Heartbeat Rewind

Glitching over Guava and Cheese

[Location: Lu’s Sweet Stop, Kitchen]

The morning sun filtered through the blinds, casting golden stripes across Lu’s workbench.

The kitchen was filled with the rich, heavy scent of cream cheese and freshly simmered guava (goiaba). Wearing oven mitts, Lu carefully pulled a freshly baked "Romeu e Julieta" (a classic Brazilian dessert pairing guava paste and cheese) out of the oven.

Right next to her cutting board, a tablet covered in cute stickers was frantically scrolling with green streams of data.

"This bully platform 'TurboEats' is doing malicious subsidies in the South Zone to steal orders again," Lu mumbled angrily while using a small spoon to drizzle ruby-red guava paste over the cheesecake.

As the hidden "Queen L," she had just spent ten minutes hacking into the competitor’s dispatch system. She didn't do it to destroy them, but to protect. She quietly rerouted orders delayed by bad weather—which the ruthless algorithm would penalize—to broadband repair vans heading the same way. By doing so, she saved the full-attendance bonuses of dozens of motoboys.

"Done! Rafa and the guys won't get their pay docked today." Satisfied, Lu clapped her hands and took off her mitts. Just as she was about to taste her new creation, the bell at the front door jingled.

"Sorry, we aren't open yet—"

Lu pushed open the swinging half-door to the kitchen, and her voice abruptly cut off.

Lucas Silva was standing in the empty shop. Today, he wasn't wearing that oppressive, dark blue suit. Instead, he wore a soft black turtleneck under a light gray cashmere coat. It stripped away some of the "Living King of Hell" coldness, replacing it with a lazy, fatal sort of s*x appeal.

"Mr... Mr. Silva?" Lu startled like a frightened hamster, hastily wiping her jam-stained fingers on her apron. "So early? Rafa hasn't even come for the pickups yet..."

"I'm not here for a pickup." Lucas stepped forward with his long legs, walking straight up to the counter connecting to the kitchen. He looked down at her, his eyes as deep as a bottomless lake. "I am here conducting an 'AI logistics field evaluation'."

He was lying. The truth was, he had suffered insomnia last night over that uncompleted handshake. Combined with severe morning hypoglycemia, he felt like an addict desperate to catch that warm scent of vanilla on her again.

"Evaluating... my shop?" Lu blinked blankly. That adorably confused look made Lucas’s Adam’s apple bob involuntarily.

"Why, is that not allowed?" Lucas’s gaze drifted over her shoulder to the steaming cake. The red guava paste flowed over the pure white cheese, gleaming temptingly. "Is that a new item?"

"Ah! Yes! It’s a 'Romeu e Julieta' cheesecake!" Mentioning desserts instantly dissolved much of Lu’s nervousness. Beaming, she cut a small slice, placed it on a delicate ceramic plate, and handed it to Lucas over the counter. "Juliana (our supplier) just delivered the premium guavas today, and I spent the whole morning simmering the paste. Want to try it? Though... it might be a bit sweet."

Lucas took the small fork. He usually never allowed himself to expose his fanaticism for sweets in front of others, but at this moment, he took a bite without hesitation.

The rich milkiness of the cheese and the sweet-tart fruitiness of the guava blended perfectly in his mouth. For a second, Lucas felt his low blood sugar and migraine were instantly cured.

He put down the fork and looked at Lu, whose eyes were full of expectation, like a student waiting for a teacher's praise.

"How is it?" Lu asked nervously.

Lucas didn't answer immediately. Suddenly, he leaned slightly over the counter toward her. He raised his long fingers, and the pad of his thumb brushed naturally against Lu’s cheek, wiping away a small smudge of flour she hadn't noticed.

His movement was too gentle, his gaze too focused. Lu instantly stopped breathing.

"Very sweet," Lucas stared into her eyes, his voice low and husky, carrying a bewitching quality he didn't even realize. "Just like the scent on you."

Boom!

Lu’s brain completely crashed. The man's body heat lingered on her cheek, and that rule-breaking line echoed infinitely in her mind.

Thump—Thump—! Her heart raced at two hundred beats per minute.

[System Triggered: Heartbeat Rewind]

Lu snapped her eyes open. Time had reverted to the moment Lucas just put down the fork.

Before she could catch her breath, Lucas leaned in again, his finger brushing her cheek. "Very sweet... just like the scent on you."

Thump—!

The third time. Lucas puts down the fork. Leans in. "Very sweet..."

This time, overwhelmed by extreme shame and panic, Lu tried to physically dodge backward during the reversed time. Her elbow violently knocked into the counter behind her. A large glass bowl resting on the edge, full of red guava paste, lost its balance and plummeted straight toward the floor!

Thump—!

The fourth time. To anyone without time abilities, none of this ever happened. But to Lucas, who possessed the "Active Rewind," the sight before him was bizarre.

He saw Lu flickering and trembling in place like a glitching video buffering, her face flushed so red it could bleed, while the bowl of red jam behind her was eerily bouncing up and down in mid-air!

Damn it, how many times has she rewound? Lucas instantly realized. She had completely "glitched out" from his flirting.

The bowl of jam was about to shatter on her feet.

Lucas’s eyes sharpened. He instantly activated his ability.

[System Triggered: Active Rewind]

The world was taken over by him in this second.

He abruptly vaulted over the counter with one hand, crossing the barrier with incredible speed and rushing into the kitchen. In the split second before the bowl hit the ground—just five centimeters away—he caught the bottom of it steadily with his left hand.

Simultaneously, his right hand firmly grabbed Lu’s wrist as she was about to trip in her panic.

The moment his cool fingertips touched her warm pulse, it felt as if a faint electric current shot between them.

Time finally stopped its chaotic skipping and resumed its normal flow.

The kitchen was so quiet they could only hear the tick-tock of the oven timer.

Lu was pulled into Lucas’s arms. The bowl of jam, which had almost caused a disaster, was held safely in mid-air. The distance between them was less than ten centimeters; she could even hear the steady, powerful beating of his heart against his chest.

A familiar piercing pain struck Lucas’s temple—the price of using his second 3-second rewind of the day. But instead of letting go, his grip on her wrist tightened slightly.

"How long are you going to stay glitched there, little dummy?" Lucas looked down at her, the corner of his mouth curving into a helpless but doting smile. "Even if you really want to pack me in a bag, you don't need to get this excited, do you?"