The café was closed.
Chairs were flipped onto tables, floors mopped, lights dimmed to that warm, almost-tender glow that made everything feel ten degrees more emotional than necessary.
Yin Yue moved toward the door like a man sneaking out of his own wedding. Hoodie on, head down and no eye contact. He had survived the today shift in his traitorous shirt, the closet incident, a half-confession, and a customer who tipped him just for standing still in backlight.
He just needed to leave before he said something irreversible.
"Yin Yue," Liang Yu said behind him.
Damn it.
He stopped. Half-turned.
Liang Yu was still behind the counter, wiping down the espresso machine like it hadn't already been cleaned five times.
His voice, low but even: "Next time… just borrow one of mine."
Yin Yue blinked. "What?"
Liang Yu looked up. Unbothered. "If your clothes don't work out. I have extras."
Yin Yue's brain blue-screened. "You—you want me to wear your clothes?"
"You already wear my patience."
Yin Yue's mouth opened, closed, opened again. "That's not—why do you say things like that and then just go back to wiping cups like nothing happened?!"
Liang Yu shrugged. "I'm being helpful."
"You're being—emotionally illegal."
"I'm offering you a shirt, not a ring."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
👕 Shirt-Sharing Flag Activated
💘 Affection +6
💬 Romantic Implication Level: Intimate Domesticity
📢 SYSTEM STATUS: Lightheaded
Yin Yue pointed at him. "You don't understand what that means in BL logic."
"I don't read logic."
"I swear—if you offer me one of your hoodies I will imprint like a duckling."
Liang Yu stepped out from behind the counter, walked toward him. Calm. Direct.
"You wore that all day," he said, glancing at the cursed shirt. "You might as well change before the next panic attack."
Yin Yue took a step back.
"I'm fine."
"You're flushed."
"That's just from being perceived!"
Liang Yu stopped in front of him. Held his gaze.
Then, simply: "You looked good."
Yin Yue short-circuited.
Silence.
The System literally froze for three seconds.
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
❌ ERROR. CANNOT COMPUTE.
🔥 HOST HEART RATE: 127 BPM
💖 AFFECTION SPIKE: +10
🧠 MENTAL STATE: Spiraling in Slow Motion
💬 ML Just Complimented You In 4K HD. Do. Not. Run.
Yin Yue backed slowly toward the door.
"I am going home to scream into a closet."
"You already did that once today."
"I'M LEAVING."
He escaped out the door with a jingle, nearly forgetting to untie his apron first.
As it swung shut behind him, Liang Yu stood alone behind the counter, watching the door a moment too long.
Then, just once—he smiled.
Small.
Almost smug.
But definitely real.
The back storage room smelled like cardboard and faint cinnamon.
Yin Yue was elbow-deep in Tupperware, meticulously layering rice, soy-marinated chicken, and sesame broccoli into a neat bento box when Jiang Mei appeared behind him like a chaos goblin.
"I KNEW IT," she announced.
Yin Yue screamed. Lightly. "Can you not sneak up on people who are armed with scallions?"
She ignored him. "Is that for Boss Liang?"
He froze mid-sprinkle.
"…No."
She peered over his shoulder. "That is a three-compartment leak-proof bento box."
"I meal prep."
"For other people?"
Yin Yue cleared his throat. "He skipped lunch yesterday."
"So did I, and you handed me half a protein bar and told me to manifest."
Yin Yue glared. "You're not emotionally vulnerable in a sexy way."
"I have a clipboard," she said, unrolling one from behind her back like a professional HR threat. "Time for your gay audit."
"I'm leaving."
"You're not. First question: On a scale from 1 to 'we're already engaged,' how emotionally entangled are you with Boss Liang?"
"Zero."
"You made him lunch."
"For survival."
She flipped a page. "Do you think about his hands?"
"What—no—why—"
"Do you like it when he says your name all serious and quiet like he's about to ruin you emotionally?"
Yin Yue turned bright red. "That's not a question, that's a weapon."
"You smiled the last time he called you annoying."
"That was a reflex."
"You look for him when you walk in."
"So do customers!"
She leaned closer. "When you're not working, do you miss him?"
Yin Yue stopped.
Didn't answer.
She raised an eyebrow.
He blinked.
"…Shut up," he muttered, snapping the lid onto the bento with slightly too much force.
She grinned. "Aha. Emotional reveal."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
📈 Romantic Self-Awareness: +4
🫶 Soft Boy Crisis in Progress
📝 Notes updated in ship database
Jiang Mei pulled out her phone and took a photo of the bento. "For documentation."
"Delete that."
"No. I'm sending it to the regulars."
Yin Yue grabbed the bag and bolted.
"Remember to hydrate!" she called after him.
He shouted back, "I hate you with a passion usually reserved for slow Wi-Fi!"
She beamed. "So does he."
Liang Yu was perched on the back steps of the café, one hand nursing a paper cup of black coffee, the other resting on his knee like he'd been sculpted there by a disillusioned god.
Yin Yue approached with the grace of someone walking into traffic.
Liang Yu glanced up. "Did someone die?"
Yin Yue held out the bento box like it was an offering to a dragon. "I made you this."
Silence.
A breeze ruffled Liang Yu's shirt.
"…Is it poisoned?" he asked mildly.
"No!" Yin Yue blinked. "I mean.. no. Why would you... wait, do you think I poison it"
"I don't know." Liang Yu took the bento, opened the lid, and examined the contents like he was defusing a bomb. "You avoid me most days. Now you're feeding me carbs."
"I don't avoid you," Yin Yue said, sounding extremely unconvincing. "I just.. just work in the back, sometimes."
"While staring at me from the espresso machine mirror?"
"That was once."
"You walked into a trash can."
Yin Yue turned magenta. "Can you just eat it and die happy?"
Liang Yu picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks. Paused then looked up at him. "Did you cooked this?"
"…Yes."
"You cook?"
Yin Yue puffed up slightly. "I am a man of many skills."
Liang Yu popped the chicken into his mouth. Chewed and swallowed.
Then smiled.
It wasn't huge and barely there. But it tilted his mouth just a little to the right, and softened the edges of his usually unreadable face.
Yin Yue forgot how to breathe.
"You're not bad at it," Liang Yu said simply. "Thanks."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💘 Romance Alert!
⚠️ Player has triggered "Soft Gong Eating Homemade Lunch" event.
🥢 +30 Affection
📦 Inventory Update: Lunch Box of Undeniable Intent (1)
"Y-You're welcome," Yin Yue mumbled, ears red.
Then he turned to flee.
"Wait."
Yin Yue froze.
"…Yeah?"
Liang Yu glanced down at the rice, then back at him. "You forgot the pickled radish."
Yin Yue blinked. "How do you even know that was supposed to be there?"
"I was looking forward to it."
Yin Yue made a high-pitched noise, turned, and bolted into the café like a scandalized squirrel.
Behind him, Liang Yu took another bite of chicken and possibly smiled again.
Yin Yue had no idea how he ended up in the café kitchen after closing, sleeves rolled up, holding a cutting board like it was a shield against emotional exposure.
"You know I'm not qualified for this," he said, while staring at a pile of bell peppers like they'd personally insulted him.
"You made lunch," Liang Yu replied, casually pulling a second knife from the drawer. "You're already ahead of half this staff."
"That was a one-time emergency," Yin Yue said. "This is a trap."
"You're chopping vegetables, not defusing bombs."
Yin Yue narrowed his eyes. "Says the man who handles paring knives like emotional therapy."
Liang Yu said nothing. He simply handed over the knife, blade-first (with control, of course), and pointed to the cutting board.
"Thin slices. Like this." He demonstrated, fingers curled just so, every movement fluid and sharp.
Yin Yue watched, but only half-focused on the vegetables.
Mostly, he was distracted by the quiet, effortless precision of Liang Yu's hands. His forearms flexed with each motion. His face was a mask of calm. Not smug. Not even focused. Just… present.
It was rude.
"Your knife skills are disgusting," Yin Yue muttered.
"That's not usually the complaint I get."
Yin Yue choked on air.
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
⚠️ Flirt Ambiguity Triggered!
🫠 Host Fluster Level: 78%
💘 ML Affection +4
🧠 Dialogue Suggestion: Just moan softly and leave the country.
Yin Yue cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to say stuff like that while I'm holding a blade?"
"You're holding it wrong."
"I'm holding on to my sanity."
Liang Yu stepped closer.
Too close.
He reached around Yin Yue's side, one arm sliding along his, fingers gently adjusting his grip.
"Curl your fingers," he said softly, voice close to his ear. "You're going to lose a thumb if you keep doing that."
Yin Yue swallowed. "I—I need that thumb."
"Then stop trembling."
"I'm not..." He was.
Liang Yu's chest brushed lightly against his back as he adjusted the cutting angle. Their arms moved together, a slow slice down the center of the pepper.
Yin Yue forgot how to breathe.
He was keenly aware of every inch of contact. Liang Yu's breath was warm against his temple. Their hips brushed. His hands were steady, confident.
Yin Yue's weren't.
"See?" Liang Yu murmured. "Control."
Yin Yue whimpered. Just a little.
Liang Yu paused.
Then pulled back slightly. Let go of his hands.
"Better," he said.
Yin Yue dropped the knife and turned away, pretending to cough into the sink.
He whispered, "I'm going to commit a crime."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💘 Affection +5
🍳 Cooking Together = Domestic Progress
🥢 Relationship Tag Unlocked: Shared Kitchen Energy
Liang Yu returned to the counter and resumed slicing as if he hadn't just rearranged Yin Yue's entire sense of balance with one adjusted grip.
Yin Yue glared at the peppers.
"This is a hate crime," he whispered.