There was no place to escape. In defeat, Ai finally replied. "You…don't have to accept it. You hate chocolates, after all. I wasn't aware."
Jun's eyes slowly widened. He had exclaimed in frustration that he hated chocolates when the women refused to leave him alone.
Ai quickly tried to take back the chocolates, but Jun moved his arm away. The space in between her brows crinkled in confusion.
"You brought it for me, so it's for me. Take your paws away!"
He untied the golden ribbon and took out one chocolate.
Ai said, "You don't have to force yourself. The women-"
He shot a sharp stare at her. "Don't compare yourself to them."
"I will accept whatever you have to give me," his voice held such finality and intensity that made her feel as if butterflies were tickling her stomach.
Jun unwrapped one chocolate and stared at it. At first, he thought it was ready-made store bought chocolates, which he wouldn't have minded either way if it was from Ai. But thinking that she made these chocolates for him sent his heart into a frenzy. Her hands faintly smelled of chocolate and cream. He imagined how she must have looked while making these sweet chocolates.
The chocolate touched his lips as Jun took a bite.
Her shoulders tensed and jitters spread within her, apprehensive about his reaction.
The sweet chocolate melted onto his tongue but with a slight touch of bitterness in it. His chest fluttered with warmth, and his gaze softened. He popped in the whole chocolate and like that, all the chocolates quickly disappeared from the pink bag into his stomach.
Ai watched the chocolates vanish one after the other, and her heart danced with joy. Her eyes shimmered with delight.
Jun kept his gaze intact. "That's why I ate them. All of it."
But at the back of his mind, a faint feeling of annoyance also crept in his chest. It wasn't related to Ai's skills or that the chocolates were bad. But the imaginary radar on his head was twitching for some reason.
Ai's heart thumped, and she felt pleased and satisfied. "I see. Thank you. Then I wonder why your brother was shouting unnecessarily? My chocolates turned out to be just fine."
He blinked. "My brother?"
"Yes, your brother Liu Nian. I went to his bakery to buy some chocolates for you. He was in some trouble. I helped him, and he offered to make the chocolates himself as a reward. But I requested him to teach me instead."
She pursed her lips. "Though I only remember him shouting and crying in the kitchen more than him teaching me."
"In the end, it seemed he would get a heart attack. He was crying miserably. I don't know why."
"..." Get full chapters from noⅴelfire.net
Jun's mouth heavily twitched. He remembered her house getting blown up by her 'baking' skills and instantly concluded why his brother would have reached that state.
"No wonder I felt annoyed eating your chocolates."
Ai blinked. "You didn't like the chocolates?" Anxiety gripped her once again.
His gaze clouded with resentment. "Not like that. It's because I felt the taste was similar. Turns out that you went to Bro Nian's bakery," he sneered. "Whenever the twins are anywhere near me or are involved in anything, I get extremely displeased."
Ai stared at him in wonder.
"You felt that connection even through my chocolates?"
Jun glared at her. "When you have lived with them from childhood until now, that radar automatically develops! You don't know how they are. It's better you never get to know how they are…" his expression turned ugly, recalling all the traumatic experiences his brothers put him through.
He dismissed his thoughts about Nian and instead focused on Ai. "Why did you make chocolates for me?"
Ai replied with the answer she had practiced countless times in her mind. However, she still found her body trembling as she spoke, "It's for helping me all this time. Whether it was letting me stay at your house or helping me with my stories, I a-appreciate everything you have done for me."
Jun narrowed his eyes. "So, it's a gratitude chocolate?"
The tone of his question made her fluster slightly. "Yes."
Jun's head slightly tilted, and he stepped closer to her. Her chest rattled with a flurry of emotions swirling her heart. The tips of his fingers slowly reached her wrist, and he pulled her until her ear was just a centimetre away from his lips. Her eyelashes trembled with how his breath blew on her ear, turning it hotter and redder.
"Did you make chocolates for anybody else?" His hushed voice vibrated in her eardrums, rattling her heart even further.
Her head bobbed sideways. "No."
Her chest heaved in breathlessness. "Yes…"
Her soft whisper of an answer settled peace in his heart. "That's good," A smile curled on his lips. Ai made chocolates only for him. She tried hard only for him.
He felt special and treasured.
Ai could only release her breath once he stepped away. She quickly said, "I-I will head back now."
Stepping out, she realized that he was going in the same direction as her walking beside her.
He noticed her questioning gaze and answered. "I will drop you."
Her eyes immediately sparkled with joy, thinking that she would get more time to spend with Jun though she also had mixed emotions about the distance lessening between them.
"Thank you," she sincerely said.
Jun abruptly stopped in his steps and stared at her wide-eyed. Ai didn't understand why he seemed so shocked.
With an unreadable countenance, he slowly retracted his gaze. "Nothing."
He thought she would reject his offer, and he would stubbornly persist to drop her home anyway, one of the many things that had caused arguments between him and Shui in his past life.
Jun peeked at her, her eyes glowing in delight. It inevitably warmed his gaze too and brought a tender smile on his lips.