Chapter 90: Sweet Photo at the Pizzeria
Soon, the mixed fruit pizza was brought to the table. A rich medley of fruit, cheese, and baked dough wafted into Su Yuqing’s nose.
"It smells so good," Su Yuqing said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Chen Mo smiled and handed her a pair of disposable gloves. "Go on, try it."
After putting on the gloves, Su Yuqing suppressed her excitement and slowly picked up a slice. She gazed at the golden crust covered in pieces of fruit, with cheese stretching into long, delicate strings. She hadn’t even taken a bite, but she was already sure it would be delicious.
"Be careful, it’s hot," Chen Mo reminded her softly.
The moment Su Yuqing took a small bite of the pizza, her eyes lit up. Like a little bear tasting honey for the first time, she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
The creaminess of the cheese and the fresh sweetness of the fruit melted on her tongue, a pleasant warmth spreading down into her stomach.
"This is delicious!" she exclaimed after swallowing, her voice filled with undisguised delight.
Chen Mo rested his chin on his hand and watched her, a subtle mirth dancing in his eyes, as if they held a universe of starlight.
"If you like it, have some more." His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze brushing against willow branches.
Holding the edge of her pizza, Su Yuqing suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up at Chen Mo. "How come you’re not eating?"
Chen Mo paused for a moment, then smiled. "I’m waiting for the durian pizza."
He paused again. His gaze fell to the corner of Su Yuqing’s mouth, where a bit of cheese was clinging. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Grabbing a napkin, he naturally reached out to wipe it away for her.
Su Yuqing froze, feeling the gentle touch of his fingers. Her cheeks burned, as if they were being held to a fire.
Seeing the look of affection on Chen Mo’s face as he gazed at her, Su Yuqing’s heart skipped a beat. Flustered, she quickly lowered her head, pretending to be completely focused on the pizza in her hands.
Chen Mo’s gaze was so intense it made her feel shy and flustered, yet she couldn’t help but crave that warmth.
When the durian pizza arrived, its intense aroma drew frequent glances from the neighboring tables.
"A lot of people can’t handle durian on its own, but it’s actually quite fragrant and sweet on a pizza. Do you want to try some?"
Chen Mo asked, looking at Su Yuqing with a gentle smile.
"I’ve always heard that with durian, people either love it or hate it. I’ve never actually tried it before." Su Yuqing was a little curious.
Given how expensive durian was, it was no surprise Su Yuqing had never tried it; her mother would never spend that kind of money on her.
Chen Mo cut a small slice and placed it on Su Yuqing’s plate. The golden durian flesh, coated in piping hot, stringy cheese, quivered slightly.
"Try this. See if it’s like ice cream." He used his fork to pick up a creamy piece of the fruit, blew on it gently to cool it, and held it to Su Yuqing’s lips.
Su Yuqing looked at the piece of durian. It didn’t smell nearly as pungent as she’d heard. She took a small bite.
The taste that filled her mouth was peculiar—somehow both fragrant and foul at the same time.
But the overall sensation was quite nice. It was sweet, and surprisingly delicious.
Seeing that Su Yuqing didn’t have a strong negative reaction to the durian, Chen Mo smiled. "Looks like you can handle durian after all."
Two seven-inch pizzas plus a few side dishes was the perfect amount for the two of them.
They were satisfied, but not uncomfortably stuffed.
As they finished their meal and were about to pay, a server suddenly approached and placed a Polaroid photo on their table.
"Hi there. Our pizzeria is running a ’Pizza Moments’ photo promotion. We take candid shots of our customers enjoying moments of connection—whether it’s with family, friends, or loved ones.
I happened to capture a couple of great photos of you two. You’re welcome to keep them as a souvenir. And, with your permission, we’d love to put a copy of one up on our promotion wall."
"If you’re willing to participate in our photo promotion, we can give you 50% off your entire meal today."
Following the server’s gesture, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing saw a large photo wall.
It was covered with pictures of all sorts of people interacting while enjoying pizza.
There were families, couples, and groups of friends, all of them looking happy and getting along. It was a heartwarming display.
Then, the two of them looked down at the photos of themselves.
One was a candid shot of Chen Mo gently wiping Su Yuqing’s mouth.
The other was a sweet shot of Chen Mo holding a forkful of cheesy durian up to her lips.
Seeing the two photos, Su Yuqing felt a mix of sweetness and shyness. She stole a glance at Chen Mo.
He, on the other hand, looked quite composed.
He smiled at Su Yuqing. "What do you think?"
Su Yuqing replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, "I... I don’t mind."
"Let’s do it, then. We can save a little money," Chen Mo said, smiling at the server.
"Great. In that case, please keep these two as a memento."
The server smiled and handed them the bill, which now reflected the 50% discount. They also gave them three 25% off coupons.
"You can use these anytime within the next month."
"Thanks a lot," Chen Mo said with a smile. "You know, it might be nice to use one of these coupons to come back for pizza on Yuanyuan’s birthday this weekend."
Su Yuqing smiled and nodded in agreement.
As they left the pizzeria, Su Yuqing was still savoring the taste of the pizza.
"So, how was the pizza?"
"For my first time, I thought it was really good," Su Yuqing answered earnestly.
"Then I’ll take you to try some other flavors next time," Chen Mo said with a gentle smile.
"But pizza is so expensive. We shouldn’t eat it too often," Su Yuqing said, shaking her head with a smile.
"It’s fine. Your salary is more than high enough to cover our expenses," Chen Mo said with a chuckle.
Su Yuqing froze when he said that. She had always felt that the babysitting contract Chen Mo gave her was more of a gesture to help her out, and that he wouldn’t actually pay her such a high salary.
But judging by his tone, it seemed he was completely serious about it.
Back at school, the moment Su Yuqing walked past Zhao Yuanyuan, the girl’s little nose twitched. "Wow, Yuqing, you smell amazing."
Then, like a detective catching a suspect, Zhao Yuanyuan grabbed Chen Mo’s shirt and leaned in for a sniff.
"Just as I thought! Brother Mo smells delicious too. Where did you two go? You smell so good," Zhao Yuanyuan asked, her face a mask of curiosity.
"This," Chen Mo said, placing the coupon in front of Zhao Yuanyuan.
"Whoa, pizza! It looks so delicious." Staring at the picture of the pizza on the coupon, Zhao Yuanyuan’s eyes filled with longing.
Seeing this, Huang Mao immediately suggested, "How about we go get pizza this weekend to celebrate your birthday?"
"No way, pizza’s so expensive. Look, they’re dozens of yuan each," Zhao Yuanyuan said, immediately balking at the original price listed on the coupon.
Seeing her reaction, Huang Mao felt a pang of pity. He shook his head with a smile. "Didn’t you see? Old Mo has a coupon. It’ll be much cheaper with this."