Chapter 7 The Blind Date

Seven o'clock in the evening.

A familiar Western restaurant, a familiar setting.

This was the third time Lin Xian had come to this restaurant.

The first time was with Zhao Yingjun, the second was with Tang Xin, and the third… was a blind date arranged by Chu Shanhe. As luck would have it, he had booked the same restaurant.

What a twist of fate!

Lin Xian had been woken up by a call from Chu Shanhe that morning.

He wondered why Chu Shanhe was calling him. When he answered, Chu Shanhe directly stated his purpose, saying that a friend of his had a daughter about the same age as Lin Xian. He thought the two were well-matched in all aspects, so he wanted to play matchmaker:

"Lin Xian, you're at the age where you should be thinking about finding a partner. Starting a family and building a career don't conflict; in fact, they complement each other. You must be lonely in Donghai by yourself. My friend's daughter is very beautiful and comes from a good family. You're both young people, so get to know each other and chat. If you like each other, you can try dating."

Ah...

So it was an introduction, a blind date.

Lin Xian rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed.

This was his first blind date in his life. His previous knowledge of blind dates mainly came from the dramatic skits on short video platforms, which seemed intense and terrifying, a veritable epic tug-of-war.

Actually, he had no intention of going on a blind date at all right now.

He was too busy with his own affairs. With so many troubles unresolved, and even his own life in danger, how could he have the mind for this?

However, he couldn't refuse Chu Shanhe's kindness, and he didn't really have a good reason to refuse. Chu Shanhe, a man of high status, was kindly introducing him to someone; it would be a bit of a slap in the face to refuse to even meet her.

He was far from being established in Donghai, and it wouldn't hurt to have a good relationship with Chu Shanhe.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lin Xian agreed.

After all, a blind date was just a meal with a stranger. No one was forcing him to get married after the meal, so he could just go through the motions.

"Hahahaha, good, Lin Xian." Chu Shanhe on the other end of the phone was very happy to hear Lin Xian's agreement:

"Let's set the time for 7 p.m. I've already booked the restaurant for you. The entire second floor is reserved, so just go there and have a good chat. Order whatever you want to eat, don't worry about anything."

"You don't need to worry too much. Whether this works out depends on how well you get along. If you think she's good, then chat. If she's not suitable, don't be embarrassed. I'm just helping you connect."

Lin Xian understood Chu Shanhe's meaning.

He was still respecting him, telling him not to be embarrassed to refuse because of his face, and to just say so if he didn't like the other person.

Hanging up the phone, Lin Xian scratched his head.

He felt like he wasn't very good at refusing people… his ears were too soft.

Gao Yang had always said that Lin Xian was a warm-hearted pushover, but birds of a feather flock together. The two were similar in this respect, which was why they got along so well and were popular.

He took another nap.

After getting up and washing, Lin Xian went straight to the familiar Western restaurant.

He had always sat on the first floor when he ate with Zhao Yingjun and Tang Xin. He had never been to the second floor.

When he arrived on the second floor, he found that the layout and decor were not much different from the first floor, except that the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows made the view wider. Especially the seats by the window, which overlooked the entire street scene.

Seeing Lin Xian come up, the manager immediately greeted him obsequiously:

"Mr. Lin, hello. Chairman Chu has arranged everything. The entire second floor is reserved for you tonight. Please let me know if you need anything."

Lin Xian nodded.

Looking at his watch, it was already seven o'clock… this blind date girl wasn't very punctual.

But it was rush hour in Donghai, so it was understandable that she was a little late.

With nothing to do, he turned to look at the stream of cars driving into the restaurant's parking lot outside.

It was early spring in March, the days were getting longer, and the sky at seven o'clock had only just darkened after the sun had completely set.

The restaurant was doing very well, with all kinds of luxury cars entering, and the first floor was soon full. And as the manager said, no one came up to the second floor. It was a complete private booking.

Finally.

When the sky outside had completely darkened, all the lights inside the restaurant were turned on, and Lin Xian's phone was getting a little hot from watching videos…

The sound of footsteps finally came from the spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

Soft, steady steps.

A head of bright yellow hair emerged first, followed by a large bubble being blown, which popped in the air. A hot girl in revealing clothes walked up.

A baseball cap, a white t-shirt, a light jacket, denim shorts…

Lin Xian seemed to see summer.

Squeak—

She walked straight to Lin Xian's table, pulled out a chair, and sat down across from him with her legs crossed:

"You're Lin Xian, right?"

Lin Xian nodded:

"Hello, Su Su."

Although she was half an hour late, Lin Xian didn't mind. Everyone had things come up on the road.

The manager, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately smiled and stepped forward to hand the two menus.

Lin Xian took the menu and passed it to Su Su:

"What would you like to eat—" "We're not a match," Su Su said directly.

…

Huh?

Lin Xian looked at the girl in front of him.

Was blind date efficiency already this high?

The manager on the side was extremely embarrassed. He looked left at Su Su and right at Lin Xian, not knowing what to say…

He had seen all kinds of blind dates here, but he had never seen such a fast-paced version!

"Then… shall I still order?"

Lin Xian actually felt a lot more relaxed.

He had been wondering how to reject her, how to handle this matter in a way that wouldn't hurt her feelings and would be acceptable to Chu Shanhe.

Now it was easy.

The other party didn't like him, and Lin Xian almost shouted "Hooray!" in his heart.

Perfect solution!

Su Su picked up her phone and took pictures of Lin Xian, the surroundings, and even the manager who was personally serving them, as if collecting evidence. She nodded in satisfaction.

Then she stood up and waved to Lin Xian:

"Bye-bye."

With that, she picked up her handbag and walked away quickly.

"…" "…"

Lin Xian and the manager looked at each other, speechless.

She came and went in a hurry. He never thought that his first blind date would end so smoothly and freely.

"Mr… Mr. Lin, you're already here! Why don't you finish dinner before you go back!"

"True."

Lin Xian directly ordered a few dishes that he thought tasted good before, and handed the menu back to the manager:

"That's all."

…

At this moment.

In the lobby on the first floor, it was crowded, with a queue forming.

At the entrance, an Alphard van stopped in front of the reception desk. The driver got out, opened the door, and Zhao Yingjun stepped out in high heels.

The manager on the first floor immediately greeted her:

"Miss Zhao, you're here!"

This Miss Zhao had been coming here often recently and had spent a lot of money. The manager had handled it personally at the time, and he had received a lot of commission, so of course he remembered this benefactor.

However…

Today, he looked embarrassed as he explained to Zhao Yingjun, who had just gotten out of the car:

"If you had contacted me in advance, I would have saved you a seat… but it's full inside now. You'll have to wait a long time. I suggest you try another restaurant today, Miss Zhao."

"No seats?" Zhao Yingjun raised her eyebrows:

"Really? When we turned here, the driver specifically looked and saw that the second floor was empty. How can there be no seats?"

The manager bowed and smiled apologetically:

"Miss Zhao, the entire second-floor restaurant has been booked today… Only the first-floor area is open to the public. I'm really sorry."

"We only received the news about the private booking at noon… If you really want to eat today, how about I take a number for you and call you when it's almost your turn?"

Private booking?

Zhao Yingjun snorted softly, crossing her arms.

Such a grand gesture… must be some young master in Donghai trying to make his girlfriend happy, right? Or maybe it's for his girlfriend's birthday or something:

"How romantic."

She complained and looked at the crowd walking out of the restaurant.

Those were probably diners who couldn't wait and didn't want to stay any longer. The most eye-catching one was the yellow-haired girl in revealing shorts, blowing bubble gum as she hurried away.

"Then let's go too," Zhao Yingjun said with a smile to her driver:

"Let's not disturb other people's elegance today."

She turned around and got back into the Alphard. The driver got in and drove towards the exit.

Through the car window, Zhao Yingjun turned her head to look at the brightly lit second floor of the restaurant…

Sure enough, it was empty. Only one table by the window had a man sitting there, a… increasingly familiar figure!

"Stop the car!"

Zhao Yingjun rolled down the car window and squinted at the huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the restaurant.

The floor-to-ceiling windows were clear, and the entire interior of the restaurant was in full view.

She hadn't seen it wrong!

The only man sitting in the second-floor restaurant! And that familiar profile was none other than her secretary—

Lin Xian!

What was going on?

Zhao Yingjun blinked, very puzzled.

What was Lin Xian doing?

Booking the entire restaurant… that didn't seem like his style.

She believed that after being together for so long, she knew Lin Xian very well. He was very low-key and would never be like those playboy sons who would casually spend money like water to book out entire venues.

"Go park the car, I'll go up and take a look."

After instructing the driver, Zhao Yingjun picked up her handbag, got out of the car, entered the restaurant, and walked towards the second floor.

…

At the same time, in the restaurant parking lot.

The red McLaren's scissor doors were raised. Su Su sat inside while talking on the phone, holding the phone between her neck and shoulder, talking to her girlfriend:

"I'm done here, I'll come find you."

"You're too fast, sis!" The female voice on the other end of the phone exclaimed:

"Didn't you just say you were going on a blind date? How did you come out in a few minutes!"

"Haha, I just cut to the chase and said we weren't a match, and then I skedaddled!" Su Su giggled, very pleased with herself:

"I even took pictures as proof! Anyway, my sister just wanted me to go on a blind date, and then she'd unfreeze my card. I went on the blind date, and it's normal that I didn't like him, right? Anyway… perfect solution!"

"Ah haha…" On the other end of the phone, the girlfriend said awkwardly:

"You made it too awkward! You should have at least eaten a meal with him before leaving! If you do that, the guy will definitely be sad and disappointed."

"I don't care about him!"

Su Su chewed her bubble gum, recalling the gentle-looking guy from earlier:

"But… that guy did look very quiet, so he might be a bit sensitive."

"Haha, then why don't you hurry up and go comfort him!"

"Are you kidding me!" Su Su started the roaring McLaren with a bang, turned her head to look at the glass floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the restaurant:

"If he's sad, he's sad. He'll be fine after a while, definitely—"

Su Su spat out—

!

The bubble gum flew out and stuck tightly to the windshield!

"Holy crap!"

Her eyes widened:

"This jerk is a scumbag! He's dating two people at the same time!?"

In Su Su's line of sight… in the huge second-floor restaurant, Lin Xian was still sitting at the small table by the window.

But the difference was!

The chair she had just warmed up was now occupied by a beautiful and dignified woman!

The woman was also dressed very exquisitely, and it was obvious that she was there for a blind date!

The most infuriating thing was…

Lin Xian across from her was talking and laughing with this woman, chatting happily! The waiter was even starting to serve the dishes!

What kind of assembly line blind date was this?

Were there more girls waiting in line downstairs? Was he choosing a concubine? Did he think he was an emperor!

"Disgusting!"

Su Su gagged:

"I'm disgusted! Damn it, I've become a backup!"

"What's wrong, Su Su?" The girlfriend on the phone asked doubtfully.

"That guy I was supposed to be on a blind date with! He actually arranged to meet other girls today! Oh my god… I thought I'd only see this kind of thing in TV series, but I actually encountered it today!"

"Ah? Really!"

"Of course! I can see it clearly from downstairs right now! It's only been a few minutes since I came downstairs, and the second blind date partner has already taken my place! This guy is a true master of time management, not wasting a single minute!"

"Haha, you got cheated on."

"Cheated on, my foot! I was tricked!"

Bang!

Su Su got out of the car angrily, slammed the door shut, and strode back towards the restaurant.

Annoying!

Too annoying!

"I'm hanging up!" She hung up the phone angrily, glaring at the laughing and talking man and woman by the second-floor glass window as she walked:

"If I let you two chat today… my name isn't Su!"