Chapter 7 — The Sweet Taste After Criticism

After the night of making moon cakes overnight, the atmosphere between Mai and Kien became much more natural. The straightforward comments were still there but less thorny, replaced by an implicit understanding that both felt but no one was willing to name.

On Wednesday morning, while Mai was arranging cakes on the display shelf, a shiny car parked in front of the shop, causing the entire small alley that was familiar with motorbikes and street carts to turn their heads. The man got out of the car wearing a neat suit, neatly combed hair, holding a large bouquet of sunflowers in his hand, entering the shop with a confident smile often seen on notable acquaintances.

“Mai,” he called, his voice so intimate that Mai had to look up and look closely to recognize him.

“Dat Long?” she asked, unable to hide her surprise. Dat Long is an old classmate from college. It is said that he later prospered in the real estate industry, but it has been a long time since the two have contacted each other.

“Long time no see,” Dat Long said, placing the bouquet on the counter, his eyes scanning the shop with undisguised appreciation. "I heard your shop had some trouble recently. I came by to see what's going on."

“Thank you for your concern,” Mai replied, her voice somewhat reserved at this sudden appearance, “but how did you know my shop was here?”

"My company is having a project to survey this area," Dat Long replied, the smile still on his lips, "by chance I saw your name on the sign. I didn't expect that my clumsy classmate from the past is now the owner of the bakery."

At that moment, Kien walked in from the back door, carrying a box of measuring tools as usual, and paused for a second when he saw the scene before him - a luxurious stranger standing close to the counter, his eyes never leaving Mai.

“Sorry,” Kien said, his voice was even but somehow harder than usual, “I didn't know Mai had a guest.”

"Ah, this is Kien," Mai introduced, a bit awkwardly, "cooperating in making videos to improve the shop. Kien, this is Dat Long, my old classmate."

Dat Long extended his hand to shake, his social smile could not hide his appreciation as he looked at Kien from head to toe. "Ah, is that the food reviewer guy who crashed Mai's bakery? I heard he's now collaborating again, what an interesting drama."

“We're fixing the previous problem,” Kien replied, his voice still polite but his eyes much colder.

"Is that so," Dat Long said, turning to Mai, tactfully ignoring Kien, "by the way, I have something to discuss with you. My company is targeting this area for project development. If you intend to transfer or sublease, I am willing to offer a very good price."

"This shop is not for sale," Mai replied immediately, her voice surprisingly tough, "this is the inheritance my mother left behind, I have no intention of giving it up."

"I'm just suggesting," Dat Long raised his hands harmlessly, "not forcing anything. But if you change your mind later, just contact me." He pulled a business card from his vest pocket, placed it on the counter, his eyes deliberately glanced at Kien. "Ah, also, I have a table booked at a new restaurant this Saturday night. I was wondering if you would be free to come with me to reminisce about old times?"

Before Mai could respond, Kien spoke up, his voice suddenly much sharper. “Mai is busy filming a video this weekend.”

Dat Long raised his eyebrows at Kien, then laughed lightly, a laugh full of meaning. “I don't remember asking your opinion.”

The atmosphere in the shop suddenly became tense, as tense as a string about to break. Mai stood between the two men, feeling like she was witnessing a hidden encounter that she absolutely did not want.

“I'm sorry, Dat Long,” Mai said, trying to calm the situation, “I'm really busy this weekend, let's save it another time.”

“Okay,” Dat Long shrugged, his expression not losing confidence, “I'll come back later. Leave your business card there, remember to contact me when you have time." He glanced at Kien one last time, his eyes as if measuring an opponent, then turned and walked out of the car, leaving a stream of expensive perfume lingering in the air.

When the door closed, Mai breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Kien, who was still standing there with an unpredictable expression.

“Thank you for helping me refuse,” she said, although she couldn't help but feel curious about his unexpected reaction.

“I didn't help anything,” Kien replied, his voice still a bit stiff, “I just said the work schedule.”

“Is that so,” Mai said, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to overflow, “so why did your face just now look so...jealous?”

Kien paused, his ears began to turn red just like last time at the store. “I'm not jealous. I just found the way he spoke to be somewhat disrespectful.”

“Yeah, disrespect,” Mai nodded, her voice filled with teasing, “has nothing to do with him inviting you to dinner, right?”

"It's unrelated," Kien replied, but his voice was a bit stiffer than when responding to Dat Long, making Mai unable to help but burst out laughing, a feeling of joy creeping into her heart even though she had just gone through a stressful encounter this morning.

But behind that laughter, Mai couldn't help but feel a little worried when looking at the business card Dat Long left on the counter, the words "Project Development Manager" printed boldly below his name, wondering if the offer to buy back the premises was as simple as what he showed, or if there was something bigger that she hadn't anticipated.

That afternoon, when Linh returned from delivering goods and heard Mai tell the whole story, she immediately became more excited than necessary. "My God, there's Mr. Kien secretly jealous, and there's a real estate tycoon flirting with me. Our bakery is exactly the right setting for a romance movie."

"Don't say that," Mai glared at her friend, although inside she couldn't help but laugh at the over-the-top analogy. “Dat Long is just an old classmate, and his company is targeting this area, which doesn't sound good at all.”

“What do you mean?” Linh asked, her face immediately becoming serious again.

“I'm not sure,” Mai replied, picking up the business card and turning it around, “but the way he asked about transferring the premises didn't sound like a normal social inquiry. Besides, a real estate company that surveys a small alley like this certainly has bigger intentions than just my bakery."

Linh nodded, her expression becoming equally worried. “So let me ask if there are any other houses in the alley that people are asking to buy. Who knows, maybe this whole area is being targeted, not just my shop.”

In the afternoon, when Kien returned to continue filming the preparation scene for the upcoming video episode, Mai told him about her concerns regarding Dat Long's company. After hearing this, Kien's face became pensive Absolutely.

“I will ask Tung to learn more about that company,” he said, his voice serious, “If there really is a big project targeting this area, you need to prepare mentally in advance, at least so you won't be passive when something happens.”

“Thank you,” Mai said, feeling warm at the genuine concern and not just the fleeting jealous reaction of the morning.

“Nothing,” Kien replied, then added, his voice holding a rare hesitation, “also... I really didn't like the way he looked at you just now.”

Mai looked up at him, their eyes met for a brief moment but enough for both of them to clearly feel, this silently growing feeling was now no longer just a vague premonition, but had begun to exist clearly, even though neither of them had the courage to name it out loud.

That night, Tung called Kien to inform him as soon as he finished looking up preliminary information about Dat Long's company. "I found it," Tung's voice on the phone was full of seriousness, "that company is the project development branch of a fairly large real estate corporation. Recently, it has registered for a planning survey for the entire area around Banh Nang alley. It seems that it is aiming to turn this entire row into a commercial complex."

After listening, Kien tightened his grip on the phone, his eyes looking out the apartment window, where the city lights sparkled in the distance. “So it's not as simple as Mai thought.”

"That's right," Tung replied, "you should let her know early so you can prepare. I think this situation is going to be tense, once big companies have their sights set on them, they often have all kinds of ways to achieve their goals, including not so decent ways."

“I understand,” Kien replied, his voice was low, a real worry arose in his heart, not only for the future of Banh Nang shop, but also for the woman who had gradually occupied an important position in his always closed, cautious life after just a few short weeks.

He looked out the window for a long moment, thinking about the best way to share this news with Mai without causing her to panic, and at the same time silently promising himself that, no matter what happened next, he would no longer stand on the sidelines as an objective reviewer, but would stand by her side to face whatever troubles lay ahead.