“But why?” it was a natural question for Jun Yang to ask. Feng Qi’s request was a bit out of the left field.

“It’s a surprise,” Feng Qi only poked his head out of the door, the rest of his body was shielded from view by the door. It was obvious that he was hiding something. “Pretty please.” Rarely did Feng Qi use a pleading tone around Jun Yang and the latter felt a part of his heart soften.

Jun Yang thought about it and ultimately he obliged because he was sure Feng Qi was not going to mean him harm. Furthermore, Jun Yang’s personality was nothing but accommodating. Some would even say the young man was accommodating to a fault.

Jun Yang closed his eyes and since one of his senses was eclipsed, the other senses became more sensitive. Jun Yang picked up the sound of Feng Qi’s footsteps shuffling on the ground. Then, the smell of freshly-baked pastry wafted into his nostrils. Jun Yang believed this was the cake that came fresh out of the oven.

At this point, the clues started to add up and Jun Yang had an idea about the surprise even though he still could not be 100 percent certain. “Can I open my eyes now?”

“Just a little while longer,” Feng Qi answered. After that, Jun Yang heard something that sounded like the lighter being switched on. A few seconds later, everything seemed to be in place because Feng Qi said, “Okay, Jun Yang, you can open your eyes now.”

Placed before Jun Yang’s eyes was a beautiful, round cake with a brown layer on top. There were candles burning and written in cake icing was the question, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

As he opened his eyes, Feng Qi said simultaneously, “Happy birthday, Jun Yang.”

The candle light reflected the tears that threatened to flow out of Jun Yang’s eyes. Frankly, the young man did not know why he was being so overwhelmed by emotions. ‘It is just a cake,’ he told himself.

He studied the cake closer and certain details jumped out at him. The layer on top was still running, and it gave off a sweet smell that Jun Yang managed to recognize as caramel. Then, it hit him. The pan that he saw cooking on the stove earlier, Feng Qi must have been tempering the caramel sauce in the kitchen.

Then, he realized this must have been how Miss M found out it was his birthday. Feng Qi probably did not tell her outright but the woman was astute enough to pick up on the environmental clues. When Jun Yang showed up at the café, everything must have clicked into place for her then.

Then what Miss M said earlier repeated itself in Jun Yang’s mind, “he has been working harder than I was during our baking experimentation.”

‘Doesn’t this mean that Feng Qi has been working so hard throughout the morning to finish this cake? If that was the case, then this was more than just a mere cake…’

As if confirming his thoughts, Feng Qi added, “I hope you like this cake. With Miss M’s help, the cake base is made from the improved cake recipe and I topped it with a caramel glaze because I remember how much you like sweet thing from our movie date.

“You’ve come earlier than expected but thankfully everything turns out alright and the surprise is not ruined.”

Jun Yang was touched that Feng Qi remembered small details like that. He might appear frivolous on occasion but that did not take away from the man’s attention to details.

“I’m sorry I’m unable to get you anything else, I don’t have that high of a budget,” Feng Qi sounded genuinely regretful. Jun Yang quickly shook his head. Feng Qi had been baking the whole morning for him, that was honestly the most touching birthday present he had ever received. All the money in the world was unable to buy a heart and Feng Qi had captured Jun Yang’s with his considerate and caring gesture.

“No, I like this present a lot.” Jun Yang said with a voice that was at the verge of breaking due to the emotions. It was not until that happened that Jun Yang realized the height of emotions this gesture had elicited in him.

Feng Qi smiled like he had accomplished the greatest achievement in the world. “I’m glad, come make a wish and blow out the candles.” He nudged the cake towards Jun Yang.

Jun Yang leaned in, made a silent wish and blew out the candles. Feng Qi cheered and placed the cake on the counter. He went back into the kitchen to grab a knife and two empty plates. He handed the knife to Jun Yang, “The birthday boy should do the honors.”

Jun Yang took the knife and cut two slices out of the cake. He handed one to Feng Qi and took one for himself. Before he took the bite out of the cake, his heart was already surfeited with sweetness. It was nice of Feng Qi to take so much effort to do something like this for him.

Inside the deserted café, it felt like they were the only two persons in the world. The atmosphere was warm and a little bit sweet.

Jun Yang took a bite of the cake and the sense of sweetness in his heart continued to grow. He could barely stop the smile from forming on his lips in between chews. They focused on tasting the cake so none of them said anything… that was until Feng Qi put his fork down and turned to look Jun Yang in the eyes, “Then, does that mean the answer is a yes?”

Jun Yang looked at Feng Qi with confusion, the question in his eyes asking, ‘Yes to what?’

Feng Qi said plainly, “Yes to the question on the cake of course.”