When Yun Manman returned to Perfect Sweets Shop, Yin Qian had already prepared the cake base and cut the fruits.
All Yun Manman needed to do was decorate the cake.
She checked and found that the softness and moisture of the cake base were just right, almost identical to what she would have made herself!
Yun Manman was very pleased. She had chosen a good apprentice!
He was really low-maintenance!
Yin Qian was extremely intelligent, especially his hands which were like electronic scales. He could tell if an egg was the standard fifty grams just by holding it, but for the sake of rigor, he would still weigh it with an electronic scale.
Once he had made a recipe, he could replicate it accurately the next time.
He was comparable to a robot.
He was also as emotionless as a robot, unable to do any cake decoration or dessert plating.
The cakes he decorated had no aesthetic appeal at all. When asked why he arranged things a certain way, he would say, "This is the most space-efficient."
It gave Yun Manman such a headache.
She was even considering giving him a special lesson on dessert decoration.
Yesterday, when Yin Qian heard the reason why the elf was looking for Yun Manman, he was stunned.
But feeling that what the elf lady said didn't seem to be fake, he transformed into a bird and followed them all the way to Gaofu Town Medical Center.
He only fully relaxed after seeing Deputy Lu Xi at the medical center.
During this time, he also communicated with Lu Xi, and when he learned that the little snake was actually General Lu Qi, Yin Qian was completely dumbfounded.
To think that the little snake he had been watching for so many days was actually the rumored General Lu Qi who was recuperating!
Yin Qian was a qualified soldier who would actively adjust himself in the face of unexpected situations.
After his worldview was shattered and reconstructed, Yin Qian followed Lu Xi's orders to continue protecting Yun Manman while monitoring the male beast-men appearing around her.
Yin Qian didn't understand, but he was an excellent soldier who could meticulously execute any order from his superiors, no matter how bizarre.
So when Yuan Ci came to visit, Yin Qian carefully observed from the shadows.
Yuan Ci came with Yuan Qing, bringing several boxes of fragrant fruits.
Fearing that showing up alone as a cat would be too abrupt, Yuan Ci brought Yuan Qing, who had just been discharged from the hospital, to the dessert shop with him.
He planned to use the excuse of delivering fragrant fruits to get closer to Yun Manman.
The one holding Yuan Qing's hand was a small cat beast-man, looking no more than five or six years old.
He had a handsome face, skin so white and delicate it seemed it would break at a touch, large watery green cat eyes, black short hair with large white-brown cat ears poking out, and a white tail with rings of chocolate-colored markings behind him.
The little boy wore a short-sleeved shirt and suspender shorts, and even had a small blue tie on his chest.
Perhaps because he was too young, he didn't seem to have full control over his cat tail yet, swaying left and right as he walked due to imbalance.
Yun Manman's eyes sparkled as she looked at this adorable little kitten.
Where did this little milk cat come from? He's just too cute!
Auntie wants to eat him up!
Yuan Qing smiled and greeted Yun Manman, then introduced him: "This is my cousin's son, named Yuan Xing, nicknamed Xingxing."
"He really likes the desserts you make. When he heard we were coming to see you, he insisted on coming along."
Many beast-men are raised from birth by females with blood and milk, and the cubs are also closer to their mothers. The role of males in this is really small, so many species in Kaxida have cubs that take their mother's surname.
But with the progress of time and thought, males have also taken on more of this responsibility.
However, the practice of taking the mother's surname hasn't changed much.
Of course, many beast-men just choose names that sound good, sometimes with no relation to either parent.
Yuan Qing's mother and Yuan Xing's mother's mother were sisters, and Yuan Xing's features were surprisingly a bit similar to Yuan Qing's.
Yun Manman crouched down and showed her most friendly smile: "Hello, Xingxing. I'm Yun Manman."
Yuan Xing gave a shy smile, his chubby face incredibly cute: "Hello, Sister Manman~"
Oh my, that little milk voice.
Yun Manman's heart was melting.
Yuan Qing frowned and corrected him: "Call her Auntie. It's Auntie Manman. Otherwise, the generations will be all mixed up."
Yuan Xing put on a serious face and said solemnly: "Mom says pretty ladies should all be called 'sister' to make them happy. We shouldn't call them 'auntie'."
"You little clever one!"
Yuan Xing dodged Yuan Qing's finger poking towards him and hugged Yun Manman's leg, looking up at her: "Sister Manman, I want to eat pudding~"
"Eat, eat, eat!" The sweet-talking kitten could eat whatever he wanted!
Auntie, no, Sister would fulfill all his wishes!
Yun Manman shamelessly accepted the title of "Sister".
Seeing that Yun Manman's attention was completely on Yuan Xing, Yuan Ci quickly stepped forward and said:
"Manman, these are the fragrant fruits you wanted. I've brought them."
Yun Manman, who was helping Yuan Xing choose desserts, was startled: "Ah, good. Thank you so much, Mr. Yuan. I'll transfer the money to you in a moment."
Why did he suddenly call her "Manman" so intimately? They weren't that close, were they?
Yuan Ci took a step closer to Yun Manman, his meticulously styled hair exuding elegance down to every strand.
"Forget about the money. I want to use this opportunity to discuss a cooperation with you, Manman."
Yun Manman didn't quite understand: "What?"
Yuan Ci bent down and leaned closer, his voice low and magnetic: "It's like this, I want to buy your dessert recipes, or perhaps your dessert shop could cooperate with our Songyard..."
"Would you like to try our new product?" A voice suddenly sounded beside them, interrupting their conversation.
Yin Qian, carrying a tray, forcefully walked between the two of them and said to Yuan Xing: "Would you like to try some?"
On the tray were new cupcakes Yun Manman had made, with colorful paper cups holding cute and exquisite cakes that immediately attracted the little cat's attention.
Yuan Xing nodded vigorously, his white-brown ears bouncing: "Yes!"
Only then did Yun Manman realize she was standing too close to Yuan Ci. She hurriedly stood up and stepped back to a safe distance, politely saying:
"Mr. Yuan, can we discuss this matter later? This isn't a good place to talk about cooperation."
It's fine to admire handsome guys from afar, but getting too close is a no-no.
People like Yuan Ci, who appear gentle and refined on the surface, but can grow their family business to such a large scale, must have hundreds of tricks up their sleeves.
Yun Manman was most afraid of dealing with such people.
We're all honest cats here, I'd better not get too close to unreliable cats like you.
Yuan Ci didn't know that after just two meetings, Yun Manman had already categorized him as "unreliable".
Although he was annoyed at Yin Qian's tactless interruption of his emotional exchange with Yun Manman, he also agreed that Yun Manman was right.
This really wasn't the place to discuss cooperation.
So he straightened up, maintaining his polite demeanor: "Alright, then we'll discuss it later."
Yun Manman quickly nodded.
At this moment, she felt a gentle tug on her pants.
Yuan Xing looked up with hopeful eyes: "Sister Manman, can I order one of everything?"
Before Yun Manman could speak, Yuan Qing immediately refused: "No way, how much can that little cat stomach of yours hold?"
"You're only allowed to choose three."
So Yuan Xing, with a deeply aggrieved look, began counting on his fingers to select which three desserts to eat.
Meanwhile, Yuan Qing happily ordered one of everything, both those she had tried before and those she hadn't.
Yuan Xing's eyes welled up with tears as he puffed out his chubby cheeks in protest: "Auntie, you're not playing fair! Why can you eat so much?"
Yun Manman: ...
Ah, this.