Wanning is so embarrassed he wants to positively drop dead at the very second. He is coughing so much that his face is burning. His hand flies up, trying to shield his face from view.
Mo Ran runs forward to help him, but Chu Wanning throws up his free hand in a gesture of stop. He does not want Mo Ran near him when he looks like… like that ! What a sight he must make, coffee syrup running down his neck, red in the face as he chokes and gasps for air.
“I’m… okay…” Chu Wanning finally wheezes after catching his breath. He gropes around the counter, before yanking a piece of tissue from the tissue box and gingerly wiping his face with it.
“…” Mo Ran is very still. Then he declares: “… I… uh, need to…”
“Need to go!” He starts running towards the toilet. “I have a stomachache!!”
?! Chu Wanning stares at the empty spot Mo Ran was at a second ago, before self-consciously touching his face and neck.
Was Mo Ran repulsed by the spectacle he painted…?
When Mo Ran finally exits the toilet and makes his way back to the front of the counter, he gives Chu Wanning a strange look. Chu Wanning opens his mouth, ready to cycle through the list of excuses he prepared, before Mo Ran takes out his phone and starts scrolling intently.
“… What are you doing?”
“Ordering five more cups for Manager Chu,” Mo Ran says without taking his eyes off his phone. “Five large cups.”
“?! That’s too much! I can’t finish that!”
“You can take it,” Mo Ran says seriously. “I’ll stay and wait for you to finish every single cup.”
“No way I can fin— Stop ordering…!”
… One thing’s for sure — none of Chu Wanning’s days are boring anymore, not since Mo Ran has shown up. In fact, Mo Ran’s presence in the bakery firmly becomes part of Chu Wanning’s routine, a never-failing constant.
So when one day, after the clock strikes 11 and Mo Ran has yet to appear — Chu Wanning begins to grow antsy. But is it really his fault? After all, Mo Ran is the one who appears every single day, usually way before 11, conditioning Chu Wanning to his arrival. In fact, the latest he ever showed up was fifteen minutes past 11.
And now, it is nearing 12. There is yet to be a single sight of Mo Ran, and Chu Wanning’s phone is void of texts from him.
A million thoughts flies through Chu Wanning’s head. Rationally, he tries to assure himself: Mo Ran never said he would come every day. Maybe he’s busy. Maybe he overslept. Maybe he just doesn’t need bread today.
Then the intrusive, negative thoughts start creeping in. Mo Ran probably grew tired of his joke, tired of pretending to be Chu Wanning’s friend. He probably got sick of Chu Wanning’s temper, his mean jabs. He probably…
Chu Wanning’s thoughts are making his head swarm. He was so caught up with all the what-ifs and possibilities that time gets away from him. The clock strikes 2, and Chu Wanning’s head is hurting so much that the bakery is spinning.
He walks around the counter. He should probably take his break now. He should—
The world before him tilts on its axis. At the same time, the front door jingles, and then there are hurried footsteps and distorted sounds: someone calling his name.
Before he hits the floor, a familiar scent and warmth wraps around him. Chu Wanning blinks, his vision clearing — and there, holding him in his arms is Mo Ran. Through his blurry vision, he sees Mo Ran’s face twisted in worry as Mo Ran calls for him.
Chu Wanning blinks. “I… I’m ok..ay,” he tries to say, his brain slowly turning its gears again.
Blood is still drumming in his ears, but his head has stopped hurting as much. Flustered at his sudden proximity to Mo Ran, he tries to shove Mo Ran away.
But Mo Ran only tightens his hold on him. “No, you’re not,” he snaps, before bundling Chu Wanning towards the staff corner, seating him down and touching his face.
“You don’t have a fever…” he mutters, peering closely at Chu Wanning. Chu Wanning tries to shrink back, but he is still feeling dizzy and Mo Ran is still holding onto him. “Have you eaten?”
Chu Wanning blinks owlishly at him. Mo Ran clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and, after sternly telling Chu Wanning to not move, he steps behind the counter and starts busying himself.
Chu Wanning has just gotten his bearings back when Mo Ran re-emerges from behind the counter, setting down a glass of warm cup and a heated scone in front of him.
“I don’t come on time once, and you forget to eat?”
He is about to protest that no, he didn’t forget to eat because Mo Ran wasn’t there, but then he looks at Mo Ran and belatedly realises that he is dressed differently.
Oh, so he does have a job after all, is the first thought that pops into Chu Wanning’s head.
Mo Ran’s usually unruly bangs are slicked back neatly, and he is wearing a well-fitted suit. Mo Ran, on a daily basis, is already devastatingly handsome — and now, wearing a suit that accentuates his best features and makes him look powerful and imposing…
Chu Wanning’s head is hurting again, but for a different reason this time.
“Eat,” Mo Ran says sternly. “You need to get your energy back.”
Chu Wanning is quick to comply, nibbling at the scone while cradling the milk between his palms. Mo Ran loosens his tie, raising his other hand to push back loose strands of hair that fell forward during the commotion, and Chu Wanning forgets to breathe. He very nearly faints again.
“Eat another.” None the wiser to the inner turmoil raging in Chu Wanning’s very sad, very virginal mind, Mo Ran produces another scone and slides it towards him.
Chu Wanning is about to say something, but Mo Ran fixes him with another look. “Be good,” he says, his voice dropping low at the command, and Chu Wanning feels a shiver run down his shiver. He shifts in his seat, the motion causing his thighs to squeeze together almost uncomfortably.
Without another word of protest, Chu Wanning obediently eats. Under Mo Ran’s watchful gaze, he ends up finishing both scones and the milk.
Mo Ran nods in satisfaction. “Good boy.”
Chu Wanning resists the urge to squeak.
“Next time,” Mo Ran declares while clearing the plates. “If I’m running late, I’ll text Wanning ahead of time.”
Rejuvenated after getting some food in his system, Chu Wanning argues. “You have your own life. You don’t need to report back to me.”
Mo Ran grins, ducking behind the counter to do the dishes. “But I want to.”
And true to his words, Mo Ran does end up texting him when he shows up later than his usual time. And not only that, Mo Ran takes to bringing lunch frequently, eating it with Chu Wanning during his lunch break.
“You don’t need to,” Chu Wanning tries to protest.
“But I want to,” Mo Ran always says in reply, sliding him a lunchbox and a set of utensils. “I need to eat too, Manager Chu, and I always cook too much. We must do our part and not waste the hard work of farmers!”
Chu Wanning rolls his eyes. He digs in begrudgingly, and because Mo Ran is perfect, his cooking is absolutely to die for. What can his stupidly attractive customer not do?
… Also, another slight change appears in their routine — Chu Wanning is not sure if Mo Ran knows the effect it has on Chu Wanning, but he starts appearing in his suit again from time to time, making his order while loosening his tie and shooting Chu Wanning a small smirk. It is all very bad for Chu Wanning’s heart.
“Excuse me, I would like to speak to your manager.”
Chu Wanning, who is finally catching a break after the rare hectic afternoon crowd, tosses his rag aside and gives Mo Ran a very unamused look. Mo Ran pouts at him in return, forlornly looking at him with big, puppy eyes.
“… What do you want.”
“I didn’t order this!” he cries in dismay, gesturing at the plate in front of him.
Chu Wanning walks around the corner, coming to a stop next to Mo Ran and staring incredulously at the offending plate. Today, Mo Ran ordered a strawberry shortcake. Because it had been so busy earlier on, Chu Wanning quickly gave him the cake before serving other customers.
This is one of the firsts, if not the first, time Chu Wanning actually gave Mo Ran his order correctly. And NOW Mo Ran is saying his order is wrong??
“What do you mean?” Chu Wanning says. “You ordered a strawberry shortcake?”
“I didn’t!” Mo Ran protests. “You must have heard me wrong, Manager Chu.”
Chu Wanning’s eye twitches. “… Well, it’s too late to replace it.”
Mo Ran ordered it nearly two hours ago. It wouldn’t do for Chu Wanning to put the cake back on the display shelf and replace it with whatever Mo Ran deems as the ‘right’ order.
“I don’t want it,” Mo Ran insists. He leans back in his seat and spreads his legs, giving the vague impression of an emperor lounging on his throne.
Chu Wanning’s eyes are instantly drawn to Mo Ran’s spread legs like some magnetic field. He quickly averts his gaze before he’s accused of being a dirty pervert, and clears his suddenly dry throat.
“If… If you don’t want it,” Chu Wanning stammers a little, cursing at how stupid he sounded. “Then I’ll just… I’ll just…”
“You’ll just…?” Mo Ran cocks an eyebrow at him. He shouldn’t look this attractive doing so!
“… I’ll just eat it!” Chu Wanning grabs the fork and immediately shoves a mouthful of cake in.
He is lucky that the bakery is now empty, save for Mo Ran and himself. If there is another soul in the bakery, he would never dare to even act in such an impudent way. What a sight he must make, arguing with his customer before going on to eat his cake.
Stupid Mo Ran! As he angrily chews, he feels how hot his face is. No doubt, he must look like some idiot, blushing away like a schoolgirl when he’s already nearing his thirties.
Mo Ran is staring at him with a weird expression. His eyes are dark — similar to that one time the drunkard came in to cause a scene, except it’s now more heated and heavier. Mo Ran abruptly stands, his stool screeching against the floor from the movement, and he is suddenly looming over Chu Wanning.
“Manager Chu, you’re being very naughty, aren’t you?” Mo Ran says in a low voice. “How will you compensate me for stealing my cake?”
He didn’t steal, he wanted to protest — but he finds himself unable to utter a single word under Mo Ran’s gaze.
Chu Wanning swallows thickly, his throat bobbing from the force. Mo Ran’s eyes track the movement of his throat with an almost… almost hungry expression, before saying, “Look at you, you got cream all over yourself.”
And just like that, he swoops down and kisses Chu Wanning.
“…!”
At the sensation of Mo Ran’s — someone he is painfully attracted to, both physically and emotionally — lips against Chu Wanning’s, Chu Wanning’s brain short-circuits. He feels Mo Ran’s tongue against his bottom lip, licking the cream from the shortcake, and he shivers. If not for Mo Ran’s strong arm around his waist holding him up, Chu Wanning’s legs would have given way.
Belatedly, he thinks again about how lucky it is that the bakery is empty apart from Mo Ran and himself.
Helplessly, Chu Wanning makes a sound — a half cry, a half squeak, and his arms land on Mo Ran’s biceps in an attempt to anchor himself. Embolden, Mo Ran deepens the kiss, licking past the seam of Chu Wanning’s mouth and inside, and suddenly Chu Wanning melts in his embrace.
Pliant in Mo Ran’s embrace, Mo Ran easily manhandles Chu Wanning to his heart’s content, pawing and squeezing while swallowing all of the little breathy gasps Chu Wanning lets out. Chu Wanning makes a louder gasp when he feels Mo Ran’s hands grabbing his thighs, hiking his legs up before depositing him on the countertop and making him lie backwards.
“Mo Ran,” Chu Wanning says, his voice a shaky whimper.
“Shh,” Mo Ran says, dropping wet kisses down the line of Chu Wanning’s throat. “Let me take care of you, Wanning.”
Chu Wanning resists for a split second — but then Mo Ran goes back to kissing him and he finds himself unable to think.
He closes his eyes, ready to surrender himself over to Mo Ran before—
“RING RING, RING RING.”
The shrill ringing of the bakery’s telephone breaks the silence in the bakery. It also effectively breaks whatever spell Chu Wanning is under. He springs into action, scrambling to shove Mo Ran aside and get on his unsteady legs.
He tries to pick up the phone, but his fingers slip and he presses the speaker button instead.
“Hi, hi,” the customer’s breathless voice comes through the receiver. Without even waiting for Chu Wanning to return the greeting, the customer barrels on. “This is Nangong, Nangong Si, and I’ve preordered a batch order for my engagement party? Yeah, I wanted to double-check on it, and to confirm, you are adding the little wolf and leaf sculpture for the main cake??”
Mo Ran raises an eyebrow, clear distaste written on his face as he listens to the customer prattle on about his batch order and his very important wolf and leaf sculpture. With a voice calmer than his internal state of mind, Chu Wanning answers all his queries, before politely cutting the call.
“Fuck this Nangong dude,” Mo Ran whispers darkly. “The things I could have…”
He trails off, muttering under his breath as he glares viciously at the telephone.
Chu Wanning raises a hand to his bruised lips, and swallows. If Nangong Si didn’t call, what would have happened?
But in the end, Chu Wanning gets no answer to his question.
Chu Wanning busies himself behind the counter — at first actually busying himself with checking Nangong Si’s bulk order, before pretending to be busy with cleaning various things. Mo Ran, to his credit, doesn’t say or do anything else. He just continues hanging at the little staff corner, alternating between using his phone, tablet, and sipping his coffee.
Chu Wanning sneaks little peeks at Mo Ran for the rest of the evening, his gaze falling to Mo Ran’s strong arms and shapely lips, his eyes tracing Mo Ran’s figure as he thinks about how nice it had been earlier, and how nice Mo Ran’s body felt pressed against his…
What are you thinking? Chu Wanning berates himself as he snaps himself out of it and gets ready to close up the bakery for the day. You lecherous old man, lusting over your customer like some lovesick teenager!
Chu Wanning is still in the middle of giving himself a talking down when he heads to the door to flip the sign to ‘Closed’. He flips the sign more forcefully than necessary, and a little boy lingering outside the bakery jumps in fright.
Instantly, guilt washes over Chu Wanning. Slowly, while making sure that his usual stern expression is softened to the best of his abilities, he cracks open the door.
“Are you okay?” he asks. “Why aren’t you at home?”
The little boy cautiously nods, before shaking his head. “… Because Daddy is not home yet. Daddy is working.”
The boy looks young and almost painfully skinny, his school uniform hanging off his shoulders. Chu Wanning’s heart softens. He bends down, getting to the boy’s eye level before he asks, “Are you hungry?”
The boy shakes his head again, but his stomach lets out a rumble. He almost blushes as he says, “… But I don’t have any money.”
Chu Wanning feels a pang in his heart. As sad as it is, he is no stranger to such occurrences. After all, the bakery is close to a poorer area in the district, and it’s not an uncommon sight to see parents working long hours, struggling to make ends meet while their children wait for them to come back with food for the day.
“Wait here,” Chu Wanning says, quickly going back inside the bakery and grabbing a bag of milk bread rolls. Ignoring Mo Ran’s questions, he makes a mental note to key the item in the key register after and pay for it, before emerging out of the bakery again with the bread rolls in hand.
“Here,” he says, passing the bag of rolls to the boy. “For you.”
The boy looks at Chu Wanning with wide eyes. “R-Really?”
“Mm.” Chu Wanning pushes the bag towards the boy, consciously reminding himself to try and be gentle. “Take it.”
The boy immediately breaks into a beam. Hugging the bag close to his chest, he says, “Thank you, pretty gege!!”
Then he jumps, running down the street. Chu Wanning watches him as disappears from view.
“… Do you do this often?”
Chu Wanning jumps. He is so caught up with his thoughts that he nearly forgets that Mo Ran has been still inside the bakery.
And now, Mo Ran, who has watched the whole exchange from inside, has emerged out from the bakery. He leans against the door, gazing at Chu Wanning intently, and Chu Wanning, for some reason, feels inexplicably flustered at being caught in the act.
“I…”
Mo Ran has an unfathomable look in his eyes. “Wanning… That was very kind of you.”
“It was nothing,” Chu Wanning snaps, still embarrassed over getting caught ‘red-handed’ with his clumsy, awkward attempts at being nice. “It was just… just…”
He trips over his words. Cursing himself, he contemplates running back into the bakery and slamming the door in Mo Ran’s face.
Then Mo Ran finally smiles, his eyes softening as he gazes at Chu Wanning. “This is why I like you so much, you know?”
Chu Wanning has a problem.
Somehow, against his expectations and despite how hard he had tried to reject and deny the possibility — he has developed the tiniest, smallest, faintest crush on Mo Ran.
In hindsight, Chu Wanning never stood a chance. Mo Ran is persistent with his overt affection and companionship, his handsome smile and winsome personality, and is perfect. Chu Wanning is but a simple man, and with someone like Mo Ran quite literally by his side every day, how could he not gradually thaw and fall for Mo Ran?
And the wildest, strangest thing of this whole thing is — Mo Ran might like him too.
The concept is foreign, and even just thinking about it fills Chu Wanning with the overwhelming urge to turn in his resignation letter and run away from this district. Chu Wanning is not likeable — he is a hard worker, a formidable ally and foe in business, and a scary, unapproachable person.
Liking someone is a first for him. Being liked is uncharted territory.
This problem weighs on him, and it must show on his face because the next time Auntie Ling comes over to clean the bakery, she notices.
“Trouble in paradise, Xiao Chu?”
Chu Wanning’s brows knit together. “Who can I even be in paradise with?”
“You and Xiao Mo, of course!”
Chu Wanning nearly chokes on his morning tea. He is grateful that it is way too early for Mo Ran to be around yet.
When he finally gets his wits back, he vehemently denies it. “Mo Ran and I are not together .”
“Aiya, ya,” Auntie Ling says, swatting her hand at him. “It’s only a matter of time! Anyone can see you making eyes at each other!”
Chu Wanning is about to protest that he definitely doesn’t make anything at Mo Ran, much less eyes, when Auntie Ling smiles. “My old man used to court me like Xiao Mo is doing… Making me smile and making me food back in the days. You’re lucky to have someone who likes you as much, Xiao Chu!”
Upon hearing that, Chu Wanning stills. Whatever else he wanted to protest and deny die at the back of his throat.
She gives him a beautific smile. “Valentine’s Day is soon, isn’t it?” She pats him on the shoulder. “Go for it, Xiao Chu!”
Auntie Ling’s words ring in his head, lingering even as Mo Ran comes in and even as he heads back home for the day after his shift.
He comes to a realisation that he needs to cherish this — he needs to cherish Mo Ran.
Mo Ran has lit up his life, quite literally and figuratively. He has been a constant, and always there by his side since the first day he walked into Sisheng Bakery.
Chu Wanning wants to do something in return for Mo Ran. He wants to show him that he cares too.
One day, while secretly watching Mo Ran from behind the counter, he is struck by a flash of inspiration.
He decides he will give Mo Ran chocolates on Valentine’s Day.
The thing is, he knows Mo Ran is good at cooking. And he knows that he isn’t. Anything from the bakery’s Valentine’s Day line would taste better than anything Chu Wanning tries to make — but it wouldn’t be meaningful.
So he learns a basic, easy recipe, and spends early mornings before Mo Ran drops in and late evenings when Mo Ran leaves to practice making the simple handmade chocolates. After trials and errors, it is finally perfected enough that Chu Wanning deems it worthy for Mo Ran.
On his monthly day off from work, Chu Wanning goes back to the bakery to borrow the kitchen. The plan is simple: make the chocolates, call Mo Ran during lunchtime, ask him out, and give him the chocolates. Hopefully, his thoughts will get through the Mo Ran, and then… and then…
“Ah, Manager Chu!!” The doors to the kitchen slam open, snapping Chu Wanning away from his daydreams. The part-timer on duty — Cai Bao — comes running in with a stricken expression.
Chu Wanning snaps to attention. “What is it?”
“I… I have a stomachache!” Cai Bao moans. “B-But the big boss is about the come in any moment now…!”
“Oh.” Chu Wanning thinks of the date. Right, it is the time of the year for the CEO of the Sisheng Bakery chain to come down to their branch for the annual inspection. If memory serves him right, this is the new CEO’s first year doing inspections after the previous one stepped down and passed the role to his protégé.
“Manager Chu, I-I feel awful about this, and I know you’re on leave… But could you… could you man the front while I run to the toilet real quick…?”
Chu Wanning nods. Cai Bao immediately dissolves into profuse apologies, swearing up and down that he’ll take over a shift for Chu Wanning one day, and how he’ll make sure to be quick and hopefully be back before the CEO even arrives. He is still thanking Chu Wanning until Chu Wanning finally snaps at him to go.
And then Chu Wanning fastens on his apron and heads to the front.
In less than five minutes, the front door jingles. Chu Wanning hears two different sets of footsteps and the familiar cadence of his district supervisor’s voice, and knows the CEO has arrived. He quickly lowers his head in a polite bow.
“… And this is our Nanping branch — watch your step here, President Mo…”
Another Mo? The thought of his CEO having the surname as Mo Ran makes Chu Wanning’s mouth tick up in a smile. Making sure to bring his expression back to neutral, Chu Wanning lifts his head, opening his mouth greet his supervisor and CEO.
“Welcome to Sisheng Bakery—”
He freezes.
His CEO, a tall and imposing figure in his well-fitted suit with handsome, familiar features stares back at him in shock.
His blood runs cold. A voice at the back of his head, the one that has been telling him from day one that this is all a practical joke, a cruel way to pass time yells at him to get out, to run runrunrun —
“… Manager Chu,” Mo Ran says. “… Why are you here? It’s not… not your shift today?”
And Chu Wanning runs.
Long ago, back when Chu Wanning hung on to his father’s every word, his father once told him that when people are never nice without ulterior motives. Chu Wanning, eager to please, nodded and believed in his father. Later, when he cut contact with his father and forged a life of his own while working at Sisheng Bakery, he tried to see the good in people. For a short while after meeting Mo Ran, he really started to believe that there are people out there who are nice just because they are.
And that came shattering down the moment he found out that Mo Ran — cheerful, carefree, caring Mo Ran, his loyal customer, his constant companion… is actually his boss.
From the start, a small part of Chu Wanning knew it was too good to be true. He had been nothing but mean to Mo Ran, brushing him off with his cold words and giving him the wrong order, blowing him off when he asked Chu Wanning out. No ordinary person would persist after all that.
After all, Chu Wanning is everything Mo Ran is not. He’s old, ugly, bad-tempered, and washed out. He could hardly believe that someone like Mo Ran would even give him the time of the day, much less… much less…
Except Mo Ran didn’t give him the time of the day. Except Mo Ran didn’t lack motives. Except Mo Ran didn’t like him, not really.
Because Mo Ran is the CEO of Sisheng Bakery, the big boss of the Sisheng Bakery Holdings, the president who oversaw everything.
Him showing up to a small branch tucked in a corner of the Nanping district every day, ordering food like a normal customer and chatting with Chu Wanning, a member of his staff, had to be nothing more than a trick — some new age evaluation method, a way for him to keep tabs on his business.
Chu Wanning was only a fool to believe that maybe, just maybe, Mo Ran really did like him, and that they really stood a chance.
He continues aimlessly running, running out of the bakery and down the streets. It starts raining at some point, but Chu Wanning couldn’t find it in himself to care. He only knows that he needs to get away, far away, and now.
His face is getting wet, but he’s not sure if it’s from the rain.
“… Manager Chu!”
Chu Wanning almost laughs at himself. His delusions are so strong that he’s hearing things now. It is as if Mo Ran is behind him, calling out to him like he usually does when he’s—
“Manager Chu!”
Oh. Oh. It is not a delusion. Mo Ran is really there, running towards him in the rain while shouting for him. Chu Wanning stares at Mo Ran in a daze, hardly believing his eyes.
“Chu Wanning!”
Chu Wanning snaps out of it. He forces himself to tear his eyes away from Mo Ran and continue running. He had to get away, he had to get away from Mo Ran, he had to protect his heart and protect himself — because if not, if not—
“Wanning!”
Chu Wanning freezes. His traitorous heart skips a beat, but before he can shake himself out of it and start running again, a familiar hand grabs his wrist.
His vision does a complete 180 as he is whirled around, before coming face to face with Mo Ran.
Mo Ran’s neat hair is now plastered to his face after running in the rain, and his eyes are wide as he frantically holds onto Chu Wanning tightly, as if Chu Wanning is going to turn into mist and slip out of grip any second.
Chu Wanning’s breathing hitches.
… Mo Ran is really, really handsome. The thought pops into Chu Wanning’s head before he registers it. Even though he looks as if he just took a dip into hell and back, Mo Ran is devastatingly breathtaking.
This isn’t fair.
“Chu Wanning,” Mo Ran says in a gravelly voice. “Wanning. Please, give me a chance to explain.”
Chu Wanning comes back to his senses. Immediately, he’s shoving at Mo Ran’s chest, trying to shake his hand off and squirm out of his grip. But Mo Ran’s fingers around him are like steel, and the more Chu Wanning squirms, the tighter he hangs on.
“Let me go!” Chu Wanning shouts.
“No, just listen to me explain, I’m begging you—”
“What is there to explain?!” Chu Wanning snaps. Mo Ran immediately shuts up, looking as if Chu Wanning slapped him. Chu Wanning, that demon, feels a pang of sadness at Mo Ran’s crestfallen expression.
He grits and pushes forward. He can’t set himself up for disappointment and pain again. He takes a deep breath and steadies his voice.
“Let me guess. You came to the bakery — your bakery — pretending to be a customer. You had your fun f-… fl-flirting with me, and saw how unprofessional I was. You were putting up a charade, and I was the fool who played along. Every. Single. Day.”
Chu Wanning pauses a split second for air. It’s been a long time since he said so much and felt so much, but he allows himself to go with it, pouring out all his accumulated pain, embarrassment, grievances.
“What else is there to explain?” Chu Wanning demands, glaring harshly at Mo Ran. “What else did I miss—”
“I’ve been in love with you since I was twelve!”
And just like that, Chu Wanning forgets to breathe.
Suddenly, all the things he had wanted to say die at the tip of his tongue. All that is left in his head is Mo Ran’s declaration, repeating itself over and over and over.
“You’re lying,” Chu Wanning immediately accuses. It can’t be — he just met Mo Ran, and how… how can Mo Ran love someone like him?
“I’m not,” Mo Ran insists. He guides the hand he is holding to his chest, letting Chu Wanning feel his steady heartbeat.
Then he explains.
Just as he told Chu Wanning before, he had grown up in this district, and like the poorer families around, his mother worked multiple jobs and long hours just to make ends meet. What he didn’t tell Chu Wanning is that, during the in-between time before his mother gets home, Mo Ran is often hungry, yet unable to afford more food. To take his mind off hunger, he frequently wandered around the streets after school.
“That’s how I first met you,” he said softly. “At Sisheng Bakery.”
It has been more than 10 years ago. Back then, Chu Wanning was a student working part-time at Sisheng Bakery. He saw the hungry Mo Ran, and without much conscious thought, he gave him a bag of milk bread rolls he paid out of his own pocket.
“I…” Chu Wanning stammers. He combs through his memories, struggling to picture Mo Ran from those years ago. “I don’t… I don’t remember.”
“I don’t expect you to. You’re always kind and give out food to so many people, so back happened back then is just another occurrence to you. But not to me.” Mo Ran raises the hand holding onto Chu Wanning’s and drops a light kiss at his fingertips. “I’ve never forgotten about you.”
The years had passed, and Mo Ran had worked hard, lucking out with finding his long-lost uncle, and was referred to a good job after finishing high school, before making it to Sisheng Bakery Holdings’ headquarters a few years later. There, he had climbed the corporate ladder before eventually becoming the protégé of the old boss, buying all the shares, and finally becoming the CEO — the president of the entire bakery.
“One day, I was strolling by the Nanping branch for old time’s sake… And then I saw you working through the window, just like all those years ago.” Mo Ran’s eyes soften. “It was like a dream come true, Wanning. I wasn’t going to let you go again. Since then, I’ve always pestered you — because I’ve been in love with you all this while.”
The words feel like a punch in the gut. As if Mo Ran’s skin is iron-hot, Chu Wanning recoils, and tries to yank his hand back.
But Mo Ran still isn’t letting go.
Chu Wanning tries to speak. “You’re…” He stares at Mo Ran with wide eyes unblinkingly as he tries to find even a single trace of lie hiding in Mo Ran’s face — a hint that this is all a joke, some elaborate prank.
Mo Ran looks back at him, his face open and earnest, honest and truthful.
He isn’t lying.
He really, truly, loves Chu Wanning.
Chu Wanning’s heart skips a beat. He…
“I’ve always wanted to find you, Wanning,” Mo Ran murmurs. “Everything that has happened in my life so far led me to you.”
Just like that — the walls Chu Wanning erected around himself like a shield, around his heart like armour all come crashing down.
“You… love me,” Chu Wanning whispers, his voice cracking at the last syllabus. It was a question. A confirmation. An unspoken plea for Mo Ran to please repeat himself, to please love Chu Wanning.
Mo Ran does. He releases his hold over Chu Wanning’s hand, reaching up to cradle the side of his face. Chu Wanning leans into the touch, and Mo Ran lets out a breathy, almost incredulous laugh at that.
“Yes,” he says as if making a promise. “I love you, Wanning.”
Then he leans in, kissing Chu Wanning.
This time, Chu Wanning doesn’t run. He kisses Mo Ran back, his arms shakily reaching for Mo Ran, before Mo Ran crushes him against his embrace. They kiss under the rain for a long time, unspoken words, promises, and desire filling the space in between.
They are getting soaked in the rain, but neither of them cared.
They end up back inside Sisheng Bakery.
They blindly made their way from the front of the bakery to the kitchen at the back, trading sloppy kisses and fumbling with their wet clothes. There’s an almost frantic energy coursing through the air and in every fibre of Chu Wanning’s being, and it threatens to consume him whole as Mo Ran’s lips descend to his jaw, his neck.
Mo Ran tugs at his apron aside to bite and suck at his collarbone. Wanting to be helpful and the quell the fire burning inside of him, Chu Wanning tries to take off his apron — but Mo Ran seizes his arm.
“Leave the apron on,” he says in a husky voice. Then he begins walking forward, edging Chu Wanning back until the back of Chu Wanning’s thighs hit the edge of the kitchentop.
The world spins before him, and Chu Wanning finds himself lying back on the metallic surface. Mo Ran looms above him, his eyes raking over him with an emotion that Chu Wanning now recognises as hunger burning in them. Chu Wanning’s throat feels dry, and he forces himself to tether his mind back to his body.
“Look at you,” Mo Ran whispers.
Chu Wanning feels his face flushing. His chest heaves as he breathes heavily, already desperate and wanting from a few measly kisses. Then Mo Ran raises a hand to loosen his tie, and Chu Wanning stops breathing altogether.
Chu Wanning may have made a sound, because Mo Ran chuckles before capturing Chu Wanning’s lips in another kiss. Embarrassingly enough, little keening noises escape from Chu Wanning’s lips, and when Mo Ran bites, Chu Wanning squeaks.
“!!” Chu Wanning is going to die from mortification.
But Mo Ran doesn’t seem to mind — not if the hungry, desperate way he kisses Chu Wanning is any indication.
“Ah — !” Mo Ran suddenly stops kissing Chu Wanning, and Chu Wanning has to fight the urge to chase after his mouth.
Mo Ran smiles gently, softly pressing a kiss on the inside of Chu Wanning’s wrist before he grabs them both in one hand. In his other hand, he holds his tie, and Chu Wanning swallows in anticipation as the realisation of what Mo Ran wants to do dawns on him.
Mo Ran looks at him in the eye. “Tell me if this is too much.”
Chu Wanning gives him a little nod, and that is all the response Mo Ran needs.
Deftly and skilfully, Mo Ran loops his tie around Chu Wanning’s wrists securely. He finishes tying Chu Wanning’s wrist with an almost intricate knot, and he pauses to admire his handiwork.
The red of Mo Ran’s tie is striking against Chu Wanning’s pale wrists. Chu Wanning likes how it looks.
Then, holding onto Chu Wanning’s bound wrists, Mo Ran loops Chu Wanning’s arms around his neck, Chu Wanning wrists resting at the back. Their proximity sends a thrill down Chu Wanning’s spine, and the thrill only intensifies when Mo Ran shoots him a half-grin, half-smirk.
“This will teach you to run away from me again, Wanning,” is all he says before he dives in for another kiss, pressing his body against Chu Wanning’s. Mo Ran’s body is scalding against his, and Chu Wanning relishes the way their bodies fit perfectly together like two puzzle pieces. And then Mo Ran shifts, rolling his hips against Chu Wanning.
“Mo Ran ,” Chu Wanning gasps, his voice cracking at the end. Mo Ran lets out a delighted little laugh at that, repeating the roll of his hips but harder, as if with the sole purpose of ripping more of those little, punched out noises from Chu Wanning’s throat.
He succeeds. The noises threaten to tumble out, catching at the back of his throat as Mo Ran moves against him with intent. Cautiously, he tries to rise up to meet Mo Ran, only for Mo Ran to press down on his hip with a single, large hand.
“Patience,” Mo Ran commands. His hands begin to wander.
Chu Wanning jumps when he feels Mo Ran’s hand sliding between his legs, before cupping his length through his pants and squeezing. Chu Wanning squeaks, his cheeks flooding red from mortification. Mo Ran laughs again, and the sound sends blood flying from Chu Wanning’s head to between his legs at an alarming speed.
“We’re only just getting started, baobei,” Mo Ran says.
He begins to pull Chu Wanning’s clothes apart, yanking his buttons off and pushing his pants down his knees. Chu Wanning flinches as the metallic kitchentop comes into contact with his bare skin, but then Mo Ran dips his head between his legs and suddenly, the cold is the furthest thing from his mind.
“Mo Ran — ! ”
Mo Ran takes him apart skilfully with his mouth and fingers, and this time, Chu Wanning can’t stop the sounds falling from his lips. Chu Wanning’s breathy gasps and moans fill the room as he writhes beneath Mo Ran, clawing whatever expanse of Mo Ran’s back he can reach with his bound wrists. Mo Ran’s fingers crook in a certain way, and Chu Wanning sees stars. He jolts, before digging his nails into Mo Ran’s back.
At that, Mo Ran lets out a low hiss and gives Chu Wanning’s ponytail a tug in return. It sends a spark of pain-pleasure shooting down Chu Wanning’s spine — and that was enough for him to finally tip over the edge and white out.
“Look at you.” Dimly, in the hazy aftermath of pleasure, he hears Mo Ran marvelling. “You came just from that. You like it when I treat you roughly, don’t you?” He wounds Chu Wanning’s hair around his knuckles once and gives another tug.
“Ah — !” Chu Wanning throws his head back, hitting the surface of the kitchentop with a dull thud. He is already sensitive from Mo Ran’s ministrations, and the sensations of pain and pleasure become almost too much for Chu Wanning to bear. He squeezes his eyes shut, a tear flowing down his cheek as he does so. He feels Mo Ran hot tongue eagerly licking his tears, and all he can do is helplessly whimper.
“You know, Manager Chu… The bakery is empty now, but what if someone comes by?” Mo Ran whispers as he leaves wet, open-mouth kisses down Chu Wanning’s exposed throat. Mo Ran’s voice is so low it’s almost a growl. “What would they think if they saw the Manager Chu seducing his boss like this?”
Overly sensitive from his climax and thoroughly stimulated by Mo Ran’s actions and words, Chu Wanning lets out a half-cry, half-whine. Aware that Mo Ran is teasing him, he cracks open an eye and shoots Mo Ran a teary glare. He suddenly realises that while he is almost naked (save for that stupid apron Mo Ran insisted he keeps on), Mo Ran is still fully dressed. Inexplicably, he feels some sort of shame wash over him, and if not for his wrists bound by Mo Ran’s tie, he would have tried to cover himself up.
Mo Ran plants one hand flat next to Chu Wanning’s head and braces himself up, before looking at Chu Wanning in the eye. “Manager Chu, do you know how badly it turns me on when you glare at me?” He smiles sweetly, flashing his dimples. “Every time you do that, I want to press you down and fuck your brains out.”
Chu Wanning splutters, feeling his cheeks burn. “But… every day…. I…” But I glare at you every day? He scrambles to string words together from his disoriented mind.
“Exactly .”
Mo Ran swoops down for another fierce, biting kiss. Chu Wanning’s head spin, and in the lust-addled haze, he hears a zip and rustling noises.
Then he feels something hot and heavy against his thigh, like a branding iron. Unbridled, he whimpers, and that only serves to make Mo Ran harder.
Cautiously, Chu Wanning opens his eyes again and looks down — and his eyes become as wide as saucers at the sight before him.
“Like what you see, Wanning?” Mo Ran grins cockily, and Chu Wanning shouldn’t have found that as attractive as he does.
Chu Wanning scrambles to cover up his awe. With a boldness he does not possess, he declares, “If… If you’re just going to… to stand there and not do a-anything… Get— get the hell out…!”
“Oh.” Mo Ran tilts his head to the side, looking deceptively innocent. “I’m planning on doing something , alright.”
Before Chu Wanning can gather his wits and retort back, he feels Mo Ran parting his thighs, and — oh. Oh.
“Mo… Ran…!” Chu Wanning cries, his fingers scrabbling against Mo Ran’s shoulder blades. It is a strange, foreign sensation — but not uncomfortable; not with the urge to be consumed raging through his veins, not with Mo Ran there.
Mo Ran groans when he finally fully sinks in, but he stills. Chu Wanning sees the sweat beading his forehead, and the way his jaw clenches as he forces himself to stop and look at Chu Wanning.
He is holding back for Chu Wanning.
“You okay?” Mo Ran presses a kiss to his knee, and Chu Wanning quivers.
“S-Stop talking a-and start moving,” Chu Wanning says with false bravado. He is overwhelmed and burning with want and need, the initial discomfort melting away into something bigger and hungrier, and all he knows is that he needs Mo Ran to stop holding back.
“As you wish,” Mo Ran says quietly.
And then he begins to move.
“Ah, ah, ah —”
The kitchen is quiet except for the sounds Mo Ran rips from Chu Wanning’s throat, Mo Ran’s ragged breathing, and the sound of skin slapping against skin.
Chu Wanning doesn’t know how much time passes. All he knows is that when Mo Ran starts thrusting into him, all he can see and feel is Mo Ran — and only Mo Ran.
With angled precision, each of Mo Ran’s thrusts hit that sweet spot that makes Chu Wanning see stars. In the face of Mo Ran’s onslaught, Chu Wanning can only helplessly surrender himself for Mo Ran to take, before losing himself to an ocean of sensations in the shape and taste of Mo Ran.
At a particularly hard thrust, Chu Wanning’s body slides up the counter. Mo Ran grabs him by the hips, slamming Chu Wanning back to meet his thrusts. Chu Wanning gives out a choked cry, tears brimming at the corner of his eyes.
It’s all almost too much — he is feeling so, so much, and every emotion and sensation he feels begins and ends with Mo Ran.
“Mo Ran… Mo Ran—”
Mo Ran reaches behind his neck, groping blindly before yanking his tie off, releasing Chu Wanning’s bound wrists. Like a puppet with its strings cut, Chu Wanning’s hands slacken before flying around without finesse. Finally, his hands land on Mo Ran’s biceps, hanging on for dear life as Mo Ran continues pounding away at him, moving in time to Chu Wanning’s cries.
In retaliation, Chu Wanning squeezes at Mo Ran’s arms so hard that he leaves fingernail marks in its wake.
Mo Ran doesn’t let up his relentless assault. He straightens his back and if possible, he only doubles his pace.
“You’re the one who provoked me, Manager Chu.” Mo Ran looks down at Chu Wanning with a dark gaze and a wicked smile. “I hope you’re ready.”
Later, after more rounds than Chu Wanning can keep track, when they’re lazily sprawling on top of the poor kitchentop that has seen better days, Mo Ran asks something.
Chu Wanning, who is so fucked out of his senses and is content with just lying against Mo Ran’s chest, their limbs entangled together, barely registers Mo Ran’s question.
“Huh?” he rasps, before clearing his dry throat in embarrassment. His throat feels a bit scratchy, and that may be attributed to him biting off more than he can chew earlier on — literally.
After their first round, Mo Ran had yet to go soft, but insisted Chu Wanning needed longer to recover before they could go again. Chu Wanning, who heard that and thought, challenge accepted, got down on his knees and tried to repeat what Mo Ran did with his mouth.
Of course, Chu Wanning had been inexperienced and clumsy. Mo Ran, who somehow had a… a kink for that, had hardened to full mast in a matter of literal seconds, stroking Chu Wanning’s hair gently — before grabbing the back of Chu Wanning’s head and thoroughly abusing Chu Wanning’s mouth.
Chu Wanning’s hand flies to his throat at the memory, feeling the phantom pain and pleasure. The tips of his ears flush as he thinks about how he was used as an object for Mo Ran’s desires, treated like a mere… a mere sleeve. He thinks about how much he liked that and then his whole face flushes.
Before his thoughts can continue south, Chu Wanning forces himself back to the present with Mo Ran. “What did you say?”
Mo Ran repeats himself. “I asked Wanning if… if…” He also clears his throat. “Do you… still want me?”
Chu Wanning cautiously stares at Mo Ran. They just went for a few rounds (Chu Wanning passed out at round three, so maybe that didn’t count), but if Mo Ran really wanted to… He could manage two more, maybe three—
“No, no,” Mo Ran laughs, understanding the expression on his face. “Not like that.” He squeezes Chu Wanning’s hip and promises, “Next time.”
Chu Wanning half-heartedly gives him a slap against the chest.
Then Mo Ran’s expression grows sombre. “What I meant was — despite how I kept some parts of myself a secret… and now, despite knowing everything … Do you still want me?”
Chu Wanning’s heart skips a beat.
“… You fool.” He ducks his head as he feels his cheeks begin warming up. Then he leans into Mo Ran’s embrace, letting the beat of his beat speak for him.
Mo Ran is delighted. His arms tighten around Chu Wanning.
“Fool for you,” Mo Ran agrees, before leaning in to kiss Chu Wanning again.
As soon as the clock strikes 11 and the doorbell jingles, Chu Wanning squares his shoulders.
“Welcome to Sisheng Bakery, may I have your order?”
His irritating, unfairly handsome, self-proclaimed loyal customer saunters to the front counter, propping his chin at the back of his hand as he rests his elbow on the countertop.
“What a nice establishment,” he says. “Can I get scallion ham bread, and a side dish of… Manager Chu?”
Chu Wanning’s eye twitches. He dutifully goes to the row of bread, picking out a sweet bean bun and a bottle of cold brew, before sliding both across the counter.
The customer is unperturbed by the wrong order. “Perfect!” Then Mo Ran lowers his eyelashes. “Like you, Wanning.”
“… Go back to the headquarters,” Chu Wanning finally says, acknowledging Mo Ran’s presence. “It is unprofessional for the CEO to hang around one of his bakery’s branches all the time.”
Mo Ran pouts, sliding the tray out of the way to lean in closer to Chu Wanning. “… Then is it okay for me, plain ol’ Mo Ran, to visit my baobei boyfriend and hang around with him all day instead?”
Chu Wanning doesn’t say anything, but when Mo Ran grins cheekily at him, flashing his dimples, he shakes his head fondly and tilts his head up to meet Mo Ran in a kiss.