Chapter 474 - 308: A One-Month Deadline

Chapter 474: Chapter 308: A One-Month Deadline

Gazing at the mint cream and chocolate sauce smeared on the girl’s pouting, pink lips, Lin Chen suddenly felt his mouth go dry. He subconsciously wanted to lick his own lips.

Thankfully, he caught himself just in time and forced himself to stop, lest the girl see it and push her luck.

"I don’t think we’re at that stage yet, are we? Besides, the mood isn’t right. Back when you were dating, did you always just go in for a kiss without caring about the atmosphere?"

"Before? Ha!"

On that subject, Erica scoffed and licked her lips clean.

"As if! They wished I’d take the initiative. It was more like them hounding me, begging me to let them kiss them!"

"Besides, although I’ve dated four or five guys—or maybe it was five or six, I don’t remember exactly—I’ve only really kissed two of them."

"Let me tell you, men are such great actors. They can pretend to be complete gentlemen before I agree to a kiss, but the moment I give my silent consent, they try to get their hands all over me within seconds!"

"If I wasn’t quick to react, their hands would’ve ended up in my underwear! I mean, how disgusting is that?!"

"Er..." Lin Chen rubbed his nose, speechless. "That is pretty disgusting. But I guess that’s just the culture in the West."

"I get angry just thinking about it. How did I not see their true colors back then? Good thing I gave them both a hard slap right on the spot and broke up with them after a huge fight."

"I was just giving them a little reward for acting like gentlemen while we were seeing each other. They thought they could just sleep with me right away? Hmph, in their dreams!"

Faced with such a sweeping generalization, Lin Chen didn’t know how to respond, so he just asked casually.

"When was this?"

"High school, I think. My freshman or sophomore year, I forget. Anyway, all my dating was in high school. After I started college, I completely lost interest in men. I’ve been single for about seven years now, I guess."

’Five or six relationships in high school??’

’Alright, you’re on another level.’

Thinking about her colorful life, then thinking about the vast sea of homework from his own past, Lin Chen sighed inwardly.

Just as Erica finished her machine-gun-like rant, something suddenly occurred to her.

’Things were so flirty between us last week, we even kissed. How come we feel more distant this week?’

’Could it be that he said he didn’t mind, but he actually does?’

At this thought, she cautiously snuck a glance at Lin Chen, but then quickly dismissed the unrealistic idea.

’No, no, that’s not him. He’s not that kind of person. We’ve only known each other for two months, but my intuition tells me he’s different from other men.’

’I’ve made the first move so many times. Any other man would’ve already made his move. It’s a waste not to take what’s being freely offered. It does him no good to pretend to be reserved.’

No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t see what Lin Chen would gain from acting this way. So, she naturally convinced herself she was just overthinking things. It must be her insecurities acting up again.

After all, it was a personality trait that had developed over many years; it wasn’t something that could be changed overnight.

Then she remembered how he’d made her shout those ten times yesterday, and her doubts vanished without a trace, replaced by a profound sense of guilt.

’It’s society that’s not normal, not him. Maybe the slower Great Xia style of dating is the right way—it gives you enough time to truly see who a person is.’

Setting aside the time they spent filming the program, the two of them had really only been together for two weeks.

’Right, I’m still being too impulsive. I need to calm down.’

’Perhaps... this is the same impulse men feel?’

’It really is hard to endure.’

After a full seven years, she was only now finally understanding why those ex-boyfriends of hers had been so impatient.

The reason she had been so repulsed by their actions, to put it bluntly, was simply that she didn’t actually like them.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Lin Chen waved a hand in front of her face. "Hurry up, finish the cake, and wash your hands. We need to go film at the market."

"Oh, okay!"

Snapping out of her daze, Erica took a few more glances at him, continuing to munch on her cake without any intention of hiding her staring.

"Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?"

"I just feel like the more I look at you, the more handsome you get. You seem way more handsome than when we first met."

"It must be your imagination."

"No, no, no, I’m not talking about your looks, but a sort of feeling, like your aura. I can’t really describe it. It’s just... the more I look at you, the more I like what I see."

"Well, you’re a lost cause then. It might sound a bit narcissistic for me to say this, but we in Great Xia have an old saying that goes, ’In a lover’s eyes appears a Xi Shi.’ It describes your situation perfectly."

"Xi Shi?"

"She was a famous beauty from ancient times. It means that when you genuinely like someone, you find them more and more pleasing to the eye. You just like them more and more. What others might see as fat, you might see as cute. Basically, you start seeing them through a filter."

"Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly it! Looks like I’ve really fallen in love with you. I remember you said yesterday that a girl has never confessed to you before. So? How does it feel?"

"Er..."

He scratched his cheek awkwardly, feeling his face flush with heat.

"To be honest, it feels pretty great to be confessed to by a beautiful woman. I even have the impulse to just say yes right now."

"Then let’s give it a try. We both like each other, anyway."

"But it’s only been two weeks. That’s really too short. Do you really know me? Where I’m from, what I like to eat, my daily habits, my hobbies, my strengths and weaknesses, my family situation... You don’t know any of that, do you? If we rush into a relationship like this, what’s the difference between that and dating a stranger?"

"That’s not important," Erica mumbled, her cheeks puffed out after stuffing the last bite of cake into her mouth. "None of what you said is the point. What’s important is a person’s character, and then whether or not we click. Even if you know all that other stuff, it’s useless if their character is no good."

"You first have to determine if a person’s character is trustworthy and if you click with them. Only then is there a possibility of getting closer. Don’t you think?"

"That reasoning is sound, yes... but two weeks... how should I put this? For us Da Xia People, by our traditional standards, it’s just too fast."

"In our traditional mindset, a couple would need to get to know each other for half a year to a year before deciding whether to get together. Granted, that’s too long. The trend for young people now is one to three months. If you can’t define the relationship after six months, it’s probably a lost cause."

"Then one month!"

Erica held up an index finger covered in chocolate. "For the next two weeks, we can talk more and try more things we’ve never done before. If, after those two weeks, neither of us has any negative feelings toward the other, we’ll give it a try. How does that sound?"

"After all, you can only get so close as friends, no matter how long you know each other. There are many things you can only experience once you’re a couple."

"Okay, let’s do that."

Erica had already compromised. As a grown man, he had no reason to hesitate any longer, so he agreed immediately.

"Nice!"

She pumped her little fist in excitement, as if she’d already won, before realizing her hand was still covered in sticky chocolate and cream. She subconsciously brought it to her mouth and began to lick it clean.

Seeing this, Lin Chen’s heart suddenly started to race. He looked away in a fluster, picked up the cake, and headed for the door.

"Y-You hurry up! I’ll go wait for you in the car!"

Before, his imagination would run wild when faced with her allure, but that had been a direct, visual temptation.

But now, she hadn’t done a thing... ’How could a simple verbal agreement change my mindset so drastically?’

The moment he walked into the market holding the lidless cake box, Bella, who had been serving a customer at her stall, froze on the spot, her eyes going wide.

"Oh my heavens, dear, could you wait just a moment? I’ve just received an invitation I can’t refuse."

As the female customer watched in confusion, Bella trotted over to meet him, her eyes glued to the approaching cake.

She would bet that this cake was definitely bigger than any cream cake she had ever seen in her life.

The pile of fruit in the center of the pale green frosting glittered under the lights, looking as if it had been glazed, making it exceptionally tempting.

"Well, what have we here? A chocolate fruitcake? And this green frosting... is it mint?"

"Yes, and no."

Lin Chen nodded and then shook his head with a grin. "Do you have a clean knife? Let me cut you a piece. I guarantee you’ve never tasted anything like it in your life."

"Yes! Of course I do!"

Bella was so excited she nearly screamed. She immediately turned and rushed into her stall to find a clean chef’s knife.

"Is that the new chef from Great Xia you all were talking about, the one who rented the new stall? He’s so young! And that cake looks delicious."

The female customer stared at the cake, her face full of curiosity. While it wasn’t as exquisite as something you’d see on television, for a small town like Albion Port, it could already be considered top-class.

"Dear, I’m telling you, once you’ve eaten something Lin makes, you’ll never forget it for the rest of your life. I’m not exaggerating!"

Under the eager gazes of the two women, Lin Chen’s knife flashed. With two swift cuts, he sliced off a one-eighth wedge of the cake.

There were many other people in the market waiting for a piece, so he really didn’t dare give her too much.

They had assumed it was an ordinary chocolate cake, but as the wedge was lifted out on the knife’s blade, its hidden secret was revealed.

The looks of anticipation on the two women’s faces froze, replaced by utter shock.

"What the hell is this?! How can there be so many different layers of filling in a cake??"

"It’s incredible! This is the first time I’ve ever seen a cake that isn’t just stuffed with cream. What’s that white layer in the middle? Is it cheese? No, that’s not right. Cheese solidifies when it gets cold, but that looks pretty soft."

The two women’s gasps drew the attention of many passing customers. When they saw the enormous cake in front of Lin Chen, as well as the slice with its countless layers, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"The transparent layer on top is lemon mousse, followed by mint cream and a crispy chocolate layer. The cake base is a chiffon made with cocoa powder."

"The first filling is a rum-infused nama chocolate and coconut jelly. The second is a mochi made with tapioca flour and fermented glutinous rice. The third is a sea salt chocolate ganache."