Excessively Sweet

Next to Lin Tang's dessert shop stood a cold, impersonal office building.

Every afternoon at three, a man in a white shirt came downstairs, bought an unsweetened Americano, and left without speaking or looking up, paying by scanning the code.

She secretly nicknamed him Mr. Three O'Clock.

Only later did she learn his name was Shen Yanqing. He was the youngest design director in the building next door and was known throughout the company as the "Cold-Faced King of Hell."

His stomach was delicate, he avoided sugar year-round, and his life was like a construction blueprint drawn to the millimeter, without a single unnecessary curve.

Until one late night, Lin Tang ran into him while taking out the trash. He was crouching by the roadside, cold sweat beading on his forehead, clutching an Americano gone cold.

She pulled him into the shop and stuffed a piece of brown sugar glutinous rice cake into his hands. "If your stomach hurts, eat something sweet. Stop trying to tough it out."

Shen Yanqing stared at the soft, sticky cake in silence for a long time. At last, he lowered his head and took a bite.

After that, he came every day.

From "less sugar" to "regular sugar," then to "add another spoonful."

Lin Tang thought his stomach was just getting better and he was starting to accept sweets.

Until one day, she saw a blueprint in his office.

It was the "second floor of her dream dessert shop" she'd mentioned in passing, with floor-to-ceiling windows, warm lights, and a soft sofa. In one corner, a line of tiny writing read: "For her, make it as sweet as possible."

She looked up. Shen Yanqing was leaning against the doorframe, the tips of his ears faintly red. His voice was still as calm as ever. "Finished looking at the plans? If you have, come downstairs. It's time for dessert."

"Don't you have a bad stomach?"

"Yeah. I need sugar."

"How much?"

He walked over and kissed the top of her head. "The kind of sugar you are."

It's sweeter than is good for you, but there's a long road ahead.

Theme: From no sugar to sweetness overload.