The first was easily brushed aside with a few soft words, but the latter was not so simple. A single mistake brought handcuffs and close supervision.
Yan Chuan found himself facing a pair of gentle brown eyes, momentarily at a loss for words. After being caught red-handed, he remained by the warden’s side, nearly forgetting why he was there in the first place.
It was not just for leaving his cell at an unapproved time, which the warden had witnessed. The graver accusation was the theft of the warden’s stamp. The privilege of moving freely in this place was granted by the kind officer. That key, too, was given out of Leo’s soft-heartedness; otherwise, there was no reason for him to be in the officer’s office.
Yan Chuan lowered his lashes, his eyelashes fluttering lightly. Would Leo… blame him? Would he think of him as a habitual liar, a thief who couldn’t change his wicked ways, someone who had misguided trust?
Leo’s gaze lingered for a moment on the slender and beautiful figure in the corner of the office. As fragile as ever, the young thief was delicate enough for anyone to hurt him. With raven hair and snow-white skin, his lips were the color of rose petals, and there was a pool of water in his eyes. His expression was also timid, something that would soften the hearts of many who saw him.
Leo’s gaze dropped, catching sight of the shiny handcuffs around the slender wrists. They had been placed there after the warden personally caught him, indicating that he would be properly supervised. The inside of the cuffs was even lined with a layer of velvet, perhaps out of concern that the delicate young thief might hurt his wrists with the cold metal.
Just from this detail, it could be seen that he had not been treated harshly during these days; his cheeks had a touch of color, and his eyes sparkled, indicating good treatment. There was even a plate of desserts on the desk, beautifully presented, a type of sweet food that would never appear on the warden’s table, prepared for a picky little devil who wouldn’t eat properly.
However, with his wrists still cuffed, the young thief could not pick up a spoon and couldn’t eat the food by himself. Leo pondered this for a moment. The warden, who usually kept everyone at arm’s length, actually had the patience to care for the lovely and fragile thief?
The silence was finally broken by the warden’s voice. “What’s the matter?” Ariel glanced at his somewhat dazed subordinate, directly sending him away: “Do you have something else?”
Meeting the warden’s significant gaze, Leo came to his senses and shook his head. “No, I’ve finished what I needed to inform you about; I just have one more thing.”
The usually gentle brown-eyed officer’s face suddenly grew serious; his expression was bland, as if he was about to discuss something very important. The warden raised his brow and asked, “What is it?”
Leo slightly bowed his head, looking at the perplexed young thief: “He probably doesn’t like cream cakes; even if it has a layer of sour jam on top, he wouldn’t eat it. Perhaps you could get a different dessert.”
When he stated this, his expression remained unchanged, as though discussing the young thief’s food preferences in the warden’s office was as normal as talking about the weather.
“Really?” The warden himself didn’t find anything odd with their conversation; rather, he seemed interested and inquired, “What does he prefer?”
“Sweet things,” Leo replied without hesitation, “he doesn’t like anything sour at all. Cream can be overwhelming; half a piece is plenty.”
Ariel looked at Yan Chuan with a questioning gaze.
Yan Chuan: …
His scalp tingled, and he nodded slightly.
“Is that so?” The warden nodded thoughtfully.
Yan Chuan was now at the receiving end of two gazes. He glanced at the plate of untouched cream cake, suddenly feeling that he should have just eaten it all earlier.
When the officer wheeled over the food cart, there was a plate of desserts; Yan Chuan merely tasted a bit, having had enough to eat, and told Ariel that he wasn’t hungry.
Ariel likely thought he would enjoy these sweet delicacies and chose not to take them away. The barely touched dessert sat quietly on the plate.
He never expected Leo would come to discuss this with Ariel.
Yan Chuan looked again at the plate. If the dessert hadn’t been brought over, it wouldn’t have led to Leo and Ariel discussing… what he liked to eat.
But he truly didn’t like sour flavors and was rather picky with food. He didn’t enjoy eating too much cream; his stomach was small, and in the show, there wasn’t much opportunity to enjoy fine dining.
Yan Chuan secretly lifted his eyes to glimpse Leo’s sharply defined jaw.
He even noticed his own preferences?
Yan Chuan recalled the time spent in Leo’s office, where many desserts had been displayed. Did he show any obvious inclinations at that time?
He honestly couldn’t recall.
He had told so many lies that he didn’t even know what was true or false anymore.
The forgetful young thief could only lower his head in embarrassment.
How could he have guessed he would face today’s circumstances, where the officers he had deceived and the warden who had caught him would gather together?
The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt, his earlobes hidden beneath his raven hair turning a bit red.
It made him seem like a villain with many misdeeds.