[Nineties] The Dessert Queen of Hong Kong, Next Up: A Period Novel

| A feel-good Hong Kong tycoon-era romance

| The cool-headed, resilient top pastry chef on Hong Kong Island X an ambitious young heir with a single soft spot

| The tides ebb and flow, the moon is cold, the wind and frost, the wild imaginings of the night rain, the faint fragrance of wildflowers. From Vivian Chow's "Love Is the Best"

The day Duan Xiaoning first arrived in Hong Kong, she broke out in seasonal hives on her arm.

Luckily, a boy named Fang Kezhen gave her a shirt.

The narrow alleys of Hong Kong still held the damp clinging remnants of the rainy season. The scent of fruit stalls mingled with the fishy smell of seafood in the air.

Duan Xiaoning had come to stay with her aunt, who had married and moved to Hong Kong, and learn how to bake cakes.

Her aunt wasn't a good person, and Duan Xiaoning soon found herself homeless again.

But her aunt wasn't entirely bad, either. At least she had given Duan Xiaoning a skill she could use to make a living in Hong Kong.

Duan Xiaoning also had a refined palate, boundless creativity, and deft hands.

She found a job and slept in the cramped storeroom of the cake shop, where she could barely stretch out her legs. But all she could smell was sweetness.

It took Duan Xiaoning just a year to go from recreating traditional dessert classics to making her own original creations, and then she was poached by another employer.

Her new boss was Fang Kezhen, the man she'd met once and hadn't seen in a long time.

So the Fang in Fang's, the dream company of every pastry chef, was Fang Kezhen.

Fang Kezhen was an illegitimate son desperate to prove himself.

Duan Xiaoning was the most ambitious and talented pastry chef working under him.

And so, Island Gift was born.

A dessert shop with Duan Xiaoning as its head chef, where Fang Kezhen wanted Hong Kong to think of Island Gift whenever desserts were mentioned.

And Duan Xiaoning did exactly that.

In Victoria Harbour, Star Ferries sailed back and forth, their brilliant neon lights complementing the shimmering water.

Below them, traffic flowed endlessly, and pedestrians looked like tiny dots.

Duan Xiaoning raised her glass and drank with Fang Kezhen beside her. "Then let's toast to... long live our friendship."

"Long live our love." Fang Kezhen slipped a diamond as big as a pigeon's egg onto her finger.

Duan Xiaoning smiled. "What a corny confession, and what a gaudy diamond ring. Still, it's a nice thing to have."

Fang Kezhen said nothing, letting the evening breeze tousle his hair. "If it weren't something nice, how could I dare give it to you?"

Blueberry's ramblings:

1. A sweet, feel-good story centered on the female lead's career.

2. I hope you'll add it to your collection. I've already finished the outline, and I really want to write this story! Please, everyone, tap that collection button with your lucky little fingers!

Theme: Healing