Notorious Pets

All that can be heard inside the kitchen was whipping, the oven timer ticking, and the beautiful chef's humming. Hou Wei Yan worked her magic along with her magical voice continuously filling the place with a huge smile plastered on her face.

Fang Tao who was ordered to tend and watch over her can't help but shake his head. It's indeed undeniable that her voice is beautiful but the one who should be seeing this is not him...but his boss.

"Does he like sweets?" Hou Wei Yan asked out of nowhere while she was beating the flour into her sugar, butter, and chocolate mixture. She dared not look at him and focused herself on incorporating the mixture correctly and not overdoing it.

There was a second of silence on Fang's end as he began remembering their boss' weird obsessions. He looked at the cooking Hou Wei Yan and shook his head as he thought of how perfect she was for their boss. She's a good baker and she is a good wife. Some qualities their boss truly needed. "He's a sweet tooth"

Hou Wei Yan smiled at this before stopping her whipping. She had reached the right texture she needed for her chocolate chip cookies and it was even more glorifying that her husband loves sweets. She's a sweet tooth herself but she's far better at cooking sweets that putting a long time on the table eating them. "Tell me more"

"Hmmm" Fang Tao hummed before leaning on the wall, thinking back about Ji Li Zhao. "He doesn't particularly like anything, he just eats whatever appeals to his appetite. For once he isn't picky about his food so it's a bit easier to satisfy him in the desserts area. He ultimately likes opera cakes"

"He's restraining on it a bit more now though" he added with a bit of concern. His boss is not getting any younger and his health is certainly a concern. He may still be healthy now but it's the future that concerns him most. In fear of destroying his body early, he decided to cut off his sweets to ensure that his health is good even if he gets old. He wanted his body to be stable and fortified enough to protect the people he wanted to protect.

Hou Wei Yan looked at him when she detected the concern in his voice. "Is this about his health? Diabetes perhaps?" she asked and stopped working for a while.

[ Was it a bad idea to make cookies? ]

He immediately shook his head and gave her an assuring smile. "No. I assure you, my boss is healthy in all aspects. But he's being cautious of his future" he said which made Hou Wei Yan sigh in relief.

"We're not getting younger, even I need to begin precautionary actions regarding my health. I don't want to fall sick and be unable to fulfill my duty or do the things I wanted to do. Protecting my health is equal to securing my future. Just like the boss" he said with his face back to its serious mode. This sudden change made Hou Wei Yan chuckle as she began working on her cookies again.

She scooped her dough and flattened it before using a heart-shaped cutter. It does sound and look cheesy that she's even cringing...but for her ill husband who wasn't even embarrassed to wear a mask like the Phantom of Opera, her heart-shaped chocolate chip cookies deserve to be sent out for him.

As she continued she can't stop but chuckle as she remembered the earlier conversation.

"You're pretty talkative today. Any special reason?" she asked and took a peek at him. Fang raised his brows at her like a sassy woman which made her amused even more. "But its good that you're talking now"

Fang Tao who had just realized his actions only nodded his head. He was indeed a bit talkative today and he was sure it was going to continue. Despite the short amount of time guarding her, he had found her sudden conversations worth a shot. He was used to her questions and presence that talking has become normality to him...which is a rare occurrence that happens only to those who deserve his respect. "I don't think so"

"Deny it all you want, I'm still glad you're talking to me now" she said before placing her heart-shaped cookies in the oven. After setting it, she gave Fang a smile. "It feels better to be around someone whom I can talk to"

"When did I ever say you can't talk to me?" he asked after hearing what she said. He never really said anything that implied she can't talk to him.

A smile was the only thing she could answer. Well, he never really did say that, but she had the impression he wasn't a fan of talking and she wasn't someone who likes to force things when it was obvious the other person doesn't like it. She did strike up some conversations to test the waters but she wasn't brave enough to dig it deeper nor share something completely unrelated.

But now, she feels that he can be the other Xie Na. He can be someone she can tell her feelings and share her thoughts with.

"Do you have any pets?" she asked all of a sudden while leaning on the counter. Fang looked at her before diverting his eyes. He was a fan of the wild because he grew up in the wilderness. Most of his pets are notorious killers, like cheetahs, hyenas, and lions. However, the biggest population of the pets that he keeps are wolves. They were his trademarks and he enjoys getting compared to them.

This fact, however, seems inappropriate to be shared with someone like Hou Wei Yan. His pets are killers and what they eat is something no one can easily fathom.

But, she does deserve an answer. "A few dogs and others. I keep them away from prying eyes"

"Really? What about my husband?" she asked which made Fang sigh. It's a good thing she didn't ask more about his pets, but their boss is no better. He has eagles and other flying hunters. He also likes sharks and has a few of them in one of his secret sanctuaries. His biggest one is a Great White Shark named Danger and it lives in the big aquarium in Evergreen Estate. His rarest pet shark is named Asher, an Atlantic Thresher that he cares for at Castle Rock. This can't also be shared with her.

He stared at her for a few seconds and decided to keep the truth from her. Hou Wei Yan is obviously an animal lover, but he doubts the animals she adores are close to the ones they like to keep. With the air of innocence and gentleness around her, she most probably prefers the gentler animals like dogs and cats—pets that can be easily tamed and usually domesticated.

If he's right, Hou Wei Yan likes birds as well. He had read somewhere in the data they gathered that she feeds doves in the streets of America. Fortunately, their boss has the right pet that he can share. "He has a parrot named Hua Hua. He's the annoying type of pet, I don't know if you could get along with him"

When this fact came out of his mouth, Hou Wei Yan's eyes immediately sparkled in delight. "He has a parrot? Can I meet him?"

"Hua Hua is annoying, that's a fact" he repeated but Hou Wei Yan's eyes sparkled even more.

"That's okay, Xie Na is more talkative than a parrot so I can handle him well" she answered. Fang who was looking so firm earlier cannot help but smile at what she said.

Their friendship is well bonded. He has been watching them for a long time now and he knows just how deep their relationship is. He was sure that if Xie Na is here, she wouldn't care about what Hou Wei Yan said. In fact, she might totally agree with her statement and even prove it.

This sudden smile didn't go unnoticed under the great friend's hoping radar. Hou Wei Yan suddenly felt like she was Cupid and she's seeing a bit of the fruit of her labor. She wanted so bad to tease the man but she knew it was not yet time for that phase. If she pushes the idea of them being together at such an early time, he might get frightened and run away.

A philosopher once said—' timing is everything '.

So instead of making Fang realize he was stupidly smiling, Hou Wei Yan turned on her cookies and began diverting the topic. "I once had a pet pig when I was young. He was cute and his special feature was his odd spots shaped like mickey mouse. I ended up naming him Mickey and he liked it"

Fang who was deep in thought looked at her when he heard this. It was indeed reported that Hou Wei Yan had a pet pig. But the information was not well detailed as it happened when she was so young. "What happened to him?"

"Was he raised and became bacon?" he mumbled, no, more like whispered...but Hou Wei Yan heard it anyway and it made her chuckle at his thoughts.

"I'm not that cruel to raise him as my food" she stated making him realize he had said his thoughts out loud. He froze at his spot when he managed to remember what he had just said.

"I---"

"It's okay. Raising a pig is indeed suspicious" Hou Wei Yan assured him with her smile. "Mickey got lost when we brought him out. We tried finding him but it was futile. I never got to see him again"

"I'm sorry" he immediately said after hearing about the tragedy.

Hou Wei Yan looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Life is simply a series of hellos and goodbyes. Mickey and I already had ours"

Fang remained silent upon hearing this as he contemplated the reality she said. Indeed, life is a series of hellos and goodbyes.

The room fell into silence once more as both of them contemplated their new hellos.

Although Hou Wei Yan is yet to know her husband's real identity, she already considers him one of her treasured hellos. She met countless people because he arrived in her life and she is grateful because of that. He connected her to new possibilities and happiness she never imagined she will have in her return. The bad expectation she had with her return was gone because of him. Now she always looks forward to each day, waiting for the day she will see her man behind the mask.

With all honesty, she also wants him to never be a part of her goodbyes.

The high-pitched sound of the oven finishing its job brought her back to her senses. With a smile, she walked toward it and opened the lid, allowing the heavenly scent of the freshly baked cookies to dominate the kitchen. Carefully, she pulled it out of the oven and glanced at Fang. "Do you eat cookies?"

"Not really" he answered as he patiently waited for her to finish piling the cookies on the plate. "I'm no fan of sweets"

Hou Wei Yan nodded her head in understanding. She poured some hot milk into a glass after neatly piling up her finished goods on the plate. The tray was all set to be delivered to her sick husband.

Fang immediately walked towards her and lifted the tray. He nodded his head at her and Hou Wei Yan returned it with a smile. "I'll go to sleep now. I'm leaving these cookies here"

"In case you feel eating one" she added before skipping towards their room. Fang looked at the cookies and shrugged his shoulders.

Maybe he'll eat one later.

When he arrived at the study, Fang knocked softly to not disturb Ji Li Zhao too much. "Boss, I brought you some snacks"

Ji Li Zhao looked at the pile of papers on his table and sighed. Some sweets would do him good right now. "Come in, Fang"

Fang obeyed without hesitation. The smell of the cookies made Ji Li Zhao look up to him with curiosity. "Who baked that?"

"Madame made it for you" he said and placed the tray on the table. He immediately left to avoid any scoldings from him.

Ji Li Zhao was left alone in the room, the scent of the cookies slowly filling up space. He can only smile as he remembered something from the past. A young Hou Wei Yan once said that "A cookie a day keeps the sadness away"

But he never believed that. Because for him, what keeps his sadness away is the person who baked these cookies in front of him.