Not surprisingly the event went very very well and they even got a lot of tips from all the people who came and watched the men in cat's ears served them the overpriced food.

They decided to open only on weekends and just served their usual bar food for the weekdays. Surprisingly, even though they did not lower their price, people still came faithfully. And from the conversation that they had, it seemed that their competition was starting to lose their edge by serving smaller portions and not up to standard food.

Soon, one by one, the surrounding Jin's restaurants were closed one by one, and one day, out of the blue, a person came to see Wei Wuxian.

When Wei Wuxian saw who it was, he nodded and asked Shen Qingqiu to come join them in his office.

When Shen Qingqiu saw who came, he was surprised, but then he became angry. 

"How dare you come back after abandoning us like that. What do you want? Has the Jin bastard fired your ass so you came crawling back to us?"

Wei Wuxian said nothing because he wanted to know too.

The man – Xiao Xingchen – looked like he swallowed a knife when he started to talk in a hoarse voice.

"I am really sorry. I know that what I did was unforgivable, but I have my own reason for doing so." He bowed deeply and continued after no one spoke. "My husband was sick with a very rare disease, and the only thing that could keep him alive was the experimental drug from the Jin's Pharmaceutical. One day Jin Zixun called me and asked if I wanted my husband to enter the clinical trial that they plan to do – free of charge. The only thing I could do was to copy your recipe and leave when he called." His voice trembled and Wei Wuxian couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Xiao Xingchen was a good man, and a solid chef. But he loved his husband more than anything else.

"You should know, I gave them your recipe but I edited them so that they didn't know about your secret ingredients." He sniffled quietly and even Shen Qingqiu looked sorry for him.

"So, how's your husband? Is he okay now?"

There was a beat of silence before Xiao Xingchen answered him.

"Unfortunately he passed away yesterday, and the last thing he told me to do was to ask for your forgiveness and got out of Jin Zixun's clutch." He spoke in a voice lower than his actual one. "That's why I came here. I want to ask for your forgiveness. It's okay if you don't want to forgive me because I know what I did was unforgivable, but I just want you to know why I did all of those things, and I will regret it for the rest of my life." He stood up and bowed deeply. "Thank you for your time, I will leave now."

"Sit down." Wei Wuxian suddenly spoke to him and Xiao Xingchen sat back down.

"Have you mourned your husband properly? Is there anything else we can help with his funeral arrangement?"

Xiao Xingchen was surprised with the kind words from Wei Wuxian, but then again, his boss was always kind toward his people.

"Thank you for asking, but since we're both orphans, we do not have family and I already cremated him this morning." 

To think of it, he was wearing a formal black suit, unlike his usual casual shirt and jeans. But to think that he went straight there after the funeral of his husband…

"Are you still working at the Jin's restaurant?"

Xiao Xingchen shook his head.

"I don't want to be near them in the first place. I did it all for the sake of my husband."

"Good. So you're going back to work with us. When can you start?" 

Both Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Xingchen looked at him as if he had grown another head on his shoulder.

"What?"

"What?"

Both of them exclaimed at the same time.

"You need a chef, and I need to work on my novel. I know you've been practicing your pastry making skill and I want you to concentrate on that so that we can open the next door as our bakery soon." He patted Shen Qingqiu's back fondly. "And you." He pointed at Xiao Xingchen. "I will give you a second chance. And since you don't have anyone else for the Jins to blackmail you with, I hope you consider this offer and accept it since I like you a lot, Xiao Xingchen. It's hard for me to accept that you were betraying us, but I know that there must be some reason that you can't tell us. So here it is."

Xiao Xingchen was speechless by the generous offer, and he was grateful for this second chance. So he decided to accept it right away.

"I will accept your offer, boss. Rest assured that I will not disappoint you again." 

"I know you won't. Go and finish your business and then come back here Monday."

He bowed deeply and Wei Wuxian could see the tears in his eyes.

"Thank you. I will be here tomorrow."

When he left, Shen Qingqiu confronted Wei Wuxian.

"Are you really going to change your career by becoming a writer?"

"Huh, of course not, what do you mean? I suck at writing, but replying to those sex questions was fun. I will continue to do so until after AJ is back from her maternity leave, but I will still be here. I plan to buy the next door building and convert it to a bakery with an instagrammable interior and I want you to handle it, Qiuqiu." He hugged his best friend. "I know you've been putting your passion on hold because you want me to be happy, but it's not what a brother should do, right? We should work together and compromise and support each other through thick and thin."

"Oh fuck, now you're making me cry." Shen Qingqiu wiped his nose on Wei Wuxian's shirt and earned a glare from him. "What? Your fiance can buy you dozens of those expensive shirts for you."

"Right. Anyhow, since everything is quiet, should we stop the weekend Magic Mike thing?"

"Hell no. I enjoy seeing Binghe squirm and walk around naked, knowing that he will be in my bed after the work is done."

"Nice, so you're living in his place now, yeah?" Wei Wuxian grinned at the look of uncomfort in Shen Qingqiu's eyes.

"Well, it's for the sake of convenience. Not paying rent for the first time in my life feels so liberating."

"I know how you feel. Anyway, you want to go to our favorite grocery store later? I need to stock up on snacks."

"Yeah sure. I'll go with you. Please don't go alone, I don't like the creep that's hovering around the place and always attempts to flirt with you."

"Ah yeah, I almost forgot. Okay, see you later then."