(A/N: Sorry for the late update! I was watching Guardian last night and somehow only slept around 4 hours so I was slow today 😥)
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Su Yan followed Nie Chang into the building, unsure of what to think. He didn't need to ponder to figure out what Nie Chang meant with 'sweet hours' but he honestly didn't understand why they had come to this place.
He tugged at Nie Chang's sleeve. "Ah Chang, why have we come here? Didn't we want to learn how to cook?"
"Mn."
"What 'Mn'? I want an explanation!"
"Ah Yan." Nie Chang looped his arm around his shoulders once more and slightly inclined his head toward him. "Be honest with yourself: Do you actually need to know how to cook?" His voice sounded especially gentle as if he was prepared for a lengthy explanation.
Su Yan couldn't understand what he was getting at with this question, though. Hadn't that been the reason for this outing? "What do you mean?"
"Well, we're working together now. Every morning, I'm taking you to Auntie Zhu's stall for breakfast. For lunch break I order delivery. And in the evening, I'm taking you to whatever restaurant you like before bringing you home. When do you want to cook?"
Su Yan pursed his lips. "There's still the weekend."
"Mn, true. But you know I'm not living that far away. You can just come over or I'll come over to your apartment. I don't mind cooking for you."
"You only know how to make egg fried rice, though." Su Yan didn't seem convinced.
Nie Chang smirked, stopped walking and pulled him into his arms. "That's your favorite dish. What's wrong with eating it a little more often?" And furthermore, he had already upped his culinary skills. He would be able to feed Su Yan for two days the week.
He wouldn't admit to that for now, though. No, he needed to wait for the right opportunity to completely stun that idiot. After that, he would definitely come over regularly! Mn, maybe he could even use that as an excuse to have him move in with him ...
Nie Chang coughed lightly. He was getting ahead of himself here. He really needed to slow down.
Luckily, Su Yan hadn't noticed that he was distracted. He was still pondering about what Nie Chang had said. Maybe ... It wasn't that wrong? "Alright. I don't need to know how to cook. But why have we come here? I certainly don't need to know how to make chocolate."
That's right. Nie Chang hadn't completely abandoned the idea of food. But he had dragged Su Yan along to the Chocolate Academy of all places.
"Ah Yan, have you forgotten? It'll be the Qixi festival soon. Knowing how to make chocolate is an essential skill! Or do you want to gift something you just bought? How unromantic!"
Su Yan was taken aback. "What ... What are you talking about? Who'll get a gift? I don't even have a girlfriend!"
No, but you'll have a boyfriend soon. Nie Chang's eyes gleamed and he pulled Su Yan along to go to the course. "You might not be in a relationship now but don't you think that that could change till then?"
"Isn't it only two weeks or so until then?" Su Yan frowned. "How would I find a gi—" Su Yan shut up when he saw Nie Chang's gaze. Why is he looking at me like this?
Naturally, Nie Chang didn't want to hear him mention some woman again. What woman? It was clearly him who would get chocolate from him on that day!
"Wh... What?"
"Mn ... I just feel like ... You'll be in a relationship soon."
"Huh? How would you know?"
Nie Chang lifted one brow. "Just intuition. Come on now." Nie Chang pulled him along and they entered the course room.
Su Yan curiously looked around. He had walked by the Chocolate Academy a few times but had never been inside. In fact, he hadn't even known you could book workshops here. "Eh, Ah Chang, is it really alright for us to be here? Since it's an academy shouldn't it be just for professionals?"
"Don't worry. I booked a course for consumers who just want to learn a bit. It's only the basics."
"Oh." Su Yan still felt worried, though. The room wasn't big. There probably wouldn't be more than ten people attending.
He went over to where Nie Chang stood and lamented over the fact that everyone had his own workplace. Couldn't they work in pairs? He felt like back then in school. How often had he hidden behind Nie Chang's superior intellect because he hadn't really paid attention?
Nie Chang chortled. Alright. He could basically see what Su Yan was thinking right now. "Eh, this isn't that serious. We've paid for this. Do you seriously think they'd be harsh on paying costumers?"
Su Yan pursed his lips. "Who knows? It's an academy, after all."
Nie Chang pulled him close once more and kissed his cheek. "Calm down."
Su Yan's eyes widened and a blush crept up his face for the umpteenth time that day. He woodenly turned around but Nie Chang had already lifted his head and looked at the door. He smiled and lifted his hand in greeting.
"Hey there!"
"Hey!" A young woman walked in and smiled brightly at him. Su Yan's expression soured upon seeing her. Why was she looking at Nie Chang that way? Grrr! His friend already had someone he liked. That woman should back off!
The woman came over with springy steps. Nie Chang turned around, still holding onto Su Yan. The woman took in how close they stood together and how naturally Nie Chang's hand was lying on Su Yan's hip and smiled wryly.
Damn. So he's gay and already in a relationship. She gave up on her initial thought of trying to get closer to him during the workshop and instead put her bag down on the seat next to them. "Ah, I hope we're all going to have fun today!", she said and tried to smile a little more naturally.
Nie Chang took one glance at Su Yan and smirked. "I'm certain we will." After all, he had already made preparations to make sure he could make the best use of this opportunity.