Yasushi sat in the office, sinking into the sofas, cup in hand, sipping his coffee while swiping through news on his tablet. Xinyi leaned against him on the left, idly scrolling through her phone. She'd popped by two days after their Halloween break started, seemingly bored. On his other side, Jingliu, his girlfriend, mirrored Xinyi, also absorbed in her phone. Across from them, Yunxue, Layena, and Yinhaie lounged, doing their own things, each focused on their own screens or tasks.
The room had settled into a stillness that should've been comforting, yet something gnawed at Yasushi. Everything seemed in its place, but that didn't sit right with him. It was too calm, too ordinary, and the longer he sat, the more he could feel an uneasy buzz creeping up his spine. It made him want to get up, move, do something, anything. His thoughts spun, restless.
Just as his muscles tensed, Xinyi's voice broke the silence. "Let's do something. Maybe something fun?" She had shifted, glancing around, her words pulling everyone's attention to her.
"Fun? And what exactly do you have in mind, Xinyi?" Yunxue asked, dropping her phone onto her lap, eyes now locked on her.
Xinyi straightened up a bit, leaning back into the sofa. "I was thinking... maybe we do something for the homeless around the city. There aren't that many of them since we've got shelters to keep them out of the snow, but sitting in those places with nothing going on must suck, right? And the food they get is the same bland stuff, day after day. So... what if we baked something for them? Something good?"
Jingliu frowned, confusion creeping across her face. "You? Volunteering to help people out of nowhere? That's not exactly your thing. What's your real motive?" Her gaze narrowed, suspicion settling in.
Xinyi blew out her cheeks, not hiding her frustration. "Okay, fine," she admitted. "I saw a video on Douyin and thought it looked fun. But I'm serious — I don't want to record us or anything like that. I just think it'd be cool to do it."
Jingliu dropped her head onto Yasushi's lap, letting out a long breath. "And where exactly are we getting the money for all of this?"
Xinyi's grin spread across her face, almost like she'd been waiting for this. She reached over, grabbed the bag she had brought with her, and tossed it onto the table. The bag landed hard. Then she unzipped it, pulling the top open wide enough for them to see. It was stuffed with cash.
"This right here is about 14,249,600 yen, or if it's easier, one hundred thousand dollars or seven hundred thousand yuan. Think we could do something with it?" she said, turning to look at each of them.
Their mouths hung open. Nobody spoke for a moment.
Yasushi managed to break the silence, his voice coming out slowly, still staring at the money. "Where the hell did you get all that? And don't tell me it's your savings."
To their surprise, Xinyi shook her head. "Nope. Most of it isn't. I've been doing some stuff online. About three-quarters of it is money I earned, and only a quarter is from what I had saved. And trust me, it doesn't hurt my savings at all."
Jingliu raised an eyebrow while Yunxue swallowed, nerves creeping in. "Nothing illegal, right?" she asked, trying to hide the unease creeping into her voice.
"No... seriously, do you think that little of me?" Xinyi asked, sighing as she glanced at everyone around her. "Here's the thing — most people don't know this, but I've had a perfume line for a while. It didn't sell much at first, but when I put more money into it, plus with some help from my dad and uncle, it finally took off. It brought in a lot of cash. Then, on top of that, my uncle got me into stocks, so now I've got passive income coming from that too. You know how unpredictable that stuff can be, but still, it's worked out well enough for me. And this is only half of what I've saved up, so trust me, I'm not going broke anytime soon."
Yasushi stared at her, trying to wrap his head around it. "How much money do you actually have?"
Xinyi's face turned serious for a second. "Are you sure you want to know?"
He paused, reconsidering. "…You know what? Forget I asked. Let's just get on with whatever plan you've got in mind." He shook his head, steering the conversation away from numbers that would only make his head spin.
"Alright, here's the plan," Xinyi said, leaning in. "We're going to bake mini cakes or cupcakes, mix up the flavors. Something simple but enough to make a difference. We'll make a good amount for the first day, then go to every shelter in the city, hand them out. Do it again the next day, and the next, until we run through this money. Then we'll wrap it up, call it a good deed done." She grinned at them, clearly excited about it.
Yasushi raised a hand, about to speak. "Sounds short and sweet, but do you know how many shelters there are? And we—"
Before he could get another word out, Xinyi pressed her finger to his lips, cutting him off. "I've done my homework. Stop stressing. I already contacted them. There are twelve shelters in the city, and all of them agreed to this. So, relax. Now, let's go buy the ingredients and get started. And who knows? Maybe we can even get others to jump in and help."
She gave him a playful wink, like she was already two steps ahead of everyone. Yasushi sighed, glancing at the others around the room, waiting to see what they'd say. Slowly, everyone nodded, even Jingliu, who looked like she still had some doubts but was willing to give it a shot.
"Alright then," Xinyi said, jumping to her feet and throwing an arm dramatically in the air. "Operation Home Brew Cup, go!" She pointed at the ceiling, mimicking something out of a movie, as if they were about to march off on some epic quest.
+-+
Hours later, the whole group had been dragged into the project. Friends, along with the staff at Jingliu's place, were roped into the kitchen. They were all gathered around, following a recipe Xinyi had found online, trying to whip up different flavors for cakes and cupcakes.
Yasushi, Yinhaie, Yunxue, and some staff kept a close eye on the process. They had more experience in the kitchen than the rest of the group, so it made sense for them to take the lead. Yasushi made his way over to Furuya, who was focused on his task, looking more comfortable than expected.
"You've come a long way since last time," Yasushi said, glancing at the mix Furuya was working on.
Furuya let out a laugh, not taking his eyes off the bowl. "Catherine's been helping me with my cooking. She's given me a few tips here and there, so I've improved. Though, baking's still new territory for me."
Yasushi nodded. "Better to know something than nothing at all. If you get stuck, just shout. I'll help you out." He gave Furuya a quick pat on the shoulder before moving on, checking on how the others were handling the kitchen chaos.
"Ora, ora, ora, ora!" Xinyi shouted, hammering the dough like it had wronged her. She wasn't holding back, fists pounding down with force that made the whole table shake.
Yasushi blinked, frozen for a moment before asking, "What the hell are you doing?" He didn't bother hiding the confusion in his voice.
Xinyi didn't let up. Her arms kept moving, and she shot him a grin. "Putting all my positive energy into the dough! That way, everyone who eats this will feel it too!" She sounded completely serious, though the scene was anything but.
He stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "Is this some ancient Chinese wisdom or martial arts thing?" He moved closer, standing next to her, eyebrows raised.
Just as she was about to answer, she flicked her head up, nearly crashing into his face. The sudden movement made Yasushi stumble back, avoiding the close call by inches. Xinyi stopped, her face turning red.
"N-no, it's just something dumb I came up with," she muttered, smacking the dough harder, trying to bury her embarrassment in the flour-covered mess. She hadn't expected to end up nearly head-butting him, just wanted to be over-the-top ridiculous. Now, she couldn't shake how close they had been, her face heating up more with each strike on the dough.
Yasushi let out a long breath, shaking his head before stepping closer to her again. "Have you ever baked before? Cooking, sure, you've probably got that down, but baking? Whole different thing," he said, tilting his head a bit, eyeing her movements.
Xinyi shrugged, her shoulders stiffening. "Not really. A few times, maybe, but only when Catherine or one of the maids or butlers helped me." Her face turned a little pink, eyes darting away. "So, uh... can you help me?" Her voice dropped low, sounding almost unsure.
Yasushi laughed at her sudden awkwardness, nodding. "Alright, alright. I'll help. Just follow what I say, okay?" He paused, thinking for a moment, then added, "Actually, let's do this hands-on so you can feel how it's done."
Before she could even process what he meant, Yasushi moved behind her. His arms slipped around her, hands guiding hers, making sure her grip on the dough was firm. "Like this," he said, taking control of her right hand first, kneading the dough, then doing the same with her left.
But Xinyi couldn't focus. Her brain had shut off, overwhelmed by the sudden closeness. She barely caught a word of his instructions, the feel of his hands guiding hers making everything else in the room blur out.
Furuya, watching from the other side of the room, let out a snort, which made Xinyi shoot a sharp look in his direction, her face darkening as her cheeks warmed. Jingliu glanced over too, narrowing her eyes for a moment, but she didn't say anything.
She knew Yasushi wasn't trying to make a move. He was just trying to help, though the way he was going about it didn't exactly seem like the most normal approach to her.
Yasushi spoke up again, snapping Xinyi out of her thoughts. "Are you even paying attention?"
Without thinking, Xinyi blurted out, "Y-yes, daddy," before immediately realizing what she'd said. Yasushi froze for a second, staring at her, puzzled.
"Daddy?" He tilted his head, trying to make sense of her words. Then, with a smirk, he stepped back and lightly tapped the back of her head with the side of his hand. "Focus up. You're the one who came up with this whole thing. If you're leading, you gotta stay on track."
Xinyi rubbed the back of her head, trying to act normal. "R-right! Uh, can we just continue?" She turned, sticking her hips out a bit, clearly trying to invite Yasushi back to where he was standing before.
He sighed, catching on quick to what she was up to. "...Maybe verbal instructions would be smarter."
Xinyi tried to hide the disappointment creeping in when Yasushi stood beside her, sticking to instructions instead of the hands-on approach she'd been angling for. She listened, followed each step, but the whole time her mind spun in other directions. She knew it was wrong, knew deep down that her little stunt wasn't fair, not to herself, and definitely not to Yasushi or Jingliu.
They were a couple, and everyone could tell they were headed somewhere serious. High school, college, the next steps — she'd heard the word "marriage" tossed around, even if not directly from them. The thought dug at her, twisting something inside her that she didn't want to admit.
The truth was she cared about Yasushi. A lot more than she should. Love? Maybe. It wasn't that easy to say, but the more she stood there, her hands working the dough mindlessly, the more it nagged at her. She was trying to vent, trying to distract herself with little gestures, hoping maybe, just maybe, she could stir something in him. But Yasushi, being who he was, didn't even blink at it. He never did.
It left her in a strange place — sad that it didn't work, but also proud of him for not falling for her tricks. But the real kicker was, she knew this couldn't go on like this. Sooner or later, they'd have to talk about all of it. The feelings hanging between them. The ones that went unspoken, ignored. Xinyi didn't know when that moment would come, but she knew it couldn't be avoided forever.
As she continued to knead, her mind kept drifting to how things might look in the future. She didn't want to lose them, Yasushi and Jingliu. The three of them had been close for so long, but she knew deep down — eventually — things would change. They'd have to go their own ways.
+-+
Furuya slumped into the chair, rubbing his hands. "Man, we made a couple hundred today, right? So... do we head out now, or wait until tomorrow?" His voice held that tired edge, the kind that came from hours of nonstop work.
Xinyi wiped her hands on a towel before turning around. "It's almost dinner for most folks. Might as well go now and get it done. I already mentioned we might deliver some today while they're fresh," she said, looking at the others.
By the door, Yinhaie stood with a few staff members, ready for the next step. "We've got some cars prepped. If you want to start distributing tonight, we can load up right now."
Yasushi gave a nod as he stretched his arms. "Yeah, it's about the right time. Let's hand out as much as we can before it gets too late." He glanced around, seeing everyone nod in agreement, starting to grab what they needed to head out.