“So, did I say the wrong thing again? I originally planned to finish talking about grandpa and grandma, then test the boss’s attitude toward romance.”

Two days later at eight in the evening, as Song Nanshi pitifully complained about her troubles, the meeting by the trash can had gained another participant.

Han Sha said with interest: “So Xiao Lei, you called me out just to have me give Xiao Song advice? I don’t think that blockhead boss has any hope when it comes to this stuff.”

Lei Hong said helplessly: “Don’t you have any idea whether the boss is a blockhead or not? When He Jianqiu and I remarried, he was more emotionally invested than I was. It’s just that working in this industry has made him too service-oriented—always thinking about satisfying others, but when it comes to his own affairs, he becomes incredibly slow.”

“…So what should I do now?”

Just thinking about that day made Song Nanshi wilt completely, and she said anxiously: “I feel like the boss definitely doesn’t like the kind of ‘romantic form’ I talked about. He didn’t say anything after I finished! Sister Lei, will I never have another chance to make cakes alone with the boss?”

“Don’t worry. The boss is the kind of person who would worship even Sadako if she possessed him. Xiao Song, don’t let your imagination run wild first.”

Seeing the young girl getting more and more worked up, Han Sha laughingly interrupted her wild thoughts. The business consultant thought for a moment, then quickly smiled.

“I actually think you can give the boss some stronger medicine now.”

He said thoughtfully: “For example, let him ‘understand’ you a little more.”

“So tell me, Xiao Song, what’s your parents’ current attitude toward you working at my place?”

Several days later at noon on the store’s day off, only when standing downstairs at Song Nanshi’s building did Bai Yang belatedly feel a trace of nervousness.

He said gravely: “They don’t still think I led you astray, do they?”

“No… Boss, don’t overthink it.”

Although she was returning to her own home, Song Nanshi was actually far more nervous than her boss, and she couldn’t help secretly glancing at Bai Yang the whole way… Fortunately, the boss didn’t seem to think too much about accompanying her home.

“If choosing this job makes you afraid to go home, then from now on, if you want, I can accompany you home every day off, at least to let your parents know I’m a legitimate boss… until the day they’re willing to come to the store.”

Thinking of what Bai Yang had said to her the day before, Song Nanshi’s face couldn’t help but heat up, and she said quietly: “I don’t know why, but they seem less opposed recently, probably because the store has grown bigger, and also…”

“Taking the boss home once has many benefits. First, you can show vulnerability to him, tell him you fought with your family because of him… The boss is soft-hearted and falls for this kind of thing most easily—just play the victim.”

Han Sha’s earnest teachings still rang in her ears.

“Also, Xiao Song, your parents are eager to find you a partner, right? Although the boss is stupid, blind, and a delicate flower, his external conditions are beyond reproach. Except for having a somewhat difficult sister, he’s a standard golden son-in-law. If there are things you’re too embarrassed to make clear with the boss, maybe your parents can do the job for you.”

All at once, Song Nanshi’s face grew even redder.

“And also?” Bai Yang waited for the next part but got nothing, so he asked curiously.

“No, nothing, let’s go up.”

The two went up to the fifth floor. When pressing the doorbell, Song Nanshi silently practiced in her heart the script she had prepared all night.

Dad, Mom, this is my boss Bai Yang. You’ve always been worried about my work, so this time the boss specially came with me to introduce Huangliang Yimeng to you.

Mm… not abrupt, not strange, not too difficult, just like suturing a body that’s been charred to carbon!

Song Nanshi took a deep breath, and the moment the door opened, she launched into her prepared speech: “Dad, Mom, this is the deceased—”

Oh no!

Song Nanshi’s heart sank, but before she could even correct herself—

“Boss Bai is coming and you didn’t tell us?”

Song’s mother directly interrupted her, looking exasperated: “You silly girl, if you didn’t tell us early, we didn’t cook enough food!”

Without another word, the woman called for Song Nanshi’s father, and the elderly couple pressed the two onto the sofa, bustling about finding slippers and pouring tea. In less than five minutes, they had even prepared a fruit platter.

As you can imagine, after this tiger-like operation, not just Bai Yang, even Song Nanshi couldn’t help staring blankly at her own mother: “Mom, you… isn’t this your first time meeting?”

“If Boss Bai hadn’t been secretly contacting us, we wouldn’t even know if you were doing well out there, you girl!”

Song’s mother glared at her through gritted teeth: “Suddenly quitting your job and moving out of the house without a word—you don’t know how worried your father and I were. Every time you came home you wouldn’t say anything. If Boss Bai hadn’t often told us about your situation at the store, your father and I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night!”

Bai Yang: “…”

No wonder Song Nanshi’s parents had softened their attitude later—in this regard, Bai Yang felt he could never compare to his sister.

The small boss who had guessed the cause and effect sighed, then smiled bitterly and responded: “Xiao Song is my first apprentice. By rights, I should have visited long ago.”

So what happened next was a series of events completely different from what Song Nanshi had imagined.

Who knows what Bai Liu had told the elderly couple before, but once they sat at the dining table, Song Nanshi felt dazed, as if she were the outsider.

Under the combined offensive of her parents serving food, the boss’s bowl was quickly piled high, and that wasn’t the end—

After dinner, her own mother actually brought out the family’s ancestral photo album and began chatting with her boss about her growth trajectory from childhood to adulthood.

“Mom! Why are you telling the boss all this!”

Song Nanshi frantically tried to stop her, but it was obviously too late. Bai Yang was already holding a childhood photo of her in his hands, chuckling: “Xiao Song, you quite liked makeup when you were little, didn’t you?”

Song Nanshi rushed over in embarrassment and found it was a photo from when she was in elementary school, where she had used lipstick to paint her face bright red, making her entire face as colorfully distinct as a vivid palette.

“She’s loved drawing and painting since she was little, and always liked painting with very bright colors—reds and yellows. We never thought she’d be able to do this stuff on cakes now.”

Her own mother began mercilessly exposing her past without hesitation, then sighed after a while: “Because of the messages Boss Bai sent us before, her father and I came around later. For a girl, compared to working at a funeral home, working at a cake shop is definitely better. We’re really grateful that Boss Bai was willing to take her in.”

“I…”

Song Nanshi opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to object.

At this moment she remembered why she had painted lipstick on her face.

Ever since she was eight and saw her pale grandfather and grandmother in the coffin, she had always hoped there was some way to make those bloodless faces return to their original appearance—and this was also her original motivation for wanting to work in the funeral industry.

After all, turning death into life… was a very romantic thing.

She had endured many cold stares throughout her life because of this romance, and Song Nanshi had long since gotten used to it, no longer revealing her strange “pursuits.”

Inappropriately, Song Nanshi suddenly felt a bit wronged, but now was obviously not the time. She was single-mindedly trying to quickly change the subject to something else, but just then, a voice sounded beside her.

“Uncle and Auntie, actually, I think you don’t need to feel that Xiao Song’s profession is bad, because making cakes and doing mortuary makeup are the same thing on some level.”

Looking at the other three people who were instantly stunned speechless, Bai Yang gently explained: “The first cake my mother made for me was to comfort me, to stop me from crying. From this perspective, letting a deceased person bid farewell to this world in a dignified way might allow their relatives to shed fewer tears.”

Was the boss… speaking up for her?

Song Nanshi stared blankly at the person sitting beside her, and saw him suddenly smile and wink at her. In that instant, her head felt like it had been whipped by a high-speed egg beater, making her dizzy inside and out.

Bai Yang said: “Whether being a pastry chef or a mortician, both are inherently very romantic professions. Uncle and Auntie, precisely because of Xiao Song’s past experience, I believe she will become a very professional pastry chef in the future. In this matter, please trust her completely, and please trust me completely—”

By the end, Bai Yang seemed to be choosing his words carefully, and it was this crucial pause that made Song Nanshi feel her heart rate had already shot up to the highest setting on the egg beater.

What would the boss say?

…That he would teach her well? That he would witness her growth?

Whatever it was, this would be a promise that belonged only to her! And it was being said to her parents!

—She definitely had to treat Brother Han and Sister Lei to dinner when she got back!

The former mortician, falling in love for the first time in her life, excitedly gripped the jeans on her knees, then amidst a thunderous heartbeat, she heard the boss take a deep breath, as if making some major decision.

“Please trust me as well.”

After deliberating for nearly half a minute, the boss of Huangliang Yimeng opened his mouth sincerely.

“In terms of salary and benefits, I absolutely won’t let her suffer even the slightest loss.”