Ji Yunchu opened a little shop called Yunchu Sweets in Qingdao's old town. She seemed like a gentle, cheerful pastry chef, but in secret she was Yun Chu, a former world champion who had vanished from the esports scene.
Xu Xingyao had just moved in next door as a roommate. By day, she was an ordinary office worker at a business park; by night, under the name Xingyao, she took on so many design commissions she could barely keep up.
The two ended up living under the same roof over a box of strawberries and an extra breakfast. Ji Yunchu thought Xu Xingyao was cold and broke, so she kept finding excuses to feed her more. Xu Xingyao thought Ji Yunchu was too warm and too dangerous, yet time and again, in the middle of the night, she was won over by the taste of her desserts.
Neither of them told the truth.
Then Ji Yunchu saw footage of her own matches from back in the day on Xu Xingyao's computer. Then Xu Xingyao recognized design lines identical to her own in Ji Yunchu's sketchbook.
The most alarming part was that they were both pretending to be broke.
But the rent was paid, they were sharing meals, and neither could break the habits they'd fallen into.
With their secret identities on the verge of being exposed, Xu Xingyao asked, "How many things are you still hiding from me?"
Ji Yunchu held a spoonful of strawberry mille-crepe cake to her lips. "Finish this bite, and then I'll think about whether to come clean."
The sweetness was real. So was the panic.
It looks good. I love watching it. Keep reading.