I'm in Love with a Plumber

Chapter 18

"Didn't he tell you that—" Sakura stopped abruptly and smiled to herself. Li Syaoran, you are not getting away this time...

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Ah, it's nothing..." she said and paid for the cakes. "Your sweets are really good. Can you teach me how to bake sometime?" she started on another subject.

"Any time you're willing to learn."

"Does today count as 'any time'?"

"What do you want to learn?"

Sakura smiled and sweetly said, "What is Syaoran's favorite cake?"

The elder woman laughed light-heartedly. "Let's go into the kitchen."

And Sakura set out to learn the trade of baking a cake.

Joy to the world—a cook was born!

Or not...

"Hoeeee!" Sakura shrieked when she saw the result of her chocolate cake. "It's as flat as me!"

She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. Oops. That wasn't supposed to come out... at all.

"You followed my instructions, didn't you?" asked Otaka-san.

Sakura nodded. "I did everything."

"You remembered to put in the baking powder, right?"

"Baking...what? ... erm ... is that the thing in the blue box?"

"That's baking soda, honey."

She poked at the thing with her index finger. Yup. She was definitely bad at baking. She could cook, but she couldn't bake.

"Don't be discouraged, Sakura," the woman tried cheering her up. "Look on the bright side—now we have delicious brownies!"

"I suppose it's not a total loss," she said as took a piece of brownie. She immediately threw the thing away after the first bite. "Soooo sweet. I think I'm getting a toothache."

"How much sugar did you put in?"

"Three cups..."

"Obaa-san, are you in the kitchen!?"

Sakura quickly grabbed the plate of brownies and hid it behind her when she heard Meiling's voice. The black head came running into the kitchen like a hyper little child. Sakura gave an inward groan when she saw Syaoran entering the room after the other girl.

Don't get her wrong. She was happy to see his face, but she didn't want him to see her like that—after a failed attempt to make his favorite cake. Sakura prayed that his grandmother wouldn't say anything. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if he found out she'd made brownies by accident instead of a chocolate cake; not to mention that the brownies could give a person cavity with just one bite.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" Meiling seemed to be asking the question for her cousin.

"...learning how to bake..." She answered quietly, ignoring the amused look on Syaoran's face.

"Bake what?" Meiling really needed to learn when to stop asking questions.

"Stuff."

"Like what?" Syaoran asked, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice. "What's that behind you?"

Sakura panicked. "N-Nothing... it's nothing!"

"Brownies—I love brownies!" Meiling exclaimed happily, jumping at Sakura. "I want a brownie!"

Meiling grabbed the plate before Sakura could say anything. "Syaoran, do you want to try the brownies that Sakura made out of loooove?"

The man shrugged and took a piece.