Chapter 173: Tracking

*Ding!*

When the oven emitted its notification sound, the long-awaiting Lu Yunze and the Head Chef immediately opened it, bringing out the baked cake from within.

Under Lu Yunze’s nervous gaze, the Head Chef carefully inspected the cake—checking the color, texture, and aroma.

Finally, the Head Chef reached a conclusion.

“Congratulations, Young Master. You have finally produced a work that is above a passing grade.”

Upon hearing those words, Lu Yunze’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat.

He froze for a moment before an uncontrollable ecstasy washed over him, causing him to slump into a chair.

‘I finally succeeded…’

He had been busy for several days, covering himself in flour and cream every day, and today, he had finally made a decent piece of work.

In fact, by the second day of learning how to bake, he was already capable of making something “edible.” However, this was a gift for someone important, so he could not afford to be careless.

Merely being edible was not enough; it had to be excellent.

Thus, over the following days, he continuously tried and improved until now, when he finally met the Head Chef’s standards.

After the cake was baked, the next steps were applying the cream and adding some fruit as decoration.

When Lu Yunze picked up the piping bag filled with strawberry jam, he hesitated for a moment. Then, with a firm resolution, he wrote a line of text on the cake:

“I wish you both happiness and fulfillment.”

With everything ready, the Head Chef helped him pack the cake and handed it to him.

“Everything is prepared. It is time for your performance, Young Master.”

The Head Chef nodded vigorously at him. “Do not let us down!”

Although he did not quite understand why the man was so excited, Lu Yunze still responded with a smile.

“Rest assured, I definitely won’t let you down.”

—

After returning to his bedroom, Lu Yunze did not immediately give the cake to Jiang Sui. Instead, he began to consider another matter.

Would a single cake be enough?

Considering Jiang Sui’s family situation, it would probably be difficult for her to hold a proper birthday celebration.

At this thought, Lu Yunze stood up again, left the Luo Family Residence, and headed out into the streets.

‘At a time like this, do I really have to handle this personally?’

Since he had already made the cake by hand, it did not matter if he bought a few more items to send over.

That being said, Lu Yunze, who was walking the streets alone, quickly encountered a serious problem—

He did not know what to buy.

Recalling carefully, most of the things he bought while wandering the streets before were milk tea and snacks. He could not exactly give those to Jiang Sui and her mother, could he?

It was only when he accompanied others shopping that he ended up with different items in his hands. Now that Jiang Sui was not by his side, he felt too embarrassed to ask her directly, leaving him truly at a loss.

As he wandered, the purpose of this outing shifted from “buying a gift” to simply strolling.

More importantly, Lu Yunze vaguely felt that something was not quite right.

Whenever he entered a shop or stopped in front of a street stall, he felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at his back.

He turned his head several times but found nothing.

‘Did Jiang Sui secretly follow me out?’

No, if it were her, he probably would not be able to detect her at all.

‘Maybe it is just an illusion…’

He comforted himself this way and unconsciously walked to the center of the square.

“That gentleman over there.”

“Hm?”

“Stop looking around; I am talking to you.”

Lu Yunze looked around and discovered that there was actually someone setting up a stall in the square.

Moving closer, he saw that the person was alone at a single table, with a deck of Tarot cards laid out.

“A fortune teller?” Lu Yunze blurted out.

The other person’s expression changed instantly. “Sir, those words are quite impolite. I am a Diviner.”

‘…Isn’t that just a fortune teller?’

Lu Yunze complained inwardly. ‘I am already being polite by not calling you a scammer.’

“Sir, I see that your brow is dark and you are in a rush. It seems you have something on your mind. I can divine your fate and help you pursue good fortune while avoiding calamity.”

“How much?”

“No charge. It is free.”

“Oh? That is interesting.”

Lu Yunze actually wanted to see if the man could figure out that he was being followed.

After receiving consent, the Diviner immediately began a series of mysterious maneuvers—shuffling and dealing the cards with very practiced movements.

“Come, sir, please choose your destiny.”

All the Tarot cards were stacked together and pushed toward Lu Yunze.

After hesitating for two seconds, he reached out and flipped the top card.

He muttered secretly to himself, ‘It wouldn’t be The Fool, would it?’

When the card marked with the number 0 caught his eye, Lu Yunze froze on the spot.

It really was **The Fool**.

The Diviner pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, preparing to explain—

“This card symbolizes…”

“It symbolizes the beginning of all possibilities, right?”

“…You know about this, too?”

The Diviner was suddenly stunned.

“Never mind how I know. I only want to ask one thing—is someone following me?”

Lu Yunze could not possibly say it was because he had read too many novels.

The Diviner gave a dry laugh. “Well… that is hard to say. However, if you are worried, sir, I can recommend a method.”

“What method?”

The Diviner had been waiting for this question. He pulled a business card from his pocket, which read:

“Constellation Divination Club, Everyone is Welcome.”

Lu Yunze: “…”

“If you have a recommendation, the membership and apprenticeship fees are discounted.”

“You just want a commission, don’t you?”

“Cough, cough!” The Diviner coughed heavily. “Sir, how can you say that? I am helping you out of the goodness of my heart.”

It looked like he really did want a commission.

The corner of Lu Yunze’s mouth twitched.

However, since he did not know what to buy anyway, he might as well go take a look.

Seeing that he actually agreed, the Diviner was overjoyed. He quickly packed his things and took the lead.

The two of them walked toward the edge of the square.

Not far away, a person wearing a hat and a trench coat lowered the newspaper in their hands, revealing a face behind sunglasses.

‘Hm? Why is Brother Lu fooling around with men again?’

Luo Yao took off her sunglasses and squinted slightly.

Although she had already found the “culprit,” Luo Heng, a new problem had emerged—

The place Luo Heng recommended did not look like a respectable establishment at all.

If Lu Yunze encountered a woman with ill intentions, wouldn’t he be played like a fiddle?

She could not sit idly by and watch such a thing happen.

Thus, taking advantage of Lu Yunze going out today, she had followed him the entire way.

‘It looks like he hasn’t noticed me yet… I want to see exactly where you two are going.’

Luo Yao put away the newspaper, wrapped her trench coat tightly around herself, and quietly followed.

Just as she stood up, another figure hidden even further back quietly revealed themselves.

“What is going on… Luo Yao and Lu Yunze, are they playing some new game?”

Jiang Sui narrowed her eyes and whispered to herself.

“You two better not let me catch you secretly causing trouble.”