Chapter 164: Hidden Segment

"Lin Xi?" Seeing Lin Xi standing there all alone, Qin Yu paused, looking somewhat surprised.

Hearing his voice, Lin Xi instinctively straightened up, looking at him in a daze and at a loss.

The music in her ears ceased to exist at this moment.

The world grew quiet, just like back then, when she could only hear his voice.

It wasn't until Qin Yu walked closer that Lin Xi reacted. "Third Brother..."

His gaze swept across her face, lingering for a few seconds before he asked, "Where is Cheng Si?"

"Didn't he go pick you up?"

Over the phone, Cheng Si had said he would go to the company to pick up Lin Xi, and then the two of them would come over together.

Before coming, he knew nothing about this newly opened restaurant.

Judging by the name, he only thought it was some ordinary Western restaurant.

After all, Cheng Si was indeed quite familiar with such places in Beijing, and the place he picked was undoubtedly top-notch.

Therefore, he didn't think much of it when he came.

Nor did he bother to check out the place beforehand.

Until he walked through the doors.

The decoration on the first floor was passable, not too obvious, but one could still sense a different atmosphere.

The tables downstairs were already occupied by guests, and as he casually glanced around, every single table was set up with one man and one woman.

It seemed they were all there for candlelight dinners.

Upon reaching the second floor, the atmosphere became even more palpable, confirming his suspicion.

This was indeed a lovers' restaurant.

The second floor felt as though it had been booked out entirely; apart from the musicians and a few waiters here and there, Lin Xi was the only one there.

She seemed a bit different today, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different.

Qin Yu assumed there must be some misunderstanding here.

"I came by myself..." Lin Xi found a plausible excuse. "I went straight back to my apartment after work to change, and Fourth Brother said he had something to attend to and would be arriving later, so he told me to come on ahead."

The play had already reached this point; she had no choice but to carry on.

Biting the bullet, Lin Xi asked Qin Yu, "Didn't Second Brother and Bai Xu come with you?"

"I heard Bai Xu was at the courtyard this afternoon."

"We didn't cross paths." Qin Yu genuinely hadn't run into him.

Bai Xu had been at the courtyard that afternoon, but had to return to the law firm due to last-minute work. Not long after he left, Bai Xu had returned to the courtyard.

The two of them had missed each other by a hair's breadth, completely failing to cross paths.

"I see." Pretending to be completely clueless, Lin Xi looked away from him, glanced at the tabletop, and then surveyed the surrounding layout.

She asked hesitatingly, "So, are we supposed to wait for them now?"

Qin Yu had a pretty good idea of what was going on in his heart. It looked like, apart from the two of them, no one else was likely to show up tonight.

How could he not know what was on Cheng Si's mind?

But...

Prompted by his own selfish desires, he raised his chin. "Have a seat first."

Lin Xi hesitated for a second before taking a seat across from him.

Sitting down once more felt completely different from the initial experience.

While waiting earlier, Lin Xi hadn't felt this nervous or agonizing.

Now, however, she felt rather constrained, especially her heartbeat, which kept accelerating as if it was about to leap out of her chest.

Feigning calmness, Lin Xi took a sip of water, attempting to steady her nerves.

Who would have thought the waiter would suddenly step forward and ask, "Excuse me, shall we serve the dishes now?"

"We haven't ordered yet," Lin Xi said.

"Didn't the gentleman already place the order when reserving the table?"

The waiter looked at Qin Yu, assuming he was the one who had made the reservation.

Without explaining, Qin Yu raised a hand to signal that they could proceed.

"Let me double-check. The gentleman ordered our restaurant's Lovers' Set Menu, is that correct?"

"..."

Lin Xi choked on a mouthful of water, though fortunately, she didn't spit it out.

"Are all the set menus in your restaurant like this?" she asked softly.

The waiter didn't quite catch which aspect she was referring to at first and was about to elaborate when he heard the man instruct him to proceed with the original reservation and stated that he was not needed here for now.

The waiter understood in a second.

People who came here were either lovers, or soon-to-be lovers who were just one step away from officially getting together.

Of course, they needed a certain amount of space to be alone so that sparks could fly.

As soon as the waiter left, Lin Xi felt even more awkward.

"Should we change places? This place feels a bit strange."

"Not strange at all." Qin Yu remained entirely composed throughout, even finding the time to hand her a napkin. "The atmosphere here is nice."

"But..."

Qin Yu interrupted her, "Didn't you come here to eat? The focus is on the food."

Hearing this, Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, Qin Yu didn't suspect her.

From his perspective, this was probably just a little trick played entirely by Cheng Si, and she was merely a "victim" as well.

Fair is fair, she truly counted as half a "victim" anyway; why hadn't she asked Cheng Si more carefully what kind of restaurant he had chosen...

She had just stumbled over here in a daze.

She really should have guessed.

As the appetizers were served, Lin Xi didn't dare touch them. "Aren't we going to wait for them?"

"No need, eat first."

Qin Yu didn't dare spell out that they weren't coming, fearing that Lin Xi might bolt.

After all, he could never have imagined that Lin Xi had also helped orchestrate today's "setup."

In reality, he was the only one kept entirely in the dark.

Just as Lin Xi picked up her knife and fork, a violin suddenly joined the performance not far away, and the previously slow piano melody turned passionate.

The two instruments danced back and forth, constantly pulling and intertwining. The tune sounded remarkably like the entire journey of romance.

From the calm of strangers meeting, to the ripples of love at first sight, then to familiar probing, and finally to burning passion—even just listening to the rhythm, it was brimming with joy and lingering affection.

Lin Xi kept her head down, practically ready to bury her face in her plate.

She was right; she had come well-prepared mentally. But during her mental preparation, no one had warned her about this hidden phase!

It was just so bizarre...

"If you lower your head any further, are you still going to eat this food or not?" Qin Yu looked at her, suddenly finding her amusing.

Yet the moment Lin Xi looked up, he resumed his aloof demeanor, his lips pressed into a flat line.

It wasn't that he was deliberately putting on a cold front; he was mainly considering Lin Xi's tender and fragile heart, afraid of making her feel awkward.

Lin Xi felt as though she were chewing on wax, her mind repeatedly flashing with Cheng Si's morning instructions.

Right now, however, she couldn't relax at all.

Could this song please stop for a moment?

As if by telepathy, Qin Yu finally signaled the waiter to pause the performance.

The entire second floor returned to peace.

"Can you eat now?" Qin Yu asked.

"...Mm."

Afterward, Lin Xi tried to relax a little and felt less tense. Things continued smoothly until near the end, when Qin Yu paid the bill.

The waiter handed Qin Yu a single rose along with the bill. "Sir, in celebration of our new opening, couples receive a twenty percent discount. Here is your bill."

"Um, we..." Lin Xi wanted to explain, but Qin Yu had already pulled out his card at the first instant and handed it over.

Once the waiter left, Qin Yu handed the rose he was holding to her.

Seeing that she didn't take it, Qin Yu remarked, "Wouldn't it be strange if I held it?"

Only then did Lin Xi take it. "But if I hold it, doesn't that confirm the relationship the waiter misunderstood us to have? Why didn't Third Brother explain just now?"

"Didn't you hear earlier?"

"What?"

The man replied indifferently, "Couples get a twenty percent discount."

Lin Xi: "..."