Chapter 139 The Turning Point
The crowd froze in collective confusion.
The girl who had shouted a moment ago added quickly, "There's a TikTok streamer named Angela broadcasting right now. Go watch her feed and you'll see!"
Without waiting for a reply, she bolted toward the far end of the sports field. The Hello Kitty dessert house currently had only that streamer inside, and she knew if she didn't get there first, the place would be swarmed in minutes, leaving nowhere to stand.
One hour earlier.
The campus fair had been running for nearly sixty minutes, and Amelia's dessert house hadn't seen a single customer.
Dorian shifted restlessly, glancing toward the door every few seconds.
Amelia, however, remained calm, her voice steady as she said it was perfect—more time to bake cookies and pastries so they wouldn't sell out the moment guests arrived. At that point, such a worry seemed almost laughable, but Dorian found herself caught by Amelia's composure. It was the kind of quiet confidence that made you believe her.
Amelia kept piping cream into the golden shells of cream puffs, while Belle pressed cookie cutters into dough with her soft, pale hands, each piece neat and perfect.
In the kitchen, the girls worked steadily. Out in the shop, four young men were arranging chairs and wiping tables.
That was when a girl wandered into this side of the sports field.
She looked young, dressed in a short pastel dress, makeup flawless, and carried a phone rig—two smartphones mounted side by side, one facing her, the other filming whatever lay ahead.
It was obvious she was a streamer, live on air.
One phone captured her face so she could chat with viewers, the other streamed the world in front of her.
She had probably been roaming without a plan and hadn't expected to find a shop in such a tucked-away corner of campus.
The moment she spotted Amelia's dessert house, her voice rose with excitement as she spoke to the lens.
"Guys, I told you I'd explore every inch of campus to see if there were hidden gems… and look at this! A Hello Kitty themed dessert house!"
"The exterior is ridiculously cute, all pastel pinks and soft whites."
"I think I might have just stumbled onto a treasure…"
Asher was the first to notice her.
The door had been open nearly an hour without a single visitor, and now someone had finally appeared. His smile lit up instantly.
He stepped outside, sunlight catching in his hair, his grin warm and unguarded. "Welcome! Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
Oh. My. God.
Angela's camera jolted as her hand trembled. Words caught in her throat.
What kind of place had a man like this working as a server? His height, his posture, his face, the way his suit fit—he looked like he had stepped straight out of a fashion editorial.
And she was apparently the first customer to discover him. How had no one else noticed?
Her viewers saw him too.
The chat exploded, flooding with messages like "He's gorgeous" and "I can't breathe."
"I… I…" Angela stammered.
Asher thought she was hesitating and his smile widened. "Come on in. You're our very first customer today. We'll make sure you're treated like royalty."
He gestured toward the shop, and three more young men stepped into the doorway.
Seconds later, Zander, Tobias, and Leroy stood beside him—four men in different styles of tailored pink suits, lined up in the sunlight, all looking directly at her.
The sight hit like a physical shock.
Four distinct faces, four distinct styles, all impossibly handsome, standing at the entrance of a Hello Kitty dessert house like a living boy-band poster.
Angela's audience went wild.
She had over a million TikTok followers, and her live streams usually drew around ten thousand viewers.
Today, because she was exploring Prestige High School, the number had already spiked to forty or fifty thousand.
When Zander and the others appeared, the chat went into overdrive.
[Oh my God, did you just stumble into a hot-guy headquarters?]
[I have never seen this many gorgeous men in one frame! If I fly to River City right now, will I make it?]
[Wait, aren't those the Hello Kitty x Ms. Simmons limited edition suits from last year?]
[They are! And the fabric is clearly genuine. Rarer than Rachel's custom gown.]
[Look through the glass—there are three girls in the kitchen and they're stunning too!]
[The short-haired one has a fierce vibe, the blonde curls look so sweet… hold on, is that the girl with the bun who got mocked by Anna at the school gate for selling street snacks?]
[No way, that's Amelia? This place is way cuter than Rachel's café.]
[Looks aren't enough. Most people came for Ryan. If he's at Rachel's, this shop will still be empty.]
[Wait, why does everyone assume Ryan will go to Rachel's? He said he'd visit his sister's shop. Amelia is his sister too.]
[Please, Rachel is the official Martinez heiress. Amelia's just the illegitimate daughter. Ryan tolerating her is already generous.]
The comments flew past faster than Angela could read.
Asher guided her to a table by the window.
The other three men followed, surrounding her in a loose circle, each smiling as they asked what she wanted to order.
The air felt thinner somehow… she realized she might have forgotten to breathe.
If anyone could actually suffocate from being surrounded by four gorgeous men, she was about to become the first documented case.
She tried to act composed, lifting the menu as if she were here purely for the food.
But before she could turn the second page, she felt warmth spill from her nose.
Oh no.
She was getting a nosebleed. From being flustered.
The moment froze. Asher and the others blinked, startled, before scrambling to find napkins.
Then a long, elegant hand appeared, offering a neatly folded pale handkerchief.
Angela looked up, her camera tilting with her gaze, and met a pair of deep eyes framed by a faint, knowing smile.
Ryan's face filled her vision—perfectly sculpted features, polite curve of his lips—as he gently dabbed at her nose. "Are you alright?"
Her eyes stung, and the nosebleed only worsened.
The live chat erupted into chaos.