Chapter 2: Can’t Make a Cake? Then You’ll Be a Cake

Lu Yiyi stood obediently, her hands loosely gripping the straps of her canvas bag, letting that hand pinch and rub her face.

‘Such a strange feeling…’

Xia Qimeng’s fingers were long, with distinct knuckles, and her body temperature was on the low side, leaving a cool sensation on Lu Yiyi’s skin.

Every pinch stirred up a gentle fragrant breeze.

That pleasant floral scent had somehow become extraordinarily rich.

The fragrance seemed to take on substance, threading into her nostrils and sinking through her limbs and bones with every breath.

Lu Yiyi’s vision began to blur, and the world before her eyes lost focus.

The halo of the ceiling light scattered, like the reflection of the moon rippling in water.

Her head became very light, very empty.

Fear and wariness slipped away like sand between fingers, leaving only an irresistible drowsiness.

‘So sleepy…’

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and her body went so limp it didn’t feel like her own.

The carpet underfoot turned into clouds, fluffy beneath her steps, as if she might sink in at any moment.

Falling asleep like this would probably feel really nice.

“You’re kind of cute.”

A very soft murmur came by her ear, gentle in tone, with a hint of mischievous teasing.

Xia Qimeng suddenly withdrew her hand.

The moment her fingertips left Lu Yiyi’s cheek, that intoxicating floral scent faded away as well.

She took a few steps back, putting distance between them, and walked back to the desk, casually flipping open a heavy hardcover book on it.

As the scent dispersed, Lu Yiyi jolted awake.

She shook her head hard, her low twin tails swaying with the motion.

‘Huh?’

‘What just happened?’

She guiltily touched her face, where the other person’s coolness still lingered.

Xia Qimeng leaned against the edge of the desk, one leg slightly bent, playing with a brass bookmark in her hand.

“The last person who came to counsel me complained that this place was too quiet,” she said, her red lips curving into a smile. “They insisted on volunteering to show me a handstand.”

Lu Yiyi blinked blankly.

She was talking about the psychology expert with fifteen years of experience, the big shot the Bureau had paid top dollar to bring in.

Now, every night at eight, that big shot is still doing handstands and reciting pi in a mental hospital.

‘So that was the root of the problem.’

“What about you?”

Xia Qimeng leaned forward slightly, her irises flecked with color locking onto Lu Yiyi.

“What are you going to perform for sister?”

Lu Yiyi clutched the strap of her canvas bag, her mind racing.

“I… I can’t do a handstand,” she managed after a long pause, her cheeks flushed. “But I can… I can cook.”

“Cooking?”

Xia Qimeng raised an eyebrow.

“Mhm mhm.”

Lu Yiyi nodded vigorously, quickly adding, “I’m a really good cook. My mom taught me. I can make all kinds of home-style dishes.”

“If you don’t mind, I can make you something tasty.”

The containment room fell into a brief silence.

Xia Qimeng studied Lu Yiyi, a flicker of curiosity passing through her unpredictable eyes.

In those few short minutes of close contact just now, something extremely abnormal had occurred.

The supernatural power that had been restlessly churning inside her day and night had miraculously calmed down.

Usually, an imperceptible sense of spatial dislocation surrounded her; one careless move could slice nearby objects into pieces.

But now, that violent sensation was gone.

Incredible.

To suppress these powers, the entire Paranormal Bureau had mobilized top-tier containment facilities, even going so far as to build this cage on the seventeenth basement level out of pure gold, yet the results had been minimal.

This ordinary little girl before her, who had nothing going for her besides being cute, had accomplished it just by standing there and letting Xia Qimeng pinch her cheeks twice?

Xia Qimeng’s gaze fell back on Lu Yiyi, her eyes like a scalpel dissecting a one-of-a-kind rare creature.

‘This little thing… is a treasure delivered right to my door.’

“Alright.”

She agreed without hesitation.

Lu Yiyi let out a sigh of relief.

‘It seems this Miss Xia isn’t as scary as the rumors say.’

‘Not only is she pretty and soft-spoken, she’s also reasonable.’

‘As long as she has a good meal and feels happy, her mental state should stabilize, right?’

‘The mission might actually be completed!’

‘The bounty on the board, which had multiplied tenfold, is beckoning to me!’

Lu Yiyi’s eyes lit up, her voice brightening.

“Then what would you like? Braised pork? Sweet and sour ribs? Or tomato scrambled eggs? I’ll go prepare it right away!”

“These are too greasy.”

Xia Qimeng shook her head and casually closed the hardcover book.

Her gaze settled on the strawberry hair tie on Lu Yiyi’s head.

“I want… a strawberry cake.”

Lu Yiyi froze.

Her smile stiffened on her face.

“Str… strawberry cake?”

“What? Can’t do it?”

Xia Qimeng asked back.

“No… it’s…”

Lu Yiyi stammered, wringing her hands uneasily.

“I can cook, stir-fry, stew, and make soup. But desserts… I’ve never learned desserts.”

“That’s your problem. It’s not like I’m the one who stopped you from learning.”

Xia Qimeng walked around the desk and came to stand in front of Lu Yiyi again.

She was half a head taller than Lu Yiyi.

Looking down at the little girl who was about to cry, the malicious amusement in her heart grew like wild grass.

“The kitchen on the first floor has all the ingredients and equipment needed to make a cake.”

She raised her hand and lightly tapped her cool fingertip on Lu Yiyi’s nose.

“I’ll give you an hour to prepare. If it doesn’t taste good…”

Xia Qimeng leaned in closer, gazing into Lu Yiyi’s eyes.

“Then I’ll eat you.”

Lu Yiyi’s eyes instantly turned watery.

Tears welled up in her eyes, ready to fall but not quite falling.

‘Strawberry cake!’

‘That’s baking! A technical skill I have zero experience with!’

‘How could I possibly learn to make a strawberry cake on my own within an hour?’

‘This is absolutely impossible!’

“Mi, Miss Xia…”

Lu Yiyi sniffled, trying to make one last struggle, her soft baby voice full of grievance.

“Can we switch? How about I make candied sweet potatoes? Those are sweet too…”

“No.”

Xia Qimeng refused flatly.

She didn’t give Lu Yiyi any chance to refuse, reaching out to press a button on the control panel on the wall.

“Ding!”

The electronic clock on the wall lit up, pale blue digits ticking as it began to count down.

59:59.

“So now,” Xia Qimeng leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching her with leisurely amusement, “the countdown begins.”

Lu Yiyi stared at the counting-down timer, as if the sky were falling.

‘It’s over, I jinxed myself too soon.’

‘The survivor’s benefits are really going to be paid out now.’

She couldn’t bother saying anything else.

She turned around and dashed out of the special containment room as if fleeing for her life.

The golden blast-proof door slowly closed behind her.

The pale motion-sensor lights in the corridor flickered on one by one.

Lu Yiyi stood in the empty corridor of the seventeenth basement level, wanting to cry but having no tears.

‘Is there still time to search for a recipe now? How much sugar goes into whipped cream anyway? What temperature does the oven need to be preheated to?’

She pulled out her phone and frantically searched “foolproof strawberry cake tutorial for beginners” while sprinting toward the elevator.

The elevator ride from the seventeenth basement level to the first floor took a full three minutes.

During those three minutes, Lu Yiyi had already prayed to every god and Buddha.

‘If I really die here today, I’ll come back as a ghost and snatch Sister Zhang’s cashmere coat in the middle of the night!’

“Ding!”

The elevator doors opened on the first floor.

Lu Yiyi shot out like an arrow and headed straight for the kitchen.

At this hour, the chefs were all playing cards in the lounge, so the kitchen was empty.

She burst into the work area and yanked open the cabinet where baking supplies were stored.

Cake flour, sugar, eggs, whipping cream, fresh strawberries…

The ingredients were indeed all there.

But looking at them, Lu Yiyi felt they were even scarier than the paranormal objects in the containment room.

Her phone screen was on, showing a food blogger’s highly-liked tutorial.

“Step one, separate the egg whites and yolks…”

“Wuu…”

Lu Yiyi sniffled, and finally the tears fell drop by drop.

‘This is too mean.’

‘Why does psychological counseling require a baking test?!’

She wiped her tears while clumsily cracking eggs.

There were still 55 minutes left.

‘To avoid being eaten, I have to go all out!’

Seventeenth basement level, special containment room.

Xia Qimeng sat behind the large desk, her mind full of that little figure who had run off to make a cake.

She felt inexplicably pleased.

The malicious streak that had been dormant inside her for so long had been thoroughly provoked by this soft little girl.

“Strawberry cake…”

Xia Qimeng murmured softly, her gaze deep.

Actually, she didn’t like sweets at all.

She just wanted to see how much this little toy, which had caught her eye, would suit her taste.

Whether or not the cake got made… she had plenty of reasons to eat her up.

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